COVA February Member Meeting
Join your fellow COVA members for an in-person discussion about the benefits and struggles of engaging and partnering with college students as volunteers. There will be a panel of speakers from different universities and colleges around the metro Atlanta area to discuss and answer questions about student volunteering and internships.
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Time: 9-10:30 am
Location: Agnes Scott College, Alston Campus Center, 141 E College Ave., Decatur 30032
Meet the Panelists:
JP Peters
JP Peters serves as the Assistant Director for Student Outreach and Service at Georgia Gwinnett College, where he leads campus-wide efforts focused on civic engagement, community partnerships, and student leadership development. His work includes oversight of the college’s volunteer management system and service-based student organizations, with a focus on connecting students to meaningful, real-world experiences that build leadership and community impact.
Madeline Oliff
Madeline Oliff serves as the Program and Operations Manager supporting Community-Based Learning at Georgia Tech. In her role, she supports building long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships between nonprofit organizations, faculty members, and students. She leads the Community Innovation Program, which provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in real-world, project-based learning supporting non-profit organizations throughout Atlanta. Her commitment to community-based learning stems from her serving as a non-profit professional prior to joining Georgia Tech.
Jilo Tisdale
Jilo Tisdale is a graduate of Northwestern University where she received her undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and African American Studies. She served as a Teach for America corps member in New Orleans, Louisiana before completing her master’s degree in Education at the University of Michigan. Jilo served as a classroom teacher, assistant principal and adjunct professor before transitioning into the non-profit sector. In 2006 she was selected to serve as the Education Program Officer for the Mechanicsville Community Learning Collaborative funded by the Annenberg Foundation. In this role she established strategic partnerships that led to the construction of a comprehensive early learning center at Dunbar Elementary School. In 2008 Jilo joined the Education area at United Way of Greater Atlanta where she served as the Senior Director of Youth Programs until transitioning to Spelman College in 2013. As Director of the Bonner Office of Civic Engagement, Jilo leads a dynamic team whose hard work ensures that Spelman students have access to opportunities ranging from introductory service experiences to multi-year community-based internships. Jilo also works with Spelman faculty members on Service Learning and Community Engaged Research to extend student learning beyond the classroom. Jilo is the mother of three and when she isn’t working, she enjoys listening to podcasts, tasting new deserts, and reading on the beach.
