Ariel Kaufman

Areas of Specialty:

Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis Continuing & Vocational Education

Academic background:

Leadership & Engagement, Student Affairs, Public Leadership, Campus Community Partnerships, Community Engaged Learning, Program Evaluation, Participatory Action Research

Areas of interest:

Collaboration, Civic Engagement, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Public Leadership

Personal biography:

Ariel Kaufman (she/her, pronounced ah-ree-EL) is our new Assessment and Research Specialist. Ariel is transitioning into a new role as Assessment and Research Specialist with the Center for Leadership and Involvement, after serving as Leadership Development Research Coordinator since January 2022. She will be supporting our office in assessment and research initiatives. Ariel grew up in Madison with family roots in Chicago and lived in Chicago and Los Angeles. She enjoys travelling, singing, and has many fond family memories of music across the generations. She earned her Master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from UW-Madison with coursework in the former CAVE program (Continuing and Vocational Education Program). For over fifteen years at UW-Madison with student affairs, academic units, and across units, Ariel has enjoyed working collaboratively with students, staff, faculty, and community partners, especially in South Madison. In this place-based civic engagement working with community partners she sought ways to develop community engaged learning and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She sees assessment, evaluation, and research as ways learn and improve our efforts. She has made many UW-Madison connections and is looking forward to making many more. Ask her about the International Leadership Association, as she has been active for over a decade, served as chair of the Public Leadership member interest group, organized sessions and presented at conferences in Atlanta, Georgia, Barcelona, SPAIN, Brussels, BELGIUM, and more.

Favorite quotes:

No single person, group, or individual is “in charge” of the problem, yet many organizations are affected or have partial responsibility to act. In effect, they have a share of the power that is required for remedying the problem. (p. 7, Barbara C. Crosby & John M. Bryson (2005). Leadership for the Common Good: Tackling Public Problems in a Shared-Power World, 2nd Edition)

What every student should know about the UW-Madison campus?

There are so many opportunities for learning and engagement off campus in community with UW Madison partners. Seek out campus partners who have sustained campus community partnerships to learn what about their efforts and explore how you might contribute. Many schools, departments, campus units, faculty, staff and student leaders are active in the Wisconsin Idea, be open to discovery.