Meet the Team
Center Leadership
Michael Mackert, Ph.D.
Dr. Mackert is the director of the Center for Health Communication. He leads projects on a variety of public health issues that generate evidence-based health communication strategies for stakeholders and contribute to health communication scholarship.
Dr. Mackert is also a professor in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations and Department of Population Health at Dell Medical School. His research focuses on the strategies used in traditional and new digital media to reach low health-literate audiences.
Team Members
Patricia Semenov
Assistant Director - Operations
Jen Graham
Administrative Assistant
Breanna Deal
Communications and Event Specialist
Ashley Garling, Pharm.D.
Assistant Director - Programs
Melanie Susswein, MSW
Program Manager
Catherine Cunningham, M.S.
Program Manager
Komal Gandhi, M.A., M.Ed
Online Education Coordinator
Hayley Fick, MBA
Sr. Program Coordinator
Lara O’Toole, LMSW
Sr. Program Coordinator + Writer
Lauren Kriss, Ph.D.
Sr. Program Coordinator + Writer
Laura Anaya Rodriguez, MPH
Sr. Program Coordinator
Saakshi Kamalahasan
Program Coordinator/Marketing Specialist
Chris Beeler
Creative Director
Dasha Rakasovic
Art Director
Shayna Brewer, MFA
Creative Lead for Online Education
Ellen Shin
Sr. Graphic Designer
Natalie Tarrant
Graphic Designer
Lauren Pezzullo
Copywriter
Weijia Shi, Ph.D.
Research Associate II
Lindsay Bouchacourt, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Karly Quaack, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Our Founding Director
Jay Bernhardt, Ph.D., MPH is the President of Emerson College and Founding Director of the Center for Health Communication. He was the creator of the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media and the Digital Health Communication eXtravaganza, and former Director of the National Center for Health Marketing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.