Public Interest Communications: What Is It? How Do You Do It? Why Should You?

Workshop Leaders:

• Elizabeth Cooper, Chief External Relations Officer, Second Harvest Heartland
• Sophie Wallerstedt, Public Affairs Manager, Second Harvest Heartland

Elizabeth Cooper works her dream job leading the food bank’s efforts to change the hunger conversation by overseeing the research, brand communications and advocacy teams. Bringing 20 years of nonprofit strategic communications experience to her work, Cooper believes strong conversations make for strong communities. She led the mighty communications teams at College Possible and Child Care Aware through national expansion and the introduction of the state’s childcare rating system. Immediately before joining the Second Harvest Heartland team, she managed communications strategy for Minnesota’s Health Care Administration, working to ensure a robust Affordable Care Act conversation in the state.

Cooper is a proud graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Master of Arts in Strategic Communications Program and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota Morris. She is passionate about libraries, half marathons, and pub food. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son and has probably run alongside you if you frequent the city’s lakes or trails.

Sophie Wallerstedt has an extensive background in grassroots advocacy, lobbying, and public policy. Prior to working at Second Harvest Heartland, she was the Health & Health Care Policy Advisory for the Office of Governor Tim Walz and has almost 10 years of experience working at the Minnesota State Capitol in different capacities. She holds a BA in history, a master's in public policy, and a master's in public health, all from the University of Minnesota.

Workshop Leader: Marrianne McMullen, Director of Communication & Dissemination, Chapin Hall, University of Chicago

Marrianne McMullen served six years in the Obama Administration as a presidential appointee in external affairs in the Department of Health & Human Services. Previously, McMullen worked as a labor union communicator and a journalist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in communication. She is the author of Persuasive: 40 Lessons in Communicating for the Common Good, published by Georgetown University Press in 2024.

Workshop Leader: Kirsten Delegard, Project Director, Mapping Prejudice Project, University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin Cities Campus

Kirsten Delegard is a public historian and one of the co-founders of the award-winning Mapping Prejudice project, which has worked with more than 10,000 volunteers to identify and map racial covenants. The team works with community changemakers to translate awareness about these racist property deeds—which barred people who were not White from buying or occupying land—into reparative work. Delegard is a graduate of the Minneapolis Public Schools and Wesleyan University and holds a PhD in history from Duke University.

Workshop Leader: Angela Bradbery, Frank Karel Endowed Chair in Public Interest Communications, College of Journalism & Communications, University of Florida

Angela Bradbery teaches public interest communications and is expanding the public interest communications program at the University of Florida. Before joining UF's College of Journalism & Communications in 2020, she worked at Public Citizen in Washington, D.C., in various communications roles, including as director of communications. There, she developed and implemented communication strategies at the national, state, and local levels and led communication planning and implementation for coalitions of allied public interest organizations. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UF in 1986 and worked as a reporter for 10 years.

Workshop Leaders:

• Louis Clark, Assistant Dean for Advancement, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota
• John Meyers, Senior Development Officer, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota

Louis Clark IV leads the strategic communications and fundraising efforts in the College of Liberal Arts, the largest academic unit in the University of Minnesota system. Clark's 20-year career as a development professional includes a consistent record of fundraising success in large, complex healthcare and higher education organizations. He applies a collaborative approach to development and relationship management.

All workshop leaders and attendees are invited to attend