Who We Are
APDS President Aparajitha Vadlamannati
Welcome to the 2011-2012 year of activities and programming from the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars (APDS). As president, my functions include representing the Master’s of Public Diplomacy (MPD) students, strengthening partnerships with the USC community at large and creating new opportunities for our students to enhance the field of Public Diplomacy.
At USC, I work with the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the Center for Public Diplomacy and the School of International Relations to widen our presence on campus and abroad and encourage peers to actively participate in our activities so they may learn more about this exciting field. Members of APDS are also creating partnerships through the release of Public Diplomacy Magazine, a publication devoted to the analysis of current affairs and innovations in the field with articles contributed by practioners and scholars from around the world.
I look forward to a year of new programming and continuing to extend the reach of our organization and program beyond USC into both the public and private sectors. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to email me at vadlaman@usc.edu.
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APDS Treasurer Jennifer Grover
I look forward to being the Treasurer of the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars for the 2011-2012 academic year. As APDS Treasurer, I am responsible for keeping record of the organization’s budget and tracking all expenses.
I manage membership information as well as the collection of APDS membership dues. Additionally, I will be in charge of submitting the funding proposals that will help us ensure APDS has the resources it needs to put on a variety of professional activities and events throughout the year.
If you want to know more about graduate student organization funding, please contact me at jenmgrover@gmail.comfor more information. I am really excited to have a great year and to work with everyone in APDS to further the organization’s growth on campus this year.
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APDS Communications Chair Emily Chin
It is a pleasure to serve as your Communications Chair for the 2011-2012 school year! As the APDS Communications Chair, you’ll be hearing from me through the informative APDS bulletins and announcements throughout the course of our time together. I am charged with managing the internal and external communications for our organization, as well as encouraging the increased presence of APDS on campus, in campus media and online. For all of you bloggers, columnists and writers out there – I’m looking to you to help us grow the prominence of APDS this year!
I am excited to share our gifts of communication and diplomacy, not only with our global, Los Angelino, and USC audiences, but also within the APDS organization. Should you be interested in sharing your thoughts with blog post or just to pound out some ideas for the coming semesters, please feel free to email me at any time - emily.chin@usc.edu. Here’s to a great year together!
APDS Alumni & Professional Development Chair Carolina Sheinfeld
For the 2011-2012 Academic Year, I will be serving you as the APDS Alumni and Professional Development Chair. As we embark on this adventure together, I look forward to meeting the new MPD class and hearing from all your interesting backgrounds and future plans.
Besides alerting our MPD students of interesting trainings, internship opportunities and jobs, I would like to make an emphasis in connecting you with our MPD alumni base. The Masters of Public Diplomacy at USC is at the forefront of academic programs in this area and even when our program is only 6 years old, our graduates can be found in a wide variety of professional areas, from State Department to foreign consulates and NGOs. I envision having both formal and informal meetings with MPD Alumni, so you can hear from their experiences. Knowing who your colleagues are and building collaborations with them is crucial in moving forward in your careers; the more connected we are, the better we will be performing our duties as diplomats
Lastly, we will maximize the professional resources available in campus through the USC Annenberg Career Development Office and the Career Planning and Placement Center, hosts of different career fairs. We will also work closely with the Center for Public Diplomacy, as they bring you events where you can meet experts in the PD field as you increase your knowledge of institutions and organizations conducting Public Diplomacy both in the US and abroad.
Please email me any questions or suggestions at carolina.sheinfeld@usc.edu and make sure to complete the survey that we are sending you in the upcoming weeks – make your voice heard!
APDS Formal Events Chair Mona El Hamdani
As APDS Formal Events Chair, I am in charge of coordinating and organizing all APDS formal events that will take place throughout the 2011-12 academic year. The formal events are usually composed of small events that feature a variety of experts who come to speak and interact with students around issues of Public Diplomacy. In addition, they feature one major annual conference, held during the spring semester, on one solid Public Diplomacy issue of great interest to MPD students, faculty and staff. My role will be to branch out to the students in the program and to the experts and practitioners of Public Diplomacy to organize events that live up to everybody’s expectations. I am very optimistic about this year and about the many opportunities we will have to communicate and exchange our ideas. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have ideas or/and feedback about APDS formal events @ elhamdan@usc.edu. And please be numerous to attend!!
Fight On!
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APDS Social Events Chair Molly Krasnodebska
As APDS Social Chair, am responsible for organizing events for APDS members, and those who are interested in public diplomacy. Social events, which may include a night out in Los Angeles or cultural activities, are a great opportunity to bring people together. My hope is that though social activities this year’s APDS community will grow closer together and develop connections for professional networking in the future.
Please, feel free to email me at krasnode@gmail.com if you have any suggestions for social events or public diplomacy related activities, or if you have any questions. APDS would also be happy to host joint events with other programs at USC.
I am very much looking forward to being your APDS Social Chair for the academic year 2011/2012.
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PD Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jerry Edling
Jerry Edling is a second year Master of Public Diplomacy candidate with an interest in international broadcasting and Editor in Chief of “PD” magazine He is a career broadcast journalist with more than 16 years of experience in the Los Angeles market and a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Writers Guild of America, west. He has been nominated for three Emmy Awards, three Writers Guild Awards and a Mark Twain Award and has won an Edward R. Murrow Award, two Golden Mike Awards and three Associated Press Awards. Prior to moving to California he was a news director at seven radio stations. As an on-air radio personality he co-hosted two prime-time television specials and co-wrote and performed on a comedy album with Edd Hall, former announcer on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
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APDS First Year Rep, Kelsey Suemnicht
I am honored to represent the dynamic, diverse, and brilliant MPD class of 2013. I am the first year voice to the APDS board, Annenberg faculty and the USC Community. My objective is to exercise leadership for our class but also act as a vessel for your own opinions, ideas, and accomplishments. I will strive to be a liaison between our year and opportunities for summer internships, practicum experiences and professional development. I hope to implement diverse social and professional events that foster a constructive relationship with the second year students and APDS alumni. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts and suggestions at kelsey.suemnicht@usc.edu.
