Industry Inclusion Fellows

2024 Fall Semester Hubbard School Industry Inclusion Fellows

Daniel Bergin
Executive Producer, TPT - Twin Cities PBS
Daniel is a filmmaker and an executive producer and WEM Foundation Endowed Director of History with Twin Cities PBS where he works with the power of storytelling and restorative narrative to empower, educate, and entertain the community. Daniel will spend time in Jour 3741: Diversity and Media helping students apply historical narrative to represent diverse points of view.

 

Sheletta Brundidge
Radio and podcast host, entrepreneur, author, columnist 
Sheletta is an Emmy award-winning comedian and radio host. Aware of the serious lack of diversity in traditional media and frustrated by her own inability to find a seat at the table, she decided to build her own. In 2020, Sheletta created SHElettaMakesMeLaugh, a multi-media online platform with weekly podcasts. In JOUR 1001, Sheletta will be talking with students about her work in television, radio and podcasting; her experience as a children's book author; and her new role as a Star Tribune columnist. In Jour 4243: Digital Content Development and Production for Brand Communications, Sheletta gives students an overview of the podcast industry, helps them write great scripts and then gives inspiring and helpful feedback on students' finished projects. 

 

Carlos Gonzalez
Staff photographer, Star Tribune
Carlos Gonzalez is a veteran staff photographer at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. He has covered a wide range of assignments from local news, sports, features and international stories. He has covered they Olympics, Super Bowls and his work has been recognized with various honors including POYi, NPPA and National Headliner awards for his sports and news photography. Carlos' work was part of the Star Tribune’s Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the police killing of George Floyd and the fallout. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, TIME, Sporting News and National Geographic, among many others. Carlos will spend time with students in Jour 3102: Multimedia Production and Storytelling.

 

Jerry Holt
Staff photographer, Star Tribune
Jerry a photojournalist at the Star Tribune, where he covers daily news and sports, and along the way has photographed local, national and international events, including Nelson Mandela’s election as president of South Africa, stories about the AIDS epidemic in Uganda, and a local college baseball team’s competitions in Cuba. His most recent projects include a series on juveniles in the justice system, and  the birthplace of the blues in his native Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, he served in the U.S. Marine Corp. He went on to be a staff photographer at the Shreveport Times, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, and the Commercial Appeal before moving to Minneapolis. In his spare time, Holt practices and teaches Okinawan traditional karate and Kobudo. He lives in suburban Minneapolis with his wife, and tries to keep track of his two adult daughters. Jerry will work with photojournalism students to help them develop their photography, journalism and people skills. 

 

Jada Jesberg
Associate producer, broadhead
Jada (B.A. '21) has been a production coordinator and associate producer at broadhead. Jada will bring her timely industry experience to the students of Jour 4274W: Advertising in Society, asking students to explore challenging moral and ethical questions that face real working professionals.

 

Maria Pazos
Director of Brand Management, Target
[email protected]
Maria has been a brand strategist for over 15 years, starting in Colombia with Wunderman Thompson and more recently at Colle McVoy and Carmichael Lynch in Minnesota. She now leads brand management for Portfolio Health at Target and has been an Inclusion Fellow for the Jour 3253: Strategic Brand Planning course since 2021. 

 

Marsha Pitts-Phillips
Founder, MRPP & Associates Communications LLC
[email protected]
Marsha has deep public relations and journalism experience. She’s led PR at a large nonprofit; worked as a radio and television journalist; worked as an associate professor of communications; produced documentaries; and worked in corporate television. She has collaborated on and spearheaded several large-scale PR projects including the NFL Sanctioned Super Bowl LVII Gospel Celebration broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). PRSA appointed her as its first Diversity and Inclusion Officer; she’s a member of NABJ-Media-Related Members Task Force (NABJ-MRMTF) and its local affiliate the Twin Cities Black Journalists; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Marsha’s board service includes Prepare + Prosper; the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS) Leadership Advisory Council; and she is an ordained minister. In Jour 1001: Media in a Changing World, Marsha will be introducing students to the public relations field, distinguishing it from advertising and other forms of mass media content. In Jour 4259: Strategic Communication Case Analysis Marsha will be sharing cases from her professional experience related to media relations, community relations and cross-cultural communication. She will discuss how she uses the strategic planning process to anticipate and meet the communication needs of diverse stakeholder audiences. In Jour 8212: Strategic Communications Leadership, Marsha teaches a class in “Mastering Communications for the C-Suite,” which helps students develop an understanding of the unique communication needs of senior management, including their priorities, expectations and preferred communication styles.

Anjula Razdan
Senior Director, Digital, Experience Life
[email protected]
Anjula is Senior Director, Digital with Experience Life magazine, where she also served as senior editor for health and nutrition from 2006 to 2014 before leaving for stints as vice president for content with Be Well by Dr. Frank Lipman and as senior news producer for a health-news start-up. She has also worked as a senior editor for the Utne Reader and as a staff writer for Southwest Journal. She brings a savvy, digital perspective that is grounded in the best of magazine writing and storytelling. In Jour 3173W: Magazine & Feature Writing, she guides students as they create online magazines to host their stories, offering critique of their niches and digital content presentation. She also guides students as they learn the fundamentals of WordPress in their groups. 

Nikhil Sonnad
Data journalist
Nikhil is a writer, data journalist, computer programmer and adjunct professor. In Jour 3004: Information for Mass Communication, Nikhil leads two data workshops with the class. He teaches students how to interview data sets, create pivot tables, and how to use those results to inform storytelling.

 

Sarah Thamer
Senior Reporter, MPR
Sarah Thamer is a senior reporter for the MPR News Race, Class and Communities team. Sarah grew up in Richfield, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in broadcast journalism. Before joining MPR, Sarah worked as a reporter and anchor at WKBT in La Crosse, Wis., then made her way to ABC-affiliate WISN in Milwaukee, where she worked as a reporter. In JOUR 3451: TV, Radio and Digital News Reporting, Sarah Thamer will be leading a session on radio reporting and then doing one-on-one story edits with students and their scripts. 

 

Heidi Wigdahl
Multimedia journalist, KARE-11
Heidi Wigdahl joined KARE 11 as a multimedia journalist in 2015. She started her career at KTTC in Rochester, Minnesota before heading south to work at WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee. Heidi has always been a solo video journalist and she enjoys every part of crafting a story. She has received four regional Emmys for Best Video Journalist. She will spend time with students in Jour 3102: Multimedia Production and Storytelling.