Directors and Staff

Dr. Anne Johnston, Co-Director, James Howard and Hallie McLean Parker Distinguished Professor in the UNC School of Media and Journalism, where she teaches courses in research methods and media and gender. Her research has appeared in Political Communication, Journal of Communication, Feminist Media Studies, Journalism Quarterly, Political Communication Review, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and the Journal of Human Trafficking.

Dr. Barbara Friedman, Co-Director, is an associate professor in the UNC School of Media and Journalism. A former journalist, Friedman’s teaching and research focus on media history and race/class/gender. Her work has been published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Feminist Media Studies, Journalism History, the  Journal of Human Trafficking, among other journals. She is a former editor of American Journalism.

Emily “Em” Hagstrom, Staff Writer, is an advocate for violence prevention and gender equity with a background in public policy and media production. She most recently managed the publication of the Status of Women in NC: Health and Wellness Report (PDF) and has written for the National Women’s Law Center, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and Women AdvaNCe, among other organizations. Twitter: @emhagstrom.

Farnosh Mazandarani, Graduate Assistant, is a Roy H. Park Fellow in the UNC School of Media and Journalism doctoral program. She is a graduate of California State University-Fullerton with an MA in mass communication research and theory, and a BA in communication, entertainment studies and cinematic arts. She has worked in broadcast standards and practices with Disney/ABC and MTV.

Ashley Hedrick, Graduate Assistant, is a Roy H. Park Fellow in the UNC School of Media and Journalism master’s program. As a research-track student, she plans to study entertainment media effects. She graduated from Clemson University in 2016 with BAs in Communication Studies and English. She has interned at Clemson Media Relations and BMW Manufacturing Co.

Board of Advisors

•  Dr. Donna Bickford, Director, Women’s and Gender Resource Center, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, and former Director,
  Carolina Women’s Center
  
• Abigail English, Director, Center for Adolescent Health and the Law, Chapel Hill, NC
  
• Dr. Rebecca J. Macy,  L. Richardson Preyer Distinguished Chair for Strengthening Families, School of Social Work,
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  
• Dr. Autumn Shafer, Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon