Eight New Lecturers Join the Department in Fall 2020

The Department of Communication welcomes eight new lecturers this fall. Here is some brief background information on each of them. Please welcome them to NC State if you have a class with them this fall!

Melissa Brandon, COM 226 (Intro to Public Relations)

Melissa Brandon is a communications director at Charles Schwab and leads a storytelling campaign for the firm. Ms. Brandon holds undergraduate degrees in journalism and political science from Colorado State and a master’s degree from the University of Denver. She is pursuing her Ph.D. at Colorado State.

Alex Cohen, COM 307 (Digital Audio Production)

Alex Cohen is an artist, audio engineer, instrument designer, and musician. Research interests include critical issues in experimental performance art and wearable instrument design. He holds an MFA in Electronic Recording and Media and an MA in Composition from Mills College, and a BM in Jazz Studies from Oberlin Conservatory.

Kelvin De’Marcus Allen, COM 316 (Public Relations Writing)

For more than three decades, Kelvin De’Marcus Allen has produced television specials and training videos for ABC affiliate station WTNH-TV, the National Cancer Institute and UNC. He brings to the classroom a partnership where he provides conceptual clarity and students hone their craft in an environment that’s conducive for learning.

Matthew Halm, COM 411 (Rhetorical Criticism) 

Matthew Halm has taught courses in composition, rhetoric, writing theory, film studies, and technical and professional writing. His research incorporates materialist media theory and theories of composition and rhetoric, particularly as they pertain to understandings of rhetoric, writing, and composing that draw on resources beyond the symbolic.

Dan Holly, COM 267 (Electronic Media Writing) 

Dan Holly has been a college instructor for 10 years. He was a journalist for many years before that, most recently as an editor at the Raleigh News & Observer. He also has served as a press secretary on Capitol Hill, field coordinator in a presidential campaign, and VP of a public relations firm. He still writes whenever he can for whoever will publish it. 

Lindsay Key, COM 316 (Public Relations Writing)

Lindsay Key, MFA, MNR, has more than a decade of experience in the communications field, first as a journalist and now as a public relations practitioner. She specializes in strategic, creative storytelling about the life sciences and is excited to share her love of writing with students!

Jim Pierpoint, COM 346 (Case Studies in Public Relations)

Jim Pierpoint was previously an award-winning Reuters correspondent whose resume also includes roles in corporate PR, communication research, and risk management. Jim brings that diverse professional experience to NC State, where he will teach PR case studies and look to collaborate with students on research into headline risk.

Dan Trigoboff, COM 267 (Electronic Media Writing)

Dan Trigoboff began teaching at Elon, and later Methodist University, following years as a writer/editor in newspapers, magazines, and television. Trigoboff believes media skills are important whether or not a student pursues a media career. He holds a JD from the University of San Diego and a Ph.D. from NC State.