Author: mariana

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? | A THESIS PROJECT

A Master’s academic and professional thesis project, “What’s Your Story” or “First person narratives for nonprofit public relations: Empathy, engagement, empowerment, and change,” focuses on the prospect of narrative, non-fiction, first-person short videos for nonprofit organizations as an effective means to bring about empathy and behavioral change through digital social sharing – How can the use of such narratives be a valuable strategy to transform how we perceive, connect, and, ultimately, help others?

The thesis project draws upon public relations and transportation theory to address the current communication activities and challenges of Women AdvaNCe: a nonpartisan organization committed to delivering thoughtful knowledge, advocacy content and building a network and community for women leaders and leaders-to-be in North Carolina.

In addition, during the spring of 2017,  two short documentary-style films were produced to assist WomenAdvaNCe in their communication and relationship-building efforts.

I completed my Master’s degree in strategic and visual communications at the School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which I attended as a Rotary Peace Fellow.

Watch me present at the Rotary Peace Center conference!

Video | A FATHER FIGURE

Video | A man, a leader, a husband, a father – Kennedy Imedi works with youth in his village to raise awareness about reproductive health issues and inspire the next generation of community leaders.

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UNC School of Journalism/CARE International project conducted in Ntcheu, Malawi, March 2015.

Visit the project website at www.raisingthescore.org

Arts@TheCore

Promotional video created as a photography and video assistant || Arts@TheCore brings the arts to the heart of UNC’s academic mission, enriching the arts experience for students, faculty, and the Carolina community, and strengthening the bonds between academics and Carolina Performing Arts.

 

Photos | STILL LEISHMANIA

| Photo Gallery | Cuiabá, Brazil, 2016

Part of a narrative storytelling project developed for the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, an international not-for-profit health organization.

350 million people in 98 countries are at risk of contracting leishmaniasis, a disease caused by Leishmania, a parasyte transmitted by sandflies. Although there has been some progress in drug development, especially for visceral leishmaniasis (also known as kala-azar), current drugs remain expensive, toxic, difficult to administer, or ill-suited for use in remote areas. There is a lack of adequate treatment in Africa and Latin America. While there are some treatments recommended by WHO, sustainable access to treatment is not widely available in endemic countries.

Visit dndi.org

An Advocate’s Guide to Transforming Special Education | Innovate Public Schools

Graphic Design | At Innovate Public Schools, I fully designed (infographics and all design elements and layout) the publication “An Advocate’s Guide to Transforming Special Education – Creating Schools Where All Students Can Thrive.” Both Adobe InDesign and Illustrator were used.

The publication’s design is innovative for the organization and showcases a new visual style guide and identity led by me. The “Advocate’s Guide” is also the result of a long effort to create a product with a good mix of (text heavy) research,  data visualization, and design elements that enable the best user experience and comprehension.

The goal of the guide is to help parents and advocates understand what educational opportunity truly look like for students with disabilities. It highlights what research and the highest-performing schools have found are the best practices to help students with disabilities achieve at high levels. Concrete examples, interviews, and school profiles show what this looks like in action.