Inclusive pedagogical practices are student-centered but often bounded by on-campus experiences. This presentation will focus on two programs based at College of Staten Island (CSI). The first program will spotlight CSI St. George – an extension of CSI and the establishment of a grant-funded intentional learning community focused on “Public Interest Technology”(PIT). The second program will spotlight CSI’s recent designation as an HSI. College of Staten Island/CUNY (CSI) and La Colmena, a community-based organization created a mutually reinforcing partnership. The College and Career Pipeline for Immigrant Families is a supportive pathway to CSI’s continuing education and degree-bearing programs for La Colmena’s members; improving individual and family potential for economic vitality. We will discuss the role that “place” plays in transformative practices at CUNY. We want to know how critical practice in community engagement disrupts dominant narratives that often equate “social mobility” with deficit models, and academic success with assimilation.