Time
August 9, 3:15–4:00 p.m.
Description
One of the university’s strategic vision pillars focuses on conducting research that makes life and lives better—a pillar that aligns with The Conversation’s mission of democratizing knowledge for the public good. For more than two years, members of the news and information team in the Office of Communications and Marketing have been securing national and international media coverage of faculty through its partnership with The Conversation. So how does the process work? In this panel, a college communicator, professor, and graduate researcher will discuss their experiences and share benefits they’ve seen from investing in this partnership. The editor and general manager of The Conversation US will also join to shed insight into how faculty can best share their expertise, improve their pitch success, and how one article can reach hundreds of thousands of readers across the United States and world.
Presenters
Lindsey Owen
PR Specialist
Office of Communications and Marketing
Lindsey Owen is a PR specialist on the news and information team in the Office of Communications and Marketing. She first joined UT in 2019 as the communicator for the School of Art upon graduating from the School of Journalism and Electronic Media’s master’s program. While in the master’s program, Owen worked as an associate producer on Land Grant Films’ documentary The Library That Dolly Built.
Derek Alderman
Professor of Geography
Department of Geography and Sustainability
Derek Alderman joined UT in 2012 and served as head of the geography department for six years. As a departmental leader and as president of the American Association of Geographers (2017–18), he advocates for greater public outreach, science communication, and media engagement in his discipline. Alderman has been interviewed or quoted more than 280 times in print, radio, and television outlets, and his eight co-authored contributions to The Conversation have reached more than 385,000 readers.
Beth Daley
Executive Editor and General Manager
The Conversation US
Beth Daley is a longtime journalist whose primary focus is science and investigative reporting. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for climate reporting at the Boston Globe, she also worked at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting as a reporter and director of partnerships. As director of strategic development at InsideClimate, she worked to diversify the Pulitzer Prize-winning news outlet’s revenue stream. Daley attended Stanford University as a John S. Knight Journalism fellow from 2011 to 2012.
Katrina Finkelstein
PhD Student
Department of Geography and Sustainability
Katrina Finkelstein is a PhD student in geography at UT. She holds a master’s degree in historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Her primary research areas are cultural historical geography, with a focus on public history, heritage tourism, and critical place naming. In November 2021, she published her first article about her study of military commemorative sites in The Conversation—it was republished this past May.
Amanda Womac
Director of Communications
College of Arts and Sciences
Born and raised in southern Appalachia, Amanda Womac has a strong connection with the land, respect for the environment, and a scientific curiosity that helps her in her work. As director of communications for the College of Arts and Sciences, Womac works with her dean and professional communications team to develop a comprehensive communications strategy for the college, its 22 departments, eight interdisciplinary programs, and research centers. She is a doctoral student in UT’s College of Communication and Information, with a focus on science communication. She has a master’s degree in science journalism from UT and a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from UT Chattanooga. Womac is president of the UT Science Forum and serves on the editorial board for Hellbender Press.