2026 Public Interest Communications Summer Institute Speakers and Facilitators
Peggy-Jean Allin
Peggy-Jean Allin is a Research Analyst at Arizona State University’s Advanced Capabilities National Security Institute within the Center on Information and Narrative Complexity. Her work addresses the information domain of irregular warfare by identifying and mitigating the impacts of strategic influence campaigns from foreign adversaries. Peggy-Jean is also a PhD Candidate in the School of Politics and Global Studies, specializing in International Relations. Her dissertation examines the role strategic communication campaigns play in how states seek to establish authority over contested regions. Through case studies including the South China Sea and the Arctic, she analyzes how competing narratives are used to legitimize territorial claims and shape norms of regional order. She is also a Fellow at the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations, where she engages in subnational diplomacy and contributes to strengthening Arizona’s global relations.
Suleiman Amanzad
Suleiman Amanzad brings more than 15 years of experience in communications and organizational leadership to his work in public interest communications. A refugee who resettled in Oregon after the collapse of the Afghan Republic in 2021, his career has focused on narrative development, external communications, and crisis and reputation management in complex social and political contexts. He helped build and lead a strategic communications firm in Kabul, delivering national-scale narrative and public outreach initiatives in partnership with the World Bank, the United States Institute of Peace, USAID, the Afghan Presidential Palace, and DAI. Suleiman currently serves as Director of Strategic Communications at Oregon Food Bank.
Edith Asibey
Edith Asibey, Principal, Asibey Consulting, is an advocacy and communication strategist, and behavior designer who has honed her skills leading global organizations dedicated to solving the most pressing challenges of our time. Multicultural since birth, Edith has lived and worked in several countries and is fluent in four languages. She has been recognized for running effective campaigns in a variety of cultural settings.
Edith is a Trustee of the Lewis Latimer House. She taught communication and marketing at Columbia and at New York University; and is the author of several articles and popular “how-to” guides. During her time with UNICEF in Brazil, Edith and her team designed cutting-edge engagement strategies that successfully mobilized millions of people in over 150 countries to support children’s rights during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the unexpected Zika virus epidemic.
Edith also brought strategic thinking to her role as Chief Communications Officer at The Atlantic Philanthropies in New York, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world, which invested $8 billion to advance opportunity and promote equity and dignity before it completed grant making and closed its doors in 2020.
Edith holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Education both from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil; and a Master of Arts in Media Studies from Stanford University.
Gina Baleria
Gina Baleria is assistant professor of Journalism, Media Writing, Radio & Podcasting, and Digital Media at Sonoma State University and the host and producer of the News in Context podcast. Dr. Baleria is also author of The Journalism Behind Journalism: Going Beyond the Basics to Train Effective Journalists in a Shifting Landscape (Routledge 2021), and she co-authored Writing & Reporting News for the 21st Century (Cognella, 2018), winner of the 2020 Textbook Award from the Broadcast Education Association (BEA). Her research and creative interests revolve around news and digital media literacy, podcasting and digital engagement and communication across socially salient differences. Prior to becoming a professor, Dr. Baleria was an award-winning broadcast and digital journalist at stations including KCBS Radio, KGO TV, & KGO Radio in San Francisco; KXTV & KFBK in Sacramento; and KCAL in Los Angeles. She also helped create and manage a digital newsroom at the nonpartisan nonprofit governance organization, California Forward.
Dean Batson
Dean Batson is a communication scholar and practitioner whose work explores persuasion, influence, and group communication in technology-rich environments. He is a full-time faculty member at Arizona State University and an adjunct instructor at Phoenix College and Southern Oregon University, where he teaches courses in persuasion, influence, consumerism, teams and collaboration, and communication.
Before entering higher education, Batson spent two decades in corporate marketing and leadership roles, working firsthand with how messaging, technology, and organizational systems shape behavior and decision-making. His research and teaching examine how enduring psychological principles of persuasion interact with emerging technologies, generational differences, and mediated communication. His work bridges theory and practice to help organizations and educators better understand ethical influence, trust, and alignment in an increasingly fragmented communication landscape.
