Kendra Yoder

Professional Experience

Coordinator, Teen Relationship Education & Empowerment (TREE) TREE is a grant funded initiative to work with local religious groups in Boone County to develop youth education about teen dating violence and healthy relationships 2008- 2009

Co-Coordinator, Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center (RSVP Center)  Taught peer educator class (60 hours) winter semester of (2005- 2007) to undergraduate peer educators at the University of Missouri; advised four student groups; collaborated with inter-university task forces, prevention services, and social justice offices; and supervised social work interns.  September 2004 – May 2008

Outreach Coordinator & Shelter Counselor, The Shelter for Survivors of  Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, Columbia, Missouri.  Coordinated volunteer staff and community outreach and education; provided residential and nonresidential individual counseling; co-facilitated group therapy. May 2003-August 2004

Volunteer Coordinator & Victim Advocate, The Shelter for Survivors of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, Columbia, Missouri.  Coordinated volunteer training and staff; provided advocacy and education through hotline, court advocacy, and hospital services. August 2002- May 2003

Assistant Leader of Cross-Cultural Programs, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.  Facilitated learning and travel experiences for 19 college students to the Middle East in Fall 1999 and 24 students to Switzerland in Winter 2000. Coordinated schedules, led discussion groups, and worked with budgetary issues. September 1999- May 2000

ESL Intensive Language Instructor, Intensive English Program, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.  Taught grammar, phonetics, and context to 25 international students in preparation of collegiate studies in English. Summer 1999

Assistant Director of Admissions/ Admissions Counselor, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Organized and facilitated campus visitations; worked with perspective students & parents in Virginia. July 1997- May 1999

Therapeutic Support Staff, Philhaven Hospital, Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Managed a case load of outpatient children with behavioral disorders; provided additional services to children in both inpatient and outpatient settings. September 1996 – July 1997

 

Institutional & Community Service

• SST Risk and Safety Assessment Task Force. Present
• Co-Chair, Campus Climate Survey Task Force, Goshen College. 2017-18
• ICESA Campus Consortium Liaison for Goshen College. 2017–Present
• International Education Advisory Group, Goshen College. Present
• Faculty Advisor & Coordinator, Prevention & Intervention Network (PIN), Goshen College. 2015- Present
• Faculty Member, MLK Planning
• Committee, Goshen College. 2015-2018
• Committee Member, Academic Dean Search, Goshen College. 2016-17, 2017-18
• Committee Member, All Faculty & Staff Retreat, Goshen College. 2016-2017
• Faculty Advisor, Functional Immediate Response to Student Safety Team (FIRSST), Goshen College. 2014-2015
• Faculty Member, Writing Advisory Board, Goshen College. 2015

Education

• B.A., Eastern Mennonite University, 1996
• M.S.W., University of Missouri Columbia, 2002
• Ph.D., University of Missouri Columbia, 2012

Current Projects

• Co- Director of the Goshen College Global Engagement Office
  The 2024-25 academic year began with several exciting changes in my responsibilities, including my new administrative role as Co-Director of the Global Engagement Office with Dr. Jerrell Ross Richer. After leading three SST (Study Service Term) semesters in Senegal, a summer six week SST experience in Hopi/Navajo, and two May Terms partnering with Mennonite Disaster Service, I felt ready to step into leadership for this flagship program. My commitment to Global Engagement also includes teaching countless campus courses in global education and serving as Assistant Director to Dr. Jan Bender Shetler before she retired at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. I am honored to work with the gifted and passionate faculty and administrators that support this important program in our Goshen College core curriculum and am eager to see how we will continue to support our intercultural programs to meet the needs of our current GC population while maintaining the high quality standards of our unique community engaged, immersive undergraduate student experiences.

• Chair of the Religion, Justice & Society (RJS) Department
  In the other half of my job, I chair the Religion, Justice and Society (RJS) Department and continue to teach Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) courses, along with the first year experience course, Identity, Culture and Community (ICC).

• Prevention Intervention Network (PIN), Faculty Advisor
  Established in 2014, the Prevention Intervention Network (PIN) is celebrating ten years of bringing quality peer led bystander education to all first year students at Goshen College. After securing a Department of Justice campus grant in 2022 and expanding our work to include a focus on stalking, dating and domestic violence, Goshen College launched a new curriculum in first year experience classes in September of 2024. Written and produced by Emily Hahn and myself with the support of the campus grant and the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Office (RSVP), we are proud to boast a three hour Goshen College tailored workshop and curriculum that embeds best practices in the prevention education field for all of our first year students. Along with our continued efforts to expand our resourcing on campus, the grant has offered us resourcing to establish a robust Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT) with campus and community partners, as well as ongoing education and training for all faculty, staff and students in both violence prevention and response. It has been an incredible decade of working intensely with this program as a founder and educator for this impressive program as we support and mentor undergraduate student leaders on our campus.

