An Associate Professor in the Communications Department, Amy M. Damico holds a B.S. in Television Production and Writing from Emerson College, and Ed.M. with a concentration in Technology in Education from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D in Communication from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her interests include media literacy, the relationships between media and culture, and children's media. Professor Damico co-founded an innovative Media Camp for pre-teens at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont, has facilitated media literacy workshops with students and teachers, and has written media literacy curricula for use in public schools.
Laurel Hellerstein, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Communication, received a B.A. and M.A. in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University and went on to earn her Doctorate in Communication from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her dissertation and ground-breaking research undertaken while at UMass more than fifteen years ago relate to how people use computers to talk to each other and build community online. As Assistant Director of Communication at UMass, Amherst, Dr. Hellerstein was responsible for development and oversight of the day-to-day operation of one of the country's largest residentially-based cable systems---including the delivery and marketing of seven channels of locally originated programming to over 11,000 subscribers. In her role at UMass, as well, she produced and directed print, video and multimedia presentations for a variety of purposes. Dr. Hellerstein has served on the Wakefield, MA Cable Advisory Board since September, 2002. Dr. Hellerstein has brought to Endicott impressive skills in research methods. One of her primary roles is providing academic over-sight to Seniors as they move from their full-semester internship to their final Thesis research effort.
Sara Johnson Allen, Assistant Professor in the School of Communication, received her B.A. in Integrated Studies in Communication from Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston, M.A. Prior to joining the faculty at Endicott College, Professor Allen worked with a variety of non-profit and for-profit organizations as a marketing writer and consultant. She also taught at Newbury College and Salem State College. Her academic interests include the evolution of advertising and marketing as a result of emerging social media and also how digital culture and technology are changing our society.
Dennis Lanson, Professor, has taught film and video production since 1976, at NYU (Tisch School of the Arts), California Institute of the Arts, Brooks Institute, Brooklyn College, Boston University, Boston's School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Emerson College. At the same time he has pursued a career in the industry for more than two decades, as a screenwriter, director, editor, and documentarian. His award-winning nonfiction films have screened on PBS, at Washington's Kennedy Center, New York's MOMA, and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Among them are Booming, about the Wyoming uranium mining industry in the early 80's, which played the Sundance, Edinburgh and Denver international festivals; Phans of Jersey City (co-director), about a family of Vietnamese refugees, which premiered at the prestigious New Directors/ New Films festival, and most recently the 35mm feature Pitstop, a road comedy, broadcast locally on WGBH and at a range of national and international festivals. Lanson is also a member of the Writers Guild of America, and the author of numerous screenplay projects, most recently Joan of the Redwoods. He has produced and directed a wide range of educational and promotional projects; worked in motion picture advertising, writing and producing trailers and spots for major studio releases; and freelanced as a documentary cameraman and editor. In addition to production, Lanson has taught Screenwriting; Documentary; Post-Production; Cinematography; and numerous collaborative short film workshops. He is a graduate of Haverford College (BA) and Columbia University's School of the Arts (MFA), and was a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute. He is the recipient of writing residencies at The MacDowell Colony, VCCA, and the Djerassi Foundation, and has received filmmaking grants from the NEA, state Humanities and Arts endowments, Panavision's New Filmmaker Program, and MERC.
Eileen McLaughlin, PhD, joined the Communication faculty in 1999 as an Assistant Professor and helped launch the impressive Scangas Media and Learning Center, the College's state of the art digital production facility. She also was involved in developing the video production curriculum. In 2006 Dr. McLaughlin was asked to create a new program for faculty development as the Associate Dean for Teaching Excellence. This appointment reflects Endicott's commitment to the continuous improvement of classroom instruction. Dr. McLaughlin earned a B.A. in Media Production at Worcester State College, an M.A. in International Studies at the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Mass Communications at Ohio University.
Todd Wemmer received his B.A. in English from Atlantic Union College, and M.A. in English Literature from La Sierra University, and currently is working on a Ph.D in Communication from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research interests portable media, documentary, and citizen journalism. Professor Wemmer most recent project is an interactive DVD that incorporates oral history and amateur photography.
Mong-Shan (Melissa) Yang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Melissa received her B.A. in Foreign Languages and Literature from National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from the Ohio State University. Upon receiving her doctorate degree, she taught at the University of Connecticut for one year before joining Endicott College. Her teaching and research focus on the content, uses and effects of mass media. More specifically, she is interested in research and theories of how youth cognitively, psychologically, and behaviorally interact with television, advertising, and new technology. Her on-going research on parental mediation tries to understand how parent-child interaction shapes children?'s viewing experience. Currently, her research is on children's moral reasoning, violent television and parental mediation. As an active participant in the International Communication Association and National Communication Association, Melissa enjoys sharing research ideas with people and traveling around the world. Her research publications can be found in the Human Communication Research and the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. When not in the office, Melissa finds joy in serving her church, playing the piano, catching up with friends online and offline, and watching television.
For Further Information Contact
Laurel Hellerstein
Dean of the School of Communication
lhellers@endicott.edu
Academic Center
978-232-2153
