Our Team

The Advancing Community Engagement and Service Institute is a university-wide institute that reports to the Office of the Provost. Meet the leadership team:

	Anne McClellan Co-founder and ACES Executive Director amcclell@central.uh.edu   Dr. Anne McClellan serves as executive director for growth and innovation and research faculty at the University of Houston College of Education. Her work focuses on developing and funding new initiatives, community engagement and informing educational policy. She previously served as director of Middle School Matters at the George W. Bush Institute, as vice president for growth at YES Prep, and was founding principal of Houston's first early college high school.
	Jonathan Schwartz Co-founder and Dean of the UHD College of Public Service Dr. Jonathan Schwartz served as associate dean for graduate studies at the University of Houston College of Education before becoming dean of the University of Houston-Downtown College of Public Service in August 2019. He received a lifetime achievement award from the American Psychological Association's Prevention Section in 2017.
	Stephanie Pérez-Gill Program Director sperezgi@cougarnet.uh.edu  Stephanie Perez-Gill serves as the program director for the ACES Institute. Her work involves program management, grant oversight and implementing new projects. Prior to joining the Institute, Perez-Gill was a high school teacher and college counselor. She is currently a Ph.D. student in higher education leadership and policy studies at the UH College of Education.
	Teranda Donatto Community Education and Outreach Program Director tjdonatt@cougarnet.uh.edu Dr. Teranda Donatto oversees community education and outreach for the ACES Institute. She previously served as a program director for a STEM leadership development program and has experience teaching at the college level. She recently received a Ph.D. in higher education leadership and policy studies at the UH College of Education.
	Abigail Archer Program Coordinator amarche4@central.uh.edu Abigail Archer serves as the program coordinator for the ACES Institute. Her work involves overseeing the hiring process, managing student employees and maintaining compliance with policies.
	Raul Rosa Program Assistant rarosa2@cougarnet.uh.edu Raul Rosa is a program assistant for the ACES Institute. He assists with building operations, website management, social media management and event planning. He is an undergraduate student at the University of Houston majoring in English literature and minoring in sociology.
	Chris Banda Graduate Assistant cbanda6@cougarnet.uh.edu Chris Banda is a graduate assistant for the ACES Institute. His work involves data collection, tutor interviews, recruitment and building operations. He is pursuing a graduate degree in architecture.
	Heeral Shah Graduate Assistant hshah27@cougarnet.uh.edu Heeral Shah is a graduate assistant for the ACES Institute. Her work involves data collection, tutor interviews and working with our UHD partners. She is pursuing a graduate degree in technology project management.