CMJ Graduate Students
Yayra Ademadjiku is a PhD student in Communication at the University of Maine. Her research focuses on decolonizing strategic communication to impact sustainable agriculture in rural areas, with particular attention to Indigenous and local farming practices in Ghana and the Penobscot Nation. She holds an MA in Development Communication and a BA in Communication Studies with a specialization in Journalism, both from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ). Her research interests span communication, agriculture and sustainability, and decolonizing methodologies. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Yayra handles Storytelling (CMJ 106) and supports instruction in Rhetorical Theory (CMJ 201).
Email: anna.ademadjiku@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Bridie McGreavy
Courses Taught: Storytelling (CMJ 106)
R. Alan Berry is a PhD Candidate in Communication, with a concentration in Education. He holds an MS in Media Studies and a BFA in Film Production. His research interests include media literacy theory, practice, and policy; critical pedagogy and popular education; media ecology; misinformation and disinformation; screen studies; and the critique of news and advertising. Berry is an Adjunct Instructor at York College of Pennsylvania, where he teaches Mass Communication. He’s affiliated with the Scholars Strategy Network and Media Literacy Now, and currently serves on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Media Literacy Education.
Email: richard.berry@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Judith Rosenbaum-Andre
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103); Media Theories and Research Methods (CMJ 203); Film Criticism and Theory (CMJ/NMD 245)
Links: Personal Site | Google Scholar | ORCID | LinkedIn
Dr. Medha Bhattacharyya is a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Student at the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Maine. She is also an Assistant Professor, Department of Basic Sciences and Humanities (English) in Bengal Institute of Technology, Kolkata, India (on lien). She was a Fulbright Scholar and teaching Communication and English at a university in Greater Boston area 2021-22 and was awarded two Fulbright Outreach Lecture Funds in 2022. She was awarded Canadian-American Center fellowship for 2024-2025. She completed her first PhD from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University (now known RKMVERI). Her book published by Routledge is titled: Rabindranath Tagore’s Śāntiniketan Essays: Religion, Spirituality and Philosophy,
London and New York, Routledge. She has been teaching in higher education for twenty years. She was the Academic Advisor for the entry on “Rabindranath Tagore” in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism series by Gale-Cengage, Vol. 324 (2016). She obtained the prestigious award of ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (formerly known as WBUT) on the occasion of Teachers’ Day 2018 celebration in West Bengal, India, for her outstanding contribution to “teaching, learning and research”. She has been invited to deliver talks in India and abroad including at Harvard University, Princeton University and University of Pennsylvania. Her current research areas entail Rabindranath Tagore Studies, Translation Studies, Religion, Creative Writing, ESL, Communication and South Asian Diaspora Studies.
Email: medha.bhattacharyya@maine.edu
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103)
Links: LinkedIn
Susan Bouchard is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Communication and Journalism.
Michael Clay is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Communication and Journalism.
Carter Emerson joined our MA program in 2024. He holds a BA in Communication and a BA in History. His research interests include risk communication & scientific communication in relation to climate change. He works with the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center as a Communications Specialist. He serves as the Vice President of the Graduate Student Government and the President of the CMJ Graduate Student Association.
Email: carter.emerson@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Laura Rickard & Dr. Judith Rosenbaum-Andre
Courses Taught: CMJ 103 (Public Speaking) & RLE 150 (Digital Storytelling in Action)
Link: LinkedIn
Meng “Melanie” Gao joined our MA program in 2023. She earned an MS in Education at Johns Hopkins University and BS in Education at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include Intercultural and Organizational Communication.
Email: meng.gao@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Laura Rickard
Course taught: Interpersonal communication (CMJ102)
Faron Rosemary joined our MA program in 2024 after earning their B.S. in environmental studies from Alma College. Their current research focuses on how community is negotiated, communicated, and formed across, through, and with difference; generally, their interests lie in understanding community and studying dialogue. They are currently a senator in the Graduate Student Government.
Email: faron.grossman@maine.edu
Advisor: Bridie McGreavy
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103)
Link: LinkedIn
Holly Gustavsen is a first-year MA in Communication student. Holly earned a BA in Biology at Boston University. Research interests include environmental communication, especially regarding climate change and marine ecosystems.
Email: holly.gustavsen@maine.edu
Yue Jiang is a PhD student who joined in 2024. She holds a B.A. in advertising from Beijing Technological and Business University and M.A. in journalism from Michigan State University. Her research interests overlap in environmental communication, risk communication, and media effects. She focuses on how media messages about climate change influence the perceptions and behaviors of communities in areas prone to natural disasters under increasingly extreme climate conditions.
