For me, teaching is a noble calling. It is not a secondary pursuit after giving my best in the industry. It is the platform from which I give my best. My role is not to pose difficult questions and provide simple answers. Rather, it is to inspire others to think critically, creatively, and collaboratively to unveil simplicity amidst complexity and complexity amidst simplicity. Dan Rather stated that "the dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." I aspire daily to be that teacher.

I’ve spent my entire corporate and academic career with one goal in mind: making a difference. Through my teaching, entrepreneurial, management, and problem-solving experience, I am able to touch and transform lives. I enjoy the “light bulb” moment when I connect theory with practicality with my students. I am deeply moved when a wrongly convicted prisoner is exonerated because of DNA evidence and work that I have been privileged to be a part of as a board member with the Mississippi Innocence Project. My passion is to motivate, educate and empower people to think beyond their limitations to focus on the possibilities. I have presented and published research on popular culture issues at national and regional conferences that focus on crisis, image repair, and media criticism.

Public speaking is an integral part of my life and professional career. As a freshman in high school, I began with the basic public speaking course. Throughout high school and college I competed in public speaking and debate. Debate coaching and teaching public speaking paid my way through graduate school. I enjoy bringing this experience to the classroom and imparting the knowledge and skills to new speakers. Academic interests include political communication, argumentation, and rhetoric and social influence. I also am a proud Kiwanian and the faculty sponsor of Circle K, college Kiwanis.

My academic study of the media field began while taking communications law courses at the UCLA School of Law.  I learned more about media law and regulation while working as an attorney with the Federal Communications Commission.  My studies in communication deepened and expanded while a graduate student in the Department of Communication at The Ohio State University. I have been on the faculty in the Mass Communications program at the University of West Georgia since 2008. My interests include health communication, social media applications, and online marketing strategies. My wife and I live in Atlanta with our son.

I helped create The WOLF Internet Radio in 2009 and have remained at the University of West Georgia ever since. My goal is to help students gain the experience and knowledge they will need in the job market. It is an honor to work with the student volunteers at The WOLF. My life is consumed with radio and everything about radio. In the near future I plan to achieve a Masters in Mass Communication.

As a filmmaker I feel extremely lucky to be a faculty member at the University of West Georgia. I am able to create, experiment and invent without worrying about who is going to see it until completion. I am also able to participate in a community, which is how I view teaching. I have ten years of professional technical experience that I can share with students in the classroom. I am excited to contribute to the Film Community at the University of West Georgia. I hope to establish a film culture that expands on the classroom curriculum and spreads throughout the University, and hopefully well beyond.

I joined the UWG faculty in 2008 after completing my Ph.D. in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to academic career, I worked as a professional journalist for twelve years in Seoul, Korea. I teach various journalism courses such as media ethics, news writing, computer-assisted reporting and critical issues in journalism. My research has focused on social implications of the media, and one of the attractive objects is economic news. Other research areas include investigations into changes that are occurring as the result of the introduction of new technology, and media ethics.

I was born and raised in New Jersey and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Delaware State University. Since then, I have worked on many Motion Picture Films and Television shows for over 8 years. I have worked in many positions such as a Production Accountant, Camera Operator, Video Editor, Floor Manager, Director, and Producer. Music and Music Production is my true passion. I have my own music studio where I have produced songs for Kids, Jazz, Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Rock artists, and films. I play the keyboard, drums, and the bass guitar. Education is very important to me. I enjoy teaching students all aspects of production. One of the greatest feelings I experience is seeing a former UWG Mass Communications student experience a successful career.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia I believe I look at things differently as teaching is just one position I have held. I worked with a Children’s Theatre Company, a Public Relations Firm, a Professional Speaker, a Medical Publishing house, and as a Project Manager specializing in Employee Relations Events. I believe everyone should have a chance at an education and be challenged to do their best. My passion is travel and I have visited many places: Australia, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Northern Africa and China. I live in Newnan with my husband and two yappy dogs while our only daughter is in graduate school in Berlin, Germany.

As an educator my goal is twofold: to provide viable career training, and to foster critical thinking in hope of spurring progressive social change. Although my professional history and current focus at UWG is in journalism, I also have a strong background in cultural studies, critical theory, and critical/rhetorical ethnography. My research is focused on gendered identities associated with rock music subcultures. At present I am rewriting my dissertation, “’Doing it for The Dudes’: A Comparative Ethnographic Study of Performative Masculinity in Heavy Metal and Hardcore Subcultures” as a book project. I am excited to be working with the staff of The West Georgian, and have high expectations for the newspaper this year.

I joined the UWG Mass Communications faculty in 2008 and teach primarily in the public relations sequence. I earned a combined Ph.D. in Mass Communications and American Studies from Indiana University, an M.A. from Ohio University’s School of Telecommunication and a B.S. from the University of Texas Department of Radio-Television-Film. My research areas include nonprofit and noncommercial educational media and social network analysis. Before attending graduate school, I held positions in educational programming, production, volunteer services, and development at KLRU-TV in Austin, Texas. I have also worked with several other public broadcasting stations across the country.

I received my BA from Vanderbilt, MA from Georgia State University, MLIS
from Valdosta State University, and Ph.D. from LSU. During the 2001-2002
academic year, I was a postdoctoral fellow at The Ohio State University.
As a perennial student, I am currently taking courses in Information
Design and Communication at Southern Polytechnic.

My dear father and mother once said that if I could wake up every day and enjoy my job then I was doing well. I found that job when I made the transition into media education. I am proud to be a teacher and mentor. I was fortunate to have been taught and counseled by the best teachers and mentors throughout my life. As an educator, I honor my parents and my professors by sharing their knowledge and wisdom with new generations. And, as the generations of students pass through my classes they all learn the importance of Bruce Springsteen and my 33 concert experiences.