Industry Insights

  By Elise McGlothian—   Astead Herndon is a national political reporter for The New York Times. He was previously a Washington-based political reporter and a City Hall reporter for The Boston Globe.     As an undergraduate at the Marquette University in Wisconsin, Astead took a year off to work inside of a classroom through AmeriCorps. His experience eventually landed him…

By Elise McGlothian—   Kamara Daughtry is the creator of the Young Professional Network, Digital Career Opportunities Worldwide (DCOW) on Facebook that boasts more than 5,000 members. Its paid options provide different levels of membership, which you can learn more about here.     The group is designed for journalists from all over the world to provide mentorship, opportunities, and career advice about…

By Elise McGlothian—   In honor of Black History Month, The Goddess Speaks is highlighting the work of Black communicators. We begin this series with poet Kandice Head – whose first book explores her relationship with her late mother, civil injustices, and defining Black womanhood. This conversation has been edited for clarity.  Where did you get the inspiration…

For the last decade, I’ve had a foot in two very different camps: scientific research and strategic communications. While my career got its start in the latter, the allure of health research and the potential to use evidence to improve systems pushed me to return to school for a Master of Public Health (MPH). While…

  Cheryl Aguilar  is the founder and lead therapist of Hope Center for Wellness, a multicultural and bilingual mental health practice focused on holistic healing of individuals and communities. She works with youth, young adults, adults, and families, and she specializes in working with immigrants and refugees. Before embarking in social work, Cheryl worked in journalism,…

Sara Veltkamp, Minerva East—    How do we make our Zoom calls more engaging? What facilitation techniques work best in a virtual discussion? Are there ways we can make this online workshop better than the in–person version?    Like many of you, we’ve been asking questions like these—for our team and on behalf of our clients—since the pandemic began. While definitive answers are in short supply and we don’t yet have meaningful data insights, we’ve…

  Bookda Gheisar is the senior director for the new Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Port of Seattle. She has been an executive director of many organizations, a volunteer for many more, and has dedicated her life to fighting for social justice. She’s been on the front lines defending Iranians against discrimination at our northern border and, in December, she spent time at our southern border in Mexico with a group of interfaith women of…

  By Malia Mackey—    Spring is often a time for new beginnings—and usually a time for spring cleaning. While we are battling the persistent pollen flurry and balancing that last can of soup in the pantry, there’s likely something else collecting clutter—your Twitter feed.     In the age of coronavirus, when everyone wants to add their two cents and shout…

By Catherine Salgado—    COVID-19 impacts all of us, but not equally. People who live at the margins—folks living in poverty, communities of color, undocumented immigrants—are much more likely to feel the economic and health impacts of the virus. This pandemic is highlighting how communication can deepen inequities. For example, calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” or “Kung flu” is not only wrong and racist—it puts people in danger of being attacked and stigmatized.     Thankfully, in the past…

By Joy Portella—   Let’s face it: We weren’t prepared for this. The rapid onset of a worldwide health crisis has all of us flummoxed. How do nonprofits talk about their work when news headlines are dominated by coronavirus, people are weighing whether it’s safe to go into the office, and families are preoccupied with protecting elderly loved ones?  As a…