Battinto Batts, Jr.
Battinto L. Batts, Jr. is the dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He also is a professor and an award-winning journalist and educator with deep experience in philanthropy and nonprofit administration. He recently served as director of journalism strategies for the Scripps Howard Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Batts holds a doctorate in higher education management from Hampton University, a master’s degree in media management from Norfolk State University and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Hub Brown
As dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (CJC) since July 1, 2021, Hub Brown has established himself as a leading higher-education journalism and communication program administrator.
Jordan Carrier
Jordan Carrier is a proud nêhiyaw-iskwêw (Plains Cree woman) from Piapot First Nation in Treaty Four territory, originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, and living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada since 2002. She currently serves as Director, Special Populations at Castlemain, where she provides strategic leadership in outreach and community communications. Her focus includes leading the Incarcerated Class Members’ communications approach, co‑leading special populations service planning, and recently transitioning into the lead of the Liaison workstream. Her work is grounded in trauma‑informed practice, cultural safety, and a deep commitment to Indigenous self‑determination.
With nearly twenty years of experience in the urban Indigenous community, Jordan’s work spans local grassroots initiatives to national-scale projects, contributing across advocacy, education, cultural programming, and community development. She holds a Diploma in Native Community Care (Mohawk College), a Bachelor of Education in Aboriginal Adult Education (Brock University), an Honours BA in Indigenous Studies (McMaster University), and an MA in Social Justice and Community Engagement (Wilfrid Laurier University).
Marcos Colón
Marcos Colón, Ph.D., is the Southwest Borderlands Initiative Professor of Media and Indigenous Communities at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Amazônia Latitude, a pioneering digital magazine that amplifies environmental, cultural, and Indigenous perspectives from the Amazon to global audiences. Through both scholarly and journalistic approaches, his research explores how mediated storytelling, particularly through Indigenous and community media, can challenge dominant narratives, foster environmental consciousness, and support decolonial knowledge production. His work investigates the role of journalism and documentary as tools for visibility, resistance, and intercultural dialogue in the context of Amazonian and Latin American realities. Learn more about Dr. Colón.
Nader Dagher
Nader Dagher is an Assistant Professor of Professional Communication at Austin Peay State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Florida, with a specialization in political communication and a research focus on activism and colonial studies. His professional background includes senior Public Relations roles within nonprofit organizations, including the United Nations refugee agency, development and educational organizations. Nader is actively engaged in the academic community and has been a member of the Public Interest Communication Academic Network since 2022.
Ruth DeFoster
Ruth DeFoster is an Assistant Professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches courses about advertising and popular culture. Her research focuses on media coverage of crime, gun violence, fear and terrorism. She is the author of three books: Terrorizing the Masses: Identity, Mass Shootings and the Media Construction of ‘Terror’ (2017), Catholic Horror on Television: Haunting Faith (2024), andThe Fear Knot: How Science, History and Culture Shape Our Fears, and How to Get Unstuck (2025).
Kevin Hardges
Kevin Shawn Hardges is a Ph.D. Candidate at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Kevin is a life-long Detroiter, born and raised on the northeast side of the city. He is a proud graduate of Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School in the Detroit Public School system. As a Ph.D. candidate, Kevin’s research interest includes public relations, organizational communication, social justice, and qualitative, rhetorical, and critical approaches to research. Kevin is a teaching assistant in the Department of Communication, where he teaches courses on public speaking and business and professional communication. He has served in various capacities in the Communication Graduate Student Association (CGSA) at Wayne State University and served as a member of NCA’s Public Relations Division Ad-Hoc Programming Committee. He is a member of National Communication Association and AEJMC ( Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication). He has served as a peer mentor for the Communication PhD Pipeline Program organized by past NCA president Dr. Ronald L. Jackson II. Kevin Hardges received his BA in Speech Communication and a MA in public relations and organizational communication, both from Wayne State University. Kevin has applied his scholarly experience working as an intern for Van Dyke Horn Public Relations, as a community liaison and social media coordinator for Detroit Future City, and a Communications Fellow/Social Media Content Creator for a political nonprofit called For Our Future Michigan. Currently, he is working as a manager at 98Forward, a minority, woman-owned public relations agency in the City of Detroit.
