Meet Our Team

Email: mrmanley@umich.edu

As OCEL's Outreach and Engagement Manager, Ms. Manley oversees the office’s day-to-day operations and programming. This includes implementation of the strategic plan, collaborating with campus and community partners, and general supervision of office staff. In addition, she is responsible for incorporating restorative practices within the office’s policies and procedures while also providing training, when necessary, in accordance with industry best practices.

A graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Ms. Manley completed a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science prior to graduating with a Master of Public Policy with a focus in Justice Reform in 2018. During her time as an undergraduate, Ms. Manley was recognized as a Campus Difference Maker. Prior to her role as Assistant Director, Ms. Manley worked as a Program Coordinator at OMI [OCEL], having first joined the office in 2011 as a VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America), serving for two years in that role. As one of four authors that resulted in successfully earning the campus Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2015, she truly has helped develop OCEL into what it is today.

Ms. Manley was elected to the board of the Youth Justice Fund in 2020. She is very active in her community with a variety of safety initiatives, the local block club, and community center. One of her passions is advancing Restorative Practices throughout the region- a passion in both her personal and professional life.

Email: muzzinel@umich.edu

Elspeth joined us in August 2022 and supports the programmatic and administrative needs of OCEL. Ms. Muzzin currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Relations and Policy with a focus on Peace and Justice Studies. She also received her macro Master of Social Work degree from Wayne State University.

Currently pursuing licensure, Ms. Muzzin will eventually expand OCEL’s capacity to host and supervise social work students, building on the office’s field placement partnerships with many universities.

Racial justice and dialogue are some of Ms. Muzzin’s biggest passions. University of Michigan’s Summer Youth Dialogues and the International Baccalaureate Dialogues on Diversity were particularly formative for her. She has been a volunteer facilitator for Bridge Builders anti-racism camp in New Era, Michigan since 2019. Ms. Muzzin was a student participant in the program herself in 2013 and is eager to help the program grow and evolve.

As a proud third-generation Detroiter, you’ll find Ms. Muzzin at Eastern Market, Pure Barre, or Dyno Detroit. When she is not at the office, Ms. Muzzin loves to cook, read, and care for her numerous plants at home. Ms. Muzzin is excited to incorporate her deep beliefs in grassroots, abundance, and strengths-based mindsets into the amazing work that OCEL does.

Breanna Rivera-Kloeppel is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and serves as a social work intern for the Office of Community-Engaged Learning. She is a part of the Community Based Initiative Detroit cohort in the School of Social Work that specializes in training students for community and social change work in urban settings. 

Breanna completed her Bachelor's of Science degree in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. In her time there, she was selected as a TRIO Scholar and published a journal article on compassion fatigue in mental health professionals. Ms. Rivera-Kloeppel has also worked on a research team analyzing the outcomes of mentorship between adults and students with autism. After her studies, Breanna spent a year in Chicago volunteering for different organizations to stay connected with her community while preparing to attend Graduate School.

In her free time, Breanna loves playing volleyball and staying active. Last year she completed her goal of hiking in five different states! She loves to travel and explore new places with her friends and family. Outside of being active, Breanna loves to go thrifting, attend community events, and dabble in interior decorating. Ms. Rivera-Kloeppel is empowered by strong community voices and is deeply passionate about relationships and power dynamics between community and governing bodies. She is building her professional foundation on the belief that people are the experts of their own experiences and by transparently communicating with one another, we can create an environment where everyone can thrive. 

Praneeth Kruthiventi is currently pursuing his MS in Business Analytics with a Finance Concentration and operates as a Research Data Assistant for the Office of Community-Engaged Learning. He also received his Master of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering with Specialization in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning from Vellore Institute of Technology. After finishing his undergraduate studies in Computer Science at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Mr. Kruthiventi spent two years as a Software Development Engineer with Amazon, Bangalore, India.

As OCEL’s Research Data Assistant, Mr. Kruthiventi assists the team to fulfill their mission by setting up and managing database systems with Collaboratory, a database software that is built to assist institutions align university’s efforts to address key community priorities. This includes collecting engagement data across campus and community, setting up efficient data pipelines to store the collected data on Collaboratory, and discovering interesting patterns in the data. In addition, he is responsible for maintaining health of the data systems in line with industry standards.

In his free time, you’ll find Mr. Kruthiventi reading books, photographing people and places, and nerd-talking about screenwriting, movies, and art. On most weekends he’s cooking pasta and analyzing F1 races. He loves travelling, and he collects maps and ticket stubs from the places he visits.