JoAnn McAllister, PhD : President

JoAnn McAllister, PhD

President

JoAnn McAllister is passionate about sharing the transformative approach and practical tools for social change that are at the heart of the Human Science perspective.  As a co-founder of HSI, she is dedicated to supporting those engaged in “creating a humane and ecologically sustainable global future.” She has worked with and developed programs for community-based organizations, social movement groups, and educational institutions committed to social and environmental justice. She is a co-author and editor of Bill Moyer's Doing Democracy: The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements. After receiving her PhD in Human Science from Saybrook University in 2003 she served as the Director of the Human Science program until 2015.  She is also an avid birder and is engaged in volunteer motivation research to understand how citizen science and environmental education programs connect and reconnect human beings to the natural world.

Steve Soifer, PhD : Vice President of the Board

Steve Soifer, PhD

Vice President of the Board

Steven Soifer received his M.S.W. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1980 and his Ph.D. in Social Welfare Policy at the Florence Heller School at Brandeis University in 1988. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. He is currently chair and professor of the Department of Social Work at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Soifer is former chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of Memphis. His research interests are in social justice, affordable housing, and paruresis (shy bladder syndrome). He is the author or co-author of five books, including Doing Democracy: the MAP model for Organizing Social Movements (2001).

Emilie Bromet-Bauer, MA, CVA : Secretary of the Board

Emilie Bromet-Bauer, MA, CVA

Secretary of the Board

Emilie Bromet-Bauer, MA, CVA is a consultant, coach, trainer, and thought leader in the field of volunteer management. She has worked for over 25 years as a professional volunteer resource  manager, developing and leading volunteer programs of various sizes for organizations and institutions in a variety of sectors and fields, including nonprofit, higher education, military, human services, and museums. In her work, Emilie promotes the importance of pracademics, the application of research and critical thinking to the practice of volunteer management and leadership, organizational development, civic engagement, and social change. She has a MA in Human Science from Saybrook University and developed a model of transformative volunteer management for her master’s project. She holds a Certificate in Volunteer Administration and is the author of the chapter "Advocacy in Volunteer Administration" in the CVA text, Volunteer administration: professional practice. She was a founding board director for AL!VE (Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement) and served on its board for nine years. She is a convener for BAVAN (Bay Area Volunteer Administrators’ Network) and serves on the board of directors of the Human Sciences Institute.

Jim Smith, MA : Treasurer/CFO

Jim Smith, MA

Treasurer/CFO

Jim received his MA in Human Science in 2015 from Saybrook University where his thesis was “The Role of Nature in Healing Victims of Trauma.” He is a co-founder of the Human Science Institute which is based in Helena, Montana. He is currently a Doctoral candidate at California Institute of Integral Studies in Transformative Studies, exploring the way in which the nature of freedom has been distorted and co-opted by neo-liberal economic and political ideology and policies.
He is an active member of Democratic Socialists of America working for economic and political change in order to create more just and sustainable future for his community and his children and grandchildren. He believes that the role of every progressive person is to become engaged in civil and political life in order to insure a more diverse and democratic world.