Last name starts with A

Last name starts with B

Laura BonDurant Sr. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs SOC | General Academics & Research

Laura BonDurant joined the SOC in Janauary 2010. Prior to her role in the SOC she served as the Director of the Center for Academic Success at The Catholic University of America. Previously she was th

  bonduran@american.edu

  (202) 885-2054

Jake Bridges Associate Director of Development, SOC ADV | Schools and Colleges

Jake is a former NYC-based stage actor turned Advancement professional. He came to AU for graduate school in 2019 and never left. He can found around DC supporting the arts or exploring the city's abu

  jbridges@american.edu

Last name starts with C

Veronica Castro Online Content Manager SOC | General Academics & Research

Veronica J. Castro is part of the Communications and Outreach team at SOC. She manages SOC's website and social media platforms, producing content, directing campaigns, and collaborating with universi

  veronica@american.edu

  (202) 885-2130

Nora Cook Academic Advisor SOC | Advising

Nora Cook joined the School of Communication in February 2024. Prior to joining AU, she served in various academic advising roles in Louisville, KY at Jefferson Community and Technical College. She is

  ncook@american.edu

Last name starts with D

Alexis Downey Academic Advisor SOC | Advising

Alexis joined SOC in September 2023. She has extensive experience working with undergraduate students, having held positions in both academic and student affairs at institutions across the country inc

  adowney@american.edu

  (202) 885-2090

Morgan Dreibelbis Senior Administrative Assistant SOC | Finance & Personnel Administration

Morgan Dreibelbis is Assistant to the Dean at the SOC who works with the Dean and Senior Assistant Dean. She provides executive administrative support and management of operations in the Dean’s office

  mdreibelbis@american.edu

  (202) 885-2158

Julie Drizin Executive Director, Current SOC | Current Newspaper

Julie Drizin joined SOC in 2015, as the first Executive Director of Current, the trade publication that serves public broadcasting. She has worked in and around public media for over three decades. Sh

  julie@current.org

Last name starts with E

Karen Everhart Managing Editor, Current SOC | Current Newspaper

Karen is managing editor of Current, the news service covering public media in the United States. Before her promotion into the job in 2011, she covered every major beat at Current — including public

  everhart@current.org

  (202) 885-6414

Last name starts with F

Tom Fish Technology Manager SOC | Technology

A member of the AU community since 2006, Tom Fish currently serves as Media Services Manager in the School of Communication. He oversees video production and post-production facilities, a newsroom, ph

  tfish@american.edu

  (202) 885-2132

Tara Flakker Director of Undergraduate Student & Academic Affairs SOC | General Academics & Research

Tara Flakker joined the School of Communication in January 2014. Prior to AU, she was an at home parent and community advocate on school food inequity in DC. Before breaking from full time employment

  flakker@american.edu

  (202) 885-2088

Last name starts with H

Last name starts with I

Grace Ibrahim Video Production Coordinator SOC | General Academics & Research

Originally Palestinian, Grace Ibrahim grew up all over the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain. She is now living in Arlington, VA pursuing everything video and audio production!

  gracei@american.edu

Last name starts with J

Mike Janssen Digital Editor, Current SOC | Current Newspaper

Mike became Current's first digital editor in 2014 and began writing for Current in 2000, covering primarily public radio and digital initiatives in public media. Mike has also written for a variety o

  mike@current.org

Leena Jayaswal Interim Dean, School of Communication SOC | General Academics & Research

Leena Jayaswal is a documentary filmmaker, award-winning photographer and Professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington DC, where she is the director of the new BA in P

  ljayasw@american.edu

  (202) 885-2662

Last name starts with K

Elizabeth Kan Faculty Affairs Coordinator SOC | General Academics & Research

Liz Kan is the Faculty Affairs Coordinator in the School of Communication. Some of her main duties include managing SOC faculty appointments, reappointments and promotions, as well as aiding in facult

  lizkan@american.edu

  (202) 885-2751

Cara Kelly Adjunct Instructor SOC | Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW)

Cara Kelly is the editor-at-large at the Investigative Reporting Workshop andan adjunct journalism professor at American University’s School of Communications. She spent nearly five years on USA Today

  carak@american.edu

Katerina Kulagina Assistant Dean for Graduate Academic Services SOC | General Academics & Research

Dr. Katerina Kulagina serves as Assistant Dean of Graduate Academic Services at AU's School of Communication. She has over 20 years of experience working in higher education. Katerina joined AU SOC in

  katerina@american.edu

  (202) 885-2272

Last name starts with L

Michael Laing Financial Operations Manager, IRW SOC | Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW)

