Highlight on Faculty

Program Chair

Robert Kargon, PhD, is the Willis K. Shepard Professor of The History of Science at Johns Hopkins, and Chair of the Master of Arts in Communication in Contemporary Society program. Trained in physics at Duke and Yale, and in history at Cornell, Dr. Kargon is especially interested in the complex role of science in modern societies, in the evolution of method in physical science, in scientific institutions as mediators between society and discipline, and in applying digital technologies to learning.

His books include The Rise of Robert Millikan: Portrait of a Life in American Science (1982); Science in Victorian Manchester: Enterprise and Expertise (1977); Atomism in England from Hariot to Newton (1966); Kelvin's Baltimore Lectures and Modern Theoretical Physics (ed. with Peter Achinstein, 1987); and The Maturing of American Science (ed., 1974).

Dr. Kargon is helping to develop new ways of involving the public in scientific and technical questions. Toward that end, he currently consults to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Additionally, he has taught seminars for public administrators, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He also organized a NATO workshop on science and development, lectured on historical perspectives on policy issues, served on the Scientific Council of the Maryland Science Center, and was a Director of the Baltimore Public Works Museum, where a special concern is outreach to the public.

Associate Program Chairs

Erika Falk, PhD, is the Associate Program Chair for the Master’s Degree in Communication. She earned her doctorate in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Master's degree in Speech Communication from San Diego State University and a Bachelor's degree in Politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, Falk served as Research Director of the Washington office of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. While there she supervised several research grants and wrote reports on diverse communication issues, ranging from issue advertising to women in executive management of communication companies to communication strategies for early-childhood-development advocates. She also worked on the data analysis team of the National Annenberg Election Survey. Her reports have been widely cited by the national press and on the floors of Congress.

She has published several articles on women and the American presidency. She is also the author of Women for President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns, a book about how the media cover women candidates. Falk has also published on the history of rhetoric, the effects of sexist language, and civility in the House of Representatives.

Falk began her career as a public radio reporter and anchor. Additionally, she has taught university courses in political communication, persuasion, public speaking, business communication, and overcoming communication apprehension. Besides serving as the CCS Associate Chair, she teaches Thesis, Media Theory, Persuasion Theory and Research, and Research and Writing Methods.

Faculty Members

Deborah Beck, MA, is the President of Beck Research, a research and strategic consulting firm. Beck works on domestic and corporate projects, providing strategic advice to political campaigns, issue campaigns, and corporations. Prior to heading her own firm, Beck was a Senior Associate at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. Her political clients included Governor Edward Rendell (PA), Senator Christopher Dodd (CT), and Senator Joseph Lieberman (CT) as well as assisting the DCCC on targeted races. Beck also has extensive corporate research experience, working to develop the strategic positioning for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. She was the lead analyst for Communities for Quality Education, a national education advocacy organization. Before joining Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, Beck served as a Senior Analyst at Decision Research and as Deputy Research Director at Squier Knapp Ochs, a media and advertising firm, where she contributed to various campaigns including Clinton-Gore '96 and the Democratic National Committee. Beck received a graduate degree from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and her bachelor's degree from Vassar College. She teaches Research and Writing Methods and Polling for Strategic Communication.
John Bell is the Managing Director/Executive Creative Director of 360° Digital Influence at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. He heads up the global 360° Digital Influence team - Ogilvy PR's latest interactive discipline designed to manage brands in an era when anyone can be an influencer and we are all influenced in new ways. He has developed strategy and executed award-winning programs for clients including Lenovo, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and the National Institutes of Health. Prior to coming to Ogilvy John formed Media Circus Interactive Advertising in New York and worked at Discovery Channel where he was brought in to transform a single Web site into a network of 14 Web properties known as Discovery.com. He designed and built online experiences for TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Kids, Discovery Health, Travel Channel not to mention a host of digital TV network sites and global sites. Bell teaches Public Relations in the Age of Digital Influence.
