Towson University Expert Guide 

Towson University’s Communications and Media Team works to connect TU faculty and staff experts with the media to provide perspective and expertise on the news of the day. Explore a collection of topics our experts are excited to discuss with the media.  

Contact Jamie Abell, jaabell AT_TOWSON, Assistant Director of Media Relations, to connect with one of these experts.  

Business and Culture

Expert in Archeology 

Kat Sterner 

Dr. Kat Sterner is an anthropological archaeologist specializing in Indigenous archaeology, stone tools and experimental methods. As director of the Baltimore Community Archaeology Lab, she partners with descendant communities and leads public outreach, exploring how pre-contact Native groups organized their lives through material culture.

Daraius Irani

Dr. Daraius Irani, Towson University’s vice president of Business and Public Engagement, is a leading economist in regional development. As the Regional Economic Studies Institute’s (RESI) chief economist, he has led 500+ research projects and 450+ impact analyses. With 25 years of experience, he is a trusted voice on Maryland’s economic trends.

Michael Elliott

Michael Elliott is a pop culture scholar whose expertise centers on fandom—especially how communities form meaning around comics, fantasy worlds and events like Comic-Con. His research examines fandom through lenses of religion and ritual, while also drawing connections to broader fan cultures, from entertainment franchises to fanatical sports followings.

Christopher England 

Dr. Christopher England is a historian of U.S. political thought and social movements, focusing on the Gilded Age, Progressive Era and modern political economy. His work examines how grassroots activism and intellectual currents shape American political development, and his research has appeared in outlets such as American Experience and The New York Times.

Thomas Rhoads

Dr. Thomas Rhoads is an economist specializing in the business of sports. His research explores how performance, proximity, pricing and player development shape the financial landscape of pro and college sports. He is the author of The Call Up to the Majors, and he has discussed the business of sports on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show and Marketplace. He has also provided expert testimony on sports tourism to the Maryland General Assembly.

Education

Expert in Autism Studies

Kaitlyn Wilson 

Kaitlyn Wilson, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized expert in autism studies, with a focus on language development, social interaction, self-advocacy and support across the lifespan. A professor and department chair in Speech-Language Pathology, her work bridges research and practice through school- and community-based programs and professional training initiatives.

Sara Hooks   

Dr. Sarah Hooks specializes in family engagement in early childhood and special education, focusing on partnering with fathers and guiding educators through sensitive conversations about children’s needs. She uses avatar‑based simulations to train teachers to share assessment findings with strength‑based, culturally responsive communication.

Liyan Song 

Dr. Liyan Song is an instructional design and educational technology expert who studies how K–12 teachers, administrators, and future educators understand and adopt emerging tools, including AI. She specializes in designing effective learning experiences and explores technology integration, online learning and how learners’ beliefs shape engagement.

Food

Expert in Culinary History 

Nancy Siegel

Dr. Nancy Siegel is an art and culinary historian who explores American foodways from the Revolutionary era to the early 19th century. Her work shows how ingredients and recipes became symbols of democracy, identity and national ideals, revealing how everyday foods expressed political beliefs and shaped a shared American culture.

Lorrie Palmer 

Dr. Lorrie Palmer is a film historian exploring how food, film, and culture intersect in the 1930s. She examines on‑screen meals, studio practices, and community food events to understand how women moviegoers navigated the Great Depression. Her work reveals how food signaled aspiration, survival and identity in American film culture.

Jillian Fry

Dr. Jillian Fry is a public health expert specializing in sustainable, healthy food systems. She studies how dietary shifts affect resources, emissions, and supply chains, and identifies strategies for more sustainable eating. She also examines environmental health practices in commercial kitchens, showing how everyday food choices shape personal and planetary well‑being.

Health and Medicine

Expert in Men's and BOys' Mental Health 

Andrew Reiner 

Andrew Reiner, teaching professor, is a leading voice on boys, men and masculinity with particular expertise in mental health, loneliness, alienation and resiliency. He is author of the book Better Boys, Better Men. Reiner has written about these topics for several media outlets as the New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe and has appeared on national and international news stations, such as CNN and NPR affiliates.

