Experience

• 2009 - Present
  Associate Professor - Leadership Development
  Department of Agricultural and Extension Education
  The Pennsylvania State University
• 2004 - 2009
  Assistant & Associate Professor - Community Development
  Department of Family, Youth, & Community Sciences
  University of Florida
• 1996 - 2000
  Senior Research Associate
  Military Family Institute
  Marywood University

Education

• Ph.D., Rural Sociology
  The Pennsylvania State University, 2003
• M.S., Rural Sociology
  The Pennsylvania State University, 1994
• B.S., Sociology
  Salisbury University, 1992

Courses Taught

• AEE 330W, Communication in Agricultural and Natural Resource Careers
• AEE 360, Leadership Development for Small Groups
• AEE 460, Foundations of Leadership Development
• AEE 465, Leadership Practices - Power, Influence, and Impact

Office

204C Ferguson Building
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: 814-863-0387
Fax: 814-863-4753
E- mail: mab187@psu.edu

Responsibilities

• 75% Teaching
• 25% Research

Research Interests

• Leadership Development and Local Capacity Building
• Community Development and Social Change
• Civic Engagement and Community Action
• Natural Resource Management
• Youth Development
• International Comparative Research

Honors/Awards

• UNESCO Fellow, National University of Ireland-Galway, 2009
• Visiting Research Fellow, National University of Ireland-Galway, 2007 & 2008
• Richard Jones Outstanding New Faculty Research Award, University of Florida, 2008
• Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiba University, Japan, 2007

• Bridger, J.C., Brennan, M.A., and Luloff, A.E. 2009. “The Interactional Approach to Community,” included in J. Robinson and G. Green (eds.), New Perspectives in Community Development. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press. (in press).

• Brennan, M.A., and Barnett, R. 2009. “Bridging Community and Youth Development: Exploring Theory, Research, and Application.” Journal of the Community Development Society. 44(4). (in press).

• Brennan, M.A., Barnett, R., and McGrath, B. 2009. “The Intersection of Youth & Community Development in Ireland and Florida: Building Stronger Communities through Youth Civic Engagement.” Journal of the Community Development Society. 44(4). (in press).

• Bolton, E., Brennan, M.A. and Terry, B. 2009. "Students Learn How Nonprofits Utilize Volunteers through Inquiry-Based Learning." International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. (in press).

• McGrath, B., Brennan, M.A., Dolan, P., and Barnett, R. 2009. “Adolescent well-being and supporting contexts: a comparison of rural adolescents in Ireland and Florida.” Journal Community and Applied Social Psychology. 19: 299-320.

• Brennan, M.A., and Dodd, A. 2009. “Exploring Citizen Involvement in the Restoration of the Florida Everglades.” Society and Natural Resources. 22(4): 324-338.

• Brennan, M.A., C. Flint, and Luloff, A.E. 2009. “Bringing Together Local Culture and Rural Development: Findings from Ireland, Pennsylvania, and Alaska.” Sociologia Ruralis. 49(1): 97-112.

• Brennan, M.A. and Israel, G. 2008. “The Power of Community: Advancing Community Theory by Understanding Community Power.” Journal of the Community Development Society. 39(2): 82-98.

• Brennan, M. A. and Brown, R. 2008. “Standing at the Crossroads: Advances, Obstacles, and Future Directions for Community Theory.” Journal of the Community Development Society. 39(2): 1-5.

• Barnett, R.V. and Brennan, M.A. 2008. “Youth Volunteers: The Effects of Influences, Motivations, and Receptivity on Volunteerism.” International Journal of Volunteer Administration. 25(1): 39-51.

• Brennan, M.A. 2008. “Conceptualizing Resiliency: An Interactional Perspective for Community and Youth Development.” Special issue of Child Care in Practice Building - Resilience in Children, Families, and Communities. 14(1): 55-64.

• Brennan, M.A., Barnett, R., and Lesmeister, M. 2007. “Enhancing Leadership, Local Capacity, and Youth Involvement in the Community Development Process: Findings from a Survey of Florida Youth.” Journal of the Community Development Society. 38(4): 13-27.

• Brennan, M.A. and Flint, C. 2007. “Uncovering the Hidden Dimensions of Rural Disaster Mitigation: Capacity Building through Community Emergency Response Teams.” Southern Rural Sociology. 22(2): 104-118.

• Flint, C. and Brennan, M.A. 2007. “Rural Communities and Disaster: Research from the US Gulf States and Beyond.” Southern Rural Sociology. 22(2): 1-4.

• Brennan, M.A., Barnett, R., and Baugh, E. 2007. “Youth Involvement in Community Development: Implications and Possibilities for Extension.” Journal of Extension 45(4): http://www.joe.org/joe/2007august/a3.shtml.

• Brennan, M.A. 2007. “Placing Volunteers at the Center of Community Development.” International Journal of Volunteer Administration. 24(4): 5-13.

• Brennan, M.A., Luloff, A.E., and Ricketts, K. D. 2007. “A Comparison of Agency at the Community Level: Findings from Rural Ireland and Pennsylvania.” International Review of Modern Sociology. 33(1): 97-116.

• Brennan, M.A. and Luloff, A.E. 2007. “Exploring Rural Community Agency Differences in Ireland and Pennsylvania.” Journal of Rural Studies 23: 52-61.

• Brennan, M.A. 2007. “The Development of Community in the West of Ireland: A Return to Killala Twenty Years On.” Community Development Journal. 42(3): 330-374.

• Barnett, R. and Brennan, M.A. 2006. “Integrating Youth into Community Development: Implications for Policy Planning and Program Evaluation.” Journal of Youth Development. 1(2): 2-16.

• Flint, C. and Brennan, M.A. 2006. “Community Emergency Response Teams: From disaster responders to community builders.” Rural Realities. 1(3): 1-9.

• Luloff, A.E., Bridger, J.C., and Brennan, M.A. 2006. “Achieving Sustainable Communities,” p. 393-416 included in R B. McKinstry, C. M. Ripp, E. Lisy (eds.), Biological Conservation Handbook: State, Local, and Private Protection of Biological Diversity. Washington, DC: Environmental Law Institute.

• Brennan, M.A., Flint, C., and Barnett, R. 2005. “Community Volunteers: The Front Line of Disaster Response.” Journal of Volunteer Administration. 23(4): 52-56.

• Brennan, M.A., Luloff, A.E., and Finley, J.C. 2005. “Building Sustainable Communities in Forested Regions.” Society and Natural Resources. 18(9): 1-11.

• Brennan, M.A. 2005. “Volunteerism and Community Development: A Comparison of Factors Shaping Volunteer Behavior in Ireland and America.” Journal of Volunteer Administration. 23(2): 20-28.

• Brennan, M.A. and Luloff, A.E. 2005. “A Cooperative Approach to Rural Development in Ireland: Cultural Artifacts and the Irish Diaspora as an Example.” Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education. 12(1): 15-25.

• Luloff, A.E., Brennan, M.A., and Bridger, J.C. 2004. “The Economic Impact of Tourism in Adams County: The Influence of Gettysburg National Military Park and the Eisenhower National Historic Site,” p. 349-355 included in Camarda et al. (eds.) Global Challenges of Parks and Protective Area Management. Carlo Delfino Publishers: Sassari, IT.