Rick Borchelt is communications director for the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University. He has had a varied career in science communications, including stints as media relations director for the National Academy of Sciences; press secretary for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology; special assistant for public affairs in the Executive Office of The President during the Clinton Administration; director of communications for the Department of Energy's Office of Science; and director of communications and public affairs at The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. He also spent a year abroad in Nairobi as executive speechwriter to the U.N. Undersecretary General/Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Borchelt consults regularly for professional organizations and research agencies on issues of scientific trust and public relations strategy. Recent clients have included the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., NSF, and NASA. He is an award-winning (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education; Society for Government Communication) writer who has served as president of the D.C. Science Writers Association and as a Board member of the National Association of Science Writers. He received the National Association of Science Writers' Distinguished Service Award in 2001. He teaches the course Editorial and Op-Ed Writing.
Dina Borzekowski, EdD, is an internationally recognized expert in the area of children, media, and health. In August 2001, Borzekowski joined the faculty of the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her graduate work in Developmental Psychology at Harvard University, and did post-doctoral work in Health Communication at Stanford University. Borzekowski's research involves studying how youth come to use media and how media has an impact on children and adolescents. She has examined the influence of televised food messages on preschool children, the impact of smoking advertisements and promotions on adolescents, the perception of anti-violence messages on TV, and the relationship between media use and weight among elementary and high school youth. Recently, Borzekowski has studied adolescents' use of the Internet, especially as a source for health information. She has also had hands-on training in television production; she has worked on several shows including Sesame Street, Degrassi Junior High, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? and Zoom. Borzekowski teaches Children, Media, and Health.
Rod Carveth currently teaches journalism and media studies at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. A co-author of the book, Media Economics: Theory and Practice, Rod has taught courses in media, marketing communication and organizational communication for over 25 years. He has also worked in television promotions, directed the Institute for Communication Research at Texas Tech, and consulted for several organizations, such as Aetna. Rod received his B.A. in Sociology from Yale University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He will be teaching Organizational Communication.
Dionne Clemons, MPA, has taught public relations at Howard University’s School of Communication since 2004. Clemons is also a doctoral candidate completing her dissertation research on the role of public relations within public sector environments. She has a Master of Public Administration from the American University and a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications from Morgan State University. Prior to teaching, Clemons served in and has consulted for federal and local governments as a public affairs professional for over a decade. Her employers included Alton Marketing Group, the City of Falls Church, Government of the District of Columbia’s, and Booz Allen Hamilton. Clemons teaches Public Relations Writing.
Katie Conover is a Vice President for Media Relations at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. As one of Ogilvy's chief media strategists, she has broad experience in pharmaceutical, corporate, and non-profit media relations. Her work involves the development of media outreach strategies and tactics for drug launches, social marketing campaigns, as well as crisis media work for high profile corporate clients. She brings with her a keen insight into the crafting of messages and story angles for media appeal, having spent more than 15 years producing television at the FOX News Channel, CNN, and C-SPAN. Her credits include serving as the senior booker at the FOX Washington Bureau where she oversaw all daytime Congressional guest coverage and played an integral role in determining programming. Prior to Fox, she worked as a senior producer on CNN's "Capital Gang," "Late Edition," and "Crossfire;" the highest rated public affairs shows on cable at the time. She began her career at C-SPAN where she worked to create "The Washington Journal," C-SPAN's signature public affairs morning show. Katie also offers comprehensive media-training experience, having coached a wide range of spokespeople, including scientists at major pharmaceutical companies, corporate CEO's, award winning athletes, and publishing industry executives. She teaches Media Relations.
Dona Coultice-Christian, MA, has extensive experience in federal government communication. She retired after a 29 year career that spanned enforcement, benefits-granting and senior management. Upon retirement, she was the Director of the California Service Center, the INS's largest adjudicative site with a combined public sector/contractor workforce of 1,000. She spent 5 years as the Associate Regional Director for Legalization and was significantly involved in establishing stakeholder advisory groups, delivering media presentations, speaking at public forums and preparing external and internal messages and documents. She has a BA in Communication Theory and an MA in Organizational Management. She teaches Managerial Communication.
