University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Ph.D., Journalism, May 1998
4.0 G.P.A.
Incarnate Word College, San Antonio, Texas
M.A., Communication Arts, May 1990
3.96 G.P.A.
Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
B.A., Journalism, Radio and Television, May 1983
3.68 G.P.A., 3.98 in major, Cum Laude graduate
Institute of European Studies, Madrid, Spain
Junior Year Abroad, 1981-1982
Liberty High School, Liberty, Texas
May 1979, Magna Cum Laude graduate
Professional History
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Palo Alto College, San Antonio, Texas
August 2006-present, full-time/tenured associate professor
August 2003-May 2006, full-time/tenured assistant professor
August 2002-May 2003, full-time/tenure-track assistant professor
August 1999-May 2002, full-time/tenure-track instructor
August 1998-June 1999, full-time/temporary instructor
Responsibilities include serving as Lead Instructor for the Communications Department while teaching Introduction to Mass Communications; News Gathering and Writing; and Editing, Layout and Headlines classes at this Alamo Community College. Palo Alto’s Communications Department now boasts 110 declared majors, up from 66 when I began working at Palo Alto in 1998. Twenty-two students graduated in May 2007 with an associate’s degrees in Communications. Under my direction, a student-produced publication, “The Pulse,” was launched during the Fall of 1998. Since then, the 12-page newsletter is published twice each semester ―in print and online versions ― by students in my News Gathering & Writing and Editing classes to inform the Palo Alto community of the people, news and activities taking place on and around campus. Under my leadership, the Palo Alto College High School Journalism Contest was inaugurated in the Spring of 2002 to recognize journalism excellence at high schools in this region. Finally, as founder of Palo Alto College’s Summer School in Spain, four cohorts of Alamo Community College students have experienced study abroad in one of the world’s most beautiful countries. In all, I have coordinated three study abroads (Spain 2004, Mexico 2006, and Spain 2007) and one Spring Break “Broadway and the Arts” Educational Tour to New York City (2005).
FREE-LANCE WRITER, SPEAKER AND CONSULTANT, January 1990-present
Clients include the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, Family Services Association, Groves-Cheney Public Relations, “Journey to Justice” (A.P. Tureaud documentary film), “Taking a Seat for Justice” (Baton Rouge Sit-Ins documentary film), Brackenridge Children’s Hospital, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, UT-Austin’s Continuing Education Department, Our Lady of the Lake University, and editor of Laura Lopez’s book, “The Connected and Committed Leader”.
ASSOCIATE INSTRUCTOR
August 1997-May 1998
The University of Texas at Austin
Associate Instructor for J312: Writing for the Mass Media, a core course for all journalism majors. Responsibilities included teaching two sections of a hands-on writing lab, which emphasized reporting and print writing; grading in-class and out-of-class assignments; and preparing AP Stylebook exams.
TEACHING ASSISTANT
August 1993-May 1996
The University of Texas at Austin
Teaching Assistant for J320: Broadcast Journalism Writing, the first of three courses for broadcast journalism sequence majors. Responsibilities included coordinating six semesters of a television news laboratory, where students wrote and produced a 15-minute live newscast and rotated positions from cameraperson to anchor; teaching students how to operate the television equipment; grading news stories; and preparing exams.
MEDIA STUDIES INSTRUCTOR
August 1991-May 1993
Texas Lutheran College, Seguin, Texas
Tenure-track Media Studies Instructor in the Communication Arts Department of this liberal arts college. Responsibilities included teaching Contemporary News Reporting and Writing; Advanced Reporting, Writing and Interviewing; Issues in Contemporary Mass Communications, a critical thinking course; Media Ethics; Introduction to Mass Communications; Public Relations; and Television Analysis and Criticism; also, advising the school newspaper and yearbook staffs and serving on various committees, such as the Publications Council.
INTERIM PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
February 1991-July 1991
Palo Alto College, San Antonio, Texas
Responsibilities included writing copy for brochures, press releases, and feature stories; organizing and writing the annual report, college catalog and class schedule; coordinating the college’s first Baccalaureate Ceremony; and developing Palo Alto PLUS, a two plus two articulation agreement with four-year colleges and universities.
WRITER AND FIELD PRODUCER
January 1990-January 1991
PBS’s “Heritage” Series, San Antonio, Texas
For two seasons, I wrote and field produced for this national series that showcased Latino heritage and culture in more than 70 television markets.
DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
February 1984-December 1989
Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital, San Antonio, Texas
Overall coordination of the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon, the largest and most successful fundraising vehicle in the Children’s Hospital’s 30-year history. More than $4 million was raised during my tenure. Responsibilities included writing and producing a 22-hour live television production; writing and producing more that 50 compelling patient success stories that aired during KMOL-TV4’s newscasts and the telethon; creating press materials and media contacts which stimulated the most pre- and post-coverage ever received; managing large corporate sponsorships; planning and organizing innovative special events; and supervising a large volunteer telethon committee.
ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVE
October 1983-January 1984
Summit Publishing Company, San Antonio, Texas
Responsibilities included handling all advertising sales for the San Antonio Visitor and Convention Guide, which resulted in the largest issue ever published.
LBJ INTERN
Summer 1981
Hon. Charles Wilson, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
Responsibilities included working with press secretary writing press releases and letters to constituents.
Starfish Award, a student-nominated award present to a professor who has made a difference in his/her students’ lives, January 2005
“24-hour Media Fast,” Palo Alto Review, Spring 2004 publication
Served as a panelist for the SoL Center “Media Ethics” discussion, February 2004
“Student-produced newsletter serves both the novice journalist and the college community, Innovation Abstracts, Fall 2003 publication
Presented “Media Distortion” at the University of the Incarnate Word’s Annual Peace Day, October 2002
Teaching Excellence Award for Innovation and Creativity presented at the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Conference, May 2002
Presented “Local Television News and Viewer Empowerment: Why the Public’s Main Source of News Falls Short” at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s national conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in August 2000
Presented dissertation at a juried national public journalism conference at the University of South Carolina, October 1998
Awarded a $11,000 University Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin for the 1996-1997 academic year
Graduate Student Award, Broadcast Education Association’s 1997 News Division Paper Competition for “Local Television News and Viewer Empowerment: TV Journalism’s Role in Empowering and Informed and Active Public”
Presented “Words vs. Actions: A Case Study Involving the Social Responsibility of Broadcast Journalists” poster at the Scholar-to-Scholar session of the 1995 Broadcast Education Association’s National Conference. Organized and moderated “My Best News Writing Exercise” panel at this same conference.
Who’s Who Among American Teachers, 2004
Selected to attend an all-expenses-paid “Diversity Across the Curriculum” seminar for journalism educators at The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida, June 2002
Women in Communication’s Proliner Award for Excellence, “Heritage” series’ “Latina Doctors,” 1991
Outstanding Young Woman of America, 1985, 1988
Young Career Woman, River City Business and Professional Women, 1988
Member, International Education Committee, Fall 1998-present. In the Spring of 1999, I organized the first-ever Monterrey Getaway for students, faculty, staff and families. From January 2000 to December 2001, I coordinated the mentorship program for 17 rural Central American teachers who are on a year-long sabbatical at Palo Alto College. In the Spring of 2001, I was asked to represent Palo Alto College at the International Consortium for Education and Economic Development (ICEED) Conference in Saltillo, Mexico. Also, I helped to develop the International Studies Certificate that is offered to all Palo Alto students to help broaden their horizons. In the Summer of 2003, I developed a study abroad program in Spain for Alamo Community College students that has hosted four cohorts of students since that time.
Member, Faculty Senate, Fall 2002-present. I was elected by my departmental peers to represent them in Palo Alto College’s Faculty Senate. In Fall 2004 and Spring 2005, I served as Vice President of the Faculty Senate. Since the Fall of 2005, I serve as the hospitality chair.
Member, Academic Affairs Council, Fall 2006-present
Publicity Coordinator, Catholic Campus Ministry, Fall 2007-present
Chair, Search Committee for Palo Alto College’s Director of Public Relations, Fall 2004
POC (Point of Contact), Communications Department web liaison to the Instructional Innovation Staff, Fall 1998-present
Member, Diane Greene Memorial Scholarship Committee, Fall 2002-present.
Member, Marketing, Recruitment and Extended Services Council, Fall 2001-Spring 2004.
Member, Alamo Area Council of Governments’ Air Quality Public Education Committee, Fall 2003-Fall 2006
Judge, Texas Community Newspaper Association 2005 “Best of Texas” Competition
Chair, “Meet the Pros” Committee, Association for Women in Communications, Fall 2001-Spring 2003. For two years, I organized this event for area college and university Communications students to meet Communications professionals. Outreach and publicity doubled the first event’s attendance from the previous year. In addition, students were able to place their resumes in a notebook for AWC members to access, and students signed up to “shadow” a professional for a day. From Fall 1998-Spring 2001, I coordinated AWC’s Scholarship Committee, which awarded area Communications students the Michele Lima and Ajay Castro Scholarships. During my tenure, the amount of scholarship money raised for the Ajay Castro Scholarship Fund quadrupled.
Member, San Antonio Express-News Community Advisory Board, January 2001-December 2001.
Neighborhood City Council Liaison, Fall 1998-present. Successfully organized neighbors to lobby the San Antonio City Council for sidewalk installation.
Parent volunteer at Cambridge Elementary, Fall 2003-present, PTO Newsletter Editor and classroom volunteer; Howard Early Childhood Center, Fall 2002-Spring 2003; The Acorn School, Fall 2000-May 2002.
Junior Troop 849 Leader, Fall 2006-present
Brownie Troop 849 Leader, Fall 2003-Spring 2006
Daisy Troop 3151 Leader, Fall 2002-Spring 2004
Parish volunteer, St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, Fall 1998-present
Professional Organization Memberships
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
Alliance for a Media Literate America
Association of Women Journalists, South Texas Chapter
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators