Tag: Content

Director of External Communications and Government Relations
swald@illinois.edu

Session: Finding Our Footing: Pivoting Communications in Unprecedented Times
Time: April 9th, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Steve Wald is Director of External Communications and Government Relations for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He provides leadership and strategy across the college’s government relations and stakeholder engagement efforts and is an active member of the University of Illinois System’s Council on Governmental and External Relations. Steve previously served as government relations and communications director for University of Illinois Extension and held leadership roles with the Prairie Research Institute, California Hydropower Reform Coalition, and Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University.

Assistant Director of Research Communications
ldquinn@illinois.edu

Session: Finding Our Footing: Pivoting Communications in Unprecedented Times
Time: April 9th, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Lauren Quinn is the assistant director of research communications for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she oversees strategic science storytelling and media relations in collaboration with federal relations staff, faculty, and other college and campus leaders. She is active in her professional society, the National Association of Science Writers, serving as co-chair of the Institutional Communicators Committee. She also founded the U. of I. Communicators group on Teams and co-founded the Media Monthly series, which offers monthly professional development and community-building opportunities for campus communicators. In an earlier career, Lauren earned a doctorate and completed multiple postdoctoral projects in plant ecology, studying invasive species in natural landscapes.

Director of Communications
claire@illinois.edu

Session: Finding Our Footing: Pivoting Communications in Unprecedented Times
Time: April 9th, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Claire Benjamin is Director of Communications for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She leads college-wide communications to advance ACES’ land-grant mission. At ACES, Claire has helped pivot communications from transactional press releases to integrated, ecosystem storytelling that connects research and policy to stakeholders. She holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and a master’s degree in advertising from the University of Illinois.

Director of Project Management
On the Job Consulting dba Pixo
natalie@pixotech.com

Session: Not From Scratch: Drive Success in Legacy Web Projects
Time: April 10, 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm

Natalie is the Director of Project Management at Pixo, a woman-owned company that builds websites, apps, and software. In her role, Natalie guides the Project Management department while also consulting on active projects. She has more than 12 years of both agency and in-house experience in project management, and has run hundreds of diverse projects end-to-end. Natalie’s experience across projects throughout her career has often focused on long-term, legacy system work. This helps her to bridge both strategy and execution, ensuring seamless collaboration between clients, project teams, and stakeholders. Natalie holds a Master’s degree in Science, Technology, and Society Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and currently holds a PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) certification.

Research Communications Coordinator
Gies College of Business, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
jMoist2@illinois.edu

Session: Beyond the Abstract: Research and Content Strategies that Resonate
Time: April 9, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

John Moist is a communicator with more than 15 years of cross-sector experience translating complex ideas into compelling messages across writing, speech, and digital media. He has worked at small liberal arts colleges and large research universities, on political campaigns and nonprofit initiatives, and also teaches and consults independently. His work spans feature writing, speaking and interviewing, literary criticism, and textual analysis, and his research explores economic rhetoric, language theory, and the history of universal basic income and work. He earned his PhD in communication from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022 and won the James Madison Prize from SSCA in 2025. Currently, John works as a research communications lead at Gies College of Business, shaping strategy, elevating faculty expertise, and positioning Gies as an international voice in business scholarship and education.

Associate Director of Content Marketing
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, The Grainger College of Engineering
lepodesc@illinois.edu

Session: Putting the Content Into Content Strategy
Time: April 9, 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm

Laura Podeschi is the associate director of content marketing in The Grainger College of Engineering. She’s served in marketing and communications roles at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for over 13 years following a 5-year stint as a book editor. If you spot Laura outside of work, she’s likely on a local adventure with her family or a tennis court. She also enjoys curling up at home with her cat and a good novel.

UX Liaison
Tech Services, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
es20@illinois.edu

Session: TL;DR, How to Write When No One’s Reading
Time: April 10, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Liz is a UX strategist, designer, and end-user advocate. She guides thoughtful, data-driven, holistic user experiences. Eager curiosity, infectious empathy, a collaborative spirit, and a joyful ethos guide her work.