Publications

Book Chapter

 Yoder, Kendra.  2004.  “Policy Response to Employment Discrimination.”  Module book chapter contributed to Breaking the Silence in Social Work Education: Domestic Violence Modules for Foundation Courses, edited by Fran Danis & Lettie Lockhart  (Council on Social Work Education).

Academic & Professional Presentations

Yoder, Kendra and Ethan Lapp. March 6, 2019. “Safety & Support on SST.” Global Education for All: Renewing our Vision SST Conference. Goshen, Indiana.

Yoder, Kendra and Sandra McMasters. 2018. “Reflections on the Migrant Trail 2018.” Southside Fellowship Mennonite Church & Florence Church of the Brethren.

Yoder, Kendra and Beth Birky, 2016. “Generative Refusals: Student activism and administrative accountability around Title IX.” National Women’s Studies Association. Montreal, Canada.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2014.  Author meets Critic:  Men Who Batter by Nancy Nason-Clark & Barbara Fisher-Townsend (Invited Panelist).  Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2012.  “African Anabaptist Women Theologians: Reading the Bible from the perspectives of African women’s experiences.”  Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Phoenix, Arizona.

Yoder, Kendra L. and Kevin McElmurry, 2009.  “Gender and the Production of Safe Space in      Religious Contexts: Issues for Bringing Men In.” Society for the Scientific Study of     Religion.  Denver, Colorado.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2009. “Producing Commitment: Narrating Domestic Violence in the Church.”  Midwest Sociological Society. Des Moines, Iowa.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2008. “Building bridges between the Shelter and the Steeple.”  The Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Columbia, Missouri.

Yoder, Kendra l., 2008. “Negotiating an Historical Divide: Women of faith doing advocacy in the domestic violence movement.”  Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Louisville, Kentucky.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2008. “Building Team Consensus Across Disciplinary and Geographic Boundaries.”  Qualitative Analysis Conference. New Brunswick, Canada.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2008. “Talking Across Differences about Domestic Violence.”  Midwest Sociological Society. St. Louis, Missouri.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2006. “Mennonite Cultures of Pacifism: Resistance, Knowledge, and Use.” Association for the Sociology of Religion. Montreal, Canada.

Yoder, Kendra and Bradley Wing, 2006. “Working for Change and Engaging with Anti-Sexism: Women and Men in Anti-Violence Peer Education Programs.”  Society for the Scientific Study for Social Problems. Montreal, Canada.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2005.  “The Gender Factor and ‘The Best Interest of the Child’:  Domestic Violence and Child Custody in Missouri Policy and Practice.”  Annual Meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society. Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Yoder, Kendra L. 2005. “Exploring Religious Identities: Mennonite Conversations At and About Weddings.” Annual Meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society. Minneapolis,    Minnesota.

Yoder, Kendra and Chris Linder, 2005.  “Peer Education Programs: Effectiveness Related to        Gender and Violence Topics.”  National Women’s Studies Conference. Orlando, Florida.

Yoder, Kendra L., 2004.  “Locating Religious Identity(ies): Being Mennonite in a Global Era.” Annual Meetings of the Association for the Sociology of Religion. San Francisco, California.

Yoder, Kendra, Beth Pickens, Katie Spencer, Ann Briedenbach, and Chris Linder, 2004. “Reclaiming our Roots: Feminist Community Building in Higher Education.”  National Women’s Studies Conference. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

Research Experience

Yoder, Kendra.  2024.  Source:  Maple Scholar Fellowship, Goshen College.  Submitted to Goshen College and awarded summer fellowship to work intensively with an undergraduate Sociology major doing qualitative research with the Apache Stronghold. $1500 (awarded)

Yoder, Kendra. 2016.  Source:  Mininger Grant, Goshen College.  Funds were awarded to develop and submit two conference presentations, with the plan to develop at least one of these presentations into an article for publication.  $1000 (awarded)

Yoder, Kendra.  2016.  Source:  Maple Scholar Fellowship, Goshen College.  Submitted to Goshen College and awarded summer fellowship to work intensively with three undergraduate students to develop curriculum, evaluation, and grant proposals for bystander education at Goshen College. $1000 (awarded)

Yoder, Kendra. 2012  Source:  Indiana University Associate Faculty Development Grant  Project Title:  Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Travel & Presentation Grant

Yoder, Kendra. 2011  Source:  Indiana University Associate Faculty Development Grant.  Project Title:  Dissertation Transcription Support Award Amount:  $ 500 (awarded)

Yoder, Kendra. 2009  Source:  Indiana University Associate Faculty Development Grant  Project Title:  Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Travel & Presentation Grant  Award Amount:  $ 500 (awarded)

Baum, Margaret and Kendra Yoder. 2008.  Submitted by Broadway Christian Church.  Source:  Health Interventions in Non-Traditional Settings, Missouri Department of Health  Research Project Title:  Teen Relationship Education and Empowerment (TREE): A Faith-Based Health Initiative Against Violence.  Award Amount:  $ 50,000 (funded October, 2009)