RediscoveRosarito is a public affairs initiative that addresses the reputational, political, social and economic crisis, caused by an increase in criminal incidents in response to Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s War on Drugs. This crime increase has adversely impacted the beach community of Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. RediscoveRosarito reflects a commitment to ethics, journalist balance, and transactional civic responsibility. RediscoveRosarito is the product of graduate students in the Masters Program - Communication Management - at Emerson College, MA, USA, who have thoughtfully analyzed the issue with the aid of guest speakers and consultants, along with the mentoring of their professor. RediscoveRosarito is intended to produce a win-win outcome for all the stakeholders; primarily, the citizens, travelers, and businesses of Mexico and the USA.
This plan is based upon the principles and scholarship of safety management and communication, as well as the principles of political communication and public relations. Collectively, these principles put the highest value on ensuring that public opinion should be founded on facts rather than rumors, and are concerned with the providing for the information, attitudinal and behavioral needs of all those parties with a stake in these issues and concerns. |
| RediscoveRosarito Team |
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| Advisor |
| Dr. J. Gregory Payne |
Dr. Payne is an Associate Professor in Emerson College's Communication Studies department. He received his B.A, M.A. and Ph.D at University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. He earned also a MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Payne has authored academic and popular articles, book chapters and proceedings and has participated in forums, conferences and conventions internationally on topics related to political communication, health communication, media, ethics, leadership, negotiation, crisis and risk communication. Most recently, Payne has been involved in grass roots diplomacy. He is the co-founder and General Director of the Saudi- Global Exchange, the first grass roots, people to people public diplomacy effort in the wake of 9/11.
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Tourism |
| Mary Ann Cicala |
| Mary Ann has nearly 10 years of event production, city government, non-profit, arts administration, and education experience. As the Associate Director of Alumni Relations at Emerson College, she works to foster and maintain the spirit and devotion of the alumni in an effort to promote the reputation and growth of the College. Prior to returning to the Emerson community, Mary Ann worked for the Cambridge Arts Council (CAC), a public non-profit and city agency in Cambridge, MA that provides arts services and programming designed to stimulate public awareness of and support for the arts. In this capacity, she helped broker strong relationships between the City and local artists and organizations by managing the state and city funds in the Local Cultural Council (LCC) grant program, overseeing the lively Street Performer Program, and producing arts and music festivals. |
| Nicole DiNoia |
| Nicole is in her last semester of the Communication Management
master's program at Emerson College. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Hartford in 2004, with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in
Communication and Public Relations. She currently works full-time as a
Communication Specialist at Winchester Hospital in Winchester, MA.
Nicole also is a freelance journalist for the Boston Globe Northwest
where she writes for the Dining Out column. A native of Massachusetts,
Nicole is interested in marketing communications and event management. |
| Sarah Moniz |
Sarah is originally from Dartmouth, Massachusetts; she is currently a
graduate student attending Emerson College's Communication Management program. While finishing an undergraduate degree in Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island, she interned for a private, for-profit public relations firm and at the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Currently she is working in radio promotions at WJMN 94.5 and has volunteered as an on-air DJ at WERS 88.9, Emerson College's radio station. After graduating from Emerson, Sarah would like to become a public affairs professional in the fashion or entertainment industries.
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| Ally Ramsey |
| Allyson is a native of Westchester County, NY. Her professional experience includes more than five years combined working
in international publishing and higher education. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston University and is currently a first year graduate student in the Communication Management program at Emerson College. |
| Erica Skov |
| Currently working at a marketing research/consulting firm, Erica loves external relations. She is passionate about working with the public and discovering what drives the public to its perceptions and how perceptions are formed and molded. She has worked on various external relations projects, including a campus safety campaign for SUNY Oneonta and public perception research for The Albany Institute of History and Art.Of all the campaigns that Erica has worked on, "Rediscover Rosarito" has by far been the most interesting and challenging. |
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Government |
| Joe DeNisco |
| Joe a current graduate student at Emerson College, pursuing a Masters of Arts in Communication Management. He earned his Bachelors degree in Public Relations from Salem State College. Joe's hobbies include writing and playing basketball. |
| Juan Prada |
Born in Bogota, Colombia, Juan received his title in Social Communication and Journalism at the University of La Sabana. His professional experience includes multinational organizations, project development for (CCE), an American company responsible for supporting the Plan Colombia and experience in Public Relations. He currently attends the Masters Program in Corporate and Organizational Communication at Emerson College and also works in the program Big Brother Big Sisters of Massachusetts. Juan is fluent in English, Spanish and he has basic understanding of French. |
| Real Estate |
| Sarah Jordan |
| Sarah is an Account Manager at a technology research and
consulting firm. She holds a B.A. degree from Michigan State University.
