Todd Deal

Dr. Todd Deal is Director of the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at Georgia Southern University. A native of Statesboro, Dr. Deal received his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Georgia Southern in 1986 and returned to the faculty in 1992 after earning his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The Ohio State University. Dr. Deal was named Georgia Southern Professor of the Year in 1994 and is a recipient of the Georgia Southern University Award for Excellence in Teaching (2003) and the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology Awards for Excellence in Teaching (2003) and in Service (2006).

Prior to assuming his current position, Dr. Deal served as Professor of Chemistry and as Associate Dean of the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology. In the Spring of 2008, he accepted the position of Director of the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. Dr. Deal is deeply committed to the ideals of student leadership development and the value that it brings to students throughout their high school and college years and into their professional careers.

Jodi Middleton

Jodi Middleton is the Assistant Director of the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. She coordinates the LEAD Scholarship program, Southern Pathways, and the Leadership Speaker Series. Jodi earned her Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Sacramento, and her Master of Science in College Student Personnel from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. Jodi has been at Georgia Southern since July of 2006.

Philip Bruce

Philip Bruce is the Coordinator of the Leadership Interns Program in the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement.

Heather Jo Harralson

Heather Jo Harralson is the Coordinator of Civic Engagement in the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. She coordinates volunteer opportunities for students in the local community, Alternative Break Trips, and the Community Liaisons program. Heather Jo earned her Bachelor Of Science in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern University and her Master of Education in Higher Education Administration at Georgia Southern University. Heather Jo has been at Georgia Southern since August 2005.

John Banter

John Banter is the Leadership Coordinator in the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. He coordinates the Fall Leadership Conference, the Southern Leaders Program, the Leadership 101 Workshop series, and the INSPIRE Leadership Consultants. John has been at Georgia Southern since June of 2011.

Wendy Denton

Wendy Denton is the Assistant Director for Service-Learning in the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. She coordinates a number of initiatives to help faculty partner with campus and community organizations in making service-learning opportunities available to Georgia Southern students. Wendy coordinates the Service-Learning Advisory Board, the Service-Learning Faculty Fellows program, a Service-Learning Mini-Grant program, and the Service-Learning Student Facilitators certification process.

Wendy earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University. Prior to her current office she held positions at Sea Island Bank, the Georgia Southern Museum and the Georgia Southern Center for Wildlife Education.

Nancy Shumaker

Dr. Nancy Shumaker is Coordinator for International Programs in the Office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement. The daughter of a college professor, she grew up in Athens, Georgia, and New Haven, Connecticut. She also lived and studied in Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru. In 1967, she received the B.A. in Spanish Literature from Swarthmore College. After teaching high school in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, she studied in Freiburg, Germany, and then returned to Athens where she received the M.A. in Linguistics (1973) and the Ph.D. in Psycholinguistics (1977) from the University of Georgia.

Before assuming her current position, Dr. Shumaker served first as Professor of Spanish (1984-1998) and then as Director of the Center for International Studies (1998-2011) at Georgia Southern. Now retired, Dr. Shumaker continues her efforts to internationalize students and faculty at the university. She is strongly committed to the development of international service learning opportunities for all students and believes that through service, we learn about ourselves and others in a way that transcends all cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities.

Sean Payne

Sean Payne is the Coordinator of Marketing and Web Initiatives of the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. He coordinates all of the on and off campus marketing efforts of the office. Sean earned his Bachelor of Science from Georgia Southern University in 2008, and is currently working on his Master of Divinity in College Ministry and Biblical Languages from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Sean has been at Georgia Southern working as a professional since August of 2011.

Lynn Reaves

Lynn Reaves is the Senior Administrative Secretary in the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Georgia Southern in 1981. Lynn is married to Paul Reaves, also a GSU alumnus and employee, and has three sons – Brandon, Ben, and Andrew.

Upon graduation Lynn was employed by Sea Island Bank for eleven years providing financial reporting to regulatory entities. After homeschooling her children for five years, Lynn held several jobs including office manager of the GSU Baptist Collegiate Ministries, a church children’s director, and a high school bookkeeper before accepting her current position in May 2011.