In an era where effective communication and engagement are paramount, the ability to harness the power of media is crucial for advancing public understanding and shaping policy debates. Launched in 2023 and designed to empower SSN members who are new to media work, the SSN Media Fellowship is a new initiative to pair a small group of selected SSN members with mentors from the network, while also providing custom support from the national staff.
SSN Media Fellowship
Background
Program Overview
This program equips a small cohort of scholars who are seeking to expand their media work with the skills and strategies necessary to effectively communicate their research findings to a diverse audience across various media platforms, including television, radio, print, op-eds, and social media. Harnessing the power of SSN’s substantial network of publicly engaged scholars, SSN members with significant experience in the media and a relevant research agenda act as year-long mentors to SSN Media Fellows, offering their advice, feedback, and guidance to help expand the fellow’s reach and impact via the media. Additional, hands-on media workshops facilitated by SSN national staff provide fellows with the basic skills and background for engaging in media work. Finally, fellows are provided with tailored support by SSN national staff as media opportunities arise over the course of the fellowship.
Meet the 2025-26 SSN Media Fellows
Harvard University
Loren Beard is a Harvard College Fellow who received their PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 2025. Their research leverages quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the social and structural determinants of child and family well-being. Their dissertation, for instance, identifies how youth aging out of child welfare navigate system age cutoffs amidst social precarity and destabilized social ties. In related articles, published in outlets like Social Science & Medicine, Sociological Forum, and Children & Youth Services Review, they study how social policies shape the health and well-being of children and families.
Georgia State University
Behizadeh's research interests include authentic and culturally sustaining writing instruction for youth; problem- and project-based literacy learning; sociocultural writing assessment; validity of writing assessment; and social justice teacher education. She has published in a wide range of journals; including Review of Research in Education; Educational Researcher; English Journal; and Assessing Writing; and she serves on multiple editorial boards; including the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Language Arts. Behizadeh is an active member of the American Educational Research Association; the National Council of Teachers of English; and the Conference on English Education.
University of Pennsylvania
Bruhn’s research focuses on how immigration and education policies are experienced by immigrant families in geographically specific ways, shaping their opportunities for inclusion in the United States. Overarching themes in Bruhn’s writing include 1) how immigrant women negotiate the tensions between sanctuary city policies and gentrification and 2) the increasing salience of place in undocumented young adults’ lives. Prior to graduate school, Bruhn taught in public schools in Washington, DC and Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Currently, Bruhn serves as a member of a local immigrant-rights coalition and a collaborator in a research-practice partnership working on youth leadership.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Hernandez's research on leadership and higher education focuses on leadership in Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI's) in general and on Hispanic-Serving Institutions in particular. Hernandez is currently writing a book on Critical Transformation Leadership at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus
Lane's research focuses on political social work, civic engagement, and social policy. Overarching themes in Lane's writings include integration of voter engagement within human service organizations, and the need for advocacy to protect access to the right to vote. Lane serves as the Assistant Registrar of Voters in Bethany, Connecticut and is an elected member of the Bethany Board of Education. She is the co-author of Political Social Work: Using Power to Create Social Change (2018) and Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World (2024).
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Mills's research focuses on Latinx and Africana literature, particularly AfroLatinx and US-Central American literature, refugee narratives, and critical game studies. Overarching themes in Mills's writings include questions of representation and visibility, identity construction, as well as pedagogical strategies for teaching issues of race and ethnicity in print and digital media. She examines how games shape how people imagine what it means to be Latino. Mills has served as a speaker and workshop leader for Humanities TX.
Bates College
Tieken’s research centers on racial and educational equity in rural schools and communities. Her recently published book—Educated Out: How Rural Students Navigate Elite Colleges and What it Costs Them—focuses on the college experiences of rural, first-generation students. Her previous book Why Rural Schools Matter examines how rural schools create community and shape the racial landscapes of these towns. She is currently working on a project that examines the impacts of school closure on rural Black communities. Tieken also writes about rural demographics, race and rural politics, and community organizing for education reform. Before receiving her doctorate, she taught in rural Tennessee.
