Saint Anselm College takes collaboration to a whole new level.
If someone had told Meg Query ’24 that, a couple of years after graduating from high school, she would produce the evening newscast at the TV station she grew up watching, she would have been surprised. Now a year and a half into her job as a producer at WMUR-TV, she looks back at a natural progression starting with her experience as a New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) student ambassador and receiving the John DiStaso Political Fellowship. The fellowship placed her alongside the news team covering New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. A senior year fellowship and internship paved the way for her full-time job after graduation.
Query’s story is just one example of the ways Saint Anselm College creates meaningful connections between students and the community. The college’s official collaboration with the ABC affiliate began in late 2025, built upon a relationship that has given many students a front-row seat in the fast-paced world of journalism. Zach Smith ’22 had previously moved from an internship to an associate producer spot, and Query is a newsroom mentor for Saint Anselm intern Lauren Blois ’26. This WMUR-Saint Anselm College collaboration is growing deeper with the aid of a new initiative at Saint Anselm College: the Office of Partnerships.
MAPPING THE PARTNERSHIP ECOSYSTEM
Partnerships are not new for Saint Anselm College. For years, the college has collaborated with nonprofits, schools, businesses, health centers, and more—so when Max Latona, Ph.D., became the first executive director of the Office of Partnerships (OP) in 2024, one of his first steps was to look at existing partnerships.
“There were close to 1,000, some of them very small— as small as one person working with one person from one office,” the philosophy professor says. Others had a broad scope, with collaborations that spanned several offices, outside entities, and students. Even with 25 years at the college, Latona was surprised by what he found.
This inventory was the first step in examining what he calls “the partnership ecosystem” of the college. The idea developed in 2023 when President Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D. convened an ad hoc committee to look at ways of coordinating and enhancing partnerships. The aim, Latona says, was not making a longer list. It was about making partnerships deeper, more transformative, and more sustainable— for the benefit of the college, students, and community.
It was an ambitious goal; the group believed strongly that the college should have an impact on critical issues, from bioethics to housing access and affordability. That impact will extend throughout New Hampshire, regionally, and nationally. In the college’s favor, according to Latona, is a sense of credibility that has been developed as a resource in the community: “Our students are thoughtful and have a good reputation, so people are receptive and excited to collaborate with us,” he says. Three of the college’s most significant collaborations are centered at WMUR, the Moore Center, and the strategic communications firm Montagne Powers.
MOORE TOGETHER THAN EVER
Twenty years ago, Jennifer (Sylvester) Meyer ’04 needed a part-time job to fit her graduate school schedule. Through the college’s Center for Volunteers (now known as the Meelia Center for Community Engagement), she had worked with young adults with intellectual disabilities, and was looking for a role that would reconnect her with that population.
The Moore Center checked all the boxes. The center, a regional leader with a 70-year history of serving people with intellectual disabilities and acquired brain disorders, is right around the corner from the Hilltop. “Through my volunteer work, I realized this was a population I connected with, so it was no surprise that I quickly found a home there. Saint Anselm has a way of connecting people with their passions,” Meyer says. “My experience at Saint Anselm was extraordinary and launched my career at the Moore Center.” Starting in direct care and now serving as vice president of services, Meyer has continued to look for ways to bring these two communities together.
Meyer worked with Dan Forbes ’81, the now retired director of what was then the Volunteer Center, to host the Valentine’s Day dance in the basement of Joan of Arc Hall. “We’ve come a long way from my freshman year,” she laughs.
The college’s relationship with the Moore Center continues to grow. Last year, the Office of Partnerships established MooreTOGETHER, adding resources and campus-wide connections. The OP and the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences launched the Moore Center Fellows Program, in which individuals served by the center join Saint Anselm students in college life through social and educational activities.
It also connects the center with the OP’s Initiative for Housing Policy and Practice, seeking to identify and eliminate unique barriers faced by this population. Students from nursing and other majors teach classes on campus to the Fellows under the supervision of faculty, thereby gaining understanding of a population they will likely serve.
Meyer is excited about the expanding collaborations, saying, “Partnering with the OP infuses energy into our days at the college, shows us the true meaning of Benedictine values, and joins us in advancing the mission of the Moore Center to create opportunities for a good life for all. I can’t wait to see where this partnership goes next.”
