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Jackie Schmidt-Posner is an educator who has spent her career helping students make connections between their commitments to community engagement and social justice and their academic, personal and career development. Jackie started her educational career at the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in political science and sociology. At UCSB, she chaired the Community Affairs Board and started and co-led a Brownie troop for girls in underserved areas of Santa Barbara.
She received a master's degree in college student development from the Ohio State University. After working with returning adult students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for four years, she came to Santa Clara University as a career counselor and founding director of the Women’s Center at Santa Clara University. Jackie then returned to school, earning a Ph.D. in Educational Policy from Stanford University.
While at Stanford, she found her true passion when she began working as a graduate research assistant at the Public Service Center, which became the Haas Center for Public Service. She never looked back and spent a fulfilling 22 years with the center. Initially, she was responsible for evaluation and then moved into building the infrastructure for student development, group advising and leadership programs. She directed the Public Service Scholars program and served as associate director and interim executive director before leaving the center in June 2009 to spend a sabbatical year traveling and working internationally.
Jackie returned to Santa Clara University, as a Professor of Practice in the Leavey School of Business in 2010, to work with Dean Drew Starbird on developing a program for undergraduate business majors to contribute to the local community. This became the Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative—the BUSN 188 course and the LSB Community Fellows program. She continues to teach and supervise Community Fellows, In addition her work at SCU, Jackie serves on the boards of two non-profit organizations – Tandem Partners in early Learning (Board Chair), and VIA (Volunteers in Asia).