Curriculum Vitae for Liz Gardner, Ph.D.

Last updated March 29, 2016

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Education

Ph.D., Journalism (Strategic Communication), 2010, University of Missouri at Columbia

  • Dissertation: “The role of narrative and other-referencing in attenuating psychological reactance to persuasive diabetes messages” (recipient of the 2010 International and National Communication Associations' Health Communication Dissertation of the Year Award) Adviser: Glenn M. Leshner, Ph.D.

M.A., Journalism, 2007, University of Texas at Austin

  • Thesis: “Boys will be boys: Feminist and patriarchal perspectives on sexual violence and masculinity in coverage of the Duke lacrosse rape scandal” Adviser: Dustin M. Harp, Ph.D.

B.A., Journalism & Mass Communication (Public Relations emphasis), 2002, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Cambridge Natural Science Summer Program, 1999, Cambridge, UK

Academic Appointments

Assistant Professor of Public Relations (tenure-track), Texas Tech University, College of Media & Communication, Department of Public Relations, August 2010 – May 2015

Instructor, University of Missouri, School of Journalism, Department of Strategic Communication, January 2009 – May 2010

Research Assistant, University of Missouri, School of Journalism, Department of Strategic Communication, August 2007 – May 2010

Teaching Assistant, University of Missouri, School of Journalism, Department of Strategic Communication, August – December 2008

Research Assistant, University of Texas, College of Communication, School of Journalism, January 2006 – August 2007

Research

Journal Articles (Peer-Reviewed) (Titles link to articles)

Gardner, L., & Leshner, G. (In press; Accepted 12/14). The role of narrative and other-referencing in attenuating psychological reactance to diabetes self-care messages. Health Communication.

Sweeney, L., Warren, O., Gardner, L., Rojek, A., & Lindquist, D. (2014). A simulation-based training program improves emergency department staff’s communication. American Journal of Medical Quality, 29(2), 115-123.

Seltzer, T., Gardner, E., Callison, C., & Bichard, S. (2012). PR in the ER: Managing internal organization-public relationships in a hospital emergency department. Public Relations Review, 38(1), 128-136.

Leshner, G., & Gardner, E. (2010). Health communication. Oxford Bibliographies Online [electronic resource]. Oxford University Press.

Gardner, E. (2007). Is there method to the madness? Worldwide press coverage of female terrorists and journalistic attempts to rationalize their involvement. Journalism Studies, 8(6), 909-929.

Book Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)

Gardner, L., Seltzer, T., Phillips, A. L. & Page, R. (2014). The influence of message source and cultivation strategies in a nonprofit public relations context. In R.A. Waters (Ed.), Public relations theory and practice in the nonprofit sector. New York: Routledge.

Gardner, L., Wilkinson, K. T., Merle, P. F., Luo, Y., Rahimi, M., Cui, B., Rybalko, S., & VanDyke, M. (2014). Press coverage of the 2012 U.S. presidential election: A multinational, cross-language comparison. In C. Bieber & K. Kamps (Eds.), The United States Presidential Election 2012: Perspectives from election studies, political and communication studies. Berlin: Springer VS.

Littau, J., Gardner, L., & Thorson, E. (2014). The impact of news “voice” on adolescent political efficacy. In E. Thorson, D. Shah, & M. McKinney (Eds.), Political socialization in a media saturated world. New York: Peter Lang Publishers.

Conference Papers and Presentations (Peer-Reviewed)

Sweeney, L. A., Gardner, L., Dykstra, L., Rojek, A., Bichard, S., Callison, C., & Seltzer, T. (2014, December). Project CLEAR! Communication leading to excellence and ameliorating risk. Poster presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 26th Annual National Forum, Orlando, FL.

Markham, D., & Gardner, L. (2014, August). Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Health Immersion Conference and its effects on diet and health behavior change: An extension of the Health Belief Model. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, Montreal, Canada.

Gardner, L., Phillips, A., Seltzer, T., Callison, C., Sweeney, L., & Bichard, S. (2014, April). Improving internal communication quality in a hospital emergency department through training and sustainability efforts. Paper presented at the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, Lexington, KY.

Gardner, L., Seltzer, T., & Page, R. (2013, June). The influence of message source and cultivation strategies in a nonprofit public relations context. Paper presented at the International Communication Association 2013 annual conference, Public Relations Division, London, England.

Gardner, L., Nutting, B. H., & Leshner, G. (2013, June). Explicating psychological reactance: Comparing self-report and psychophysiological measures to understand the impact of freedom-limiting language. Abstract presented at the International Communication Association 2013 annual conference, Information Systems Division, London, England.