Steve Daley is a Senior Vice President at Porter Novelli. He joined Porter Novelli in June 1996 after 16 years as a correspondent and columnist for The Chicago Tribune, both in Chicago and in Washington, D.C. He directs PN Washington's media relations practice, providing strategic counsel in support of the firm's Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Health and Social Marketing, and Food and Nutrition groups. Daley does media training, message development, issues management, op-ed development and speechwriting for private sector clients including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Wyeth, Perdue Farms, Glaxo Smith Kline, the Propane Education & Research Council, and the Almond Board of California. In the nonprofit sector, he has worked with the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer's Association, PBS, the American Legacy Foundation (anti-tobacco), the Mississippi and Maryland anti-tobacco campaigns, Independent Sector, the Council on Foundations, the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, and Catholic Charities USA. On a pro bono basis, he worked with the law firm representing the family of Chandra Levy. Before joining PN, Daley spent eight years in the Tribune's Washington bureau as national political correspondent and as the paper's chief congressional correspondent. Between 1990 and 1995, he wrote a Sunday column on national politics, and was the paper's lead political reporter in the 1992 presidential campaign and during off-year election campaigns in 1989, 1990 and 1994. Daley joined the Tribune in 1981 to write In the Wake of the News, the longest-running sports column in American newspapers. He spent three years co-hosting a nationally syndicated, twice-weekly radio show, "The Sportswriters," on WGN Radio. In 1984, he moved to a post as television critic and media columnist, reviewing network programming and writing three times a week on trends in newsgathering. Before joining the Tribune, Daley wrote for The Washington Star as "The Fearless Spectator," and later for the Peninsula Times Tribune in Palo Alto, CA. where he won an Associated Press national column-writing award. He has written for the Washington Post, the American Journalism Review, Washingtonian magazine, the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Inside Sports, among other publications. As a member of the Tribune's Washington bureau, Daley was a frequent guest on C-Span, CNN, CNBC and National Public Radio. He teaches Editorial and Opinion Writing.
Esta de Fossard, MA, MEd, is employed at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs as a Senior Advisor in Entertainment- Education (E-E). She also teaches E-E at Johns Hopkins Baltimore campus. She has more than 20 years experience in E-E programming in the developing world, having worked in more than 50 countries. She is widely experienced in radio and television writing and production, and has been a consultant to Discovery Channel, NPR, Barney programs. She is the author of more than 50 published books, including training manuals for E-E; school and college text books in Literature, Writing and Grammar; and children's books. She is a prize winner in the Australian Children's Book Awards. De Fossard teaches Behavior Change and Education through Entertainment.
Margo Edmunds, PhD, is a health policy analyst and researcher who specializes in using strategic communications and information technology to reach policy goals. She has taught health policy and health communications at Johns Hopkins University since 1999 and co-developed an online course on risk communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness. Currently a Vice President with The Lewin Group, Edmunds provides strategic management counsel for projects involving communications research and technology adoption. She has directed projects involving multimedia and multicultural campaigns and has held senior positions at the Institute of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, and Children's Defense Fund. Edmunds is the lead author of two books published by the National Academy Press and has published journal articles, book chapters, commentary, and media backgrounders. She received a multidisciplinary doctoral degree from Penn State and completed post-doctoral work at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health. Edmunds teaches Emergency and Risk Communication.
Jill Egeth, PhD, is a Lead Behavioral Scientist with the MITRE Corporation, within the Social, Behavioral, and Linguistic Sciences department. Her current research interests include: activism and radicalization of groups, the use of content analysis to detect latent verbal expressions of intentions to engage in violent activities, and understanding the nations' pandemic influenza health cognitions and the impact of these cognitions on emergency preparedness and response activities. Prior to joining MITRE, Dr. Egeth worked at a non-profit organization where she was responsible for issues related to science policy and advocacy. Jill received her doctorate in Health and Social Psychology from Rutgers University. She teaches both Persuasion Theory and Health Psychology and Behavior Change in the Communication in Contemporary Society program and Political Psychology in the Government program.
