Project Founder & Director:
Alison Trope, Ph.D. is Clinical Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School for Communication at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism. She is the author of Stardust Monuments: The Saving and Selling of Hollywood (Dartmouth, 2012), which explores the enduring efforts to memorialize and canonize the history and meaning Hollywood takes on in our everyday lives. She teaches a range of courses in the Annenberg School on media and news literacy, gender and media, popular culture, media exhibition and distribution, and visual culture.
Associate Director:
DJ Johnson is an Associate Professor of Practice, Division of Media Arts + Practice, USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is a filmmaker and educator with over twenty years of experience in media education, specializing in media strategies for social change and community organizing. DJ has designed curricula and implemented educational programs internationally. He serves on the Board of Directors of Picture Alternatives, a nonprofit organization that uses creative media to promote the social value and effectiveness of alternatives to violence.
Assistant Director:
Jessica Hatrick
Current and Former Research Assistants:
Dr. Stefanie Demetriades, Dr. Briana Ellerbe, Dr. Olivia Gonzalez, Dr. Lauren Levitt, Dr. Kate M. Miltner, and Dr. Lauren Sowa.
Contributors (2013-present):
Meryl Alper, Noel Berry, Evelyn Blanco, Emily Bon, Melina Mae Castorillo, Lulu Cerone, Jasmine Chang, Mustafa Chattha, Yilia Chen, Megan Chun, Stella Chung, Hannah Cruz, Faith Dearborn, Tisha Dejmanee, Isabel DeLano, Kevin Driscoll, Jessie Faltinsky, Laurel Felt, Carol Ferreira, Jennifer Frazin, Andrea Gambino, Jenny Ha, Neha Halebeed, Alysia Hendry, Dr. Nolan Higdon, Grace Kim, Anya Kushwaha, Devon Lee, Yuki Liang, Ioana Literat, Amanda Liu, Dani Otter, Sarah Livingston, Sydney Lodge, Preston Long, Mandy Mu, Brian Park, Chase Peterson, Meher Qazilbash, Jillian Russell, Samah Sadig, Becca Schwartz, Gabriel Shen, Raina Singh, Kari Storla, Lana Swartz, Sophie Sylla, Ella Tabares, Tina Tran, Azsanée Truss, Haley Valdez, Annie Vought, Cynthia Wang, Kunyi Xia, Jiho Yu
Creative Team:
Site design: Erika Hang
Experience Designer: Jesse Cahn Thompson is a programmer, artist, and musician based in Los Angeles. He received his MA from the Royal College of Art in 2019 after receiving the inaugural Pokémon Company Scholarship. His work and research focus on digital communication technologies as a means to democratize, balance, and empower networks of people. He is a cofounder of Poolside Press with Alexis Demetriades.
Multimedia Designer: Alexis Demetriades is an illustrator and artist. Her art explores identity, community, and memory. Her illustrations have been published by The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, The V&A, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and others. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2019, and was awarded the Augustus Martin Prize for print. She is a cofounder of Poolside Press with Jesse Thompson.
Web Development:
Jenn de la Fuente
Logo design:
Romane Cameron
With generous support provided by the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation.
Former Team Members
Former Project Manager:
Garrett Broad, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Fordham University and a graduate of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication where he helped develop the Critical Media Project. His research and teaching investigates the role of media and communication in social justice movements, with a particular focus on food justice and the environment.
Former Editorial Assistants:
Katherine Miltner is a PhD Candidate at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and a Joint Fellow at the UC Berkeley Center for Technology, Society and Policy and the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity. Her research focuses on the intersection of technology, identity, and power, and her work has appeared in the peer-reviewed journals Social Media & Society; Science, Technology, and Human Values; International Journal of Communication, First Monday, Feminist Media Studies, and Mobile Media and Communication.
Andrea Wenzel, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Temple University and a fellow with Columbia’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Her research focuses on initiatives attempting to bridge divides of race, class, and politics—including efforts to combine solutions journalism with community engagement. Prior to completing her Ph.D. at USC Annenberg, she spent 15 years as a public radio producer, editor, and international media development consultant.
Diana Lee, Ph.D., is a content strategist passionate about building and amplifying the reach of dynamic, multimedia educational resources. For over a decade, she has worked to improve educational access and equity for students and teachers of all ages and backgrounds through research-based program, curriculum, and resource development.
Beth Boser, Ph.D. received her doctorate from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2013. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Her scholarly interests center on gender, reproduction, and social change in rhetorical and mediated contexts.
Consultants:
Paula M. Carbone (USC Rossier School of Education), Taylor Rifkin (Achievement First), Jamy Stillman (School of Education, University of Colorado)
Students of COMM 465 (Gender in Media Industries and Products), Spring 2012:
Vickie Ahn, Alex Bender, Amelia Billinger, Emily Bon, Mark Brown, Micaela Cambier, Kelly Ciurczak, Natalie Cohen, Paige Cooley, Daniella Covino, Brandon Evans, Teddy Glickman, Taylor Goila, Victoria Gu, Adriana Hrenciuc, Brittany Jacobson, Kat Koehler, Ann Liang, Nicole Moradifar, Nia Nakama, Francine Ngo, Nichole Nogawski, Joanne Park, Ray Penaia, Mariana Perez-Seda, Nina Pesavento, Sarah Satow, Katherine Schwarzenegger, Nichole Shoohed, Sam Smith, Blair Strong, Alex Van Der Hoek, Annie Vought, Adam Werner.
