Ricky Blissett (they/them & he/him)
Associate Director
Ricky Blissett ’11 is associate director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. They develop and coordinate Center programs and initiatives, including holistic evaluation and strategic communication. They have served as a faculty member in educational leadership and policy at the University of Georgia, Seton Hall University, and Vanderbilt University; the coordinator for the Just Education Policy Institute; section chair for the Policy and Politics division of the American Educational Research Association; and principal investigator for the Democracy and Equity in Education Politics research group. Ricky has conducted and published research exploring citizen, activist, and policymaker ideologies in educational justice, democratic and equitable approaches to evaluation and methodology, and student advocacy and power. They received their Ph.D. in Leadership and Policy Studies at Vanderbilt University, and they are an alumnus of UMBC with a B.S. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. During their time as a UMBC student, Ricky was a participant in the first STRiVE leadership for social impact retreat in 2009, coordinator for an education service organization through the Shriver Center, and active member of UMBC’s Student Government Association both as director of academic affairs and executive vice president. Outside of their work at UMBC, Ricky volunteers, manages a dog with a lot of opinions about her management, conducts independent research, and collects as many different varieties of mint plants as they can fit in their garden. Ricky can be reached by email at rblissett@umbc.edu or by phone at 410-455-3457.
David Hoffman (he/him)
Director
David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13 is director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. He develops and teaches courses about civic communication and culture as a faculty fellow in UMBC’s Honors College, and has created and facilitated dozens of programs in which students develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and relationships needed to help their communities thrive. He serves as a member (and past chair) of the Steering Committee for AASCU’s American Democracy Project, and previously served as a member of the National Advisory Board for Imagining America. As a member of the inaugural cohort of American Democracy Project Civic Fellows, he led the development of the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Theory of Change, and works with Center for Democracy and Civic Life colleagues and national partners to amplify and implement it. David’s research and publications explore civic agency, civic pedagogy, democratic communication styles and techniques, and culture change within institutions. He is an alum of UCLA, where he served as student body president and University of California student regent. He earned J.D. and M.P.P. degrees at Harvard University, and his Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture at UMBC. When he’s not working, David often can be found setting his fantasy baseball lineups or taking photos; his practice of taking pictures on the UMBC campus once got him labeled as “the #UMBCsky guy.” David can be reached by email at dhoffman@umbc.edu or by phone at 410-455-1565.
Tess McRae (she/her)
Coordinator for Civic Design
Tess McRae ’22 is coordinator for civic design with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, a faculty fellow in UMBC’s Honors College, and a UMBC Exempt Staff Senator. She co-develops the Center’s programs, initiatives, courses, communications, and overall strategy with an emphasis on using creative expression as a vehicle for building and sustaining community. Tess is the lead organizer for the STRiVE leadership for public purpose program and supports the Center’s workshops, particularly those for first- and second-year undergraduate students, as a designer and facilitator. She is also UMBC’s campus liaison to the American Democracy Project (ADP) and has served on the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Meeting planning committee since 2022. Tess is a founding staff member with the Center and worked as an undergraduate student intern for four years prior to entering her current role. During her time as an intern, Tess served as co-chair of the University System of Maryland (USM)’s Student Civic Leaders Committee, participated in STRiVE and Alternative Spring Break (ASB), produced and illustrated the virtual Co-Create UMBC Tour, worked as the director of communications for UMBC’s Student Government Association (SGA) and as a graphic designer with commonvision (UMBC’s Design & Print Center), and studied abroad in Brighton, England. Tess earned a self-designed B.A. in Civic Renewal and Creative Expression through UMBC’s Individualized Study (INDS) program. She is a poet, visual artist, and musician who loves to sing and play piano. Tess can be reached by email at tessmcrae@umbc.edu or by phone at 410-455-1808.
Ann Tropea (she/her)
Assistant Director/Media Advisor
Ann Tropea is assistant director/media advisor with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. She brings many years of professional editorial, communications, and legal expertise to her position. She is a published author, experienced public speaker and interviewer, and podcast co-host. Most recently, Ann served as the editor-in-chief of Seapower magazine, the flagship publication of the Navy League of the United States. She is also the former communications director at Career Valet, a woman-owned professional services firm. A licensed attorney in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, Ann has represented a variety of individual and multinational clients in both federal and state court litigation. Her additional writing and publishing experiences include: managing editor and food & lifestyle writer for online news website TheLatest; editor and publisher of a community cookbook for the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem; managing editor of the Law Journal for the Loyola University Chicago School of Law; editor-in-chief of New York University’s Department of Culture and Communication magazine Medium Cool, and associate publisher and nightlife editor for New York City’s GO Magazine. Ann holds a law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and graduated magna cum laude in mass media communication studies from New York University. She is proficient in French and approaching proficiency in Italian. Ann currently lives in the Hamilton neighborhood of Baltimore City with her husband, two children, and rescue dog. She can be reached by email at atropea@umbc.edu.
Incoming Staff
We are looking forward to welcoming two new undergraduate interns! Full bios will be available soon.
- Tafat Boudif (she/her), Political Engagement Intern
- Carly Shearer (she/her), Special Projects Intern
Come Work With Us!
We are currently searching for the following position(s). Click the position link for more information and to apply.
Coordinator for Political Engagement
The Coordinator for Political Engagement is responsible for coordinating programs and initiatives that support students and other members of the UMBC community in developing knowledge, skills and dispositions useful to meaningful and effective participation in democracy and civic life, with an emphasis on politics and elections, policy-making and deliberation about public issues. For best consideration, apply by July 24, 2024.
Graduate Assistant
The Graduate Assistant supports a collaborative initiative to infuse civic learning in UMBC’s curriculum through research and report-writing, program coordination, preparation of communications and promotional materials, and facilitation and documentation of meetings. In addition, the Graduate Assistant works in collaboration with other members of the coordinated UMBC teams pursuing curricular infusion and UMBC’s reapplication for the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification to support their shared objectives. Applications are due on August 9, 2024.