Sarah spends her free time cheering on the Boston Red Sox with her
husband and raising support for literacy charities. |
| Jessica Sage |
Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and will graduate from Emerson College with her Masters degree in Organizational and Corporate Communication in December 2008. Her professional interests, and primary focus of study, is enhancing leadership skills with an emphasis on self-management, relationship building, and executive presence.
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| Cheryl Jackson |
Chery Jackson graduated from Assumption College in 2001 with a major in Business Communication and a minor in economics. Cheryl currently works in the client service area for a Hedge Fund Company in Boston. She is completing her Masters in Corporate Communications in July. |
| Community |
| Sarah DiGregorio |
| Sarah came to Boston from Texas, where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in Journalism from Baylor University in 2006. She will complete her Master's in Organizational and Corporate Communication at Emerson College in May 2008. She served as the PR Director for the program's graduate student association. When not busy with her job at a local hospital and classes, she enjoys theatre, dance, cooking and reading. |
| Sonya Grabauskas |
| Just one month after graduation and serving as the president of her class at Plymouth State University, Sonya packed her bags and moved from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the heart of the Red Sox Nation. With her Bachelor's degree in hand, she jump-started her career in marketing, landing a position where she creates memorable events and experiences for a major financial client. She currently attends Emerson
College, where she is working on her Master's in Communication Management. In her spare time, she can be found back in the mountains, hiking, kayaking, and playing in the snow. |
| Sarah Rhines |
| Originally from Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Sarah graduated from the
University of New Hampshire in 2007 with a B.A. in Political Science and
Communication. In addition to attending graduate classes at Emerson in
the evenings, she works as a policy assistant for The Rath Group, a small
government relations and political consulting firm in Boston, Massachusetts. Her hobbies include reading, cooking & baking, running, yoga, politics, traveling, rooting for the Red Sox, hiking, and spending time outdoors. |
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| Media Relations |
| Troy Joseph |
| Born and raised in Massachusetts, Troy graduated from Bentley College with a Bachelors of Science in Management. In 2006 he enrolled in the Organizational and Corporate Communication graduate program at Emerson College in Boston. Troy has worked for a local Community Savings Bank for more than 20 years where he is currently an Assistant Vice President overseeing the bank’s Information Desk and Online Banking services. Troy enjoys traveling, theatre, reading, eating out and spending quality time with friends and family. |
| Lauren Spadafore |
| Lauren, a native of Central New York, graduated Cum Laude from
State University of New York College at Potsdam in May of 2007. There, she majored in Speech Communication with double minors in Business Administration as well as Journalism. After gaining experience both in and outside of the classroom through numerous internships - including news reporting for a local station and an ambassadorship for the University - she aspired to further her span of opportunity by enrolling in graduate school. Currently living in Boston, Lauren is working on a Masters of Fine Arts in Communication Management at Emerson College. She hopes to utilize her education in either corporate consulting or management. |
| Mary Malito |
| Mary, originally from Palos Park, IL, is a graduate student at Emerson
College studying Communications Management. She spent her undergraduate years at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign studying Organizational
Communication. With her educational background coupled with her growing work experience in marketing and leadership development, she hopes to develop effective communication strategies for managements to use during times of change. |
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| Website |
| Konstantina Georgaki |
| Originally from Greece, Konstantina graduated from the Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece) where she earned a degree in Marketing and Communication. She came to the U.S. in 2007 to attend the Communication Management graduate program offered by Emerson College. Parallel to her studies, she currently works as a graduate assistant to Dr. Gregory Payne in the Organizational and Political Communication Department. She is also the current Vice President for the Graduate Student Association of Emerson College. Her professional interests include Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations. Konstantina loves to learn new languages and to explore different cultures; apart from Greek and English, she is also fluent in Spanish and German. Her hobbies include reading, dancing, traveling, and swimming. |
| Adam Lucas |
| Adam is a current Organizational and Corporate Communications student at Emerson College in Boston. He has a Bachelors of Science in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His work
experience is extensive, consisting of market research, web design,