Shayna Englin, MPP, runs a communications consulting firm providing integrated communications and campaign services to nonprofit and political clients. Prior to opening her firm, Shayna was the Program and Political Director and the Women's Campaign Forum, Practice Manager at a leading interactive agency, and in management roles in many Democratic campaigns. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She teaches Communication.org: Not-for-Profits in the Digital Age and Grassroots Political Communication.
Mark Fratrik, PhD, is vice president of BIA Financial Network (BIAfn), where he conducts industry studies on the broadcasting- and related industries, and consults with clients in these industries about their strategic directions. Prior to joining BIAfn, Fratrik served for nearly 16 years as vice president and economist at the National Association of Broadcasters. He received his Ph.D. and MA in Economics from Texas A& M University, and his BA in Economics (Honors) and Mathematics from the State University of New York. He is the author of several articles published in academic and business journals. Frantrik teaches Political Economy of Mass Communication.
Charles Fulwood, co-founder and Partner of MediaVision USA, is a veteran communications strategist and executive manager with more than 20 years of national and international experience. He specializes in crisis management, risk and emergency communications, litigation communications, and public media campaigns. Fulwood is the former Communications Director for Amnesty International USA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Children's Defense Fund. Fulwood is also the co-developer of an online course on Risk Communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness. He teaches Emergency and Risk Communication.
Simon Goldsworthy is Senior Lecturer in Public Communication at the University of Westminster, London. He established London's first Master of Arts course in Public Relations and has since added the teaching of Public Relations to the University's well-known undergraduate media studies program. He has lectured to international audiences, including Johns Hopkins University's London programs and at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was recently appointed Visiting Professor. His civil service career included working at the UK's Central Office of Information and press office roles within a number of UK Government departments. He has also worked as a PR consultant in the private sector. He has written a wide range of academic articles on PR, propaganda, advertising and journalism and, with Trevor Morris, is the author of Public Relations for Asia as well as of two more forthcoming books, Public Relations for the New Europe and PR - A Persuasive Industry? Public Relations, Spin and the Shaping of the Modern Media. Goldsworthy teaches Public Relations and Public Affairs from a European Perspective.
Dave Helfert, MA, is Communication Director for U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie, who chairs a House Armed Services Subcommittee. Previously, He was Democratic spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, and worked for the chairman of an Appropriations Subcommittee. Helfert came to the House of Representatives in 2001, after six years as a Communication and Public Affairs Director in the Clinton Administration. He was a newspaper, radio and television news reporter and anchor, public information director for the Texas House of Representatives, managing partner of a marketing/advertising agency for nine years and a political/governmental media consultant for seven. Helfert has written and produced print, television and radio advertising for retail, corporate, association and public service clients, and more than 200 political campaigns. He did his undergraduate work in Journalism at the University of Texas and earned a Master's degree in Public Communication from American University in Washington, DC, where he has taught upper division and graduate courses in the School of Communication. He teaches Press Secretary: Theory and Practice.
Una Hildebrandt, MLS, serves as a Communication Architect with Accenture National Security Services. She is an expert in the identification and use of specialized information resources to inform fact-based decision-making in audience selection, analysis, and understanding. She has more than 10 years of experience gathering and synthesizing information to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of communications programs for firms including Booz Allen Hamilton, Fleishman Hillard, and Porter Novelli. She holds a BS from Cornell University and a MLS from the University of Maryland. She teaches Understanding Markets and Audiences.
Marge Holtz, MS, has more than 30 years of public relations and communication experience and is a consultant in strategic communication with both national and international clients. She was the senior civilian public affairs specialist in the Department of Navy for 18 years. She has extensive experience developing and managing strategic communication programs and working with national media. She planned and led major events involving heads of state and was a key figure in DOD public affairs activities worldwide. Holtz began her career by writing for a number of publications and supervised a number of award winning publications and programs. She holds an MS in Public Relations Management from The American University where she now teaches in the School of Communication. She is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America and teaches Introduction to Public Relations.
Anya Karavanov, PhD, has extensive experience in designing, conducting, and analyzing consumer market research and developing comprehensive strategic marketing plans and communication materials. She has led several social marketing campaigns and initiatives for the Federal Government and nonprofit organizations such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, American Diabetes Association, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the GE Foundation. Recently, for Corporation for Public Broadcasting and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Karavanov spearheaded a number of data collection efforts and message development for low-income populations and minority groups. Dr. Karavanov has also led a number of communication and research activities for private sector clients encompassing brand positioning and image studies. She has overseen creative processes to develop brand identity and various communication materials. Dr. Karavanov is currently an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. She teaches Communicating for Social Change.
Nicholas Mele was born in West Africa to foreign service parents. He is the founder and president of EchoDitto (EchoDitto.com), a leading internet strategy consulting company with offices in Washington DC, New York, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. EchoDitto's clients include the Clinton Foundation (MyCommitment.org), Research In Motion (Blackberry), Rosie O'Donnell (Rosie.com), the United Nations World Food Programme (FightHunger.org) and Hughes (HughesNet.com). Nicco has broad experience working with emerging technologies and is a considered a pioneer in the social media and Web 2.0 field. As the Internet Operations Director of Gov. Dean's presidential primary campaign in 2003, Nicco managed all technical, functional and design aspects of Gov. Dean's national web presence. Following the Dean campaign, one of EchoDitto's first clients was a then little-known state senator in Illinois, Barack Obama, who was running for a seat in the US Senate. Nicco is a co-founder of GeniusRocket.com, a crowdsourced creative ad agency, and he is also a co-founder of ProxyDemocracy.com, an online resource for proxy voting and shareholder resolutions. In December of 2003, Nicco was named one of America 's "best and brightest" by Esquire magazine. Nicco teaches in the Johns Hopkins University graduate communications program and has presented for Harvard University's Berkman Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government. Nicco sits on the board of Democracy 21 (Democracy21.org), a non-partisan campaign finance reform group founded by Fred Wertheimer, and the Lower East Side Girls Club (GirlsClub.org). His podcasts about Mayan archaeology are an internet cult favorite: http://http://radio.echoditto.com/junglecast/. He teaches Introduction to the Digital Age.
Jad Melki, PhD, is the research director of the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has been a visiting professor at Towson University, teaching research methods, media and society, and media literacy, and a project manager at the Salzburg Seminar. Melki has also been a broadcast and online journalist for over 10 years, working with American and Arabic media. Lately, he was part of the Hot Zone team (Yahoo! News) that won a webby award for the coverage of the Hezbollah-Israel war in summer 2006. Melki teaches Research and Writing Methods and Essential Skills in Digital Media Literacy.
Susan Morris, PhD, received her B.A. degree in Economics (with Honors) from Columbia University and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from Johns Hopkins. She has several years' experience in the fields of publishing, economic research, the marketing of consumer and industrial products, and as an entrepreneur. She has also been an advisor and consulting editor in producing science documentaries for public broadcasting. Her published work examines how 19th-century scientists crafted their scientific writing to persuade and appeal to a lay public. Her current research includes scientific communication, entrepreneurship in science, and the history of communications technology. She teaches Thesis, Introduction to Graduate Work, Directed Readings in Communications, and Publishing: Foundation and Future.
Nick Nichols is the founder and retired Chairman and CEO of Nichols · Dezenhall Communications Management Group, Ltd., where he specialized in crisis management, risk communications and spokesperson training. Before forming Nichols · Dezenhall, he was senior vice president and account group manager at Needham Porter Novelli (Omnicom). Nichols began his career as an investigative news correspondent. He left the news business to become a campaign press secretary for New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay. He later served as Chief of Staff for the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance, and was subsequently appointed Deputy Secretary of Revenue, a state cabinet-level position. He relocated to Washington, D.C. to become senior media spokesperson for the Cuban-Haitian Task Force under the Carter and Reagan administrations, where he managed crisis communications following the controversial 1980 Mariel boatlift. He has appeared as a spokesperson on numerous television network news programs. He is the author of Rules for Corporate Warriors (2001), a primer on crisis management. In addition to developing a unique crisis management formula, Nichols has written a series of articles and publications that define and examine crisis management strategies and media relations tactics. He teaches Crisis and Issue Communication and Spokesperson Development and Training.
Molly O'Rourke, MA, is a senior vice president with Hart Research and has been with the company for more than ten years. In that capacity, she has conducted quantitative and qualitative research projects for a variety of nonprofit organizations, corporations, political candidates, labor unions, and media organizations. O'Rourke has a special interest in women and politics and regularly conducts research for EMILY's List and its Women Vote program and other special projects aimed at better understanding distinctive trends in the women's electorate. She has also assisted with and directed the polling for several women candidates for federal and state offices. Before joining Hart Research, O'Rourke worked for Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), EMILY's List and for the Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute. For several years, she co-wrote a monthly column about politics and public opinion titled "Behind The Numbers" for The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper. O'Rourke graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University and holds a master's degree from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded a Kellogg Foundation Fellowship. She teaches Research and Writing Methods.
Larry Parnell, MBA, is a Washington, DC based partner of Beacon Advisors, a boutique corporate and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver and Los Angeles. Parnell's background and experience includes senior level positions in the governmental/political arena, with leading PR firms and as a senior officer with global companies and firms (including Hill and Knowlton, Ketchum, Ernst & Young and Barrick Gold). In 2003 he won the "PR Professional of the Year” award from PR Week magazine. While at Ernst and Young he also won awards for best media relations and best overall public relations program. Parnell is a frequent author and lecturer on communications and corporate responsibility in both academic and professional settings. He teaches Strategic Communication Program Management and CSR Communication Strategies.
Grant Perry, JD, is a new media consultant, adjunct professor, journalist and lawyer. Perry heads Evolution Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in new media strategies and content development, and he is developing a global media entrepreneurship program at The George Washington University. Perry was an award-winning journalist at CNN, where he was a New York-based correspondent and then anchor of CNN International's London-based business program, World Business Today. Perry went on to work as a new media executive and consultant in Europe, the Silicon Valley and New York. He has produced live Webcasts, Web video, TV segments and marketing promotions for Yahoo, Salon.com, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Francis Ford Coppola. Early in his career, he was chief political correspondent for two network affiliates in the Midwest. Perry has taught journalism at American University and is a contributor to The Huffington Post. He is also an attorney and member of the Washington, DC Bar. Perry teaches Journalism in the Digital Age.
Steve Rabinowitz is President of Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, a media consulting and public affairs firm in Washington, DC, specializing in domestic American politics, progressive foreign policy initiatives and ethnic and religious affairs. A seasoned media consultant, political event planner and publicist, he served former President Bill Clinton as Director of Design and Production for the White House. As such, Rabinowitz designed and produced all of the President's public events in Washington and oversaw the press coverage of those and others outside the capital. His focus was with an eye toward how these events would appear on television news programs and in U.S. and foreign newspapers. He has worked on the national staffs of nine U.S. presidential campaigns and has held various positions on countless others for every kind of office. He has a deep knowledge of campaign politics and issue advocacy dating back twenty-five years. He is also a partner in the high-tech media firm QRS Newmedia, created to advance the very latest in targeted media strategies to its high-profile political, governmental, corporate and non-profit clients. He teaches Political Communication: Campaigns.
Joel Ranck, MBA, is the founder of Lincoln Park Communications, a public relations firm that serves healthcare, biotechnology, technology, and market research organizations. Lincoln Park Communications is also a joint venture partner with Lincoln Park Rowe Communications, LLC to provide public relations and lead generation services to international economic development agencies. Over his 17 years as a communicator, Ranck has executed a variety of internal and external communications campaigns for companies such as Children's National Medical Center, Pfizer, McCaw International, Ford Motor Company, First Union, Current Analysis, Pepco, and AIG, to name a few. After founding an agency in Central Europe, Eklektik Communications, Ranck worked for both Golin/Harris International and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide in North America before founding Lincoln Park Communications. Ranck has been recognized by both PRSA and IABC for excellence in communications. Most recently he received an IABC Silver Inkwell for Media Relations Planning and an IABC District 3 Winner's Circle Award of Excellence for Multi-Channel Communications. He teaches Integrated Marketing Communication.