Gardner, L., Ortiz, R. R., & Shafer, A. (2013, March). Understanding the effectiveness of health persuasion for Hispanic diabetics. Poster presented at the 2013 DC-area Health Communication Conference (DCHC), Washington, DC.

Gardner, L., Nutting, B. H., Green, J. D., & Cui, B. (2012, September). Explicating psychological reactance: Cognitive and emotional processing of threat-to-choice language in persuasive health communication. Abstract presented at the Society for Psychophysiological Research annual meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Gardner, L. (2012, August). Resistance, ethnicity and health: Designing messages that reduce reactance for Hispanic and non-Hispanic diabetics. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, Chicago, IL. (Top Faculty Paper in Division)

Gardner, E. (2012, August). Cola Wars and applied research: Motivating students to think on their feet by gathering and presenting secondary research for communication planning in a single class period. Poster presented as a finalist at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Great Ideas For Teachers (GIFT) Competition, Chicago, IL.

Chuang, W-C., Sparks, J. V., Gardner, E., & Bradley, S. D. (2012, May). Continuous emotional response to the audio, visual, and audiovisual channels of television messages. Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference, Information Systems Division, Phoenix, AZ.

Gardner, L., & Shafer, A. (2012, April). Designing theory-based diet and physical activity messages to combat resistance to health persuasion with Hispanic diabetics. Paper presented at the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, Lexington, KY.

Merle, P., Haislett, R., Kiambi, D., Bichard, S., Livingston, K., Borua, S., Sorensen, S., Kang, S., Seltzer, T., Gardner, E., & Callison, C. (2011, August). Branding health communication strategies aimed at healthcare professionals: An assessment of barriers, message tactics, and sustainability measures and their impact on the patient experience. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Mass Communication & Society Division, Boston, MA.

Gardner, E., & Leshner, G. (2011, May). The role of narrative and other-referencing in attenuating psychological reactance to diabetes self-care messages. Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference, Health Communication Division, Boston, MA. (Top Faculty Paper in Division)

Wirtz, J., Gardner, E., & Ngondo, P. (2011, March). Health public relations: How public relations theory can (and should) contribute to the practice of health campaigns. Paper presented at the Institute for Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.

Seltzer, T., Gardner, E., Callison, C., & Bichard, S. (2011, March). PR in the ER: Internal public relations in a hospital emergency department. Paper presented at the Institute for Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.

Len-Ríos, M., Jeong, J., Gardner, E., & Lee, Y. (2010, August). Advertisers’ use of model distinctiveness: Main model characteristics in Cosmopolitan and Latina magazines. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Mass Communication & Society Division, Denver, CO.

Stam, K., Gardner, E., Wang, Y., Rodgers, S., & Cameron, G. (2010, June). Traditional and emerging forms of advertising for health literacy promotions in the U.S. and Europe. Paper presented at the American Academy of Advertising 2010 European Conference, Milan, Italy.

Littau, J., Thorson, E., Oh, H. J., Jahng, R., Gardner, E., & Meyer, H. (2010, June). The role of two new measures of online political activity in political socialization responses on youth. Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference, Mass Communication Division, Singapore.

Littau, J., Gardner, E., & Thorson, E. (2009, August). The impact of news “voice” on adolescent political efficacy. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Mass Communication & Society Division, Boston, MA. (Second Place Paper in Division)

Kim, J., Lee, Y., Gardner, E., Park, H., & Cameron, G. (2009, May). What’s in a name? Health literacy leaders say plenty! Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference, Health Communication Division, Chicago, IL.

Leshner, G., Bolls, P., Sternadori, M., Bailey, R., Norris, R., Gardner, E., et al. (2008, October). The impact of Machiavellian and disgusting images in anti-tobacco ads on viewers’ message processing. Poster presented at the Society for Psychophysiological Research annual meeting, Austin, TX.

Leshner, G., Bolls, P., Moore, J., Gardner, E., Peters, S., Kononova, A., Bailey, R., & Wise, K. (2008, October). The impact of narrative and emotion of breast cancer survivor testimonies on message processing for African American female viewers. Poster presented at the Society for Psychophysiological Research annual meeting, Austin, TX.

Gardner, E., Eckler, P., Rodgers, S., & Chen, Q. (2008, August). Seeking health information online: Motivation and choice in online media. Presented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2nd Annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media, Atlanta, GA.

Leshner, G., Bolls, P., Gardner, E., Moore, J., Peters, S., Kononova, A., Bailey, R., & Wise, K. (2008, August). Effects of African American breast cancer survivor testimonies on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Minorities and Communication Division, Chicago, IL.

Bolls, P., Leshner, G., Moore, J., Gardner, E., Bailey, R., Kononova, A., Peters, S., & Wise, K. (2008, May). Stories of feeling and courage: The effect of narrative and emotional tone on processing cancer survivor stories. Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference, Information Systems Division, Montreal.

Leshner, G., Bolls, P., Moore, J., Peters, S., Kononova, A., Bailey, R., Gardner, E., & Wise, K. (2008, May). Cognitive and emotional effects of breast cancer survivor testimonies. Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference, Health Communication Division Montreal, Canada.

Gardner, E., Clark, N., Kim, H., & Topletz, W. (2007, April). When worlds collide: Citizen-produced media and repurposed traditional media content on YouTube. Paper presented at the "Expanding the Definition of Convergence and Integration" research colloquium at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.

Gardner, E. (2006, August). Is there method to the madness? Worldwide press coverage of female terrorists and journalistic attempts to rationalize their involvement. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, Commission on the Status of Women, San Francisco, CA. (Top Student Paper in Division)

Non-Refereed Publications and Reports

Callison, C., Gardner, L., & Seltzer, T. (2013, May). Project CLEAR! research report: Three-wave survey of Anderson Emergency Department staff March 2011 – March 2013. Lubbock, TX: TTU College of Media & Communication. Electronic report.

Gardner, E. (2008, December). 2008 Health Literacy Leaders Survey summary and report. Columbia, MO: MU Health Communication Research Center. Electronic report.

Grants and Contract Work

Funded Proposals

Project CLEAR (Communication Leading to Excellence and Ameliorating Risk): Reinforcing the Importance of Quality Physician-Nurse Communication in the Emergency Room

  • $72,555 (subcontract of $299,575 grant), funded June 2010
  • Funding agency: Department of Emergency Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital
  • Role: Contractor (PIs: Lynn Sweeney, MD, and David Lindquist, MD, Brown University)

  • Planned, collected, analyzed, and reported formative and evaluative research including focus groups, key informant interviews, and a three-wave survey to assess internal communication among physicians, nurses and other emergency department (ED) staff; Wrote and edited research reports for hospital and grant administrators; Developed and assessed a branding/sustainability campaign to support communication training for all ED staff members, including the development and production of communication strategies and tactics for use in the ED, ranging from identifying opinion leaders and fostering word-of-mouth messages to designing and delivering promotional and marketing materials such as name badges with key messages and branded medical shears

Understanding the Effectiveness of Health Persuasion for Hispanic Diabetics

  • $2,000, funded November 2012
  • Funding agency: Texas Tech University Office of Institutional Diversity (one of three Faculty Diversity Development Grants awarded)
  • Role: Primary Investigator

  • Planned, conducted, analyzed, and reported focus groups with adult Hispanic/Latino diabetics to examine the role of culture in resistance to and acceptance of health messages directed at diabetics, including issues such as diabetes self-management, and family diet and exercise practices

Submitted Proposals

Development of Book and Instructional Videos for the Research Framework and Fast Track Study Framework Developed by Military Health System’s Facilities Innovation and Research Model (MHS FIRM)

  • $304,105, not funded, proposal submitted June 2014
  • Funding agency: Department of Defense, Military Health System
  • Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Debajyoti Pati, PhD, FIIA, IDEC, LEED AP, Texas Tech University)

Promoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Choices to Latino Families through Fotonovelas

  • $287,000, not funded, proposal submitted February 2014
  • Funding agency: Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas
  • Role: Primary Investigator

PanHandle 48: The Texas Tech University College of Media and Communication 48-Hour Film Festival

  • $5,000, not funded, proposal submitted November 2012
  • Funding agency: Texas Tech University Office of Institutional Diversity
  • Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Robert Peaslee, PhD, Texas Tech University)

Additional Sponsored Projects

Missouri Health Literacy Enhancement

  • Funding agency: Missouri Foundation for Health
  • Role: Research Assistant to Principle Investigator Glen Cameron, PhD (2008-2009)
  • Analyzed interviews with 100 health literacy experts nationwide and presented findings to state legislators and health foundation leaders via a written report and teleconference; Insights from the report shaped creation of and strategy for Health Literacy Missouri, a collaborative of not-for-profit thought leaders and an online health information resource center, developed to improve consumers’ understanding of health care options, systems, and messages

