What is frank?

frank is a gathering that brings together professionals from across the social change spectrum – education, health, human rights, environmental protection, civil rights – to discuss research, insights and news pertaining to the field of public interest communications.

In the past, two-three Fellows have been invited to give a talk about their Fellowship experience at frank.

2021 Fellows

Christian Donaldson, a 2021 Fellow from the University of North Carolina-Asheville who interned at the National League of Cities, urges communicators to avoid capitalizing on others’ suffering and framing suffering as a prerequisite to their advocacy work.

Qing Yu Chen, a 2021 Fellow from Columbia University who interned at Human Rights Watch recounts her experience as a musician and advocate for survivors of gender-based violence. She encourages communicators that storytelling can be used as a vehicle to build community and affect change.

2019 Fellows

Camryn Jackson, a 2019 Fellow from Mercer University who interned at Mary’s Center, spoke about the essential role representation plays in fostering pride and combating social justice issues.

Maryam Iftikhar, a 2019 Fellow from Montgomery College who interned at Families USA, gave a talk about the necessity of utilizing empathetic storytelling in communications campaigns.

Key Estime, a 2019 Fellow from Mount Holyoke College who interned at Martha’s Table, talked about the importance of building bridges and extending resources to the communities we are trying to uplift.

2018 Fellows

Tamarra Thal, a 2018 Fellow from the University of Florida who interned at Truth Initiative, gave a talk about the damaging effects of false stereotypes and how we can use truthful communications to dismantle them.

Tarek Deida, a 2018 Fellow from Columbia University who interned at Living Cities, gave a talk about the importance of cross-sector collaboration in creating change and consensus.

Lauryn Fanguen, from Montgomery College, and David Guirgis, from Northwestern University, gave a summary of the key takeaways from frank 2019.

2016 Fellows

Luisa Guaracao, a 2016 Fellow from the University of Florida who interned at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, gave a talk about the importance of values-based communications in creating bipartisanship.

Jackie Salg, a 2016 Fellow from Franklin and Marshall College who interned at Martha’s Table, gave a talk about how storytelling can be used to combat stigma.

2015 Fellows

Aaron Zeiler, a 2015 Fellow from the University of Florida who interned at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, gave a talk about the tobacco industry’s malicious marketing practices and how communications can influence policy change.

Marcia Puig-Lluch, a 2015 Fellow from American University who interned at Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), gave a talk about the power of social media, strategic partnerships and coordination.

2013 Fellows

Ava L.J. Kim (Alvin Kim), a 2013 Fellow from Macalester College, interned at the YWCA National Capital Area. She gave a talk about how numbers cannot tell the whole story, especially when serving underrepresented communities. At the heart of every solution is a story worth hearing.

Gabriela Gomez, a 2013 Fellow from Montgomery College, interned at the Latino Economic Development Center. She gave a talk about the power of storytelling especially as it pertains to immigration rights in the United States.

Mina Radman, a 2013 Fellow from the University of Florida, interned at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. She gave a talk about how to talk about the importance of public-interest communications in different languages across cultures.

Roland Walker, a 2013 fellow from the University of Florida, interned at DC SCORES. He gave a talk about how intentional conversations can initiate the change we want to see.

Samir Rachid, a 2013 Fellow from Carleton College, interned at The Education Trust. He gave a talk about how students with a lot of potential from low-income marginalized backgrounds are often overlooked in the education system.

Thaddaeus Gregory, a 2013 fellow from Carleton College, interned at Campaign for Youth Justice. He gave a talk about how people need to experience firsthand of what it’s like to be a youth incarcerated in an adult prison so that they can create change.

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