CAMBRIDGE, MA—The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, based at Harvard Kennedy School, is pleased to announce the appointment of its fall 2018 fellows.
“This cohort of fellows brings an especially diverse range of experiences to the Kennedy School,” said Shorenstein Center Director Nicco Mele. “From broadcast journalism to digital media, from U.S. policy and social issues to international affairs, we look forward to some fascinating research from this group.”
The Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellowship, established in 2013, brings high-profile figures at the forefront of media, politics, and policy to the Kennedy School to work on timely issues.
Maria Hinojosa is anchor and executive producer for the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, distributed by NPR, and for PBS’s America By The Numbers with Maria Hinojosa. Her nearly 30-year career includes reporting for PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN, NPR, Frontline, and CBS Radio, and anchoring the Emmy Award-winning talk show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One. In 2010, Hinojosa created the Futuro Media Group, a nonprofit organization producing multimedia journalism that gives voice to the diversity of the American experience. She is a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning, and is a frequent guest on MSNBC. While at the Shorenstein Center for the 2018-2019 academic year, Hinojosa will lead a student study group on the topic of immigration.
Joan Shorenstein Fellows spend the academic semester researching and writing a paper, participating in events, and interacting with students, faculty, and the Harvard community.
James Harkin is the director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism in London. An Irish journalist covering new media, politics, and conflict, Harkin has reported from Syria and Iraq for Vanity Fair, Harper’s Magazine, GQ, The Guardian and Newsweek. His latest book, Hunting Season, investigates the rise of the Islamic State in Syria and its kidnapping of journalists. While at the Shorenstein Center, Harkin will write a paper on “Spin Wars: How New Media Became a Weapon of War in Syria.”
Roderick P. Hart holds the Shivers Chair in Communication and is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Former dean of the Moody College of Communication and founding director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, Hart is the author or editor of fifteen books, the most recent of which is Civic Hope: How Ordinary Americans Keep Democracy Alive. While at the Shorenstein Center, Hart will write a paper on “Trump and Us: What He Says and Who We Are.”
Sarah J. Jackson is an associate professor of Communication Studies at Northeastern University, affiliated with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program and the Department of Cultures, Societies and Global Studies. Her areas of expertise include social movement communication, Black and feminist activism, and alternative journalism. She is the author of Black Celebrity, Racial Politics and the Press, and coauthor of the forthcoming #HashtagActivism: Race and Gender in America’s Networked Counterpublics. While at the Shorenstein Center, Jackson will write a paper on “Black Women’s Digital Storytelling and the New Politics of Black Activism.”
George Twumasi is the CEO of African Broadcast Network (ABN) Holdings Ltd, which strives to create a viable television and multimedia content system for the African continent and diaspora focused on programming “Made by Africans for Africans,” and Executive Director of the African Public Broadcast Foundation. While at the Shorenstein Center, Twumasi will write a policy framework on the topic of “Social and Civic Empowerment through Entertainment: Tapping the Potential of Africa’s Emerging Digital Ecosystem.”
The Entrepreneurship Fellows program, established in fall 2016, invites experienced technology entrepreneurs to provide guidance and mentorship to Harvard students.
Kyla Fullenwider served as the first Chief Innovation Officer of the U.S. Census Bureau. Previously, she was a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow. Fullenwider was a faculty member in the Products of Design department at the School of Visual Arts and in the joint MBA/MA program at Johns Hopkins and the Maryland Institute of Art where she taught social innovation and entrepreneurship. She is a cofounder of two companies and has a diverse portfolio of socially-engaged work spanning nearly two decades. While at the Shorenstein Center, Fullenwider will create a blueprint that can be leveraged by a broad range of organizations in service of arriving at the most complete and accurate census count in 2020.
Additionally, Jim Cashel will spend the fall 2018 semester as a Visiting Fellow. Cashel is Founder and Chairman of Forum One, a digital strategy and development firm that works at the nexus of technology, public policy, and online community. During his time at the Shorenstein Center, Cashel will research the expansion of broadband in the developing world and its impact on media.
About the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
The Shorenstein Center is a research center based at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, with a mission to study and analyze the power of media and technology and its impact on governance, public policy, and politics. Research, courses, fellowships, public events, and engagement with students, scholars, and journalists form the core of the Center. For more information, visit shorensteincenter.org/.
Media contact:
Tim Bailey, Director of Events and Fellows Programs
Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
tim_bailey@hks.harvard.edu
