Alumni
Featured Alumni
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COMMAlum Awards
The Department of Communication at the University of Maryland annually distributes the
following four awards that celebrate the outstanding and consequential contributions of UMD
COMM alums. All awards are designed to recognize COMM UMD alums who advance COMM’s
guiding principle of Communication for the Public Good.
• COMM Achiever Awards recognize UMD COMM alumni with outstanding achievements
in career, public service, and/or volunteer activities that promote COMM’s mission of
Communication for the Public Good. Up to 10 awards or more will be given annually.
• COMM Community Hero Awards recognize UMD COMM alumni with a distinguished
record of community service that advances COMM’s mission of Communication for the
Public Good. One or more awards will be given annually.
• COMM Alumni Service Awards recognize UMD COMM alumni with a distinguished
record of alumni service to UMD and especially the Department of Communication.
One or more awards will be given annually.
Qualified applicants can include senior leaders who have distinguished themselves in their career,
public service, and volunteer activities.
• COMM Leadership Achievement Awards recognize UMD COMM alums with a long
and distinguished record across their career, public service, and volunteerism that
advances COMM’s mission of Communication for the Public Good. One or more
awards will be given annually.
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COMMAlum Advisory Board
Mission
The mission of the advisory board is to support the research, instructional and public engagement missions of the Department of Communication as it seeks to enhance its top national ranking and reputation for excellence. More specifically, the advisory board will provide advice and counsel at the request of the department in matters relating to communication with alumni. It will also serve as a potential liaison for the department’s current students to the professional world and council students as they enter the workforce. Finally, the board will help generate the human and material resources necessary to attain the goals and objectives of the department.
Strategic Goals
To achieve its mission, the advisory board will:
- Meet annually to advise the department on alumni communication, the changing nature of the professional world and issues related to student preparation.
- Help advise students about career opportunities and assist in securing internships and other professional opportunities for undergraduate and applied graduate students.
- Encourage and identify additional sources of revenue to support the general objectives of the department.
- Serve as ambassadors on behalf of the department in arenas outside the university.
- Promote alumni networking and connections between current and former students.
Membership
The advisory board is composed of a select group of alumni. Individuals are appointed to serve on the board by invitation only. The department chairperson, in consultation with the faculty advisory committee, selects board members that represent the diversity, breadth of occupational careers and varied accomplishments of communication alumni. Board members typically serve a period of two years, with the possibility of additional terms at the request of the department. The board meets once a year, typically in the Washington, D.C., metro area. In line with the board’s mission of assisting the department in generating resources, members are encouraged to be donors to the communication department.
COMMAlums Advisory Board Members
- Board President: Jennifer Sherman, Founder, The Influencer Collective
- Karen Addis, President & CEO, Addis Communications
- Shawn Bartley, Shawn D. Bartley and Associates, Law Office
- Patrice Cameau, CEO & Marketing Lead, CAMPSpace
- Daniel Cronin, Vice President, CFO/COO, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Steve Drake, Principal, Steve Drake Associates
- Chris Finnegan, Senior Communications & Marketing Consultant, Freelance
- Michelle Miranda, Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Lydia Parker, Staff Assistant, United States Senate
- Timothy Strachan, Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, FCC
- Ryan Swann, Chief Data Officer for Public Sector, Collibra
- Christian Videla, Senior Agent, Redfin
Learn more about our board members!