Meet Jenn and Dave Ciplet whose mutual interests in education and community engagement, as it seems, are the ties that bind them. Both Jenn and Dave work at CU Boulder and share an affiliation to CU Engage, housed in the School of Education. Jenn is the Director of Communications and International Partnerships for CU Engage and Dave is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, as well as a CU Engage Faculty Fellow in Community-Based Learning.
Jenn and Dave met in graduate school at the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, Vt. and both received their degrees there. Their passion for social justice work and their “smokin' dance moves” brought them together quickly and just over a year after meeting, they were married. After graduation they moved to the Bay Area, working in San Francisco and Berkeley directing non-profit programs. In 2009 their first daughter, Eliza, was born and on that same day they received Dave’s acceptance letter to Brown University’s doctoral program in Sociology. For the next six years they lived and worked in Providence, R.I while Dave finished his PhD with a focus on environmental justice and climate change, and Jenn did fundraising and interpreting work and taught classes at Providence College. Also during that time, Jenn and Dave had twins, Marlon and Cora. And just two years ago the whole Ciplet clan moved to Colorado to begin their current adventure at CU Boulder.
What do you love about education?
Dave has a strong background in Education, even though he is a Sociologist and now works in Environmental Studies. Dave received his BA degree in Education from Connecticut College and taught middle school for several years before pursuing his MA degree in Service, Leadership and Management at SIT. Jenn’s expertise in Education comes from designing and leading cross-cultural experiential education programs across Latin America with the Center for Global Education, Witness for Peace, Amazon Watch, and the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. Jenn has designed and led experiential education programs focused on social justice in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico and Ecuador. Jenn also taught courses at Providence College in the Global Studies program, including “Global Activism” and “Youth Development Across Borders.” She also holds another position working with Bill Penuel as Manager of Communications for the School of Education’s Research + Practice Collaboratory.
We both love the focus that education puts on pedagogy - not just focusing on “what” is important to learn, but also “how” to make learning interesting and personally impactful. Education is about human connection, developing empathy alongside critical thinking skills, and using our privilege of having access to higher education to make the world a better place.
How does your work in education impact your relationship?
It’s wonderful to have a partner with whom you share work and values. Our work and home lives are very fluid, and this works well for our family. One minute we might be talking about a challenge that Dave is facing in how to teach a certain concept in one of his classes, or I will be asking for Dave’s feedback on a CU Engage flyer I’m designing. Then two minutes later we’ll be checking in about who is supposed to pick up the kids tonight, or who is driving gymnastics carpool this week, or whether or not we have any clean socks for tomorrow!
What are your dinner table conversations like?
We have three kids, all of whom have birthdays this month! Marlon and Cora are turning 6, and Eliza turns 8. Dinner table conversations usually include the kids. We talk about what our “roses and thorns” were for that day. Each of us shares with each other the highs and the lows. When we want to have a dinner conversation that doesn’t include telling anyone to eat their vegetables or to put their bottom back in their seat, we hire a babysitter and go on a date. Any School of Education students looking for babysitting gigs: please contact us! :)
