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 2023-24 SSN Media Fellows:
Center for Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addictions at the University of New Mexico
Nina Christie is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addictions at the University of New Mexico. Christie’s research is focused on the intersection of substance use disorders, social connection, and policy. Her dissertation work focused on the role of social connection and social isolation in opioid use disorder. Christie will be working with mentor Keith Humphreys, the Esther Ting Memorial Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.
Florida International University
Asia Eaton is a feminist social psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida International University (FIU), where she directs the Power, Women, and Relationships (PWR) Lab. Eaton’s research focuses on social and psychological causes and consequences of sexism. Specifically, she explores how gender intersects with identities such as race, sexual orientation, age, and class to affect individuals' access to and experience with social power in intimate partner relationships and in the workplace. Eaton will be working with mentor Juliet A. Williams, Professor of Gender Studies and Chair of the UCLA Social Science Interdepartmental Program.
Syracuse University
Eman Tadros is an Assistant Professor and the Marriage and Family Counseling Track Leader at Governors State University in the Division of Psychology and Counseling. Tadros' research focuses on incarcerated couples and families, following the trajectory of incarcerated coparenting, incorporating family therapy into incarcerated settings, and the utilization of family systems theories within these settings. Tadros will be working with mentor Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Co-Director of Research at The Sentencing Project.
Drexel University
Alina Schnake-Mahl is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Health Collaborative and the Department of Health Policy and Management at Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health. Schnake-Mahl's research focuses on the social, policy, and political determinants of health disparities. Overarching themes in her work include how city and state social policies, specifically housing and occupational policies, interact to produce or reduce inequities in health. Schnake-Mahl will be working with mentor Carrie Henning-Smith, Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota.