Dr. Renee Hobbs

Renee Hobbs is a Professor of Communication and Director of the Media Education Lab Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Hobbs is a national expert in media education and a leader in the media literacy movement in the United States, helping found the organization that hosts the National Media Education Conference. She won a Golden Cable ACE award for Know TV, a curriculum sponsored by the Discovery Channel, and has developed media literacy curriculum materials and staff development programs for the state agencies including the Maryland State Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency. Her research on the comprehension of television editing techniques won a Top Paper award by the International Communication Association. Her research explores the impact of media analysis and media production activities on literacy development. Her book, Teaching the Media in High School, was published by Teachers College Press in 2007. She has an Ed.D. from Harvard University in Human Development, and received her M.A. in Communication and B.A. in English Literature and Film/Video Studies from the University of Michigan.

www.mediaeducationlab.com

Dr. Brian Primack

Brian A. Primack is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. After graduating Yale University magna cum laude in 1991 with degrees in English literature and mathematics, Dr. Primack spent 4 years teaching adolescents and studying human development for his master’s degree, which he received from Harvard University. He subsequently graduated first in his class and summa cum laude from Emory Medical School and trained in Family Medicine in at UPMC Saint Margaret Hospital in Pittsburgh. Now, on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Primack combines his expertise in education, technology, human development, and medicine by researching the effect of the mass media messages on health. Specifically, he focuses on the use of media literacy education in preventing adolescent smoking, underage drinking, and other harmful adolescent health behaviors. He is the recent recipient of the University of Pittsburgh Provost’s Innovation in Education Award, the New Investigator of the Year by the National Society of Adolescent Medicine, and the Robert Wood Johnson Faculty Physician Scholar Award.

www.pitt.edu/~bprimack

Robert Denniston

Robert W. Denniston currently serves as the Director, National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. This Campaign – the most visible component of the Nation’s effort to reduce youth drug use – involves advertising, media outreach, and partnerships with public and private sector organizations. He previously served as director of the HHS Secretary’s Initiative on Youth Substance Abuse Prevention, within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services. He has a master’s degree in mass communications. He has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization. He also has served as chair of the national advisory committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse program. He is a member of the editorial board of Social Marketing Quarterly and recently received the Lifetime Achievement award from the American Public Health Association’s Section on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs.

www.abovetheinfluence.com

In addition, attendees of the conference will receive tools to use with students, sample lesson ideas from practitioners, resources, constructive advice, and a free copy of Drug Free Pennsylvania’s curriculum, The Media Straight Up! Critical Thinking Skills for Today’s Youth. Networking and learning from experts in the field are added bonuses.

The Pennsylvania Academic Standards are embedded in lessons about media literacy. Why not use practical situations involving today’s media advertising that will enable students to utilize their reading, writing, and mathematics skills?

PARENT SESSION
Thursday, June 19, 2008 6:00 to 8:00 PM Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel

Join us on Thursday evening for a FREE informational Parent Session hosted by Judith Sachs from ParentingTeensOnline. This session will discuss parenting and the recent boom in media technology. Learn about the importance of parent honesty, how your attitudes and behaviors shape your children’s and different approaches to parent monitoring.  Please click on the Register button above to reserve your seat.

www.parentingteensonline.com