About CCEL
We are team of higher ed professionals who coordinate year-round civic engagement and initiatives on and off campus.
Meet Our Team
Maria Alejandro
Program Director
Em: maria.alejandro@utsa.edu
Ph: 210-458-2658
Maria serves as Program Director for the Center for Civic & Community-Engaged Leadership. Maria has extensive experience working in community development through grassroots community-based servant leadership while working with nonprofit organizations, government, foundations and academia.
Maria directly oversees all programing including the Rowdy Corps Community Scholars program, a community-based work-study program, civic capacity building and student voter engagement across campus and is responsible for providing student and faculty support for community-engaged learning and scholarship based on the Carnegie Community Engagement framework. She serves as primary advisor for Community-Engaged Leadership Certificate, open to students in all disciplines.
She obtained her undergraduate degree in Native American Studies with a minor in Political Science from the University of the Incarnate Word and is pursuing a Master of Political Science at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a Technology of Participation ToP® Facilitator. Her interests include indigenous studies, civic engagement, sustainable community development, culture, collective decision-making, and inclusive democracy engagement.
Dr. Steven Sano
Lecturer - UTSA Engaged: A Service-Learning Experience
Steven Sano serves as the faculty member for the UTSA Engaged Course, a service-learning experience that engages students in readings on the nature of service, community engagement, social challenges prevalent in the region, and other prompts to engage students in critical thinking and reflection.
Dr. Sano brings a unique combination of military service, private, nonprofit and public serving agency experience and currently serves as Community Development Expert Specialist / Equity Advisor DR-4673-FL for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He has over 20 years' experience in quantitative and qualitative statistical research, program management and evaluation, capacity building and public engagement experience along with specialized emergency management recovery and resilience experience by applying participatory action research to better serve underserved and vulnerable populations in the U.S., Mexico and Japan.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Genetics at U.C. Berkely, Master of Public Administration with concentrations in Urban and Regional Planning and Nonprofit Management, at the University of Texas at San Antonio, International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA) at Fordham University and a Ph.D. in Applied Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Sano also has a certificate in International Humanitarian Law from the University of Ottawa and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from UTSA.
Noelani Cubillos-Sanchez
Civic Leadership Program Specialist
Em: noelani.cubillos-sanchez@utsa.edu
Ph: 210-458-2277
Noelani serves as the Civic Leadership Program Specialist for the Center for Civic and Community-Engaged Leadership to promote civic engagement, literacy and expand student voter engagement. Noelani also oversees students in the Rowdy Corps Community Scholars program assigned to local civic engagement community organizations and public serving agencies.
Noelani serves as primary contact for the community-engagement platform UTSA Engaged to track community engagement data based on the Carnegie Community Engagement framework.
Noelani Cubillos-Sanchez graduated from UTSA with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and has an interest in pursuing her studies in Urban and Regional Development as part of her commitment to the public sector.
Lukas Valdes
Program Coordinator
Em: lukas.valdes@utsa.edu
Ph: 210-458-2660
Lukas serves as Program Coordinator for the Center for Civic and Community-Engaged Leadership primarily responsible for coordinating the Rowdy Corps Community Scholars program, building the civic capacity of the next generation of community and socially responsible leaders.
Lukas graduated with Bachelors degrees in both Mexican American Studies and Political Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), highlighting his commitment to learn about navigating socio-political systems. Building on this foundation, Lukas earned a Master's degree in Public Administration, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Administration and Leadership. His interests include civic engagement, public sector administration and civic capacity building.
Kira Clark
Rowdy Corps Community Scholar
Program & Administrative Assistant
Larissa Valdez
Rowdy Corps Community Scholar
Financial Administrative Assistant