Michael Laing joined IRW in December, 2022 after spending 25 years in a variety of roles at The Washington Post. Most recently he was with the Client Solutions Team where he developed print and digita

  laing@american.edu

  (202) 885-6353

Last name starts with M

Brendan Manley Digital Enrollment Marketing Manager SOC | Online Partner Programs (OPM)

Brendan Manley is a recent graduate from American University's own Master of Strategic Communications program. Before coming to American University, he received a Bachelor’s degree in English from Ham

  brendanm@american.edu

Jean McGee Senior Graduate Academic Advisor SOC | General Academics & Research

Jean McGee serves as the graduate advisor for all graduate students in the School of Communication: full-time, part-time, weekend, and online.Jean advises the graduate students from the time their dep

  jmcgee@american.edu

  (202) 885-2078

Tia Milledge Director, Communication & Outreach SOC | General Academics & Research

As Director of Communication and Outreach, Tia oversees communication strategy for the School of Communication to better engage current and prospective students, alumni and donors. She coordinates clo

  milledge@american.edu

  (202) 885-3695

Last name starts with P

Kristi Plahn-Gjersvold Sr. Asst. Dean, Strat. Partnerships & Internal Affairs SOC | General Academics & Research

As Senior Assistant Dean for Strategic Partnerships & Internal Affairs, Kristi provides leadership for the School of Communication’s external research funding administration, execution of strategic pa

  kristipg@american.edu

  (202) 885-2059

Last name starts with R

Varsha Ramani Director of Operations, CMSI SOC | General Academics & Research

Varsha Ramani is the Director of Operations for the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI). She is a marketing communications professional with an expertise in building relationships to work with mul

  varsha@american.edu

  (202) 885-3641

Julio Reyes Academic Advisor SOC | General Academics & Research

Julio joined the School of Communication as an academic advisor in Fall 2022. Julio was born and raised in Maryland. He has a Masters in Academic Advising from Kansas State University. Julio is enthus

  julior@american.edu

Pamela Roberts Director, IRW Development SOC | Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW)

Pamela Roberts brings to IRW decades of nonprofit fundraising experience connecting donor interests with the missions of strong organizations. She raised philanthropic support for Imagination Stage, t

  pamelar@american.edu

  (202) 885-3601

Laura Rogers Business Manager, Current SOC | Current Newspaper

I've been with SOC/Current as manager of business and circulation since 2005. The majority of my career has been accounting and office management positions for non-profit organizations.

  lrogers@american.edu

  (202) 885-6412

Stephanie Rucker Senior Director of Enrollment Management and Analytics SOC | Online Partner Programs (OPM)

Stephanie returned to American University in 2020, after five years at the American Immigration Council, where she led business development of private sector exchange visitor programs for interns and

  rucker@american.edu

  (202) 885-2025

Last name starts with S

Shaun Schroth Adjunct Instructor SOC | General Academics & Research

Shaun oversees the Photography Labs at American. These include the darkroom, film processing, studio, and digital work areas in the Media Production Center.

  shaun@american.edu

  (202) 885-2094

Aleksandra Shatokhina Graduate Admissions Specialist SOC | Online Partner Programs (OPM)

Aleksandra Shatokhina, an American University alumna with a Master's in Strategic Communications and a Bachelor's in International Relations from Florida International University, has seamlessly trans

  aleksandra@american.edu

Last name starts with T

Khadine Thomas Administrative Assistant, Academic Affairs SOC | General Academics & Research

Khadine Thomas is the Academic Affairs Administrative Assistant at American University in Washington D.C. She graduated Florida International University double majoring in Political Science and Intern

  kthomas@american.edu

Meriem Tikue Assistant Director, Finance & Grants SOC | Finance & Personnel Administration

Meriem Tikue joined the SOC in July 2022. She is responsible for financial management and budget administration, including expense approvals, development of processes and procedures for budget forecas

  meriem@american.edu

Hallie Tingstad Recruitment Coordinator SOC | Recruitment & Enrollment Management

Hallie comes to AU's SOC as a recent J.D. graduate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she also served as a graduate recruiter.As a law student, she served as a research assistant

  hallie@american.edu

Last name starts with U

Ana Maria Ulloa-Shields Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Academic Services SOC | Advising

Ana Maria joined SOC as Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Student Services in February 2022. Ana Maria has leadership experience at Carnegie Mellon and Columbia Universities, serving in Assistant, Asso

  anamaria@american.edu

  (202) 885-2049

Last name starts with V

Katherine Vera Event Planning Manager SOC | General Academics & Research

Katherine, who also goes by Kati, is the main point of contact for aspects of McKinley events and facilities usage and related logistics. She is responsible for American University’s booking system (E

  kati@american.edu

Last name starts with W

Last name starts with Z