Rick Beach
Professor, English Education, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota
Research: Dr. Beach researches adolescents' responses to media: media literacy perspectives; how adolescents acquire digital literacies through the uses of digital media and tools. He also serves on the new literacies national advisory board for the National Council of Teachers of English.
Peter Benson
Former Psychology Professor and CEO of the Search Institute
Dr. Benson is the CEO of the Search Institute, which conducts high-quality research and evaluation that deepens knowledge of young people, what they need, and how to care for and work with them more effectively.
Research: Dr. Benson specializes in survey construction; youth development, and measuring student outcomes in education/higher education. Benson is a leading authority on positive human development.
Laura Gurak
Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Writing Studies in the College of Liberal Arts , University of Minnesota.
Research: Dr. Gurak researches the use of the Internet for social interactions, focusing on online communities, digital literacies, and Internet-based research. She is also the co-founder of the Internet Studies Center at the University of Minnesota and has been a regular on Minnesota Public Radio’s Future Tense.
Nora Paul
Director of the Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota.
In addition to directing the Institute for New Media Studies, Nora Paul is a member of the board of the World Press Institute, and has traveled worldwide presenting seminars and lectures on research methods and on innovation in online news.
Research: Her work at the Institute focuses on evolving digital storytelling forms. She was previously at the Poynter Institute teaching news library management, computer-assisted research, and new media leadership and was former editor for information services at the Miami Herald.
Patty Mattern
Assistant Director for National Media Relations, University of Minnesota
Patty Mattern works to expand the University’s media footprint through national and international print and broadcast media outlets. She is a former journalist for Knight-Ridder news publications.
Loren Terveen
Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota
Research: Dr. Terveen’s research spans a variety of topics in human-computer interaction and social computing, including creating more effective online participation and bringing local and online communities together. Terveen helped develop one of the early recommender web sites (PHOAKS) and now is a co-leader of the Community Lab project.
