MSC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Curriculum
- Director of Curriculum and Non
Amy J. Hauenstein is the Director of Curriculum and Non-Degree Programs for the MSC program and Adjunct Faculty for the program. She is an experienced academic program administrator and manager, with expertise in formal and informal curriculum development, andragogy, and executive education. Her research investigates how the cumulative nature of an educational experience affects identity development with a focus on underserved, underrepresented students; the dynamics of developing and implementing interdisciplinary thematic curriculum; and the design and testing of mediated communities of practice. Hauenstein holds a B.A. in Integrated Social Sciences from The Ohio State University, a M.A. in Education from Ursuline College, and an Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies from DePaul University.
Hauenstein is the Director of Curriculum and Non-Degree Programs and teaches Workplace Learning and Communities of Practice, the Communication Skills Practicum, and is the OLP Capstone Instructor.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration
- Alumni, Faculty, and Staff
Anne Marie Adams is the Director of Administration and Academic Affairs for the MSC program and Adjunct Faculty for the program, where she is the Custom Leadership Program Capstone Instructor. Anne Marie is an experienced higher education and student affairs administrator. She oversees the execution of all academic programming and advising, and provides leadership in the development and implementation of all program policies and procedures. Under the banner of student services, she guides students to success by fostering an open and inclusive environment, while serving as an advocate to ensure successful matriculation of their post-graduate university experience.
Adams' research interests include how women make meaning of their lived experiences at the intersection of their religious and spiritual identity construction, more specifically, the development of leadership and notions of womanhood, with an emphasis on issues of equity, access, and voice. Adams' current research examines in-depth the history of Greek Orthodox women with attention to the cultural and institutional contexts within the church and church ministries.
Adams holds a B.A from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a MSC from Northwestern University, and a PhD in Curriculum Studies from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital As a Purchasing Agent
Ashley Polk currently works for Northwestern Memorial Hospital as a purchasing agent in charge of cardiology and radiology.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Woobot.Io
Brandon is the founder and CEO of Woobot.io. He previously spent 6 years at Appirio.com in the sales and technology industry.
Job Titles:
- Gaonkar Teaches Strategy in the Global Economy. Learn More
- Professor in Rhetoric and Public
Dilip Gaonkar is Professor in Rhetoric and Public Culture and the Director of Center for Global Culture and Communication at Northwestern University. He is also the Director of Center for Transcultural Studies, an independent scholarly research network concerned with global issues. He was closely associated with the journal, Public Culture, serving as the Executive Editor (2000-2009) and as Editor (2009-2011). Gaonkar has two sets of scholarly interests: rhetoric as an intellectual tradition, both its ancient roots and its contemporary mutations; and, global modernities and their impact on the political. He has published numerous essays on rhetoric, including "The Idea of Rhetoric in the Rhetoric of Science" that was published along with ten critical responses to the essay in a book, Rhetorical Hermeneutics: Invention and Interpretation in the Age of Science, edited by Alan G. Gross and William Keith (1996). Gaonkar has edited a series books on global cultural politics: Globalizing American Studies (with Brian Edwards, 2010), Alternative Modernities (2001), and Disciplinarity and Dissent in Cultural Studies (1995). He has also edited several special issues of journals: Laclau's On Populist Reason (with Robert Hariman, for Cultural Studies, 2012), Cultures of Democracy (for Public Culture, 2007), Commitments in a Post-Foundational World (with Keith Topper, 2005), Technologies of Public Persuasion (with Elizabeth Povinelli, 2003), and New Imaginaries (with Benjamin Lee, 2002). He is currently working on a book manuscript on Modernity, Democracy and the Politics of Disorder.
In addition to his work for the Department of Communications Studies, Gaonkar also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of African American studies, the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, the graduate program in Screen Cultures and as a senior affiliate fellow at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, India.
Dr. Nisbet is the Director fo the MSC Program. He is an Endowed Professor of Policy Analysis & Communication and director of the Center for Communication & Public Policy in the School of Communication.
Job Titles:
- Teacher, Composer, Designer and Event
Faiz Razi is a Teacher, Composer, Designer and Event Coordinator, among other things. He received his BA from DePaul's College of Education, and holds an MA from Columbia College in Interdisciplinary Art. In addition to nine years in Chicago's public and private schools, he has run a math and reading center for twenty-five years, and has tutored privately in almost every subject under the sun. As a composer, he has written and recorded at least an album a year since 1998 and has toured the U.S., Canada and Spain. He plays a dozen instruments, is a highly sought-after session musician, and has developed several pieces of community-based experimental music technology.
Razi has designed over a dozen websites, but leans more towards art-related graphic design and illustration-making countless album covers, magazines, flyers, t-shirts, logos and the like. He was an international booking agent for several years, and has organized and curated over 600 events, performances, panels, and festivals, most notably the award-winning exhibit, Nomadic Studio.
On the fun side of things, he speaks four languages, has a black belt, and his ability to sing a mean Zeppelin resulted in his becoming both a Check, Please! All-Star, and a minor local celebrity. For the past twelve years, he has been a moderator at the Electrical Audio forum, an online discussion board with over 10,000 registered users, where his near-eidetic memory has garnered him an Urban Dictionary entry. He also has a guitar pedal, a half-dozen poems and songs and a beverage named after him. He lives in Chicago
Job Titles:
- Executive Development Advisor for Executive Education for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwest
Gretchen Baker is an Executive Development Advisor for Executive Education for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She advises professionals who are interested in attending executive education programs on marketing, sales, and leadership that can support their career development. She is also responsible for marketing the programs and driving enrollment. Gretchen values building diverse cohorts and believes in the importance of fostering close relationships with others.
Job Titles:
- Director of Alumni & Parent
Holly Jones is the Director of Alumni & Parent Relations at Iowa Wesleyan University, where she is responsible for engagement, development, and communication. She received her undergraduate degree in history from the University of Iowa in 2010 and just completed her second quarter in the MSC program.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University
- Program Co - Founder
Irving Rein is a leading authority on communication. Rein is a Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University where he specializes in communication strategies within popular culture. He is an internationally known expert in public communication and popular culture and was the recipient of the National Speakers Association's Outstanding Professor Award for 1999-2000 and the Clarence Simon Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in the School of Communication in 2011.
Rein's professional achievements are many and varied. As a faculty member at Harvard University, he instructed such students as Al Gore, Lou Dobbs, William Weld, and Tommy Lee Jones in the public speaking program. He also served on Major League Baseball's Commissioners' Initiative for the 21st Century and was a member of the Advisory Board for Northwestern University's Master of Arts in Sports Administration. As a part of NASA's astronaut training program for fifteen years, he conducted public communication seminars for the astronauts and developed the in-space communication program, which included teaching in space, press conferences, and appearances in the media and before various NASA publics. In the political sphere, Rein served as a communication advisor for the campaigns of Richard M. Daley, Adlai Stevenson III, Michael Howlett, Jr., Harold Washington, Paul Simon, Neal Hartigan, Dan Hynes, and Lisa Madigan. He has also been a communication consultant to many companies and organizations, including Perkins Coie LLP, United States Olympic Committee, Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society (ALAS), IBM, Mott's, Ernst & Young, and the Internal Revenue Services. Internationally, he has been a speaker and consultant for a wide variety of non-profit organizations in countries like Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Argentina, and Panama.
Rein has authored or co-authored many books, which most recently include The Sports Strategist: Developing Leaders for a High-Performance Industry, The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace and High Visibility: Transforming Your Personal and Professional Brand.
Rein is a program co-founder and teaches in the in residence seminar on Crisis Communication Management.
Job Titles:
- Leadership and Organizational Development Consultant for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children 's Hospital of Chicago
Jacob currently works as the Leadership and Organizational Development Consultant for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, where he supports a population of 5,000+ individuals, providing one-on-one coaching and group workshop facilitation to clinical and non-clinical leaders. Jacob leverages his experiences in education, the performing arts, and corporate learning and development to his work. As a performer, Jacob has sung as a backup vocalist for musical artists such as Josh Groban and Patti LuPone, at venues including The United Center, The Chicago Theater, and Chicago Symphony Center, and as a recording artist on Netflix's Sense8. In the education space, Jacob has served as an educator and guest lecturer for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students throughout the Midwest. As a Learning and Leadership Development Consultant, Jacob has worked with organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies in the technology, healthcare, non-profit, and fashion/apparel industries.