Erin B. Hart
Erin (she/her) started Hart Strategies to put strategic communication to work in service of racial, social and environmental justice. She is a storyteller, strategist and educator who’s helped build social movements, safeguard fragile habitats, grow and diversify the healthcare workforce, reduce the number of US smokers, and get more philanthropic dollars into communities to spend on what they know matters most. She’s built learning experiences that resulted in more effective science communicators, stronger LGBTQIA+ storytellers, changing narratives on gun violence prevention, everyday behaviors protecting natural environments and better-prepared advocates advancing health policy.
Erin partners with social justice organizations to craft communications strategies, put them into action and share insights learned along the way. And she collaborates with universities introducing students to public interest communications and further connecting researchers’ insights to practice. She is a first-generation college graduate who appreciates what education and mentoring opportunities have made possible in her life. She’s received honors including the PRSA Silver Anvil, Women in Social Responsibility, and University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Hall of Fame. Learn more at HartStratComm.com.
Piper Hendricks
Piper Hendricks, CEO of Stories Change Power, is a former human rights litigator, documentary filmmaker, and recognized advocacy expert.
After growing up in a small town in Texas, Piper’s work has taken her around the world, including Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. She sees and deeply appreciates our interconnectedness and how much we can learn from each other globally.
Piper has a passion for the power of story, a record of developing innovative strategy, and an eye for content that moves people to action. Two themes span her nontraditional career path: justice and storytelling. In a variety of formats, she’s employed storytelling to inspire action; whether in the courtroom, on the silver screen, or on Capitol Hill, she champions change to promote opportunity for all.
She created Stories Change Power to help individuals and organizations claim their power, share their stories, and change the world.
Piper earned her Bachelors degree cum laude from Vanderbilt University before earning her J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan. After interning at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Piper joined the firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, and Jacobson LLP as a litigation associate. She went on to a federal clerkship before joining the human rights legal organizations that preceded her filmmaking and advocacy work at and with nonpartisan nonprofit organizations.
Lauri Hennessey
Lauri Hennessey is on the faculty at the University of Washington (UW), teaching Public Interest Communications and Crisis Communications, as well as serving as advisor to UW PRSSA (the school chapter of Public Relations Society of America). After a career that took her from journalism to Capitol Hill to senior positions in PR firms and nonprofit leadership, she returned after many years to finish her BA at UW and received her Master of Mass Communications (with a focus on Public Interest Communications) at the University of Florida. She has taught at the University of Florida, Seattle University, and UW as an adjunct. In her spare time, she is an avid hiker, a singer and the President of the Washington State Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Álvaro Huerta
Dr. Álvaro Huerta is Professor of Urban & Regional Planning and Ethnic & Women’s Studies at Cal Poly Pomona. During 2021 to 2024, Dr. Huerta was a Religion and Public Life Organizing Fellow at Harvard Divinity School (HDS). He’s the author of the forthcoming book, Jardineros: Cultivating Los Angeles’ Green Landscapes with Brown Hands, Migrant Networks and Technology (The MIT Press). Among other publications, he’s also the author of the award-winning book, Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities: The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Born in Sacramento, California (U.S.), he spent his early years in Tijuana, Baja California (Mexico)—la frontera/the borderland. He spent his formative years in East Los Angeles’ notorious Ramona Gardens public housing project (or Big Hazard projects). As a first-generation graduate and Ford Foundation Fellow, he holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley—the only Chicana/o from America’s mean streets to do so. He also holds an M.A. in Urban Planning (graduating top of his class) and a B.A. in History from UCLA.
