Educational and professional background

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I am an Assistant Teaching Professor at Penn State University. In my current role, I teach within the AD/PR Department in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications—classes such as PR Campaigns, Strategic Communication Theory, Research Methods in AD/PR, and Social Media Communication.
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My research interests focus on health communication and media effects, including communication about and perceptions of persons with mental illnesses that often fall victim to social biases. I have published in Journal of Health Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Radio & Audio Media, and Health Communication, among others.

Prior to my role at Penn State, I was as an Associate Professor of Communication at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. I earned my doctorate in Mass Communication from Indiana University's Media School. I earned my M.A. in Journalism from the University of Memphis where I also worked in the advertising production office of the student-run newspaper and as a teaching assistant on campus, alongside a corporate communications internship. I received my B.A. in journalism from Ohio Northern University, where my focus was on news writing and graphic design. I served as an editor and reporter for the campus newspaper and worked as a general assignment reporter with The Lima News and The Ada Herald.

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