Community Outreach and Engagement

The Office of Community Outreach and Engagement is committed to fulfilling our mission of improving the health and well-being of the people and institutions of Ohio, the nation and the world. We accomplish this goal by connecting our faculty members, staff and students with eager community partners such as patient groups, healthcare providers, professional organizations, community agencies and schools. We make it a point to focus on providing members of the college with project development skills and tools, financial assistance and support to future and active community-focused projects. Through our efforts, we support the College of Nursing’s ability to engage in unique teaching, research, learning and service activities that directly affect our community’s health.

We use a platform called GivePulse to help connect people to opportunities to serve and track our service. Find opportunities to get involved or learn more about GivePulse here.

If you are interested in working with us, please complete our community partner form or email Carolyn at gunther.22@osu.edu.

Carolyn Gunther
Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement

Message from the Director

Welcome to the College of Nursing’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement – we’re glad you’re here! I joined the office in spring 2022, and am excited and honored to serve as director. My research team has had the privilege of partnering with the Columbus community (e.g. churches and faith-based organizations, public elementary schools, Head Start, WIC) for the past 10+ years to co-develop scalable foods- and nutrition-related policy and programmatic solutions to improve the nutritional health of children and families residing in historically redlined neighborhoods. The College of Nursing has a long history of conducting high-quality, relevant and innovative community-engaged scholarship that advances the scientific literature and has real and lasting impacts on the health and well-being of the surrounding communities. In my role as director, I look forward to honoring this tradition, and advancing the college's mission to improve the health and well-being of our neighbors, locally and globally.

Brigid Arace
Community Outreach Representative

About Brigid

Brigid joined the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement in the Fall of 2024. She came to us from Cristo Rey Columbus High School where she supported administrative and academic leadership. Prior to this, she worked in Enrollment Management at Columbus School for Girls and the Columbus College of Art & Design. Originally from Connecticut, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University. As an community outreach representative, Brigid helps the office with budgeting, communications and community-engaged academic pathways.

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Megan Houberg
Student Assistant

About Megan

Megan joined the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement in the fall of 2022. She is an undergraduate student studying strategic communications and speech and hearing science and has a background in volunteer leadership, non-profit management, and fundraising campaign coordination. As an administrative assistant, Megan helps facilitate community programming and all other functions of the office. With a passion for healthcare and outreach, she looks forward to a career in medical administration both during her time at The Ohio State University and beyond.

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Selin Kirbas
Student Assistant

About Selin

Selin joined the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement in the Fall of 2024. She is currently an undergraduate student studying computer and information science and psychology, with a background in healthcare research. As an administrative assistant, Selin helps the office manage databases and supports the office's various functions. After graduating she hopes to pursue a career in data science and research.

Congratulations to our funding award recipients