Ep. 132 Navigating the media landscape, crisis communications, and public health, with Dr. Monica Ponder, PhD

Dr. Monica L. Ponder (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Health Communication & Culture in the Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies (CCMS) within the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University.

Dr. Ponder's research examines organization-level approaches to public health and crisis communication practice, particularly those centering womanist and radical Black feminist lenses. She serves as a Faculty Fellow at the Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice (MHHJ) and as an inaugural faculty fellow with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stonybrook University. Dr. Ponder also leads the C3 Lab for Health Communication at Howard University.

As a scholar-activist, Dr. Ponder has led many successful public health initiatives. A long-time social entrepreneur, she advises community organizations on health communication strategy and community-centered engagement. She serves on the Whitman-Walker Health System Board of Directors, and as a steering committee member of the Society for Health Communication and BLKHLTH Cares. She formerly served as an advisory member of Beyond Sports' Return to Play Fund and as Board Chair of Georgians for a Healthy Future.

As a lifelong learner and practitioner, Dr. Ponder brings to her teaching a 14+ year career in health communication at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She views the classroom as a safe space where students become aware of their own power as scholar-activists, empowered learners, and emerging public health change-makers. In the classroom, she facilitates thoughtful conversations, encourages culturally responsive knowledge production, and collaborates respectfully as students engage their intellectual curiosity.

You are invited to find Dr. Ponder's research here: https://profiles.howard.edu/monica-ponder

We mention the resource by Erin Brokovich and data centers, which can be found here: https://www.brockovichdatacenter.com