Joseph Darius Jaafari
Joseph Darius Jaafari (he/him) is the editor in chief and founder of LOOKOUT, a nonprofit news outlet focused on accountability news coverage for the queer community in the Southwest. He is a former professor of solutions journalism at the City University of New York at York College, as well as an investigative reporter writing on prisons and police for Rolling Stone Magazine, The Marshall Project, Spotlight PA, and the Arizona Republic.
Benjamin Johnson
Benjamin Johnson is the Director of the STEM Translational Communication Center and an Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
Amanda Kehrberg
Amanda K. Kehrberg is a Ph.D. student in Mass Communication at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School, where she studies science communication, entertainment media, and tech ethics. She has published on topics including public relations theory, celebrity interaction on social media, sports films, and fandom. She currently serves as producer and head writer for the ASU Interplanetary Initiative’s YouTube series “Space For Humans,” which explores positive space futures. Amanda has a master’s degree from ASU in American Media and Popular Culture. She volunteers regularly for ALS Arizona.
Spiro Kiousis
Spiro Kiousis is the Executive Associate Dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and a Professor in the Department of Public Relations.
Gregg Leslie
Gregg Leslie is a professor of practice and the executive director of the First Amendment Clinic at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, where he also teaches Constitutional Law. He was previously a staff attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit association that provides legal assistance to journalists, and served as the organization’s legal defense director for 17 years. Leslie serves on the governing committee of the Communications Law Forum of the American Bar Association, and was a member of the ABA’s Fair Trial and Free Press Task Force in 2011.
Gordon Mayer
Gordon Mayer is a writer and storyteller who has been ensuring all stakeholders have a voice in shaping effective and fair policy for more than 20 years. He focuses on helping nonprofits and businesses with complex stories share their work and impact with the people they care about. He started his career as a journalist and when he found his way to work at a community organizing nonprofit, co-workers said, “Let’s have Gordon write the press releases, he used to be a reporter so he must know how.” He didn’t – but quickly figured out that by giving journalists the kinds of stories they needed, he could help organizations communicate their message. That’s the core of the work he does today through Gordon Mayer Communications, assisting purpose-driven organizations and firms in advocacy, policy, human services and other fields to share their mission and why it’s urgent with the audiences that matter to them. Gordon lives in Chicago and is a board member of Assocaition of Consultants to Nonprofits and a member of the Publicity Club of Chicago. More at gordonmayercommunications.com.
Natasha McKenzie
Natasha McKenzie is Cree Métis, born and raised in Treaty 8 territory. She currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is currently a Vice President of Social Change and Advocacy Communications with ChangeMakers. Natasha is a strategic communications, engagement and issues management advisor with more than two decades of experience working directly with Indigenous Nations, executives and government ministers on high-priority initiatives that strengthen reconciliation and consider workforce opportunities and the economy. Natasha has contributed to the successful development and implementation of initiatives related to Indigenous Reconciliation, energy and natural resource development, climate change, mental health, post-secondary, occupational health and safety and labour. She has also provided emergency communications support during the serious wildfires and COVID-19 pandemic response within Canada. Natasha has a Bachelor of Communications Studies with a focus on Indigenous Relations from the University of Calgary.
Stephen Menendian
Stephen Menendian is a fair housing and targeted universalism expert and consultant, and his research focuses on the production of inequality between social groups, how institutions and communities can foster belonging (moving beyond “diversity, equity, and inclusion”), and the optimal design of equitable race-conscious policies as permitted by law, including California’s anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, Proposition 209. Stephen is the author of many scholarly publications and journal articles, including the landmark books Structural Racism: The Dynamics of Opportunity and Race in America and Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World (with john a. powell) from Stanford University Press. He is currently the Assistant Director and Director of Research at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley.
