Who We Are at CCEL
Julie Gafney, Ph.D - Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives/Executive Director for The Center for Community Engaged Learning
She holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from Tufts University, an M.A. in comparative literature from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from the CUNY Graduate Center. She comes to Fordham after spending nearly a decade teaching and working on student and faculty initiatives within the CUNY system, as well as experience working on public policy for Governor Andrew Cuomo. She also serves as an external evaluator on a number of NSF (National Science Foundation) and NIH (National Institutes of Health) grants supporting student support initiatives among underrepresented undergraduate student populations.
Surey Miranda-Alarcon - Executive Director, Flourishing In Community Grantmaker
Surey came to Fordham University, from the NYC Mayor's Office, where she has served as Bronx Borough Director for the past two years. She has experience in outreach, community organizing, and program development. She has previously worked at The Puerto Rico House of Representatives, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, the NYC Commission on Human Rights, and Qualitas of Life. Surey holds a BA in Social Science and Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, and an MA in Economics from the New School for Social Research. She teaches economics courses at SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology. She is passionate about community development, experiential learning, and advocacy and policy in the areas of equality of opportunity. She co-founded and chairs Diaspora for Puerto Rico, Inc, a New York-based organization that assisted Hurricane Maria evacuees to navigate resources and services. Before her current role directing Fordham's EPA grantmaker, Flourishing in Community, Surey served as the Director of Campus and Community Engagement at the Center for Community Engaged Learning.
Keisha Shay, Ph.D - Director of Academic Development and Administration
Dr. Keisha Shay comes to the Center from NYU, where her administrative role involved academic development, communications, and operations. Shay holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Caldwell University in New Jersey, and has also worked at Montclair State, where she did her undergraduate work and earned a master’s degree in counseling: student affairs in higher education. In 2017, she was awarded Outstanding Professional Achievement in Higher Education from Montclair State University and received the Sister Mary Amelia, O.P. award for Outstanding Dissertation from Caldwell University in 2020. Shay is passionate about student success, building strong partnerships, and student and faculty engagement. She loves to spend time with her family, cook, and travel.
Adam Bermudez - Assistant Director for Communications and Project Management
Adam is a Bronx native and graduate of Regis High School and Wesleyan University. Before working at Fordham, he served as Legislative and Communications Director to members of the City Council from Manhattan and the Bronx. Adam has also worked for two local Bronx news outlets.
Kujegi Camara - Assistant Director for Community Engagement and Operations
Kujegi is passionate about creating meaningful connections across different platforms, entities, and people. In her current role as Assistant Director of Community Engagement and Operations at Fordham's Center for Community Engaged Learning, she looks forward to facilitating empowering connections between Fordham students and the surrounding neighborhoods. Kujegi brings with her to Fordham a background in non-profit program management, community organizing and advocacy for faith-based and immigrant communities, and partnership cultivation. In her personal time, she gives back to her Gambian community by mentoring young West-African Muslim women and helping to empower them on their journey to college as part of her work with the Smiling Coast Women Empowerment Network. Kujegi holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Princeton University and graduated cum laude in 2016. In 2019, she received the Leadership Award from the Senegambia Awards Gala for her trailblazing work in supporting young women from the Senegambia Diaspora. That same year, she also received a Commendation from the Office of the Comptroller for her outstanding community work building bridges and empowering immigrant young women. Kujegi gets the most excitement from when she is supporting others and working to improve the processes and systems they are in, when she is sharing her poetry with others, and when she is baking banana bread for her family and friends.
Maria Rodriguez-Gomez - Assistant Director of Programs and Operations
Maria received her bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she also completed a minor in Sociology. A proud Bronx native, Maria's educational journey was shaped by a strong commitment to public service and a deep interest in understanding the social structures that impact communities like her own.
While pursuing her degree, Maria worked for ten years at a notable immigration law firm in New York City. This experience offered her extensive exposure to the fast-paced and emotionally charged world of immigration services. She developed a strong foundation in customer service, learning how to communicate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and to provide support during often difficult and uncertain times.
More than just a job, this role became a formative part of Maria's personal and professional development. It was during these years that she discovered a profound sense of purpose—advocating for individuals and families who are often overlooked, underserved, or marginalized. The stories she encountered and the resilience she witnessed solidified her passion for equity, justice, and human dignity.
Maria is also deeply passionate about education and access. She believes in the transformative power of learning and is committed to helping create pathways for others—especially those from underserved communities—to pursue their educational goals and unlock their full potential.
Amanda Caputo - Program Officer, Flourishing in Community Grantmaker
Born and raised in the Bronx, Amanda Caputo is a first-generation graduate of Fordham University with a B.A. in English and a Concentration in Creative Writing. She has a highly developed interest in justice-oriented, creatively driven work in literary, nonprofit, faith-based, and educational spaces. For two years, she managed the Urban Plunge program, a three-day pre-orientation program designed to teach incoming Fordham students about The Bronx's history and its contemporary changemakers. She is passionate about curating programming informed by Fordham’s Jesuit Mission, which develops students’ leadership skills and educates them about NYC through a social justice lens. Now, she works as a Program Officer for Flourishing in Community, overseeing a subgrant funding process that offers $48 million in grants to environmental projects to under-resourced communities in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight federally recognized Indian Nations in New York. Alongside this, she has founded and is actively curating a community-driven literary magazine sponsored by the Center for Community Engaged Learning, The Community Canvas, which is dedicated to uplifting the artwork of NYC locals of all ages.
Amanda is driven daily by her pursuit of finding what it means to effectively engage with one's community, care deeply, be bothered, and embrace our identity as lifelong learners.
