Resume

• 1999

  Mars Area High School

  Ph.D.

  Communication and Rhetorical Studies

• 1996

  M.A.

  Corporate Communication

• 1993

  German

  B.A.

  Graduated summa cum laude.

  Classical Civilization

• Organizational Culture

  Facebook

  Teaching/mentoring

  Project Management

  Management Development

  Volunteer Management

  Change Management

  Public Relations

  Leadership Development

  Corporate Social Responsibility

  Corporate Communications

  Writing

  Non-profits

  Strategic Planning

  Market Research

  Event Planning

  Leadership

  College Teaching

  Teaching

  Business Information

  Education for the Love of the World: Hannah Arendt’s Philosophy of Education and Communication Studies

  Amidst a challenging moment of transition in American higher education

  this article uses Arendt’s examination of American educational institutions and her reflections on the human condition to develop a philosophy of education that speaks to communication studies. Sharply critical of the unreflective emphasis on newness and normalization that she saw in American schools

  Arendt suggests an alternative philosophy of education grounded simultaneously in the contemplation of tradition and the pursuit of natality through the active life of labor

  work

  and action. Together

  tradition and natality open a new approach to communication education in the liberal arts tradition that challenges educators and students alike not only to understand the world around them but also to take responsibility for its renewal.

  Education for the Love of the World: Hannah Arendt’s Philosophy of Education and Communication Studies

  How can American dioceses navigate this complex and often hostile social

  cultural

  and political environment? Today

  rhetorical and communication issues emerge everywhere in American Catholicism. Drawing together relevant literature in Catholic theology

  philosophy of communication

  and corporate communication scholarship—as well as over twelve years’ experience working as a communication professional in a diocesan chancery—this book helps diocesan leaders

  scholars

  and observers to think differently and more fruitfully about the future of American Catholic ecclesial leadership.

  Communicating Catholicism: Rhetoric

  Ecclesial Leadership

  and the Future of the American Roman Catholic Diocese

  Amidst funding cuts

  increasing competition

  and growing demands for service

  nonprofit human services organizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of marketing communication

  especially branding. However

  Van Riel and Fombrun’s (2007) corporate communication theory suggests that focusing too intently on branding may actually weaken these organizations over the long term. Drawing on a series of focus groups with a cohort of human services nonprofits

  this study extends Van Riel and Fombrun’s theory into the nonprofit context and reveals the importance of a balanced approach to nonprofit corporate communication.

  Beyond Branding: Van Riel and Fombrun’s Corporate Communication Theory in the Human Services Sector

  Since 2002

  the Roman Catholic sexual abuse scandal has had disastrous and far-reaching effects on both the church's ability to interact with its internal publics and its ability to pursue its public agenda. This paper blends the author's experience as a public relations practitioner in the Roman Catholic Church with Gerard Hauser's theory of publics and public spheres articulated in \"Vernacular Voices: The Rhetoric of Publics and Public Spheres\" to discover how organizations could improve their responses to crises.

  Weathering the Storm: Hauser's Vernacular Voices

  Public Relations and the Roman Catholic Church's Sexual Abuse Scandal

  Public Relations as Humane Conversation: Richard Rorty

  Stakeholder Theory and Public Relations Practice

  While R. Edward Freeman’s stakeholder theory has become one of the most generative contemporary management theories and has shaped the public relations lexicon

  its influence on public relations theory and practice has been muted. In this essay

  I use the work of the American pragmatist philosopher Richard Rorty to resituate Freeman’s theory and offer a vision of public relations practice that is grounded in what can be called humane conversation. After describing both the promise and limitations of stakeholder theory

  I provide an overview of Rorty’s philosophical project and describe potential points of contact with Freeman’s theory. Then

  I suggest how this encounter can frame a new understanding of public relations grounded in Rorty’s notions of contingency

  irony

  and solidarity

  in which scholars

  professionals

  and students learn to see themselves as humane intellectuals in the fullest sense of the term.

  Public Relations as Humane Conversation: Richard Rorty

  Stakeholder Theory and Public Relations Practice

  This article uses the work of Jean-Luc Marion to explore the Roman Catholic sexual-abuse scandal in the United States

  perhaps the most damaging crisis in American religious history. We argue that Marion’s phenomenological philosophy

  particularly his notion of responsive witness

  extends crisis communication theory by providing resources to help institutions like the Catholic Church facing what we call wicked crisis—events so intractable and threatening that they leave even the best leaders speechless and the most prepared organizations grasping for answers. While nothing can “fix” wicked crisis

  responsive witness offers organizations experiencing such situations another possibility: an opportunity to become what they always should have been.

  From “Wicked Crisis” to Responsive Witness: Jean-Luc Marion and the American Roman Catholic Sexual Abuse Scandal

  This study explores the interrelationship between Cooperrider’s appreciative inquiry and Arnett

  Fritz

  and Bell’s communication ethics literacy through interviews with professionals struggling with a mid-Atlantic city’s opioid epidemic. Findings suggest that appreciative inquiry can pinpoint the “light” groups protect and promote

  while communication ethics literacy can clarify “shadows” hindering appreciative inquiry implementations and propose communicative practices to strengthen those goods.

  Light and Shadows: Appreciative Inquiry

  Communication Ethics Literacy

  and the Opioid Epidemic

  Craig T.

  Maier

  Diocese of Pittsburgh

  Cobind

  Hosanna Industries

  Inc.

  Dewey & Kaye

  Diocese of Pittsburgh

  Duquesne University

  Duquesne University

  Staff Communicator

  Coordinated crisis communication and media relations during 9/11 terrorist attacks.

  Diocese of Pittsburgh

  Foundation Relations

  Wrote grant proposals to provide home construction and emergency home maintenance to households earning a median income of $13

  000 a year. Designed and led annual staff retreat

  and taught impoverished elementary school students in supplemental summer reading program.

  Hosanna Industries

  Inc.

  Duquesne University

  Greater Pittsburgh Area

  Associate Professor

  Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies

  Wrote product bulletins for a technology start-up developing a web-based build system called DiY Linux Build Tools.

  Cobind

  Coordinator for Special Projects

  Wrote

  edited

  designed

  and coordinated communication for a regional initiative. Developed an institutional leadership curriculum based on best practices and national guidelines

  and conducted surveys to support organizational planning.

  Diocese of Pittsburgh

  Consultant

  Client development and marketing

  project management

  research and corporate communications consulting.

  Dewey & Kaye

  Staff Communicator

  Grant proposals raised $190

  000 for an institutional fundraising campaign.

  Diocese of Pittsburgh

  Duquesne University

  Greater Pittsburgh Area

  Assistant Professor

  Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies

  Professional writer for a regional non-profit providing direct human services

  education

  technical support

  and consulting to 700

  000 people through 212 branches. Writing experience includes researching

  writing

  editing

  and designing books

  feature articles

  book reviews

  columns

  press releases

  newsletters

  brochures

  manuals

  and marketing communication.\n\nManaged numerous communication projects by building relationships

  identifying essential milestones

  negotiating with vendors

  collaborating with staff

  solving problems with \nstakeholders

  and balancing multiple interests and interpersonal styles.\n\nWork won 15 professional awards

  including three national Catholic Communication Campaign Proclaim Awards

  for communication planning and design.

  Diocese of Pittsburgh