Amanda Mollindo
Amanda Mollindo brings more than a decade of visual storytelling and communications experience to the role of Communications Director at the ACLU of Arizona. A lifelong Arizonan, she is passionate about using her talents to advocate for a more equitable and just future for communities across the state. Amanda pursued a BFA in Photography from Arizona State University and graduated with honors in 2015. After several years working in photography-related roles, she transitioned to a career in marketing and communications, holding various positions across private, public, and nonprofit sectors. An avid member of the arts community, Amanda maintains a creative practice that centers social and reproductive justice
Chris Omni
Dr. Christal Mischelle Omni is an artist, scholar, and storyteller whose work lives at the crossroads of ancestral memory, land, and collective care. Trained in public health and art education, her practice centers eco-autoethnographic research—an approach she developed to work with surroundings and self as living archives of knowledge. Her work is grounded in Black feminist and eco-womanist thought and shaped by intergenerational storytelling, particularly the stories carried by elders and grandparents.
Across performance, research, and installation, Dr. Omni explores how silenced histories resurface through the body, dreams, land, and everyday rituals. Her work has been shared internationally through conferences, TEDx talks, community gatherings, and public scholarship, including Granny’s Garden: Growing Black Joy. She is the founder of the OMNI Institute of Well-being and the author of a forthcoming Routledge textbook, Eco-Autoethnographic Research: A Spiritually Scientific Exploration of Surroundings and Self. At the heart of her work is a simple practice: learning how to listen—deeply, relationally, and across generations.
Jovan Osborne
Jovan Osborne is a creative arts administrator and educator who currently serves as Program Coordinator for the EXCEL Lab at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In this capacity, Jovan coaches and mentors performing arts students to support their academic and artistic development. He has led mentorship cohorts for the Creative Cohort and First Generation Initiative programs. Jovan’s mentorship also extends to students at other institutions, including Michigan State University, the University of Rochester (Eastman School of Music), the University of Houston, New York University (Steinhardt), and Florida State University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music with minors in Education and Psychology, as well as a Master of Arts in Arts Administration, both from Florida State University.
Fariba Pajooh
Fariba Pajooh is a Ph.D. candidate (dissertating) in Communication and Media Studies at Wayne State University and a researcher specializing in media, journalism, and communication in diverse political and cultural contexts. Her work focuses on journalism in conflict and transitional societies, diaspora and identity formation, and the role of media in democracy and civic life. Drawing on qualitative methods and over 15 years of international journalism experience, she examines how journalists navigate ethical challenges, institutional pressures, and evolving information environments.
Originally from Iran, Fariba has worked as an editor and field reporter across Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Her professional experience informs her research and teaching; she emphasizes media literacy, intercultural communication, and applied learning. She holds master’s degrees from Northwestern University and Syracuse University and was nominated for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2020.
Ashley Powell
Ashley Powell is a Florida State University graduate with a B.S. in Psychology and a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). She has been part of The OMNI Institute of Well-Being since 2022, serving as a Research Mentee, Research Intern, and now Teacher’s Assistant. Through mentorship, she has participated in the 2023 and 2024 International Symposium on Autoethnography and Narrative (ISAN), first as a panelist, then as moderator continuing mentorship to the next generation of mentees. She also has served as a Nature Evolutionaries panelist and co-authored “The Omnipresence of Black Joy,” which was published by the International Association of Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry in the Proceedings of the 2023 International Symposium on Autoethnography and Narrative. Ashley sees mentorship is a labor of love rooted in support, growth, and the permission to dream.
Chelsea Reynolds
Chelsea Julian Reynolds, Ph.D., is the founding director of the Center for Media & Communities at the ASU California Center, where she is an associate professor in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Dr. Reynolds is an expert in critical and qualitative approaches to mass communication research. Reynolds’s academic writing has been published in top interdisciplinary journals such as Journal of Sex Research; Communication, Culture & Critique; Journalism & Mass Communication Educator; Media Report to Women; and Journal of Communication Inquiry. Reynolds is the vice-chair of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (AEJMC) Publications Committee and is founding head of the AEJMC Commission on the Status of LGBTQIA+ Communities. Professionally, Reynolds spent time in the magazine industry at Men’s Health, Better Homes and Gardens, and Midwest Living, and in nonprofit comms at the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and the Association of Health Care Journalists.
