Dr. Monique Mitchell Turner
LEAD INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Turner is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. Prior to this appointment, she served as Associate Dean of MPH programs at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. Turner’s expertise is in strategic messaging in applied contexts like prevention and risk reduction. Dr. Turner studies the specific process and effects of persuasive communication and campaigns/social marketing on attitude change, decision making and risk judgments, information seeking and behavior. She is most well-known for her research on the relationship between emotion and cognition in understanding the influence of persuasive messages and mediated campaigns. Her research has examined the role of emotional appeals and felt emotions like anger, guilt, shame, nostalgia (etc) in behavior change.
As the former director of the Center for Risk Communication Research at the University of Maryland, Turner’s research has been funded by organizations such as National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), and the Centers for Disease Control. Turner is the former Senior Editor of Health Communication and is the former associate editor of Communication Research Reports. Currently, she is the Associate Editor of Frontiers in Psychology: Personality and Social Psychology. She is the past chairperson of both the Communication and Social Cognition Division of the National Communication Association and the Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association.
Turner is a certified group fitness and bootcamp instructor. She is also certified as a Master Health and Wellness Coach.
Shawn Turner
Shawn Turner is a Professor of Strategic Communication at Michigan State University, and a National Security Communication Analyst for CNN. He is an established expert in communication leadership, strategy, and crisis management. As an experienced practitioner, Turner’s teaching focuses on the intersection of communication theory, and the execution of effective communication practices. Turner’s research interests include examining the role of disinformation in decision making related to civic engagement, and the use of persuasive communication strategies in extremist ideology.
Turner is also a retired Marine Corps officer and has served in communication leadership roles with governmental, private sector, and non-profit organizations.
His previous positions include Director of Communication for U.S. National Intelligence, at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Assistant Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the National Security Council, and Deputy White House Press Secretary for National Security under the Obama administration.
Turner’s previous academic experience includes serving as Chair of the Information Operations program (renamed MDV Program) at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in Washington DC, and as an adjunct professor in the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Turner has been published in the USA today, on CNN.com, and is the co-author of “Best Practices in Risk Communication for National Defense” published in The Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security.
He is a member of the Board of Advisors for the National Security Agency (NSA), and serves on the Executive Board of Advisors for the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL) at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Bill Nowling
Professor Nowling directs the Communication Leadership and Strategy major in the Department of Communication within the College of Communication Arts & Sciences where he also is a Professor of Practice.
Professor Nowling is a seasoned communication leader with more than 25 years of experience in leading strategy formulation and communication campaigns that deliver measurable results for clients and organizations. He has managed global and regional public relations and advertising agencies, driving business development, and providing strategic counsel to organizations navigating challenges and change. His expertise in data collection, analysis, and interpretation has helped organizations understand how they communicate and adapt to change. Nowling has a wealth of experience advising C-suite executives.
Throughout his career, Professor Nowling has established himself as a prominent strategic communication leader, having advised on a range of high-profile crisis communication cases. He served as an architect of the integrated health communication campaign for COVID-19 testing and vaccination in Wayne County, Michigan, which generated a measurable decrease in the at-risk positivity rate. Professor Nowling also counseled Michigan’s governor through the Flint Water Crisis, crafting an effective and stakeholder-focused response that provided the opportunity for state and federal officials to bring assistance and investment to affected residents.
Prior to his current role at Michigan State University, Professor Nowling was the Managing Director and Partner in the Detroit office of Lambert & Company, where he directed $10 million in client services across the agency and its regional offices and was responsible for ensuring that the strategic initiatives recommended helped clients achieve their core business objectives. He was also the Senior Partner at Finn Partners and recruited and led a staff of 15 professional communicators, doubling revenue in 12 months to $2.2 million while diversifying the client base from one healthcare client to more than ten spread across automotive, government, and technology sectors.