Bob Anderson

B.A. Journalism: Louisiana State University

Bob Anderson is Florida Parish Bureau chief and writes the “Through the Glass Darkly” column for the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper. The bureau covers news in Tangipahoa, St. Helena, Livingston, St. Tammany and Washington parishes. He previously served as environmental editor; general assignment, police and environmental reporter; and copy editor for The Advocate. Anderson has earned more than 40 reporting awards, including recognition form the National Press Association, United Press International, Washington Journalism Center and Scripps Howard Foundation. He has also taught seminars for environmental journalists in Eastern Europe and for the Society of Environmental Journalists. Anderson earned a BA in Journalism from Louisiana State University.

M.F.A. Creative Writing: Louisiana State University - Creative Writing

Ashley Berthelot is a media relations editor for LSU’s Office of Communications and University Relations and the Office of Research and Economic Development. She specializes in gaining critical national media coverage of science- and research-related topics, including the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the broad spectrum of hurricane research. In addition to facilitating media coverage, she develops strategies to maximize coverage of important breakthroughs and serves as a public information officer in the university’s Emergency Operations Center.

Sara Bongiorni
225.229.9575 | sbongi1@lsu.edu

Sara Bongiorni is a Baton Rouge journalist and author who has worked at daily newspapers in Louisiana and California. Her stories and essays have appeared in national and international publications, including Consumers Digest magazine, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and Christian Science Monitor.

Dan Borné
225.376.7660 | dan@lca.org

M. M. C.: Louisiana State University

Dan Borné is President of the Louisiana Chemical Association, which represents the interests of over 60 chemical manufacturing companies that operate at more than 90 locations in the state. He is also President of the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance, a partnership of Louisiana’s chemical plants and hundreds of their suppliers, contractors and vendors. Before joining the LCA 22 years ago, Borné was a Vice President of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation. He has also worked for a state senator, a congressman, three United States Senators and a governor.  Borné has anchored television news and sports and done radio play-by-play. His hobby is following LSU sports. He serves as the public address announcer at Tiger Stadium and at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. He has a bachelor’s from Nicholls State and a master’s from LSU.

Malcolm P. Ehrhardt, APR
malcolm@theehrhardtgroup.com

M.S. Communications Management: Syracuse University

Malcolm P. Ehrhardt has dedicated his professional career to the study of mass communication and its effect on people and business. He has authored two major in‐depth studies of television news that analyzed, categorized and interpreted more than 2,000 news broadcasts. As an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Ehrhardt has counseled some of the Gulf South’s largest companies. Current clients include BP Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, the New Orleans Hornets NBA franchise, Capital One, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, the Greater New Orleans BioSciences Economic Development District, Waste Management of Louisiana, and Corporate Realty, Inc. Ehrhardt’s programs have garnered eight PRSA Silver Anvil Awards. He has also earned awards from the University of New Orleans National Alumni Association and was named Executive of the Year by the Greater New Orleans Executive Association. He served on the board of directors for the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce and as president of the University of New Orleans Privateer Athletic Foundation. He has also worked Super Bowls, NCAA Final Four Championships, the Republican National Convention and the Papal Visit to New Orleans in 1987. He has a strong commitment to professional advancement, participating in development courses focusing on corporate communications and strategic planning. Ehrhardt served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantry Badge, along with Vietnam Service Ribbons. He has a Masters of Science in Communications Management from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and attended the University of New Orleans.

M.M.C.: Louisiana State University

Miranda Lemon works as a marketing generalist with Amedisys Home Health Services in Baton Rouge, where she develops communication campaigns, provides support to sales representatives and implements internal research projects. She previously worked as a freelance designer and as a teaching assistant at LSU. She has earned ADDY awards for her creative work and is a member of the American Advertising Federation. She has a master’s in mass communication and a BFA in graphic design.

Venessa Lewis, APR
225.603.4229 | venessalewis@cox.net

B.A. Mass Communication: Louisiana State University

Venessa Lewis is a national award-winning graphic designer with more than ten years of experience in print design, web design and public relations. She is the owner of Lewis Graphic Design, LLC and specializes in brand identity, political campaigns, social media and creative communications. She is also the Vice President of Membership for PRAL, the Public Relations Association of Louisiana. Lewis has served as an adjunct professor for the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication since the fall of 2008, instructing students in the area of Visual Communication. Lewis holds a B.A. in Mass Communications with a minor in English from LSU, and is an Accredited Public Relations Professional.

Ed Pratt
225.275.9432 | epratt1972@yahoo.com

B.A. Journalism: Southern University

Ed Pratt worked as press secretary for former Governor Kathleen Blanco when she was lieutenant governor and for her gubernatorial campaign. He also served as press secretary for the Louisiana Department of Labor, including running public awareness campaigns in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Pratt has worked as an editor, writer and columnist for the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper. He also worked for the Lake County Bureau of the Orlando Sentinel and The State-Times newspaper in Baton Rouge. He has earned writing awards from Associated Press, Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, National Association of Black Journalists and other professional organizations. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern University.

Karen Rowley
225.892.0684 | krowley@lsu.edu | 226 Hodges Hall

Ph.D. Media and Public Affairs: Louisiana State University

Karen Rowley works as a policy researcher for the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a nonprofit, non-partisan, statewide public policy research organization. She joined PAR in 2006 to oversee a two-and-a-half year research project examining hurricane recovery efforts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after Katrina and Rita. Currently, her work focuses on statewide education policy developments. Before returning to school to work on her Ph.D., Rowley worked for daily newspapers in Florida and North Carolina, and for a business newspaper and a regional cultural magazine in Louisiana. Her academic research interests include development of new forms of media as institutions, media organizational structures and information delivery systems, and media and public policy. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University. Rowley teaches Print News Reporting and Editing. She also has taught Introduction to Media Writing and Advanced Journalism.

Merv Wampold, Jr.
202.546.4649 | mervwampold@earthlink.net

J.D.: Louisiana State University

Merv Wampold, Jr., founded Wampold Strategies in 2005 to provide direct mail and advocacy services to democratic candidates and progressive causes. Notable successes for the firm include work for several U.S. Senators, Baton Rouge’s first black mayor Kip Holden and most recently Mayor Mitch Landrieu in New Orleans. Wampold has also been the primary mail consultant for conservation organizations across the country. Following the 2000 Presidential election, he spent five weeks in South Florida with the Gore-Lieberman recount committee. Wampold’s experience also includes positions in campaign fundraising and finance, as assistant attorney general in Louisiana, and as campaign manager. He earned both his bachelor’s degree and his Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University.