Enhancing Cancer Coverage in Black Newspapers

  • Funding agency: National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health
  • Role: Research Assistant to Principle Investigator Glen Cameron, PhD (2009-2010)
  • Contributed to development of a successful grant re-funding proposal for an NIH CECCR (Center for Excellence in Cancer Communication Research) by conducting background research and drafting sections of the theoretical framework and conceptual overview; Project continued and expanded funding of the Ozioma News Service, which increased the quantity and quality of cancer reporting in newspapers with predominantly African-American audiences, ultimately bolstering these audiences’ understanding of and preventive behavior related to cancer

Effects of Breast Cancer Narratives on African-American Women

  • Funding agency: National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health, Center for Excellence in Cancer Communication Research
  • Role: Research Assistant to Contract PI Glenn Leshner, PhD (2008-2010)

  • Led data analysis, trained lab members to collect biometric data, recruited and ran participants, and helped write and present results of a psychophysiological experiment that examined the effectiveness of video testimonials from breast cancer survivors encouraging screening and prevention behaviors among African-American women

Testing the Impact of Public Health Framing and Rich Sourcing in Health News Stories

  • Funding agency: The California Endowment
  • Role: Research Assistant to Principle Investigator Renita Coleman, PhD (2007)

  • Created stimulus messages and evaluation measures, conducted pilot testing and data analysis, and recruited participants for experiments testing the public health model of reporting in news stories about diabetes, obesity, immigrant health, and smoking

Teaching

Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University

Public Relations Campaigns

  • Capstone service-learning, writing-intensive course in public relations planning, development and presentation for/to local and regional nonprofit organizations. Emphases included solving problems; managing projects, timelines, groups, and budgets; executing multi-method research projects; evaluating creative media promotion; and developing strategic, integrated multimedia communication plans, messages and programs.
  • Clients included a federally-funded Promise Neighborhood in East Lubbock; Lubbock Animal Services; the Lubbock Lions Club (the world's largest Lions Club chapter); the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts; the College of Mass Communications Master’s Program; the BCFS Lubbock Transition Center; Cure Cancer Foundation; and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the South Plains
  • Eleven sections taught: Fall 2014, 23 students; Spring 2014, 23 students; Fall 2013, 18 students and 14 students; Fall 2012, 21 students; Spring 2012, 18 students; Fall 2011, 23 students; Spring 2011, 15 students and 23 students; Fall 2010, 12 students and 23 students, 1 teaching assistant

Public Relations for Nonprofits

  • Service-learning course focused on the application of public relations strategies and tactics to build awareness of and further the missions of nonprofit organizations, with emphases on media (traditional and digital), money (fundraising and donor relations), and muscle (volunteer recruitment and retention). New course developed by me and taught for the first time at the university.
  • Three sections taught: Spring 2015, 62 students, 1 teaching assistant; Spring 2013, 65 students, 1 teaching assistant; Fall 2011, 80 students, 1 teaching assistant

Integrated Communications Campaigns (Graduate)

  • Examination of the planning, management and evaluation of integrated communication campaigns, emphasizing convergence, theory, ethics and client management. Teams developed research-driven, multimedia campaigns to build awareness of and patronage to a national movie theater chain's (Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas) new location in Lubbock. 
  • One section taught: Spring 2014, 24 students

Applied Public Relations Theory and Concepts

  • Exploration of theory and best practices from public relations, persuasion, communication and media studies, emphasizing practical application for understanding and solving public relations problems, as well as developing strategy, messages and programs. New course developed by me and taught for the first time at the university.
  • One section taught: Spring 2015, 23 students

Advertising and the Consumer (Graduate)

  • Examination of the theory and practice of audience segmentation, message tailoring, and strategic media channel selection, as well as the survey and analysis of current behavioral science findings as related to advertising.
  • Two sections taught: Spring 2013, 35 students; Spring 2012, 21 students

Mass Communication Research Methods

  • Comprehensive overview of approaches to mass communication research, focused on planning, designing, conducting, analyzing, interpreting and applying research to understand and solve communication problems. Emphases included focus groups, surveys, media analysis, experiments, and data analytics, as well as interpretation and reporting of primary and secondary research.
  • Two sections taught: Fall 2014, 62 students, 1 teaching assistant; Fall 2012, 52 students

Principles of Public Relations

  • Introduction to the foundations, techniques, specialties and practice of public relations, with emphases on problem solving and critical thinking; relationship and project management; ethical decision-making; strategic program planning; and skills including writing, graphic design, and public speaking.
  • Two sections taught: Summer 2012, 20 students; Summer 2011, 17 students

