Sharmeen Ahsan-Bracciale
,Director of Graduate Services
Sharmeen Ahsan-Bracciale joined SOC in April 2008 as the Director of Graduate Services. Prior to her role at SOC, she served as the Administrative Director of the Executive Development Program at The George Washington University School of Business. P... [More]
Carl Beimfohr
,Associate Dean for Administration & Planning
Ed, who joined SOC in May 2010, brings an unusual background with dual career tracks in media and higher education management. On the media side, Ed has been an entrepreneur in FM radio, a trained actor (SAG & AFTRA member), video producer/director (... [More]
CharLynn Bolden
,Grants Manager
CharLynn Bolden joined SOC in October 2009 as the Grants Manager. She has contracts and management experience where she worked for the DC Office of the State Superintendent, DC Justice Grants Administration, and IBM, where she spent nearly a decade. ... [More]
Laura BonDurant
,Assistant Dean, Student & Academic Affairs
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 the Assistant Dean at Georgetown University's School... [More]
Casey Bridgers
,Academic Division Coordinator
Casey Bridgers joined the AU School of Communication in January 2011. As the Academic Division Coordinator, she supports the division directors and adjuncts, and also maintains the schedule of classes.Prior to joining the SOC staff, Casey spent two y... [More]
Youzeng Chen
,Media Production Technician
Works primarily in the Media Production Center, assisting Director of Media Operations to ensure the TV facilities operate efficiently at all times that involve the creation of high quality video and digital media programming. Responsible for all the... [More]
Erin Curtin
,Academic Advisor
Erin G. Curtin is the lead Undergraduate Academic Advisor within the School of Communication. Erin has been with SOC since 2001 and originally held the position of the Senior Administrative Assistant. In 2003 she was promoted to Academic Advisor. In ... [More]
Amy Eisman
,Director of Writing Programs
Amy Eisman oversees SOC's basic writing classes and is Director of the 12-year-old weekend MA in Interactive Journalism. Eisman was an editor with Gannett for 17 years, first as a cover story editor at USA TODAY and later as Executive Editor of USA W... [More]
Frank Fitzmaurice
,Director of Technology Services
Frank Fitzmaurice joined the School of Communication after spending more than thirty years in Washington news and media organizations. At SOC he oversees the technology staff at the school's various labs and classrooms, as well as the Wechsler Theate... [More]
Christine Frezek
,Academic Advisor
Christine Frezek joined the School of Communication in September of 2009. She is an academic advisor working with students who have last names beginning N through Z. Christine worked in advising and career development for 4 years prior to coming to A... [More]
Jill Grinager
,Associate Director, Graduate Services
Jill Grinager is the Associate Director of Graduate Services. Jill is academic advisor for doctoral students, fields prospective student inquiries and manages the application process for all incoming School of Communication graduate students. A membe... [More]
Jill Swiatowy Heitzmann
,Sr. Advisor, Undergraduate Recruitment & Retention
Jill has been with the School of Communication since September 2009, managing the development of the schedule of classes and leading recruitment and retention initiatives for undergraduates in the School of Communication. Prior to coming to American ... [More]
Kristian Higgins
,Financial Operations Manager
Kris is the Financial Operations Manager for SOC's research centers housed at the New Mexico Ave. offices: thee Investigative Reporting Workshop, J-Lab, and the Center for Social Media. Prior to joining SOC Staff, Kris was with AU's Washington Colleg... [More]
Jean Kinnahan McGee
,Graduate Academic Advising Coordinator
Jean McGee serves as the graduate advisor for all graduate students, full-time, part-time, and weekend, in the School of Communication. She has been working with the SOC graduate students since 2006. Prior to that she worked with SOC undergraduate st... [More]
Tara Kocourek
,Manager of Photographic Services
Tara Kocourek is the Manager of Photographic Services at American University School of Communications. A photographer based in Washington DC, she grew up as an expat in Japan, Australia and Thailand, and moved to Washington DC in 1998 to pursue an un... [More]
Elizabeth Komoroski
,Senior Administrative Assistant