Hyunjeong Park 

Hyunjeong Park, Ph.D., is a nurse educator specializing in nursing education, curriculum design, and preparing students for roles beyond hospital‑based care. Drawing on her experience as a nurse practitioner and her work in South Korea, she emphasizes cultural diversity, immigrant and community health and care for vulnerable populations.

Melanie Horning

Dr. Melanie Horning is a nursing scholar specializing in end‑of‑life decision‑making and family communication. Drawing on clinical experience, she studies how families and providers navigate difficult conversations. She teaches palliative care simulations and examines the factors that shape these critical discussions in healthcare settings.

Tosin Adebayo

Dr. Tosin Adebayo is a health communication scholar specializing in women’s sexual and reproductive health, focusing on pregnancy, postpartum care, and the experiences of Black women and immigrant communities. Her research examines how culture, identity and provider–patient communication shape maternal outcomes and how better communication can reduce inequities.

Nature

Expert in Astronomy

Christian Ready 

Christian Ready is an astronomy educator and planetarium specialist who makes space science accessible to all. Through his work in public outreach and his YouTube channel, he explains celestial events and new discoveries with clarity and enthusiasm, bringing the wonders of the universe to audiences of all ages.

Expert in Climate and Weather 

Michael Allen 

Dr. Michael Allen is a climatologist whose work spans extreme heat, hazards, resilience and climate change impacts. He focuses on geographic education and climate literacy, studying how weather and climate shape vulnerability, and considers how communities can better adapt and mitigate to a changing climate.

Alice Besterman 

Dr. Alice Besterman is a coastal ecologist studying how sea level rise and shifting coastal landscapes affect salt marshes, living shorelines and the birds that rely on them in Maryland and other east coast states. Her work integrates ecology, geomorphology and hydrology to understand tidal flooding, restoration and the resilience of coastal ecosystems facing environmental change.

Brian Fath

Dr. Brian Fath is an ecologist focused on systems of ecology, sustainability science and human–nature interactions. Using tools like network analysis and environmental assessment, he studies ecosystem behavior, resilience, and nature‑based solutions, providing insight into how human and ecological systems can function more sustainably.

John Sivey   

Dr. John Sivey is an environmental chemist studying drinking water quality, pollutants, and disinfection chemistry. As leader of Towson University’s Aqueous Environmental Chemistry Lab, he examines how contaminants and treatment processes interact, advancing understanding of how waterborne chemicals form, transform, and impact public health.

Politics

Expert in AI in Politics and Media

Pallavi Guha

Dr. Pallavi Guha is a journalism scholar whose work examines how AI, politics and digital activism shape communication, civic engagement, and media behavior. Building on award‑winning research on social media activism, she now studies how AI policies support parents, first‑generation voters, and immigrant communities, bringing a global perspective from her career in journalism.

Natalie Scala 

Dr. Natalie Scala is an election security expert focused on mail‑based voting, system vulnerabilities, and improving voter access. With a background in industrial engineering and decision modeling, she studies how insider actions create risks in elections and supply chains, developing safeguards, training, and data‑driven solutions that strengthen trust in the voting process.

Suat Cubukcu

Dr. Suat Cubukcu is a terrorism expert studying how extremist groups evolve, especially through emerging technologies like drones. With experience consulting for the U.S. State Department and nearly a decade of teaching and research, he analyzes high‑risk regions and tech‑driven threats, helping agencies understand how terrorists adapt.

Joseph Dietrich

Dr. Joseph Dietrich is a political scientist specializing in voting, political behavior, and public opinion, with a focus on how minority communities engage in elections. His work examines voting rights, polling, mail‑in voting, and barriers to participation. With 20+ years of survey research experience, he offers insight into how Americans make political decisions.

Joseph Clark 

Dr. Joseph Clark is a political scientist specializing in war, conflict and military strategy. He studies how military institutions learn, how doctrines evolve, and how strategic goals shape warfare, offering broad insights into organizational learning, operations, grand strategy, and national security.