Greg Carpinello moving to Portland for new position at JVC Northwest
By Noelle Ullery | Staff Writer
Greg Carpinello, director of the Center for Faith and Justice (CFJ), announced that he will leave Xavier on Dec. 2 to fulfill his new role as Executive Director for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest in Portland, Ore.
While Carpinello is looking forward to the new challenge ahead of him, he will miss the interactions with students and his team at the CFJ. He described the CFJ as a place that has helped him grow professionally and personally. He said his role has also helped him become more passionate about Xavier students and the campus.
“I feel a stirring to find a new challenge and a place to continue to grow as a person,” Carpinello said. “I wanted to help an organization that is trying to do good in the world, and I found this with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.”
The Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest is a non-profit organization based in Portland. Its volunteers are distributed throughout the northwest, including Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
The organization has a 20-person team, and it places approximately 150 recent college graduates in living communities and social service agency jobs for a one-year immersion.
“Countless Xavier students have done this over the last 20-30 years, and I’ve always admired the work they do,” Carpinello said.
In the new role, Carpinello will have some leadership and will be allowed to make decisions at all levels of the organization.
The basis of the work is similar to his current job.
“The core is leadership at the intersection of faith and justice under the umbrella of the Jesuit world,” he said.
Carpinello attended Xavier as an undergraduate, and after he graduated in 2001, led retreats for local high schools at the Jesuit Spiritual Center in Milford, Ohio. After one year, he came back to Xavier where he helped coordinate retreats for the CFJ, including GetAway, Approach and Encounter.
He was in this role for four years until he left for graduate school at Boston College. In 2010, he and his wife decided to move back to Cincinnati, his hometown, where he has been director of the CFJ for eight years.
Carpinello also explained how the CFJ has changed and affected him throughout the past eight years.
“When I got to talk about leading organization, it was intriguing and exciting,” Carpinello said. “There is tons of excitement, but it is also bittersweet because I’m sad to leave Xavier.”
Compared to 10-15 years ago, the CFJ is serving a different mix of students in reference to religion, gender and sexual orientation, Carpinello explains.
Student worker Alysia Wilson said the CFJ is an open, welcoming environment that strives for interfaith and social justice work. It also provides a safe space for people to grow in their faith.
According to Carpinello, the CFJ is also a place which allows students to understand their vocation and sense of purpose. The use of talents, passions and interests can mesh with what the world needs in order to bring some good.
Because he is constantly working with students to find their calling, it is inevitable that staff members experience discernment too.
“The real investment of diversity and inclusion work out of our office is important, and I’m eager to see where it all goes after I leave,” Carpinello said. “I’m proud of where the CFJ is headed.”
Dave Johnson, Associate Provost and Chief Student Affairs Officer at Xavier, will be working on a transition plan after Carpinello’s departure. Johnson will also partake in the process of finding a permanent director.