Elizabeth currently assists in the Dean's Office at SOC. Prior to AU, Elizabeth was a Project Manager at Mentor (mentoring.org) assisting with a grant matching mentors with at-risk youth. Prior to Mentor, she worked in International Relations at the ... [More]
Jacques Ledbetter
,Theatre & Video Services Manager
Jacques Ledbetter is originally from North Carolina, and graduated from American University's School of Public Affairs in 2006. He began working for the School of Communication in October 2003 as a projectionist in the Wechsler Theater. He now manage... [More]
Ellen Mata
,Senior Administrative Assistant
Ellen Mata joined the School of Communication staff in the summer of 2008 as the Senior Administrative Assistant for the undergraduate office. She previously worked at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School as the Attendance Monitor to the Middle School ... [More]
Sharon Metcalf
,Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships & Programs
Sharon Metcalf blends a strong background in communications with strategic partnerships in media and education. She gained journalistic insight from several perspectives, working in Washington DC for two network news bureaus – ABC World News and NBC ... [More]
Theora Milledge
,Senior Manager, Web & Marketing Communication
As Senior Manager of Marketing and Web Communication, Tia oversees strategy and content development for the SOC website and coordinates social media and marketing campaigns designed to better engage current and prospective students, alumni and donors... [More]
Laura Murray
,Assistant Dean for Budget & Facilities
Laura Murray has been a staff member at American University since 1977. Currently she works as the Assistant Dean for Budget and Facilities in the School of Communication. Her unit is responsible for the school’s administrative needs such as budget m... [More]
Jessica Ortiz Torres
,Academic Advisor
Jessica Ortiz Torres joined the School of Communication in September of 2011. She is part of the undergraduate academic advising team and will be working with students whose last name begins with G through M. Jessica has worked in academic advising f... [More]
Kristi Plahn-Gjersvold
,Director of Projects
Kristi Plahn-Gjersvold is SOC’s Chief of Staff, working with the Dean as well as faculty and staff of the School of Communication in developing initiatives for the School’s centers, institutes, projects and campaigns, as well as providing leadership ... [More]
Zachary Prichard
,Manager of Computing Labs
Zack took over the position of Computer Labs Manager for the School of Communication in August 2008. Prior to that, he spent two years working within the SOC’s Office of Technology as a graduate student in the Film Video program. In his role as Labs ... [More]
Victoria Ramirez
,Faculty Coordinator
Victoria Ramirez is the faculty coordinator for the School of Communication. In this role, she manages SOC’s adjunct faculty actions and recruitment activities. Victoria worked in the School of Public Affairs as an administrative assistant before tra... [More]
Rose Ann Robertson
,Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, SOC
Rose Ann Robertson was a newspaper reporter and wire service editor for 20 years, editing and directing coverage of plane crashes, natural disasters and national and state elections. She has been at AU since 1993. She is a former president of the Was... [More]
Kimberly Rottschaefer
,Strategic Program & Events Coordinator
Kim Rottschaefer joined SOC in January 2012 as the Strategic Program and Events Coordinator. Immediately prior to her role in SOC, Kim worked as the Business Manager at Round House Theatre. Kim has a strong background in event and program logistics, ... [More]
Marc Tomik
,Enrollment Specialist
Marc Tomik joined the School of Communication in October 2008 as the Graduate Services Assistant. Before joining SOC, Marc had been an undergraduate at American and served as a teaching assistant and the student representative to the Board of Trustee... [More]
Michael Wargo
,Online Content Manager
Michael Wargo is an AU SOC alum, graduating with his MA in Broadcast Journalism in '07. He updates and maintains the SOC Web site. He works on page production and creation for new projects and programs as well as some news writing for the Web. He mai... [More]
Sean White
,Assistant Director of Technology Services
Sean White is a twice-over alumnus of American University, receiving his B.A. in Literature in 2004 and his M.S. in Information Technology Management in 2008. He has served the School of Communication in various capacities since 2000, joining the ful... [More]