Instructor, University of Missouri

Public Relations

  • Principles, practice, and theory of public relations for upper-level undergraduate majors and master’s students in strategic communication
  • Two sections taught: Spring 2010, 49 students; Fall 2009, 54 students

Quantitative Research Methods

  • Graduate-level introduction to quantitative research methods and applied statistics in communication
  • One section taught: Summer 2009, 9 students; One section co-taught: Spring 2009, 35 students

Strategic Campaigns

  • Capstone service-learning course for strategic communication majors; our section partnered student teams with local, health-oriented clients
  • One section co-taught: Spring 2009, 16 students, 3 teaching assistants

Graduate Mentor, University of Texas

  • Extracurricular program designed to foster undergraduates’ interest in academic research; Trained and led student researchers in a content analysis of YouTube's most watched and most recently uploaded videos; Findings presented by students and me at a regional research colloquium on digital communication
  • Supervised three undergraduate research assistants in Fall 2006

Directed Student Projects

Chair

  • Master’s Portfolio Chair, Gabriel Vasquez, Interdisciplinary study in Communication, Advertising, and Restaurant/Hotel Management, Completed November 2014
  • Master's Thesis Chair, Brandan Schrader, “The influence of subjective knowledge on responses to fear appeal messages,” Completed December 2013
  • Dissertation Committee Chair, Prisca Ngondo, “Reflection versus impulse: How does trait impulsivity influence relations between Theory of Planned Behavior variables?” Completed August 2013

Committee Member

  • Dissertation Committee Member, Andrea Phillips, “The impact of motivation–experience congruence on organization-volunteer relationship outcomes: A public relations perspective,” Defended August 2014
  • Qualifying Exam Committee Member, Andrea Phillips, Completed July 2013
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Sungwon Chung, “Motivated cognition in video games: The influence of emotional video game content on cognitive processing of billboard advertisements embedded in first-person shooter games,” Completed June 2012
  • Qualifying Exam Committee Member, Prisca Ngondo, Completed December 2011
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Wan-chu Chuang, “Continuous emotional response to the audio, visual, and audiovisual channels,” Completed December 2011

Independent Studies

  • Independent Graduate Study, Brandan Schrader, “Literature on fear appeals, persuasion and subjective knowledge,” August - December 2012
  • Independent Undergraduate Study, Alyse Straus, “Nonprofit public relations and new media: Analysis and development of selected cases,” June - July 2012

Honors and Awards (Selected)

  • Invited Fellow, Service Learning Faculty Fellows Program, Texas Tech University, 2014 – 2015
  • L.U. Kaiser Teaching Innovation Award, Texas Tech University, first place, 2013
  • New Faculty Award, Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication, 2013
  • Top faculty paper, Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), 2012
  • Finalist, Great Ideas for Teachers competition, AEJMC, 2012
  • Top paper, Health Communication Division, International Communication Association, 2011
  • Health Communication Dissertation of the Year, International Communication Association/National Communication Association, 2010
  • Second place paper, Mass Communication and Society Division, AEJMC, 2009
  • Top student paper, Commission on the Status of Women, AEJMC, 2006
  • O. O. McIntyre Scholarship, University of Missouri, 2007 – 2010
  • Ann Palmeri Memorial Scholarship, University of Missouri, 2007 – 2010
  • John & Virginia Sutherland Scholarship, University of Missouri, 2007 – 2010
  • Dr. Mary & Ruth Williamson Fellowship, University of Missouri, 2007 – 2010
  • Ada Frances Miller Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin, 2006 – 2007
  • Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society, inducted 2007

Service

National/Professional

  • Vice-Head/Program Chair, Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk (ComSHER) Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2013 – 2014
  • Research Chair, Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk (ComSHER) Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2012 – 2013
  • Professional Freedom & Responsibility Chair, Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk (ComSHER) Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2011 – 2012
  • Journal article and conference paper reviewer: Media Psychology, 2010 – 2011; International Communication Association annual conference, 2009 – 2012 (Health Communication Division, Information Systems Division); Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference, 2010 – 2014 (Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, Public Relations Division, Communication Theory and Methodology Division, Graduate Education Interest group, Commission on the Status of Women)
  • Invited lecturer/speaker, School for Advanced Military Studies collaboration with University of Missouri, 2010
  • Media Advocacy Trainer, Smokebusters of Missouri, April 2009