FROM THE HILLTOP TO THE COMMUNITY
Ever since its founding in 2006, the Manchester strategic communications firm Montagne Powers has maintained a strong relationship with Saint Anselm College, particularly the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP). That bond became even stronger last year with the start of a formal internship program supported by the Office of Partnerships. The Montagne Powers-Saint Anselm Internship is open to rising juniors and seniors, with a focus on communication and politics majors.
Partner E.J. Powers ’05 says his own career journey began in a political advertising seminar at the institute, where he identified an internship opportunity that placed him at the intersection of politics, business, and government. He wants current students to have the same kinds of opportunities. Politics major Beau Manzi ’27 and communication major Sydney Mazur ’26 are among the most recent students to benefit from the program. In their spring 2026 internships, they were immersed in projects spanning public relations, corporate communications, digital and social media, public affairs, and marketing.
“Montagne Powers’ internship program is exclusive to Saint Anselm students, and that is thanks to the Office of Partnerships,” says Mazur. “Without the Office of Partnerships, I wouldn’t have known about this position. Not only does my internship help me gain work experience and build connections, it has helped so much when I think about what I want to do after graduating. There’s such a big difference between picking a major and picking a job.”
In Manzi’s view, one of the great things about Montagne Powers is that one of the partners is a Saint Anselm alum. “They trusted in our capabilities and tasked us with hands-on projects from Day One,” he says.
Powers, who is a member of the OP’s advisory committee, believes such partnerships are a smart investment on the part of the college. They are mutually beneficial for students and businesses, and help drive enrollment. The college is “assembling all the right players,” he says.
On campus, the right players include Elissa Margolin, director of the OP’s Center for Housing Policy and Practice; Nicole Lora ’06, executive director of the Meelia Center for Community Engagement; and Lauren Burrows, director of the Career Development Center. Beyond the Hilltop, they include Mike Skelton ’04, president and CEO of the NH Business and Industry Association; Jennifer Chmiel, superintendent of Manchester schools; Sarah Marchant, COO of the NH Community Loan Fund; and Dean Christon ’78, retired executive director of New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and chair of the Partnerships advisory board.
The breadth of the OP’s undertaking is eye-opening, says Powers. One farreaching effort is the Anselmian Career Edge (ACE) Certificate Program. The OP is collaborating with external organizations to develop more than a dozen employment-oriented certificates that will be offered to students and the community in areas such as media journalism, campaign management, biomanufacturing, excellence in banking, human resource management, and AI for business leaders.
AN EYE TO THE FUTURE
Lauren Burrows, director of the college’s Career Development Center and a member of the Partnerships Advisory Board, says that her relationships with external organizations benefit from having a more formalized basis. “The Center’s network has expanded, and we’re better informed about employment-related trends across all industries and platforms,” she says.
“This knowledge helps students take their Saint Anselm experience and make informed decisions about what to do next. The college views this not as a want, but a need. Having the OP as a landing place puts everyone in a better position.”
The Moore Center’s Jen Meyers agrees: “The OP brings stability and authority to collaborations that have been happening for years.” While still new, the Office of Partnerships is working on many fronts and having a far-reaching impact—from Moore Center “lunch buddies” to connecting SAC bioethics expertise with the growing biofabrication industry. It also ensures a sweeping landscape of partnerships to come, all in keeping with the college’s focus on community service and engagement.
For more information on the Office of Partnerships, visit www.anselm.edu/ partnerships.
MOVING THE NEEDLE ON HOUSING ACCESS
One of today’s most pressing challenges is the severe housing crisis marked by a shortage of affordable homes and skyrocketing rent and property prices. Saint Anselm College recognizes this as a social and economic justice issue.
“Something as essential as a home shouldn’t be hard to access,” says Elissa Margolin, director of the Office of Partnership’s Initiative for Housing Policy and Practice. The initiative partners with many of the state’s leading housing practitioners, including New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and the NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs on projects such as the New Hampshire Zoning Atlas Project. The interactive atlas allows users to search zoning regulations in every region of the state.
When it comes to housing solutions, the NH Zoning Atlas has been called a game-changer. “We’ve expanded the research to become one of the most useful datasets in the state,” Margolin says. “From childcare access research to public water-sewer mapping, the NH Zoning Atlas team ensures that our projects are, above all, useful. Our research and programming build on Dr. Latona’s focus on solutions that actually move the needle on housing supply and affordability. The OP ensures that this kind of research won’t just sit on a shelf.”
—L.D.M.
We’ve expanded the research to become one of the most useful datasets in the state.