Dr. J. Gregory Payne - Executive Program Director
J. Gregory Payne is an Associate Professor and former chair of Emerson College's Department of Communication Studies. He is Director of the Center for Ethics in Political and Health Communication, which he co-founded in 1996. He is on the Advisory board of the Journal of Health Communication, Media Ethics, Communication Quarterly and Journal of Promotion Management, among others. He is on the Partnership Board for Anthrax Vaccine Education and has been the invited editor for American Behavioral Scientist’s special edition on the U.S. presidential campaign for every election since 1988. He is President of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, past chair of the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association, U.S. representative of the Global Public Relations Project, Board member for UNICEF New England, member of Eastern Communication Association, European Communication Associations, and International Communication Association, among others.
Dr. Payne is a strong advocate of grass-roots communications campaigns and public diplomacy. As a long time visitor to Rosarito Beach, Payne began the Rediscover Rosarito project to restore the image of a once flourishing tourist destination now struggling with the lingering effects of unfair media coverage. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Dr. Payne is a strong advocate of grass-roots communications campaigns and public diplomacy. As a long time visitor to Rosarito Beach, Payne began the Rediscover Rosarito project to restore the image of a once flourishing tourist destination now struggling with the lingering effects of unfair media coverage. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Ada Renedo - International Relations & Communications Consultant
Ada Renedo comes from the Mediterranean city of Barcelona. She holds a B.A. in Advertising and Public Relations by Universitat Ramon Llull in Spain and a Master of Arts in Communication Management by Emerson College in Boston.
Ada is a creative strategist with international experience. She has collaborated in projects and presented her work regarding crisis management, branding and cross-cultural communication in the U.S., Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Iceland, Chile, etc. She is a firm believer of Public Diplomacy and the key role that communication plays in the global village in which we live nowadays.
Making good use of her bilingual skills, Ada has contributed to this project since July 2009, coordinating the Emerson team, managing international relations and projects such as the Rosarito Film Festival. Ada continues her collaboration as an external consultant. Because of her outstanding and creative contribution to communication, Ada has been awarded the 2011 Helen Rose Award for Ethics in Communication by Emerson College.
Kaitlin Barnes - Project Coordinator & Website Manager
Katie Barnes is a native of Boston, MA, and is pursuing an M.A. in Communication Management at Emerson College. Katie received her B.A. -- with a major in Metropolitan Studies and a minor in Politics -- from New York University. Her areas of research include immigration, race relations, and contemporary music. She currently manages all recruitment and promotion for Berklee College of Music's City Music Program, and serves as a visiting lecturer for the undergraduate intercultural communication classes at Emerson College.
Katie joined the RediscoveRosarito Project in March 2011, contributing to local and international awareness of the RediscoveRosarito campaign through the coordination of initiatives such as fundraisers, the Rosarito Film Festival, and the Faces of Rosarito media series. In addition to event planning and presentations, Katie currently manages the project's website and coordinates student participation. She continues her work this the project this year, eager to collaborate within a public diplomacy campaign and further her study of grassroots organization, event planning, and place branding.
Katie joined the RediscoveRosarito Project in March 2011, contributing to local and international awareness of the RediscoveRosarito campaign through the coordination of initiatives such as fundraisers, the Rosarito Film Festival, and the Faces of Rosarito media series. In addition to event planning and presentations, Katie currently manages the project's website and coordinates student participation. She continues her work this the project this year, eager to collaborate within a public diplomacy campaign and further her study of grassroots organization, event planning, and place branding.
Jacki Schroder - Social Media Strategist
Jacki is originally from Lindenhurst, NY and is currently pursuing her master's degree in Communiations Management program at Emerson College. Jacki received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations with minors in marketing and graphic design from Quinnipiac University. She also works full time at Upromise.com managing their social media strategy and referral programs to help people save money for college through their everyday spending. Jacki's areas of research include crisis, social media, and health communications. Jacki will be developing a social media strategy to impact the RediscoveRosarito campaign by increasing brand awareness and "buzz."
Taja Glover
Taja Glover is a second year graduate student at Emerson College in the Communication Management program. She is from Hampton, VA and holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communications with a Media Studies focus from Virginia Wesleyan College. Her exposure to Rosarito first came about in a Public Affairs class where her classmates engaged in the image restoration campaign. Now she is combining her love of televison and film with Rosarito. Taja is working to broaden the awareness of Rosarito through the use of television by producing a program focused on Rosarito to air on the Boston Neighborhood Network television channel. She believes that Rosarito has been hurt by stereotypes that, like most stereotypes, hold very little, if any, validity. It is her goal to help remind people that Rosarito is a safe and fun place for any vacation, honeymoon, anniversary or quick getaway.
Lisa Medina
Lisa Medina is originally from Vineland, NJ and is a second year graduate student in Communication Management program at Emerson College. Lisa received her undergraduate degree in Communication with a minor in Economics from the University of Delaware. She also works full time at the American Diabetes Association managing the event logistics for their signature fundraising events. Lisa will be planning the logistics for an art exhibition and wine tasting that features wine and the work of artists from the Baja Norte region. This event will showcase a small piece of the Baja art and culture in Boston, MA.
Lin Zhou
Lin Zhou came to Emerson all the way from the oriental land—China. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Communication Management from Emerson College. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Beijing Jiaotong University. Her area of interests includes political relations and place branding. Taking Prof. Payne’s Public Affairs class, she shows great enthusiasm in the Rosarito project and joins in the team. She hopes to contribute to the event planning effort and to enhance public relations of Rosarito through social media from a multicultural perspective.
Montita Pongtana (Prang)
Montita Pongtana comes from the capital city of the land of smile – Bangkok, Thailand. She pursued her B.A. in English at Thammasat University in Bangkok in 2009. She is currently a graduate student in Communication Management program at Emerson College. She takes a heavy interest in the field of communication, especially organizational communication, social media and branding. Joining the RediscoveRosarito project, she hopes to help promote Rosarito to the public and ensure that the media coverage is truthful and reliable; changing public’s perspective about Baja is the key.
Megha Roy
Megha comes from the mystical country of India. She graduated from the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College majoring in English Literature. Prior to being accepted to the M.A. program in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Emerson College, she worked at a Public Relations firm as a PR consultant to lifestyle brands including Burberry, Versace and TAG Heuer. Her areas of interest are advertising, marketing and psychology.
Megha joined the RediscoveRosartio team in March 2011. Visiting Rosarito that month gave her practical experience in handling a real life crisis. She assisted in the ‘Faces of Rosarito’ project and has since then, helped in the ongoing image restoration campaign. Her goal is to change the perception of Rosarito and reinvigorate tourism and in turn, the economy. Viva Mexico!
Autumn Pallman
Autumn Pallman hails from the North woods of Guilford, CT. She spent most of her high school years focused on photography and community service (rebuilding homes affected by Katrina, building a home foundation for domestic abuse victims in Texas, fundraisers etc…). Pallman hopes to combine her experience in both areas to further Rediscover Rosarito’s mission. She is looking forward to working with others to fact check Rosarito news and spreading the message via social media sites, such as Facebook, and Twitter. Pallman plans to visit Rosarito in the summer to do a large photojournalist piece on what Rosarito and the surrounding areas have to offer.
Shiwen Lo (Amy)
Shihwen Lo (Amy) is from the island country of Taiwan. She finished her bachelor degree of communication in Taiwan and has been in Boston to pursue her M.A. in Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) at Emerson College since 2010. As a lover of travel, tourism is one of her interest areas; participating in the RediscoveRosarito project is her first look into travel from a crisis communication and public relations perspective.
Also, as an IMC student, joining the project is a great opportunity for her to examine how a tourist hotspot like Rosarito, Mexico rebuilds its brand reputation and image. She hopes to apply what she has learned in school about communication tools and tactics such as social media and digital marketing to the project. She will help promote a Mexican art show in Boston this December as part of the ongoing project.
