Todd Henneman
Todd Henneman, assistant director of the Center for Women and Men, cares about the well-being of students. Shortly after he started working at USC in 2005, he helped start Men CARE, a peer-education and leadership-development program focused on preventing sexual harassment and sexual assault. The program trains male students to be peer educators and to speak to men’s groups across campus about preventing sexual violence.
“I really wanted to work with college students,” says Henneman, who left a career in diversity and managerial training at a consulting firm to join the Center for Women and Men. “I like the idea of playing part in helping people figure out who they are and I enjoy being in an environment where I’m constantly learning.”
In addition to training peer educators, Henneman also recruits, does marketing and fundraising, and organizes special events, lectures and workshops for the center. He speaks at a number of colleges about Men CARE.
“Most colleges don’t have a program like ours, so they look to us to see what works and what some of our challenges are,” Henneman says. “The Santa Monica Treatment Center asked us to do a presentation for other colleges and we were honored. It was a good experience for the students.”
Henneman has run into a few challenges, such as the constant turnover of peer educators as students graduate. Since the majority of the peer educators are seniors, Henneman constantly faces the task of recruiting and retaining more students. “We outreach to all of the student body but it’s a selective process, so the pool starts out big but becomes small,” explains Henneman, who hopes to bring in at least 20 students next year.
Henneman’s colleagues speak very highly of his dedication and hard work at the center. “He is genuinely passionate about his work and consistently exceeds expectations,” says Danielle Lancon, director of the Center for Women and Men. “Todd provided consistency and structure to our office last year during staff transitions and is able to anticipate and fill needs through his knowledge and ability to effectively collaborate with others.”
In the near future, Henneman hopes to establish a weekend retreat for the peer educators, bring in inspirational speakers and researchers to talk to students, and expand Men CARE to incorporate information about stalking. Very active on campus, Henneman serves on the Graduate Student Experience committee for Student Affairs and the leadership team for an 11-campus consortium established by the Rossier School of Education. He is also a member of the American College Personnel Association and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
In his spare time, Henneman enjoys spending time with his dogs Bailey and Daisy, going to the theater, and working on home improvement projects.