University/College/Department (Selected)

  • Affiliated faculty, Institute for Hispanic and International Communication, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2010 – 2015
  • Member, Recruitment and Retention Committee, Public Relations Department, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2014-2015
  • Member, Faculty Development Leave Committee, Texas Tech University, 2014 – 2015
  • Member, Graduate Admissions Committee, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2010 – 2012, 2014 - 2015
  • Member, Graduate Faculty, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2010 – 2015
  • Member, Curriculum Review Committee, Public Relations Department, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2010 – 2015
  • Member, Student Scholarship Committee, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2013 – 2014
  • Member, Public Relations Search Committees, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2012 – 2013
  • Member, Faculty Awards Committee, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2011 – 2013
  • Invited panelist, Faculty Panel Discussion on the Academic Job Search, TTU College of Media & Communication, November 2012
  • Member, Graduate Scholarship Committee, TTU College of Media & Communication, 2010 – 2012
  • Chair, TTU College of Mass Communications Selection Committee for the Graduate Student Research Arts and Humanities Conference, 2011
  • Co-founder and Coordinator, Doctoral Symposia, MU School of Journalism, 2008 – 2010
  • Invited speaker, MU School of Journalism Online Masters’ Annual On-Campus Seminar, 2009; Doctoral Student Orientation, 2008, 2009
  • Chair, University of Texas Graduate Student Assembly Election Board, 2007; Representative, 2006 – 2007

Professional Affiliations

  • Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2006 – present
  • International Communication Association, 2007 – present
  • Association for Women in Communication, 2014 – present
  • Society for Psychophysiological Research, 2008 – 2010

Industry Experience

Media Relations Manager, American Society for Radiation Oncology, October 2015 – Present

  • Oversee external media efforts for the Society, including strategy, materials and relationships
  • Secure coverage of ASTRO science and initiatives in trade and mainstream press, including placements in MedPage Today, Medscape Medical News, Oncology Times, eCancer and U.S. News and World Report
  • Plan and manage press programs for scientific meetings, including coordinating multiple news briefings, facilitating interviews, managing on-site and remote press, organizing logistics and abstract selection, and writing scientific news releases and other media materials

 

Marketing Associate & Technical Writer, PowerPlan Consultants, June 2003 – July 2005

  • Developed research-based marketing strategy and print and web-based materials to manage and grow relationships with current and potential clients from asset management industries
  • Planned and managed internal and external events, including overseeing logistics and proactive client outreach for bi-annual forums for clients; Oversaw on- and off-site client training
  • Coordinated and authored ongoing updates to electronic and print help documentation that was provided to all clients
  • Wrote, designed and edited educational and marketing materials for client training events
  • Conducted screening and pre-selection of job applicants; Represented the company and networked with potential employees at recruiting fairs and similar events

 

Senior Health Care Intern, Porter Novelli Public Relations (Atlanta), June – November 2002

  • Secured coverage in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for an Arthritis Foundation wellness campaign and placements in local print media outlets for the American Cancer Society’s Avon Three-Day Walk
  • Created media lists, compiled news audits, pitched local and national media, coordinated press conferences and on-site media at events, and wrote press materials including news releases, feature releases, backgrounders, expert bios, and FAQs for clients including the Tampax Total You Tour, the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, and Emory Crawford Long Hospital, as well as the America Cancer Society and the Arthritis Foundation
  • Spearheaded research and development of a digital consumer and health care provider database utilized for a national education campaign by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
  • Performed issues management by monitoring client, competitor and industry coverage in print and digital trade media and contributing to twice-daily reports sent to PeopleSoft executives

 

Communications Intern, North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, August - December 2001

  • Authored and contributed to press materials including news releases, radio spots and pitch points and secured coverage about upcoming exhibits at the museum in local news outlets
  • Monitored regional news coverage and compiled clip reports of client coverage sent to management
  • Updated and streamlined a database of 800 media contacts to aid efforts to build media partnerships

 

Public Relations Assistant, Duke Raleigh Hospital (formerly Raleigh Community Hospital), May 2000 – May 2001

  • Wrote, designed and edited media and marketing materials tailored to internal and external audiences, including press releases, hospital newsletter copy, print and radio advertisements, and brochures for internal and external audiences
  • Led redesign of internal newsletter, which subsequently increased interest among and contributions from hospital employees; Wrote, edited and solicited newsletter content
  • Planned and helped coordinate internal and external events for 50 to 1,500 participants, including fundraising and team-building events for the hospital’s Race for the Cure volunteer team