Email: yue.jiang@maine.edu
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103)
Casey Kelly is a part-time PhD student in the Department of Communication and Journalism. His research focuses on the history and political economy of the media, with a focus on the social and cultural impact of the transition from broadcast to digital in public media, particularly on the practices of news workers, outlets, and audiences. Casey completed his master’s degree at UMaine in 2019. His thesis was titled “Sound Commodity: Contemporary Public Radio and Podcasting.” Casey is a former public radio journalist himself, having spent almost a decade in Alaska, where his stories won several state and regional awards. He now works as the communications coordinator for the UMaine College of Education and Human Development. Casey lives near Bangor with his wife, their two boys, a medium-large dog, and a diminutive cat.
Email: casey.kelly@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Michael Socolow
Madelyn Kohr is a first-year MA student in the Department of Communication and Journalism. Madelyn received her BA in English from UMaine in 2025. Madelyn works in the UMaine Writing Center as a writing consultant and social media coordinator.
Email: madelyn.kohr@maine.edu
Larissa Little joined our PhD program in 2024. They hold an MA in Communication Studies from the University of Maine and a BA in Communication Studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Their research includes queer studies, rhetoric, and transgender studies. They currently serve as a departmental Academic Advisor and as a member of the Graduate Student Association and J-IDEA Committee.
Email: larissa.little@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Liliana Herakova
Courses Taught: Rhetorical Theory (CMJ 201)
Link: LinkedIn Profile
Marissa Minor joined the PhD program in Fall 2024 and has a BA in Communication from Eastern Connecticut State University and a MA in Communication from Regis College. Marissa is currently the Communications & Brand Supervisor at Versant Power.
Email: marissa.minor@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Liliana Herakova
Courses Taught: Public Relations (CMJ 367)
Mania Mohseni joined our PhD program in Fall 2023. She earned a BS in Geology from the University of Tehran, an MA in Cinema from the Tehran University of Art, and a second MA in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Maine. Her work focuses on television, with current research interests in media psychology and narrative analysis. These include cross-cultural interpretations of morality, the influence of culture on audience enjoyment, narrative transportation, perceptions of morally ambiguous characters, and parasocial relationships with fictional characters.
Email: seyedehmania.mohseni@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Judith Rosenbaum-Andre
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103), Storytelling (CMJ 106)
Link: LinkedIn
Lara Naisbitt joined our PhD program in 2023. She holds a BA in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Maine and a MA in Gender and Cultural Studies from Simmons University, Boston. Her research interests include race theory, queer theory, Indigenous epistemology, rurality, and the Forest School movement.
Email: lara.naisbitt@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Hailey Schneider
Courses taught: Storytelling (CMJ 106)
John Olmstead is a M.A. student in the Department of Communication and Journalism.
Email: 
john.olmstead@maine.edu
Gulsen Ozdemir is a second-year PhD student whose focus is risk communication in national parks. Gulsen holds a B.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State University, and a M.A. in Communications from California State University, Fullerton. Gulsen also worked as a news producer for an international news channel and held communications/marketing coordinator positions priorly. In her leisure time, she enjoys hiking, exploring new places, and visiting museums.
Email: gulsen.ozdemir@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Laura Rickard
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103)
Sheena Hunter joined our PhD program in 2023. She holds a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies from The University of Maine and an MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Georgia State University. Her research examines how language constitutes what it means to age, and how women perform and negotiate their identities as they get older. In addition to teaching, she is an undergraduate advisor in CMJ.
Email: sheena.sheffield@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Liliana Herakova
Courses taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103), Modes of Media Criticism
Clinton Spaulding joined our PhD program in 2017 after earning both his MA and BA at UMaine in 2008 and 2002. His research interests include media ecology; critical pedagogy; media history; and participatory action research. He is an undergraduate advisor for the CMJ department and also currently affiliated with Spire, the Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability, which is housed at UMaine.
Email: clinton.spaulding@maine.edu
Advisor: Dr. Paul Grosswiler
Courses Taught: Public Speaking (CMJ 103); Public Relations (CMJ 367); Modes of Media Criticism (CMJ 376)
Amber Sutherland is a PhD student with a focus on food and hunger, interested in how we talk about food, how food shapes our environment, and how food policies reflect values and positions on citizenship, among other aspects. She received her MA from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a thesis focused on mental health communication in male collegiate athletics. She has worked with the Spurs in their athletic department, with the Brahmas (XFL), and the athletic department at UTSA. She received her BS in interpersonal and organizational communication from East Carolina University, where she also worked in their athletic department. Amber currently teaches Public Speaking. She volunteers with Citizens Climate Lobby, loves hiking with her two dogs, cooking and eating vegan food, and reading.