Alan Rosenblatt, PhD, is the Associate Director for Online Advocacy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He is a long-time and frequent speaker and author on digital media, advocacy, and politics, including social networking, blogging, grassroots, and mobile advocacy strategies. He is the founder of the Internet Advocacy Center; a Fellow at George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet; and a blogger at the award-winning TechPresident.com and DrDigiPol.com. He is also a founding team member of Media Bureau Networks (MBN), a pioneer in streaming media services; a contributing editor to Politics Online; serves on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals dedicated to the study of the internet, politics, and government; and is a member of the Board of Directors for E-Democracy.org. With MBN, he webcasted live coverage of the 2000 Presidential Conventions. In 2001, he served as Vice President for Online Advocacy Services division at Stateside Associates. From 2003 to 2005 he served as Director of Training Programs at e-advocates. Alan Rosenblatt has a PhD in Political Science from American University, an MA in Political Science from Boston College, and a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Tufts University. He teaches Digital Political Strategy.
Andrew Schwartzman, JD, is the President and CEO of Media Access Project. He also serves on the International Advisory Board of Southwestern Law School's National Entertainment & Media Law Institute. His board memberships include the Advisory Board of the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Board of Directors of the Minority Media Telecommunications Council. His work has been published in major legal and general journals, including Variety, Electronic Media, The Washington Post, COMM/ENT Law Journal and The ABA Journal. He has also been a frequent guest on television and radio programs. In recognition of his service as chief counsel in the public interest community's challenge to the FCC's June, 2003 media ownership deregulation decision, Scientific American honored Schwartzman as one of the nation's 50 leaders in technology for 2004. He teaches Communications Law and Policy Making.
Adam Segal, MA, is a successful public relations and marketing executive who runs The 2050 Group, a media agency he founded in 2006. He is also the founder and director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University, which studies the ways candidates, parties, and groups reach out to Hispanic voters. Segal is one of the nation's leading experts on campaign communications efforts aimed at Hispanic voters and has established close relationships with Republicans and Democrats. Frequently cited by national media, he has appeared on numerous network and cable news programs. He recently initiated the Johns Hopkins University Internet Project. Segal teaches Ethnic Marketing and Political Communication and Internet Strategies: Commerce, Communities, Government.
Scott Talan, MPA, has worked in media, PR and communications in three distinct fields: TV News, Politics & Nonprofits. Scott has recently worked at the UN with UNICEF, Harvard University and the New Mexico Legislature. He currently is the Director of Communications for the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs (NASPAA.org) and has successfully developed social networking platforms using You Tube, Facebook & Wikipedia. Talan has worked as a writer at ABC News 'Good Morning America' for hosts Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson. He's also reported on-air for local TV news stations (Fla, NM, CA) in several states covering politics including the 2000 Presidential Recount story in Florida. Before news, Talan served as an elected city council member and Mayor of Lafayette, California. His first career was in nonprofit PR working for the March of Dimes. Talan received his Master in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School . He studied broadcast journalism at Stanford after getting his BA from University of California at Davis. Talan has written several travel stories on Cuba, Mongolia and Europe. Talan teaches Pitches, Press Releases & Messages in the Summer.
Jill Tanenbaum, MA, is the President and Creative Director of Jill Tanenbaum Graphic Design & Advertising Inc., an award-winning full-service marketing, advertising, and graphic design company located in Bethesda, Maryland since 1982. JTGD&A produces work that includes strategic marketing and branding, print and broadcast advertising, e-marketing, public relations, print collateral, direct mail, exhibit design, multimedia, and website design. For several years, the firm has been listed as one of the top graphic design firms in the prestigious Washington Business Journal Book of Lists. Since 2004, DiversityBusiness.com awarded the firm one of the top woman-owned, multi-cultural earners in the state of Maryland. Jill has a Master of Arts in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore. She teaches Branding and Advertising.
Charles Todd is NBC News Political Director. Todd also serves as NBC News' on-air political analystfor "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Today," "Meet the Presswith Tim Russert" and MSNBC, including "Hardball with Chris Matthews." He was formerly Editor-in-Chief of The Hotline, Washington's premier daily briefing on American politics. Todd is one of Washington's foremost experts on political campaigns of all levels. In March, 2001, George magazine named Todd one of the 50 most influential people in politics. He teaches Political Communication: Campaigns.