instructional design, and public relations. Most recently Adam worked with the marketing team for Cengage, a higher education publishing company. Upon the completion of his master's degree in May of 2008, Adam intends to capitalize on his education and experience to find a demanding and fulfilling job in the communications field. |
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| Blog Monitoring |
| Michael Paydos |
| Michael is a communications specialist working in international health and development, with experience working throughout Africa and Latin America in bringing together public- and private-sector groups and improving the health of members of the community. He graduated from Roger Williams University in 1998 with a degree in writing and is currently earning his Masters in Communication at Emerson College. |
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Background Research |
| Stephanie Caldwell |
| Stephanie received a Bachelors of Arts in History and Public Relations from Washington State University. She is currently a Communication Management graduate student at Emerson College. She will be graduating in December and looks forward to finding out what life after graduate school entails (besides loan payments). |
| Ashlee Clevenger |
| Ashlee is a graduate student at Emerson College, currently earning her Masters degree in Organizational and Corporate Communication. Originally from the midwest, Ashlee earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. As an undergraduate she studied linguistics as a minor concentration and conducted research on nonverbal communication and resource technology. Ashlee currently holds a position in marketing at Pearson Education, an international educational publishing company. She hopes to eventually use her marketing and communication expertise to pursue a career in the not-for-profit sector. |
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| Safety Management |
| Dana Horton |
| Originally from Israel, Dana graduated from the Academic College of Tel-Aviv – Yaffo where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology. She came to the U.S in 2005 due to her husband’s studies in New York. Upon his graduate, they moved to Boston so that Dana could pursue her Master’s in Communication Management at Emerson College. Her professional interest is corporate communication in the international/political field. She has traveled around the world and intends to visit more countries in the near future. One of her main hobbies is diving. Dana is fluent in Hebrew and English. |
| Sofia Karaouli |
| Sofia is originally from Greece. She graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens where she earned a science degree in Chemistry. She came to the United States in 2007 to attend the Communication Management graduate program at Emerson College. Apart from Greek and English, she is also fluent in Italian and German. In Sofia's free time, she likes to read, dance, travel, and cook. |
| Leigh Larkin |
| Leigh was born and raised in Massachusetts. She moved to Boston in 2005, after graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with degrees in Biology and Psychology. She currently works at a technology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her professional interests include Public Relations and Crisis Communication. She intends to enter the world of Public Relations after graduating this spring with her Master's in Organizational and Corporate Communication from Emerson College. Leigh enjoys event planning, engaging strangers in conversation, and her iPod. She can be found on the dance floors of Boston’s many clubs, out at local concerts, traveling, and practicing yoga. |
| Alexandra Mechcova |
| Alexandra is a first-year student in the Communication Management graduate program at Emerson College. Originally from Bulgaria, she earned her undergraduate degree in Mass Communications and Political Science eat Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. Prior to coming to Emerson College, Alexandra worked for a year in the field of communications consulting. |
| L. Michelle Wallace |
| Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Michelle graduated from Texas Christian University where she earned a bachelors degree in Communication Studies. She came to Boston in 2006 to attend the graduate program in Organizational and Corporate Communication offered by Emerson College . Parallel to her studies, she works in the Undergraduate Admission Office of Emerson College as the Travel Coordinator. She also volunteers twice a week at MIT with collegiate women. Her professional interests include training and corporate leadership. Michelle enjoys cooking, traveling, and exploring the Northeast. |
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| Writing |
| Jenny McCarthy |
| Jennifer is from Bolton, Massachusetts and is the writer for the project. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communications Writing (English minor) from Loyola College in Maryland. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Arts in Communication Management at Emerson College and working as an Academic Advisor at The New England Institute of Art in Boston. Jennifer also has a professional and personal interest in the outdoors and experiential education. She spends her weekends as an Adjunct Facilitator for Boston University's Sargent Center in New Hampshire, where she works with groups from all over New England on high ropes courses and adventure team building activities. |
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