Meet the Team
Project Founder & Director:
Alison Trope (she/her) is a Clinical Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, where she has taught for more than twenty-five years. She founded Critical Media Project in 2013 and has since grown it into a widely used, highly regarded media literacy resource. Critical Media Project is supported by collaborations with USC colleagues and students as well as partnerships with local Los Angeles schools. Trope received her Ph.D. in Critical Studies from the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California in 1999, and is the author of Stardust Monuments: The Saving and Selling of Hollywood (Dartmouth, 2012). She teaches a range of courses in the Annenberg School for Communication related to media and digital literacy, popular culture, visual culture, gender, and social change.
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:
Samah Sadig, Ph.D. Candidate, USC Annenberg School for Communication, is a Sudanese American scholar focused on equity in media and education. Through her work with Critical Media Project (CMP), she develops critical media literacy curriculum that supports youth in analyzing and producing media, with an emphasis on identity, representation, and civic engagement. Her research examines dating reality television, exploring how media shapes cultural norms around relationships and romantic intimacy. Prior to coming to Annenberg, Samah taught 5th-grade reading and later worked as an 8th-grade Digital Media teacher through Teach for America. These experiences inform her pedagogical approach. Samah holds a BA in Media Studies from Emory University and an MA in Communication from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Research & Curriculm Associate:
Andrea Gambino, Ph.D. is Founder and CEO of Inquire 2 Transform, a community-engaged educational consulting firm based in Los Angeles. She provides research, educational programming, and professional development related to Project Based Learning and media literacy education approaches for K-12 teachers and teacher educators.
Current & Former Research Assistants:
Gabbie Puzon, 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, Karin Naragon
Social media: Blake Stauffer
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 Assistant Directors:
Jessica Hatrick, Ph.D. is a Teaching Fellow in Media and Communications Studies in the School of International Communications at University of Nottingham, Ningbo. She is a graduate of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication where she played a pivotal role in the development of Critical Media Project from 2018-2024.
Garrett Broad, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Rowan University and a graduate of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication where he helped develop the Critical Media Project from 2012-2014. 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 Associate 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. is an Associate Professor Communication Studies at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She received her doctorate from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2013. Her scholarly interests center on gender, reproduction, and social change in rhetorical and mediated contexts.
Consultants:
Paula M. Carbone (USC Rossier School of Education)
Eugenia Mora-Flores (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.
