Celebrating Excellence in Community Engagement: Honoring VCU’s 2025-2026 Award Recipients
2025-2026 Excellence in Community Engagement Award Nominees
At Virginia Commonwealth University, community engagement is a living practice, carried forward each day by faculty, students, staff, and partners who dedicate themselves to meaningful collaboration beyond the classroom and the laboratory. Each year, the Division of Community Engagement recognizes those who exemplify this commitment through the Excellence in Community Engagement Awards.
This year’s honorees were nominated by colleagues, collaborators, and community partners who witnessed firsthand the depth and impact of their work. Nominations were reviewed by a selection committee, and from a competitive field of candidates — several of whom received multiple nominations — the following individuals and organizations were selected for distinction.
“Community engagement is more than just a good deed — it’s a science, it’s an art, and it’s a practice.” — Dr. Mosavel
Excellence in Community Engaged Research
Katherine Y. Tossas, PhD, MS
Assistant Professor, School of Public Health; Director, Catchment Area Data Analytics, Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Nominated by Jessica LaRose
Dr. Katherine Y. Tossas describes her work as a form of ministry — grounded in the purpose mantra: “I am here to steward and, as needed, to translate community wisdom into biobehavioral evidence, so healing can reach where systems fail.” It is a philosophy that animates everything she does as a cancer epidemiologist, community partner, and mentor.
At Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, she founded the Office of Catchment Area Data Analytics and co-directs the Global Oncology Program. Her community-engaged research includes Project COALESCE, which expanded access to cancer screenings; the TRUTH Project, a culturally grounded partnership with the Chickahominy Tribe focused on water safety and cancer beliefs; and the emerging Virginia Native Nations Against Cancer Coalition, uniting all 11 of Virginia’s tribal nations around cancer prevention and advocacy. She also founded the Virginia Public Health Summit on Cancer, now in its fourth year.
Through her COQUÍ Lab — a tribute to her Puerto Rican heritage — she mentors the next generation of researchers committed to transforming evidence into equity.
“Community-engaged research is not just research for me. It’s really a ministry.”
“I feel thankful to be able to serve the communities that shaped me. My family is still a part of these communities, so this work is deeply personal.” — Dr. Katherine Y. Tossas
Excellence in Community Engaged Teaching
Emily Smith
Assistant Professor, VCU Department of Interior Design, School of Arts, Nominated by Robert Ventura
Emily Smith is a self-described generalist — and that breadth is precisely what makes her community engagement so inventive. At the heart of her teaching is the middle Of broad studio, an interdisciplinary design studio she co-leads for VCUarts that brings together VCU students and Richmond community members to develop real design solutions for real community needs. It is collaborative by design, in every sense.
Her curiosity extends well beyond Richmond. Through Patterns of Place, a collaboration with a design historian, she has taken students to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Sicily to study how patterns in the built environment and nature reveal the impacts of climate change — and what resilience might look like. Closer to home, her Material Being project is building an open, interactive database where people can share and discover new ways of understanding materials.
In every project, Smith’s work asks students to look outward — toward community, culture, and the world they are designing for.
“Emily’s framework allows students to connect deeply with the human experience, bridging the gap between their craft and their community.” – Robert Ventura
Excellence in Community Engagement: Faculty or Staff
Emily Zimmerman, PhD, MS, MPH
Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health; Director of Community Engaged Research, VCU Center on Society and Health, Nominated by Samar El Khoudary
Dr. Emily Zimmerman believes that the best research begins with the right question — and that the right question can only be found in partnership with the community it seeks to serve. As Director of Community Engaged Research at the VCU Center on Society and Health, she developed the SEED Method for Stakeholder Engagement in Question Development and authored the textbook Researching Health Together (Sage Publications), translating that conviction into tools that researchers across the field can use.
Her current work as Principal Investigator on an NIH/NIDA-funded Patient Engagement Resource Center focused on substance use treatment brings together a remarkable network of community partners — from Engaging Richmond to the Peer Recovery Collective to Disability Advocates in Research — each reflecting her commitment to health equity not as an aspiration, but as a practice.
“The work only happens because communities continue to show up and believe in partnership.”
“The most rigorous research is about what you share and about building something that truly belongs to everyone.” — Dr. Emily Zimmerman
Excellence in Community Engagement — Student, Fellow or Postdoctoral Fellow
Nina Dashti-Gibson
MD-PhD Candidate, VCU Medical Scientist Training Program; T32 Scholar, Wright Center Translational Biomedical Sciences Training Program, Nominated by Chuck Harrell and Jennifer Koblinski
As an MD-PhD candidate studying drug resistance in pancreatic cancer, Nina Dashti-Gibson understands that science depends on community — and she has found a distinctive way to honor that relationship. Through the Brushstrokes of Discovery Community Mural Project, she partnered with Dr. Jennifer Koblinski, community partner Ron Thompson, and artists Khalid Thompson, Silly Genius, and Rain Spann to create a living dialogue between VCU researchers and the Richmond community members whose generosity makes their work possible.
It is a reminder that discovery is never a solitary act — and Nina has made that truth visible.
“The research I do would not be possible without patients willing to contribute during difficult times in hopes of creating better outcomes for others.”
“Hearing the experiences of community members has been eye-opening and deeply impactful to me.” — Nina Dashti-Gibson
Outstanding University-Community Partner
This year, the Outstanding University-Community Partner Award recognizes two programs within Richmond Public Schools that together represent an exceptional model of sustained, collaborative partnership.
Katrina Jackson
Regional Engagement Coordinator, Richmond Public Schools Nominated by Verenda Cobbs
Guided by a personal mission to “Teach, Lead, and Serve with Love,” Katrina Jackson has spent 21 years championing Richmond’s students and families. As Regional Engagement Coordinator for Richmond Public Schools, she has a gift for turning institutional goals into grassroots results — most recently through the “Connecting Pieces” initiative, which mobilized family liaisons across ten schools to deliver more than 40 programs targeting chronic absenteeism. The impact has been measurable, and the relationships built along the way, lasting.
“This award isn’t just a reflection of my work, but a testament to the powerful energy between our institutions and our shared vision.”
“We don’t just show up — we show up with the excellence that the community deserves.”
“This award belongs to everyone who chose to lead and serve alongside us.” — Katrina Jackson
Richmond Public Schools Multilingual Student Success (MSS) Team
Lead Collaborators: Dr. Jennifer Blackwell, Lily Mirjahangiri, Amelia Castaneda, and Luis Martinez Nominated by Jenna Lenhardt
Under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Blackwell, Director of Multilingual Learner Success, Richmond Public Schools has transformed outcomes for its multilingual students — raising graduation rates by 19%, launching the Con Ganas alternative pathway to graduation, and establishing inclusive, language-rich instruction across the district. When immigration policy shifts created uncertainty for families, Dr. Blackwell responded by designing Richmond’s Immigration Resource Hub to keep multilingual families and staff informed and supported.
Recognized as Persona de Poder 2025 and a Cambiar Catalyst Fellow, she leads alongside collaborators Lily Mirjahangiri, Amelia Castaneda, and Luis Martinez — a team whose work with VCU stands as a model of what sustained, student-centered partnership can achieve.
‘The MSST doesn’t just “manage” diversity; they celebrate it as one of Richmond’s greatest assets. They have proven that when we invest in the linguistic and cultural wealth of our students, the entire city grows stronger.’ – Jenna Lenhardt
Recognizing All Nominees
This year’s award categories drew an exceptional pool of candidates. We are grateful to every individual and organization nominated — each one a reflection of the deep community engagement happening across VCU and the Richmond region. The full list of nominees is featured in the slides from our awards ceremony below.
A Community Built on Partnership
“The community partners who pushed us, asked difficult questions, expected transparency, and challenged us helped us become excellent.”
“Boldness is not always visible. Boldness is not always loud. Boldness is being steady, steadfast, present, and reliable.”
“Community engagement is institutional excellence.” — Dr. Mosavel
VCU’s community engagement mission is strengthened each year by the individuals and organizations who give it life. We congratulate all of this year’s nominees for the quality of their work and the commitment it reflects — and we celebrate our awardees, whose contributions remind us of what is possible when a university truly shows up for its community.
To learn more about VCU’s community engagement programs and opportunities, visit community.vcu.edu.
Questions or nominations for future awards? Contact [email protected]