Jason DeSanto, Esq., is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, an H. Clayton Louderback Legal Writing Instructor, and the winner of the George Schechtman Prize. DeSanto brings years of communication experience in the fields of law, government, and politics - spending more than a decade as a political speechwriter, debate strategist, and communications adviser. He has written for United States Senators and members of Congress, and he has served as a litigation partner at Chicago's Freeborn & Peters LLP, specializing in cases implicating the intersection between speech and law, including defamation and First Amendment controversies. DeSanto teaches Persuasion in the MSC curriculum with a focus on language, leadership, and persuasion. A graduate of the Second City Conservatory he also periodically appears as a political satirist and commentator on Chicago radio. He has appeared as a First Amendment expert on national radio, acted as Special Assistant Attorney General of Illinois, and served as an English teacher in the former Czechoslovakia during that country's first year of post-Communist governance.
Job Titles:
- Sparrow Teaches Media Training in the in Residence Seminars on Crisis Communication Management, and Refining Your Executive Presence: Defining a Professional Identity. Learn More
Jeanne Sparrow received her MSC from Northwestern and also holds a BA in psychology from WCAS at NU. Jeanne is a communications consultant, specializing in media and presentation training through her firm, The Spoken Bird. Her work is informed by her three decades of experience as a multiple Emmy-winning television host/reporter and award-winning radio personality on many Chicago area stations, including WVAZ and WGCI radio, CBS2, NBC5, WGN & WCIU. She works with clients of all experience levels, helping them polish their performance and guiding them to presenting their best, most natural and authentic selves with confidence and comfort, whether leading a team, presenting to a small group of colleagues, speaking to a large audience at a conference, or appearing in front of a microphone or camera. Jeanne believes that words are power and that they possess even more power when communicated well. Her goal is to empower people with the communications skills they need to be the best leaders they can possibly be and to tell their stories themselves in the best way possible to any size audience.
Jeff is the CEO of CIMC Capital, the finance partner for China International Marine Containers, headquartered in Shenzhen, China. CIMC, the largest container and trailer manufacturer in the world, has 200 subsidiaries worldwide. Jeff was recently invited to the join the Wall Street Journal CEO Council as its 143rd member.
Michael Roloff received his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University and joined the faculty at Northwestern in 1978. Roloff has been the Chair of the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association and is currently Director of the National Communication Association Publications Board.
Roloff is a long-time editor of Communication Research and directs a Committee of the University Institutional Review Board (IRB). Roloff's research interests are in the area of interpersonal influence with courses and publishing related to persuasion, change management, organizational change, and bargaining and negotiation. He has co-edited four research volumes: "Persuasion: New Directions in Theory and Research," "Social Cognition and Communication," "Interpersonal Processes," and "Communication and Negotiation." His publications include: Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach (1981), Interpersonal Process: New Directions in Communication Research (1987) and Communication Processes Leading to Integrative Agreements (1988). Roloff teaches Change Management in the MSC curriculum.
Roloff was co-recipient of the Woolbert Award for Outstanding Contribution to Communication Research from the Speech Communication Association and of a publication award from the Social Cognition and Communication Division of the National Communication Association. In 2009 he was named a fellow of the International Communication Association and Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association.
Professor Buck previously taught at Washington University in St. Louis, and at McGill University in Montreal and Tokyo. She won "Professor of the Year" awards in the MBA programs at both schools. While at McGill University, she served as Module Director in the McGill-McConnell Program for National Voluntary Sector Leaders, an executive-level leadership development program for senior leaders of the non-profit sector in Canada, designed to facilitate leaders in creating a "more compassionate, sustainable society."
Professor Buck has a PhD and MA in Social Psychology from Princeton University, and a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Associate Director of Marketing
- Staff
Michelle Villagomez is the Associate Director of Marketing & Enrollment Management at the School of Communication. She oversees all strategic Marketing and Enrollment Management policies and procedures for the MS in Communication program.
