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Jump to: Directors | Staff | Researchers | Research Assistants
DIRECTORS Henry Jenkins IIIPrincipal Investigator Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic ArtsHenry Jenkins joins USC from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was Peter de Florez Professor in the Humanities. He directed MIT's Comparative Media Studies graduate degree program from 1993-2009, setting an innovative research agenda during a time of fundamental change in communication,
journalism and entertainment. As one of the first media scholars to chart the changing role of the audience in an environment of increasingly pervasive digital content, Jenkins has been at the forefront of understanding the effects of participatory media on society, politics and culture. His research gives key insights to the success of social-networking Web sites,
networked computer games, online fan communities and other advocacy organizations, and emerging news media outlets. Jenkins has also played a central role in demonstrating the importance of new media technologies in educational settings. At MIT, he led a consortium of educators and business leaders promoting the educational benefits of computer games, and oversaw a research group working to help teach 21st century literacy skills to high school students through documentary videos. He also has worked closely with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to shape a media literacy program designed to explore the effects of participatory media on young people, and reveal potential new pathways for education through emerging digital media.
 Erin B. ReillyResearch Director
Erin B. Reilly is a recognized expert in the design and development of
thought-provoking and engaging educational content powered by virtual
learning and new media applications. Before joining MIT, Erin
co-founded and acted as CEO of Platform Shoes Forum (PSF), a non-profit
organization that researches and develops digital learning platforms
for youth. She is co-creator of PSF's model program Zoey's Room, a
national online community for 10-14 year-old girls, encouraging their
creativity through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Zoey's Room has proven results in advancing STEM and Media Literacy
skills. In 2007, Erin received a national educational Leaders in
Learning Award from Cable in the Classroom for her innovative approach
to learning through Zoey's Room and was selected as one of the National
School Boards Association's "20 to Watch" educators. Erin
is a graduate of Emerson College and has her Master of Fine Arts
degree from Rockport College, a subsidiary of the International Film and Television Workshops.
STAFF
 Vanessa Vartabedian
Community Manager
Vanessa comes from a diverse background as a theatre professional, filmmaker and youth media educator. In 2005, she successfully started the Media Technology Career and Technical Education Program for Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Massachusetts, where she taught for three years before moving on to teach a similar program at Madison Park High School in Roxbury. Prior, she worked with Cambridge Educational Access developing media literacy curriculum for middle and after-school youth programs, as well as conducting professional development for teachers around new media integration. She revitalized the SayMedia! summer youth program in Somerville, MA and was the Artist in Residence at Cambridge Community Television where she continues her work with the teen media program. Vanessa is the producer and director of several award-winning short films and holds a BFA in Theater from NYU. She is a current board member of the Regional Youth Media Arts Education Consortium (RYMAEC) at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston, and previously for Women in Film and Video New England and The Fort Point Theatre Channel in Boston, where she continues her active participation as an artist and collaborator.
RESEARCHERS
 Katie Clinton, PhD Researcher / Content AnalystKatie Clinton (Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison) brings her interest in digital technologies and her knowledge of learning and literacy theory to Project NML. As the content analyst, she is contributing to the process of figuring out how to apply a sociocultural and situated understanding of learning to the design of activities that will provide youth with opportunities to learn and practice social and cultural skills, as these skills take on meanings and values related to the new types of tools and contexts/places that digital technologies enable. Her research focuses on working out how recent research in the area of neuroscience sheds light on the new ways-of-meaning that videogames enable, and, in particular, on how these new kinds of discursive acts can be used to support learning in technology-based learning environments.
 Alice Mello, PhD
Curriculum Specialist
Alice Mello was born in Bahia-Brazil. She has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia, a Master's Degree in Arts in Education from Harvard and an Interdisciplinary Doctorate at Tufts merging Theater, Technology and Education. She has worked in design and development of computer applications for 26 years in the fields of electrical energy, water treatment, environment, tourism, finance, and higher education in Brazil, Germany and the USA. She has been a consultant on a variety of projects on technology and learning in Latin America and the USA. She is interested in integrating STEM, arts and learning. She has been working on applied research on technology in education since 1998 with the Future of Learning Group from the MIT-Media Lab, her own research on Virtual Forum Theater and with MSP2 - Middle School Portal for STEM at Education Development Center (EDC) in
Newton-Ma. I am a board member of CAAS (http://www.caasomerville.org) which among other wonderful social actions run the Head Start program in Somerville and Cambridge.
Malu Dantas, PhD
Researcher / Content Analyst
Malu has extensive experience as an educator and researcher in the area of literacy education, including in the development and coordination of a five-year academic partnership, focused on teacher cultural competence and multiple literacy practices, between the University of San Diego
(USD) and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), located in Natal, Brazil. Previously, she worked as Assistant Professor in Literacy Education at USD and the California State University San Marcos. Malu has an MA in Early and Middle Childhood Education and a PhD in Language, Literacy and Culture from the Ohio State University.
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
 Madeline Flourish Klink
Reed College, BA Religion, 2008
Madeline Flourish Klink co-founded one of the largest Harry Potter fan fiction sites, FictionAlley.org,
a project which was nominated for a Webby in 2004 and a Prix Ars Electronica award in 2005. She was one of the young fan fiction writers
interviewed for Convergence Culture, already identified as a key writer
and editor while still in high school. Her undergraduate career focused
on the classics and religion, interests that she learned to combine
with her growing fascination with digital media and fan culture. She
earned a BA in religion from Reed College in 2008, where her
undergraduate thesis explored the question: Can one have a Catholic
religious experience in virtual reality? The project ultimately
centered on religious communities within Second Life. At MIT, Klink
looks forward to returning to her long-standing interests in education
and fan culture. Her personal website is at madelineklink.com.
 Hillary Kolos
New York University, BFA, 2002
Hillary Kolos completed a BFA at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and
worked in after-school programs, including one at the School of the
Future, where she co-taught a high school filmmaking class. After
graduating from college in 2002, she worked at a not-for-profit
production company that produces documentaries on current issues in
education for PBS. Seeking more experience in the classroom, she then
worked as a media educator in New York City schools. She currently
works as a media mentor for Adobe, advising teachers on how to
incorporate media into their curricula. She was inspired to return to
graduate school after reading the white paper produced by Project NML
for the MacArthur Foundation.
For her thesis, she is currently researching female
undergraduates who play digital games, as well gaming communities on MIT's
campus.
In the future, she hopes to work as a
consultant to help teachers incorporate new media literacy skills into
their classrooms.
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