Develop Science-Backed Communication Strategies in Hands-On Workshops – Center for Public Interest Communications

At the Center for Public Interest Communications, we’re taking our proven frameworks from theory to practice. Join our intensive training workshops to gain actionable skills in strategic communication for meaningful social change.

Key benefits:

Immersive learning experiences led by expert practitioners and researchers
Practical application of evidence-based approaches to influence behavior and shape narratives
Tailored workshops for nonprofits, universities, government agencies, and laboratories
Networking opportunities with like-minded changemakers

Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your science communication game and inspire positive change.

Make your research impossible to ignore. Connect with us using the form to learn more.

Skills you will learn include:

Convey research to people with different expertise

Learn to work with journalists to help them report accurately on your work

Learn to build your influence with potential collaborators, funders, journalists and others

Present with confidence and pride

Share data through visualizations that are memorable, compelling and credible

Understand how to connect with and learn from people who can benefit from your research

Communicate to overcome uncertainty and misinformation

Customized Trainings

We also offer customized training programs. These tailored workshops are crafted to meet your organization’s needs.

Trusted by Leading Organizations

Institute on the Environment - University of MN

Elevate your cause with our science-backed communication workshops.

Learn to take a narrative approach to your outreach work and apply evidence-based communications strategies.

CONNECT WITH US

Program Faculty

The Science Communications course is led by faculty and staff in the Center of Public Interest Communications in the College of Journalism and Communications. The team have deep expertise in research, strategy, pedagogy and media, and sessions will be driven by recent insights from psychology, sociology, and communications scholarship. The team also has substantial experience in live online teaching and incorporates important active learning methods to enhance the program.

Director

Ann Searight

Ann Searight Christiano is the director of the Center for Public Interest Communications and a clinical professor of public relations. Public interest communications uses science-driven strategic communication and storytelling to advance positive social change.

Searight directs the frank gathering, which brings together hundreds of leaders from around the world who are working at the front lines of social causes, as well as scholars and funders to share the best of what they know in Gainesville every February. As the inaugural Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications (2010-2020), she developed a first-ever curriculum in public interest communications, connecting practitioners and scholars already working in the field and nurturing and sharing research that can advance this newly emerging academic discipline.

Before she came to the University of Florida, Searight was a senior communication officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where she directed communication efforts for programs that address the social factors like housing, education and mental health that drive health and well-being.

Searight’s writing has appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and Quartz, and she was the University of Florida’s Teacher of the Year in 2014. Her work through the Center includes partnerships with the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, The Department of State, and several agencies in this domain. She has worked with several federal agencies, the Gates Foundation and nonprofits and other foundations throughout the United States. She regularly trains scientists and other leaders to convey the importance of their work more effectively.

Email:achristiano@ufl.edu

Location::Gainesville, Fla. & The Road

Director of Programs and Training

Ellen Nodine

As the Center’s director of programs and training, Ellen Nodine oversees the daily operations and provides leadership in the strategic direction of the unit. As a member of the frank strategic communications academy, she delivers in-person and online training to various constituents. She also teaches writing as an adjunct faculty member for the College of Journalism and Communications.

Ellen is the event manager for the frank gathering, which brings together hundreds of leaders from around the world in Gainesville every February who are working at the front lines of social causes, as well as scholars and funders to share the best of what they know.

She received her Master’s in Education from the University of Florida, with a specialization in Curriculum Design and Education Technology. Her master’s thesis examined the ability to establish social presence in an online community through the use of Twitter.

Email:enodine@ufl.edu

Location:Gainesville, Fla.

Managing Director

Matt Sheehan

Matt Sheehan is a member of the journalism faculty at the UF College of Journalism and Communications. He’s spent his career, so far, working in established and emerging media, including as inaugural director of the UF Innovation News Center (the nation’s largest student-powered public media newsroom), COO of a media startup and as an assistant news editor at The Washington Post.

Email:mattsheehan@ufl.edu

Location:Washington, D.C. & Gainesville, Fla.

Preferred Pronouns:he/his/him