Students and Alumni
SUAPP Outstanding Student Engagement Awardee
This award is given annually to a student whose engagement activities have contributed
to understanding and addressing some issue impacting the Memphis and/or the broader
West TN/Mid-South community. Recipients will receive a monetary award of $200, recognized
at the University Honors Assembly, and be featured in the SUAPP annual report.
The 2023 application is now closed. The deadline to apply was March 1, 2023.
2023
Sharnae Smith, Master Public And Nonprofit Administration
Sharnae Smith is an active advocate for chronically ill patients and their caregivers. As person
living with Lupus, she knows first-hand how important it is to for disabled and chronically
ill patients and their families to have advocates. When the Lupus Foundation Memphis
closed, leaving patients without support and resources, she started an organization
to replace those services. She has travelled to Nashville, Tennessee on many occasions
to speak with Congress to push for policy changes that can make the lives of chronically
ill patients easier and to urge them to fund research for a cure. Further, recognizing
that black and brown people often left out of clinical trials, she has collaborated
with various pharmaceutical companies to bring more clinical trials to the area so
that the research and data is representative of the diversity of the population. Her
advocacy and outreach efforts have supported the Neshoba Community Resource Center,
Lupus Foundation of America, Disability Rights of Tennessee, and the Tennessee Disability
Coalition and impacted people in Memphis, TN and beyond.
Heather Lee Morgan, Master of Public and Nonprofit Administration
Heather Morgan serves as the originator and first President of the University of Memphis Collegiate
Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (UofM AFP). In this role she
has liaised with the local professional chapter and helped plan a fundraising event
for the Hattiloo Theatre. This event will bring together student and local artists
into an arts bazaar, which will raise the profile of local artists and support both
the Hattiloo Theatre and local artists. The Hattiloo Theatre provides a crucial platform
for actors and actresses of color within the Memphis community and abroad. Her work
with UofM AFP at the University of Memphis and coordination of the Hattiloo fundraiser
gave her the opportunity to directly apply skills from her resource development and
public budgeting and nonprofit management courses in ways that were meaningful to
the community.
2022
Jasmine Chalmers, BA Social Work
No photo or bio is available for her.
2021
Ricki Martin, Master of Social Work
Ricki Martin embodies the essence of the outstanding student engagement award with her commitment to community engagement and student leadership across seven organizations. As a Master of Social Work student, Ricki has interned with Life Choices and CHOICES Memphis Reproductive Health. Her drive for social and reproductive justice and equity extends to her involvement with community and student leadership roles. As board member for the Tennessee Health Care Campaign and pregnancy, birth, and postpartum doula at Birth Strides, Ricki helps to advocate for all Tennesseans to have access to high quality, affordable, and equitable healthcare. Ricki’s community and student engagement exemplifies SUAPP’s mission and vision of connecting student learning and research to critical community issues to enhancing the quality of life, well-being, and prosperity. Learn more about Ricki and her work here - READ HER BIO .
2020
Nikeisha Bass, Master of Social Work, worked with Restore Corp, a non-profit organization
dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking, where she provided support for
staff of various projects which benefitted survivors who attend the program and as
well aseducated the community on the impact of human trafficking. She also worked
with Project Launch as a pediatric mental healthconsultant and provided preventative
care and interventions to over 100 families at LeBonheur and collaborated with staff
to identify opportunities for formal and informal education on best practices in infant
mental health. Nikeisha's community engagement exemplifies SUAPP's mission
and vision of actively connecting learning and practice to crucial community issues.
John Zeanah
John Zeanah, Master of City and Regional Planning (2004), is the Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. John previously served as Deputy Director of Planning and as Administrator of the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability. John and fellow City and Regional Planning alumna, Ashley Cash (2011), Administrator of the Office of Comprehensive Planning, lead the development of the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan. Memphis 3.0 is the city's first comprehensive plan since 1981, and provides guidance for combatting harmful urban sprawl through coordinated development. The plan recently earned the highest honor given by the American Planning Association: the 2020 Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan.
Jessica Buttermore
Jessica Buttermore, Master of City and Regional Planning (20??), is the West Tennessee Organizer for United Campus Workers and a Bikeway and Pedestrian Program Technician for the City of Memphis. Jessica previously served as a Research Associate for the University of Memphis Design Collaborative, where she led the development of planning strategies for shared prosperity in the University District and the redevelopment of the Somerville Town Square.