At Northwestern, Michelle has driven major national and international strategic initiatives for over 30 academic programs at the university and has provided marketing leadership across multiple schools.
Prior to Higher Education, Michelle worked in the private sector as a media strategist for an advertising agency in Chicago. She worked with insurance, retail, banking, and emerging beauty technology clients at the agency to develop data-driven media plans. In her early career, she worked with agricultural financial tech startups and with the Chicago Marathon to support marketing and communication projects.
Aside from her professional experience, Michelle is passionate about public policy and community welfare. In 2022, she joined the American Red Cross as a Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteer to assist with local emergencies.
Michelle's educational background includes an M.A. in Public Policy & Administration specializing in Global Health from Northwestern University. She earned her B.A. in Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Enrollment Manager
- Staff
Monica Kosak is the Marketing and Enrollment Manager for the MS in Communication program within the School of Communication. She oversees the admissions and enrollment process and supports marketing advances for the program. Monica is passionate about providing guidance and support to prospective students as the primary point of contact. Please contact Monica if you would like to learn more information about the MSC program!
Monica holds a B.A. in Organizational Leadership from North Central College and a M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of San Francisco.
Monica Kosak is the Marketing and Enrollment Manager at the School of Communication
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Career Management
- Staff
Rick G. Morris is a graduate of the New York University (LL.M.) School of Law and the University of Kansas School of Law. Morris combines real-world business experience with academic insight; he has worked and consulted for more than eleven media entities, including divisions of NBC, ABC, Telemundo, and CBS Television Networks and has won an Emmy award for technical excellence. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for Administration and Finance in Northwestern's School of Communication. Additionally, Morris teaches, researches, writes, and practices in the areas of media management, technology, entertainment and media law, regulation, and policy. Internationally, Morris has worked on the start-up teams for a media network (TV3) in New Zealand and Northwestern's campus in Qatar. Within the MSC curriculum, Morris teaches elective courses on Current Issues in Law, Technology & Strategy and Privacy & Communication. Morris is a member of the Board of Directors of the Lawyers for Creative Arts in Chicago and of the Bars of Illinois and Kansas. Morris contributes regularly to blog.medialawprofessor.org.
Sarah Cleveland is the Associate Director of Career Management at the School of Communication
Job Titles:
- CEO of Design Communications Agency SONNY ASH
Sonny is the CEO of design communications agency SONNY+ASH in Chicago, which he co-founded in 2011 in the middle of his time in the MSC program. The company helps people communicate their ideas to the masses. His undergraduate background was also in Communication Studies at Northwestern.
Job Titles:
- Northwestern Assistant Vice President of Media Relations
- Rowley Teaches Content and Influencer Marketing. Learn More
Bob Rowley is often introduced as "This is Bob Rowley, who spent a life in communication." Bob Rowley is the Northwestern Assistant Vice President of Media Relations and a Medill School of Journalism lecturer. He spent 30 years working for the Chicago Tribune, was a White House correspondent, Pentagon correspondent, national correspondent based in Dallas, lived in Mexico covering Latin America, where his daughters were born, and in Toronto and Jerusalem, going back and forth covering a dozen wars and different kinds of stories. He has worked in higher education for about eight years, first at Elmhurst College and now Northwestern University. After graduating from the Northwestern MSC program at age 59 in 2013, he became the first president of the MSC Alumni Association.
Susan D. Carver, Ph.D. has designed and implemented diversity programs, workshops and graduate courses for educational and religious institutions, city governments, NASA and large and small businesses. She has a unique capacity to discern and account for her own worldviews which informs her capacity to help attendees understand and optimize cultural differences to help establish productive and effective relationships. She has been recognized for her ability to motivate and guide individuals through the process of assessing their cultural awareness and targeting areas where growth will enhance their cultural IQ. Carver is funded by the National Science Foundation, directing educational programs for Cleveland State University. She earned a PhD in Educational Administration, as well as a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. She has received national recognition for her creative leadership, winning the Rutgers University Women in Government Award and she was honored by the United States Conference of Mayors for excellence in the development and implementation of diversity programming.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Communication, 2001, Northwestern University