Lexington, VA – 3 November 2014 – Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) today
announced the appointment of Amy K. DeHart to the position of Coordinator of Programs and Administration.
In this capacity, Ms. DeHart will coordinate the Consortium’s 22 member schools in their work to provide students with a rigorous curricular study of poverty and summer internships. She will help coordinate the organization’s web site, budget, and summer internships and conferences. She will work for SHECP executive director, Harlan Beckley, Ph.D., and coordinate closely with Francile Elrod, Associate Director for Community-Based Learning, Washington and Lee University.
The consortium, established in 2011, started as the Shepherd Alliance in 1998 with a joint, eight-week summer internship program that included Berea and Spelman colleges and Washington and Lee University.
“We are excited that a new member of the SHECP office team will bring so much versatility in helping the Consortium and its members advance their agenda,” said SHECP executive director, Harlan Beckley, Ph. D. “Amy brings multiple skills to this work, and she is enthusiastic about the mission of the Consortium.” Dr. Beckley is Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion, Emeritus, Washington and Lee University
SHECP’s nearly two-dozen member schools integrate classroom study of poverty with tailored and focused summer internships and co-curricular activities during the academic year. The combination of classroom study and hands-on internships, enriches the education of students in a wide variety of majors and professional studies who intend many different career paths. The intent is to prepare students for a lifetime of professional, civic and political activity that will diminish poverty.
Ms. DeHart served as Assistant Director for Conferences, Programs, and Marketing at the Virginia Military Institute Center for Leadership and Ethics since the Center’s founding in 2009. Previously, she coordinated statewide conferences related to the environment, information technology, and energy for the VMI Research Laboratories, Inc. Before moving to Lexington in 1988, she worked on national political campaigns and in public relations. She is a member of the board of directors for the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council and is an elder in the Lexington Presbyterian Church. She is married to S. Morris Trimmer and they have two adult children.
By working together to strengthen our programs and inviting others to join us, SHECP intends to promote a national movement that will lead to thousands of graduates each year informed about the causes and remedies of poverty and ready to diminish it through their professional, civic and political engagement.