Announcing New CPD Student Fellows

CPD is pleased to announce the selection of Anna Pederson and Felicia Tapia as CPD Student Fellows for the 2018-19 academic year.

Avid news and non-fiction reader Anna Pederson hails from the "other Washington" and will continue her PR path by joining USC Annenberg's Master's in Strategic Public Relations program with a focus on civic engagement. In addition to completing a degree in English literature from Seattle University, Pederson has worked as a marketing manager for Fantagraphics Books, as well as with CA Dems, NARAL, Run for Something and Small Press Expo in D.C. At CPD, she will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing plans that promote CPD's activities and tracking digital analytics.   

Investigative reporting enthusiast Felicia Tapia, originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, joins USC Annenberg's Master of Science in Journalism program with the intention of diving deep into new forms of storytelling. Prior to coming to USC, she studied history at Middlebury College, which sparked her interest in the role of journalism during important points in history. Her work has taken her to Paris, where she worked on translations and social media content in a small International newsroom. Tapia's work at CPD will include developing and distributing cross-platform multimedia content on a variety of global affairs topics.

"We are excited to grow CPD and welcome talented students from their respective fields of public relations and journalism," said CPD Director Jay Wang. "In the year ahead, we look forward to bringing public diplomacy to wider audiences through enhanced digital multimedia content and presence."

The students will be joining CPD Graduate Student Fellows Katherine Butler (MSPR Class of 2020) and Nikki Burnett (MPD Class of 2020) as well as a veteran group of dedicated student interns at the Center.

About the CPD Student Fellowship Program

This program was established in 2014 to help recruit the best students to USC. It provides funding for outstanding graduate students to pursue their studies and work at CPD developing, conducting and promoting our various projects.