Public Speaking.
Associate Professor
Howard University
Washington, DC
About Me.
Bio
I am a Southern, Midwestern girl-- born in Omaha, Nebraska, where my paternal family called home as a result of the Great Migration. When I was 13, we moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where I spent my teenage years. I grew up appreciating and respecting my history, and loved reading and singing. I had my first solo at my daddy's church when I was seven. I enjoy gospel and jazz music and performed in the Atlanta Jazz Festival under my music/middle name, Camille.
Education
Ever since I was a young girl, I was an avid reader. My mother, a teacher and father a minister and Civil Rights leader, taught me and my siblings to always speak and seek truth. This laid the foundation for journalism. Ebony Magazine was one of my favorites, and I was impressed that a majority of the notable people quoted or featured either attended or were professors at Howard University. I then set my gaze on Howard until I arrived to begin my collegiate career. HU was everything! I was active in the Gospel Choir, journalism organizations, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and was honored to serve as Miss Howard. Decades later, Columbia University came calling. It was one of the most challenging and invigorating experiences of my life, and provided a path for a career as journalism educator.
Employment
I spent more than 25 years as a broadcast journalist- starting two weeks after graduating from Howard. My first job was in local news as an associate producer and talk show host, and my last full-time position was with CNN as a producer and ultimately executive producer. One of the highlights of my career was being the 9am show producer at CNN during the September 11 Terror Attacks. I was in the control room helping to lead coverage during one of the biggest breaking news events in U.S. history. Throughout the years, I covered presidential elections and Olympic Games, interviewed celebrities and received national recognition for 9/11 and other breaking news events, such as Hurricane Katrina. After leaving CNN, I launched MediaReady Consulting, LLC, which provided a world of new experiences and opportunities. At Howard, I have been honored with the 2019 Scripps Howard AEJMC Teacher of the Year Award, selected as Fulbright Specialist scholar, and have become a global advocate for media freedom.
Endeavors
I have been fortunate to have spent decades as a journalist, and as an educator, I am committed to ensuring our next generations of media professionals are ethically engaged in issues pertinent to communities of color. I have also been able to become an advocate for press freedom on a global scale, serving as a special guest and keynote speaker in Africa's most populous country and city, Lagos, Nigeria and throughout South Africa on programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. I also continue to serve as consultant, panelist, moderator, and speaker with national programs and organizations on various issues impacting the media.