Jennifer Richter
Dr. Jennifer Richter is an associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Her work focuses on understanding, informing, and creating better processes for community engagement on difficult technological issues with long timeframes. Most recently, she was part of a project funded by the Department of Energy on consent-based siting for interim nuclear waste facilities.
Shondiin Silversmith
Shondiin Silversmith (Diné) is an award-winning Indigenous journalist from the Navajo Nation. She is the Editorial Director of Diné College Press, the first Tribal College in the country. Silversmith is also a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her research examines the connections among Indigenous Standpoint Theory, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, and Journalism. Silversmith has reported on Indigenous communities for more than 15 years. She previously covered Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribal nations and Indigenous Affairs for the Arizona Mirror. She has also reported for outlets such as the Arizona Republic, USA Today, PRI’s The World, and the GroundTruth Project. Silversmith lives on the Navajo Nation with her husband, two teenagers, and two French bulldogs.
Harry Singh
An educator at heart, Professor Harry Singh has over 25 years of experience in student services and academic affairs, including eight years teaching communication courses at Maricopa Community Colleges and ASU West. A first-generation college graduate, he is committed to empowering students through high-quality education focused on lifelong communication and career readiness skills.
Through Phoenix College’s Title V Closing Achievement Gaps initiative, he received a Work-Based Experience grant to integrate Service Learning and Job Shadowing into his communication courses. The impactful results were shared at Maricopa’s Student Success Conference (2024, Mesa, AZ) and the National Organization for Student Success Conference (2025, NYC). His work expanding college access for at-risk high school students through Phoenix College’s Early College Programs earned him recognition as the 2023 Teacher of the Year.
Natalie Tindall
Natalie T. J. Tindall, Ph.D. APR serves as a professor in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations and the program director for the Communication & Leadership program at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on stewardship, leadership, and followership; participatory culture and fandoms; activism and public interest communication; diversity in organizations; and the situational theory of publics and intersectionality.She has authored and co-authored more than 30 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. Her articles have been published in Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal, Howard Journal of Communications, PRism, and the International Journal of Strategic Communication. Currently, she serves as the managing editor for Case Studies in Strategic Communication and is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Public Relations Research. She is the 2025 recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Public Relations, one of the highest international honors for public relations researchers. She has co-authored one textbook, Becoming a Public Relations Writer, and has co-edited three books, two focusing on participatory culture and public relations and one on LGBTQ+ issues in advertising and public relations.
She earned her B.A. in Graphic Arts Technology from Florida A&M University, an M.A. in mass communication from the University of South Florida, and a doctorate in communication from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Nicholas Weller
Nicholas Weller is an Assistant Research Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) at Arizona State University (ASU). Through his work, he promotes engagement among scientists, public audiences, policy makers, and cultural organizations. He conducts this work in service of creating a just, free, and sustainable future. He studies the use of deliberative public forums to capture public values and shape science and policy on uncertain, contested, and technical topics.
Ehsan Zaffar
Ehsan Zaffar is an educator, civil rights lawyer and founder of The Difference Engine, an ASU Center on the Future of Equality. As ASU’s “Chief Difference Engineer” Ehsan works with some of the brightest students and thoughtful faculty and staff in the country to craft real-world solutions to some of our nation’s most daunting problems.
Prior to his work at Arizona State University, he served as a Senior Advisor on Civil Rights to the Secretary of Homeland Security during the Obama Administration. He is the founder of the Los Angeles Mobile Legal Aid Clinic (LAMLAC) which helped pioneer the delivery of mobile legal care to vulnerable populations in California and across the nation. He serves on the board of ACLU California, as well as Team Rubicon, the country’s pre-eminent disaster relief organization and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Learn more about Ehsan’s work and listen to UnfairNation, his podcast on inequality.
Aaron Zeiler
Aaron Zeiler is a strategic communicator who has worked with nonprofits and foundations on a wide array of issues including public interest technology, criminal legal reform and health equity. He currently serves as the Director of Strategic Communications for the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives and the Office of Health Equity and Climate Medicine at Stony Brook University.