Shelby Carpenter, Former Program Coordinator

Shelby Carpenter served as Program Coordinator from July of 2019 to September 2022. As Program Coordinator, she was charged with organizing and implementing high-level programming and outreach efforts to connect and integrate the University Chaplaincy with all segments of the university and with external partners.

Her undertakings included overseeing the Conversation, Action, Faith, and Education (CAFE) Pre-Orientation program, which involves implementing the programmatic vision. She worked closely with the Tufts Interfaith Student Council and supports important initiatives around dialogue, activism, and values. She also developed and managed departmental outreach, communications, and marketing strategies for the University Chaplaincy to ensure high visibility and engagement across the university and beyond.

Shelby obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a focus on transatlantic slavery in colonial New England from Tufts University in February 2020. She joined the University Chaplaincy team as a student as the Chapel Sexton in 2013, co-founded the CAFE Pre-Orientation Program as the first student coordinator in 2015, and then continued to support the department’s work as the Program and Outreach Student Assistant in 2018. 

In 2012, Shelby entered Tufts University as an undergraduate student but diverged from the four year degree program in 2016 for personal and professional reasons. From 2012 to 2019, she attended classes at both Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts Boston, while maintaining employment at the Tufts University Chaplaincy and working as a full time Legal Assistant securing disability compensation for veterans from 2016 to 2018. 

Outside of the classroom and office, Shelby dedicated her time to engaging with the Greater Boston community. Since 2016, she has attended adult ballet classes at Jose Mateo’s Ballet Company in Harvard Square, acted as an Assistant Educator at the Royall House & Slave Quarters in Medford, MA, and volunteered on political campaigns for Massachusetts, progressive politicians.