Welcome. I'm a senior communications and media relations leader with more than a decade of experience at research universities, including USC, the University of Cambridge, and CUNY. My work spans media strategy, science writing, AI content, and institutional storytelling. Below is a selection of writing samples from across my career.
Writing Samples
Underground heat and sediment patterns control how earthquakes behave along one of the most dangerous faults in the eastern Mediterranean.
USC Marshall Dean Geoffrey Garrett talks about the university president’s AI Strategy Committee and leading university-wide efforts to integrate AI ethically and responsibly across all disciplines.
A USC report reveals most students use tools like ChatGPT to shortcut assignments, unless professors actively guide them toward deeper, more thoughtful usage.
The USC researcher shares how her work in remote sensing is helping scientists, students and institutions take action.
USC faculty are getting closer to understanding what happens in your brain when you hear a familiar song — which could affect those struggling with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Gender and technology confidence are factors in the use of AI in education, a new study from the USC Center for Generative AI and Society reveals.
USC programs are recognized for student engagement and racial equity from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Russell, AI division director at the USC Information Sciences Institute, discusses his impressions of the recent U.K. AI Safety Summit.
The USC Frontiers of Computing initiative will create the new USC School of Advanced Computing and a new campus in Silicon Beach to apply high-tech solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.
The novel method developed by USC pharmacy and chemistry researchers has exciting implications for plastic waste collecting on Catalina Island and L.A.-area beaches.
USC University Professor Emeritus Michael Waterman stood at the forefront of computational biology 40 years ago. The world is still catching up.
USC spatial scientist John Wilson discusses the benefits of more trees in the urban core, the differences between Beverly Hills and Boyle Heights, and how trees will shape L.A.’s future.
In only five years, the Buchanan Initiative for Peace and Nonviolence has made an indelible mark on the entire Avila community.
CSJ values guided Mary Morrow-Bax ’64 during pivotal personal and professional challenges.
Seniors and juniors from Avila University’s School of Nursing served at two Kansas City hospitals this semester as part of the on-going COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
Consolidating its strength in adult continuing education, Avila University announced today the creation of a new initiative, the Workforce Development Academy @ Avila University, which will begin workshops on March 25.
Senior Brandon Phillips earned the 2020 MarCom Platinum Award in January, the highest honor from one of the largest, most respected creative marketing and communication competitions in the world.
When head coach Marc Benavidez ’12 led the Avila Eagle football team to a signature win over nationally-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University on October 24, most of the attention rightly went to the outstanding performances of juniors Malik Nesbitt and Andrew Williams. But in improving to 3-1 for the 2020 season, Benavidez earned his 17th career win and became the winningest head coach in Avila football history.
Preparedness is essential to a successful career in imaging sciences. Understanding and correctly utilizing advanced imaging equipment can provide medical professionals an inside look at the human body, giving them a better chance of successfully diagnosing and treating the patient.
Since opening in March, the Avila community pantry Feed Your Friends has provided more than 120 households with nutritious meals and essential resources amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teachers helped Cornell Ellis ’13 during one of the most challenging periods of his life. Founding a nonprofit organization supporting educators was a fitting way to repay their support.
When Ryan Ratzlaff received the Beverly C. Allen ’73 Endowed Scholarship, he knew it would help him achieve his goal of earning his graduate degree in special education from Avila. But it wasn’t until he met Bob De Yong, the scholarship’s benefactor and member of the Avila Heritage Society, that he learned about the legacy of special education he was continuing.
Psychology Today recently featured research from Avila researchers Ashley K. Fansher, Ph.D. and Sara Eckinger about differences between users and non-users of dating apps. Fansher, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, and Eckinger, Program Coordinator for Eagles Aware, originally published their study in the academic journal Deviant Behavior in March earlier this year.
The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded Avila University $2.2 million in funding through the Title III-Strengthening Institutions Program. This grant will support the development of Project RISE, a new initiative designed to increase graduation and persistence rates among Avila students.
After Hayley Thagard graduated in 2015 from high school in Sabetha, Kansas, a small town near the Nebraska border, she was not ready to choose a career, or even a major. Community college made sense as a lower-cost, lower-risk choice to continue her education while she decided what she wanted to pursue.
When the curtain rises on the New Theatre and Restaurant’s production of “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood” on November 22, Avila University will be well-represented both on- and backstage, highlighted by the professional debuts for undergraduates Gavin Merrill and Sam Stratton.
The interplay of politics, sex and religion in the United States concerns Leslie Dorrough Smith, associate professor of religious studies at Avila University, in her most recent book, “Compromising Positions: Sex Scandals, Politics, and American Christianity,” published on November 1 by Oxford University Press.
Alexis Delgado, a junior biochemistry premed major at Avila University, spent her summer break a bit differently than most of her classmates – she was crunching MRI data in support of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Miami as part of a “research experience for undergraduates”, or REU.