Jane Twomey, PhD, is Program Coordinator for the MA in Communication. She received her PhD in Mass Communication from the University of Maryland at College Park. She holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication and a Bachelor's degree in Honors English from California State University at Northridge. Before coming to Hopkins Twomey taught for 10 years in the School of Communication at American University. Twomey began her career in public relations and communication management. While at the University of Maryland she served as assistant editor for the Journal of Communication. Her research areas include race, hegemony and the media; and collective memory and media representation. Her work has appeared in Journal of Communication, Journalism History, Race, Gender & Class, the Baltimore Sun and the Houston Chronicle. She is currently working on a book about collective memory and media representation. Twomey teaches Research and Writing Methods, Media Theory, Persuasion Theory and Research, Thesis, and Race, Gender and the Media.
Gregory Weiner, M.A.L.S., president of Content Communications, L.L.C., writes speeches, op-eds and other projects for leading corporate executives, major political figures and international communications firms. His clients have included CEO's of Fortune 500 companies, Cabinet secretaries in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, several U.S. senators and cutting-edge high-tech startups. He has written speeches for major business, political and policy forums as well as op-eds and advertisements that have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe and other prominent outlets. Weiner -- who has also ghost-written two books -- has been a journalist, statewide campaign manager and aide to three U.S. Senators. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's degree from Georgetown University, where he is a doctoral candidate in political theory. Weiner teaches Speechwriting: Content and Delivery and History of American Political Communications.
Paula Weissman, MA, has extensive experience as a project manager, survey researcher, and analyst for a variety of private and public sector organizations working to improve health. She has worked on several national health communication campaigns, including campaigns to encourage physical activity, improve nutrition, and increase cancer screening rates. Weissman received an M.A. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. She is currently pursing a Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research focuses on health and risk communication with a concentration on mass media messages and effects. She teaches Using Evaluation to Improve Health Communication and Developing Health Communication Campaigns.
Xu Wu, PhD, is a Professor of Strategic Media and Public Relations at Arizona State University and the author of Chinese Cyber Nationalism: Evolution, Characteristics, and Implications (April 2007) (http://www.lexingtonbooks.com/ISBN/073911817X). Before his career as a professor, Wu worked as a national correspondent and news editor at the New China (Xinhua) News Agency in Beijing for six years. He was the co-founder of the media consulting agency Unicorn Culture and the director of Beijing's first soccer weekly: 11 Players (1998-2000). He received both his doctoral degree and master degree from University of Florida, with specializations in China media system, crisis management, political communication and international public relations. His work has been published by Journal of Communication, Public Relations Quarterly, Asian Journal of Communication, Media Asia, China Media Report, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, and Perspectives. He teaches Communication in China.
Robert Zachariasiewicz retired as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor after 29 years in the federal civil service. He spent his last two years, 2006-2008, on a long-term detail to the Environmental Protection Agency as its Director of Media Relations to assist the agency in the reorganization of its public affairs operations. During his long career, Zachariasiewicz had also been loaned by the Labor Department as a direct consultant on public affairs organization and operations to the World Bank and the governments of Hungary and Bulgaria. In addition to managing the day-to-day activities of a Cabinet agency's public affairs office, he provided training for departmental executives and senior staff on public relations campaigns and media relations. Zachariasiewicz teaches Public Affairs.
Benjamin Zingman, PhD, has served corporate, trade association and non-profit clients in a variety of industries over a 25-year career. He is currently the founder and president of bzcom, a communications consulting company. Prior to starting his firm, Zingman served on the crisis team at Edelman Public Relations and at the public relations firms of Hill & Knowlton and Fleishman-Hillard. Zingman began his career a teacher in New York City and at Rutgers University where he earned a Ph.D. in political science. At Rutgers, he taught courses on political theory and the American presidency, and his dissertation, Beyond the Fourth Branch, focused on the role of the news media in American politics. He teaches Strategic Communication Program Management and Media, Power, and Politics.