Hello! My name is Teresa Tackett, and I'm excited you're here. 

I am currently a Ph.D. student and Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a media and communication scholar, my interests include the advertising industry, gender bias among strategic communication professionals, and advocacy communication. I use a variety of methods to help explore and answer important questions impacting strategic communications professionals today, including in-depth, semi-structured interviews, textual analysis, experiments and surveys. You can learn more about my professional and educational accomplishments here.

Before returning to academia, I was the Director of Marketing at The University of Tulsa, working in the strategic communications field for eight years (10 years if you count internships!). I have in-house marketing experience in higher education, and agency experience in public relations, marketing and advertising firms. My professional interests focused on digital media strategy, including conducting research and testing communication theories, writing and editing content for multimedia platforms, campaign development, implementation and evaluation. Collaborating with partners to meet communication goals in an innovative and creative way was, and is, my passion. I enjoy the challenge of an ever-changing digital media landscape while also helping others realize the power of strategic communication.

When I'm not digging into complex problems, I enjoy reading a good book the old-fashioned way... turning actual pages and all. I spend as much time in the outdoors as I can to refocus and re-energize. A lover of words, I enjoy reading, writing and learning something new each day. I travel as often as I can and listen to music to fill the silence. You can always find a magazine in my tote bag and a new playlist on my phone. Spending time with the special people (and dog!) in my life is the best gift I can give myself. Creativity feeds my soul. My mantra: A little whimsy goes a long way.

I am many things to many people. A daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend. If you were to ask me who I am, I would tell you I am a go-getter, over-achiever and lover of life. I would love to tell you my story.

Randoms Fun Facts: 

• I am an INFJ, which is pretty rare. Only 1-3% of the population tests as an INFJ (hoo-ray for being unique!). Here's a little bit more about INFJ characteristics, per the wisdom of Wikipedia. 
• My Clifton StrengthsFinder Test results are input, learner, intellection, relator and responsibility. 
• I have an entire cabinet in my kitchen devoted to coffee cups. I'm OK with it because I drink coffee like a Gilmore Girl. And it case you were wondering, I take my coffee black. No cream and sugar for this one! 
• I truly believe that determination and positivity can move mountains.