Also, as an IMC student, joining the project is a great opportunity for her to examine how a tourist hotspot like Rosarito, Mexico rebuilds its brand reputation and image. She hopes to apply what she has learned in school about communication tools and tactics such as social media and digital marketing to the project. She will help promote a Mexican art show in Boston this December as part of the ongoing project.
Kang Zhang
Kang Zhang comes from China. After his undergraduate degree in Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in June 2010, he participated in an internship in China Central Television with a focused area of social and legal affairs. To fulfill his career aspiration in the communication area, he came to Emerson College to pursue his master's degree in Communication Management program. Taking Professor Payne’s Crisis Communication class, the RediscoveRosarito project first came into his eyes. Being a newly joined member of this project, Kang hopes to contribute to restore the tourism in Rosarito by event plannings as a crisis communication practitioner.
Nahla Abualula
Nahla Abualula Is a Saudi student. She graduated from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as an Arabic language and literature major. She has served and helped the community as a teacher for Arabic grammar and teaches basic English for youth.
In 2009 she received a scholarship to continue her study in the United States. Right now she is a student at Emerson College where she is studying Communication Management as a human resource major. She is participating in the RediscoveRosarito project this fall (2011) with the Crisis Communication class. Nahla speaks Arabic, English and French, and she is learning Spanish and Italian, hoping that she can use her skills to expand opportunities as a communicator in her future professions.
In 2009 she received a scholarship to continue her study in the United States. Right now she is a student at Emerson College where she is studying Communication Management as a human resource major. She is participating in the RediscoveRosarito project this fall (2011) with the Crisis Communication class. Nahla speaks Arabic, English and French, and she is learning Spanish and Italian, hoping that she can use her skills to expand opportunities as a communicator in her future professions.
Efe Sevin - Branding Consultant
Efe Sevin is a doctoral candidate at the School of International Service at American University and is the Assistant Director of Center for Research on Collaboratories and Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (COTELCO). He received his undergraduate degree from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. He completed his graduate level studies at Emerson College, Boston, receiving his MA as a Fulbright scholar. His research interests are strategic communication, human-computer interactions, non-traditional diplomacy, global governance, multi-method research, and research methodologies. His interest in global governance and non-traditional diplomacy has broadened his research agenda to include climate change diplomacy, science diplomacy, and global health policies. Efe likes to spend his time immersed in reading classical science fiction novels and playing arcade games.
Robin Low - Social Media Guru and Consultant
robinlow@alumni.nus.edu.sg
Robin Low is an international entrepreneur who trains, researches and consults on the use of social media. In addition to his work with Rediscover Rosarito, he is conducting training sessions for the Sri Lankan tourism industry and several companies in Singapore. Robin has been a social media trainer since 2008, and in 2009 comprehensively trained Aitken Spence Hotels and Aitken Spence Travels, a large hotel chain with luxury properties in Maldives, India, Oman and Sri Lanka. Aitken Spence has since seen an increase in hotel occupancy, customer retention and Internet bookings. Robin is also the author of a forthcoming book on social media, an adjunct lecturer at the National University of Singapore, and will soon conduct a course there about new media communications.
Robin Low is an international entrepreneur who trains, researches and consults on the use of social media. In addition to his work with Rediscover Rosarito, he is conducting training sessions for the Sri Lankan tourism industry and several companies in Singapore. Robin has been a social media trainer since 2008, and in 2009 comprehensively trained Aitken Spence Hotels and Aitken Spence Travels, a large hotel chain with luxury properties in Maldives, India, Oman and Sri Lanka. Aitken Spence has since seen an increase in hotel occupancy, customer retention and Internet bookings. Robin is also the author of a forthcoming book on social media, an adjunct lecturer at the National University of Singapore, and will soon conduct a course there about new media communications.
