About
Heidi Mouillesseaux-Kunzman is Senior Extension Associate, Engaged Learning Coordinator, and Director of the Education minor in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. In these roles, Heidi teaches, advises, and works with Cornell colleagues and community-based partners to develop and support engaged and experiential learning experiences for students majoring in Global Development and/or minoring in Education. These opportunities enhance students’ understanding and collaborative application of course material through practice, problem-solving, and research in campus and community-based contexts.
Heidi believes that the long-term well-being of humans, the species with which we share our planet, and Earth itself depends on our ability to work together for this purpose. This belief guides her commitment to preparing students not only as professionals but as nurturers of community – a group of people with shared interests who understand their shared interests, mutual dependency, and the need to work together to realize those interests, and who are committed to doing so.
Heidi’s current work builds on her experiences as a community development extension professional where she developed educational programs and tools, facilitated networking opportunities, and conducted research designed to help residents, community and economic developers, government officials, and other leaders collaboratively identify, pursue, and achieve local and regional development goals. Her long-standing interests and programmatic activities include: community capacity building; resiliency and revitalization; local and regional food systems; watershed viability and the tension between private ownership and public interests; dam management; education and engaged learning; school-parent/family engagement; impact assessments; and Ripple Effect Mapping.
Recent past projects Heidi has significantly contributed to, including through her affiliation with the Community and Regional Development Institute (CaRDI), are: the Rust to Green Binghamton Project – a university-community partnership co-led by Dr. Shorna Allred and CaRDI in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County and the City of Binghamton’s Department of Economic Development – designed to better understand the experience of flooding and community resiliency, via participatory action research; the Cornell Local and Regional Foods Systems Initiative, designed to strengthen local and regional food systems and contribute to the vitality of NYS communities; the Local Agriculture Land Use Leadership Institute, which brought together local leaders on a regional level to equip them “with the skills and knowledge to strengthen the economy and protect farmland;” and the Enhancing Rural Capacity Extension Community of Practice, which focused on providing community developers with science-based information and related tools.
Courses
- GDEV 2105: Internship Pre-Departure Course: Readying for Global Engagement
- GDEV 3105: Post-Internship Course: Reflection on Engaged Experiences
- EDUC 3110: Educational Psychology
- EDUC 4970: Education Minor Capstone Course
Awards and Honors
- NACDEP Excellence in Community Development Work -Team (2017) National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals
- NACDEP Regional Winner Northeast: Excellence in Community Development Work, Team Winner (2017) National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals
- Friend of Extension – Campus Collaborator Award (2014) Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County
Service
- Member, Global Development Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Committee
- Steering Committee Member, Robert A. and Ruth E. Polson Institute for Global Development
- Member, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Curriculum Committee
- Co-Chair, Cornell University PreK-12 Community of Practice
- Leadership Circle Member, North American Food Systems Network
- Leadership Team Members, Thomas A. Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems
- Reviewer, Community Development, Journal of the Community Development Society
- Reviewer, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development
Select Publications
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (March 8, 2021). Ripple Effects Mapping: A Collaborative Process for Evaluating Community-Engaged Learning Programs. Ithaca, NY: David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, Cornell University.
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H., Caloir, H., Shoemaker, D., Crossman, D. (2019). Tackling Zombies: New Approaches for Sustainable Housing. In Robin Blakely-Armitage (Ed.), CaRDI Research and Policy Brief (Issue No. 87, December). Ithaca, NY: Community and Regional Development Institute, Cornell University.
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H., Kay, D. L. (2014). SGPIPA and Smart Growth in New York State: Overview. NYS Water Resources Institute Report. New York State Water Resources Institute.
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H., Howe, R. (2010). CaRDI’s Support for Community Economic Development. In Robin M. Blakely (Ed.), CaRDI Research and Policy Brief (Issue No. 36, July). Ithaca, NY: Community and Regional Development Institute, Cornell University.
- Lang, K., and Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (2008). North Country Regional Foods Initiative: Research Report on the Impacts of Local and Regional Foods in the Adirondack-North Country Region. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Canton, N.Y.
- Wilkins, J. L., Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H., Graham, M., Goodsell, M., Bacelli, B. (2007). Farm to School in the Northeast: Making the Connection. For Healthy Kids and Healthy Farms. A Toolkit for Extension Educators and other Community Leaders. Part of a Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education funded project.
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (2005). Civic and Capitalist Food System Paradigms: A Framework for Understanding Community Supported Agriculture Impediments and Strategies for Success. Thesis. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
Select Presentations
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. Stakeholder Engagement: Conceptual Frameworks and Practice. Guest lecture in GDEV 4940: Show me the Money: Rural Funding and Grants. G. Rymarchyk and J. Sipple, Instructors. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (October 28, 2021).
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (Presenter and Author). Grant Writing 101. Guest lecture in GDEV 4940: Show Me the Money: Rural Funding and Grants. G. Rymarchyk and J. Sipple, Instructors. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (October 7, 2021).
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (Presenter & Author). Civic Agriculture and Community Engagement. Guest Lecture in DSoc 3400: Agriculture, Food Systems, Sustainability and Social Justice, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (November 5, 2019).
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman (Presenter & Author), Cornell Cooperative Extension South East
- and South-Central Districts 4-H Educators Annual Professional Development Retreat, “Stakeholder Engagement: Conceptual Frameworks and Practice”, Invited, CCE South East and South-Central Districts 4-H Educators, Camp Shankitunk, Delhi, NY. (September 25, 2019).
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (Presenter & Author), Allred, S. (Author Only), CALS Extension Faculty Meeting, "Story Circles and Community Theater as an Extension Venue", Invited, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (April 8, 2019).
- Mouillesseaux-Kunzman, H. (Presenter & Author), Allred, S. B. (Author Only), Roberts, B. A. (Author Only), Murphy, R. C. (Author Only), One Health Symposium, "Leveraging Community Capitals for Resiliency", Invited, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY. (November 16, 2018).
