Leadership
Sherri Hope Culver
Director and Professor of Instruction
Department of Media Studies and Production
Sherri Hope Culver serves as Director of the Center for Media and Information Literacy at Temple University where she is Professor of Instruction in the Klein College of Media and Communication and directs the Certificate in Children’s Media. Sherri is internationally recognized as a leader in media literacy and children’s media. She holds a UNESCO Chair in MIL and serves as the academic and research representative on the board of the UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Alliance. She is a Fulbright Global Scholar in children and media.
Sherri has worked on projects for TIME Studios, Fred Rogers Productions, Google Kids & Family, META, National Association for Media Literacy Education, Agents of Change video game, Center for Media Literacy and Education, and advised on the PBS Kids Media Literacy Framework. Her international work includes the Prix Jeunesse international children’s television festival, Public Journalism Club of Armenia, Thessaloniki Media Summer Academy and several UNESCO projects. She has given talks and presentations on five continents and over 20 countries including the Children’s Global Media Summit, World Summit on Media for Children, UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy conferences, International Media Literacy Research Symposium, and UK Children’s Media Conference.
Sherri talks with kids about the influence of media in their lives on her podcast Kids Talk Media and discusses trending media topics from AI to misinformation with guests on her television series, Media Inside Out.
Publications include the report, The Quality Question: Why Children’s Media Must Aim High based on her Fulbright research; a co-authored chapter in Media Literacy in a Disruptive Media Environment (2020) titled, “A Snapshot: the state of media literacy education in the US”; and a chapter in 20 Questions about Youth and the Media (2019) titled, “How are the needs of children considered in children’s media?”. She served as co-editor of the international yearbook on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue for several years. Sherri was a 3-term president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education.
Sherri began her career as a television producer. She held various production and management positions over twenty-five years, including CEO of Independence Public Media in Philadelphia. She still believes in the power of media to bring people together, to enhance cross-cultural understanding, and to inspire creativity.
Ollie Gomez
Student Worker
Ollie is the student worker for the Center for Media and Information Literacy at Temple University. In this role, they help run the office and is the associate producer for the TUTV show, Media Inside Out. She is a junior Media Studies and Production student getting a minor in Digital Media Engagement and is pursuing the new Children’s Media Certificate through the Klein College of Media and Communication. She is interested in all forms of children’s media, content creation, social media, and media literacy.
CMIL Alumni
Emily Bailin
During her time with the CMIL Emily was a doctoral student at Teachers College at Columbia University studying in the Ed.D. program for Education and Communication. She holds a masters in Education, Culture & Society at University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, which she received in 2010. Her research interests and professional experiences reside mainly in the field of media literacy education.
Sojin An
Sojin An is a Producer and Director of Dramas, Documentaries and educational programs at EBS (Korean Educational Broadcasting System). Sojin has been working in the Children’s Media Industry for 18 years and has made numerous shows for children. Sojin An was born in Seoul, Korea and is now a Fellowship Student at Temple University. Sojin An is nominated for an International Emmy Award in the Kids TV Movie/ Mini-series category. Sojin An was a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Media and Information Literacy from January through December 2013 doing research on children’s media in the US.
David Cooper Moore
David Cooper Moore currently leads a series university-school partnerships between Temple University and K-12 schools and programs in Philadelphia to bring media and information literacy enrichment program to students in in-school and after-school contexts. He has led and participated in in-school mentoring, teacher education, curriculum development and media and technology integration. Moore has also developed media literacy projects and productions with PBSTeachers, the Center for Social Media, Drug Free PA, and the Girl Scouts of America in topics including digital citizenship and civic responsibility,public health, and fair use in K-12 education. He currently media production and media and information literacy to a variety of age groups including K-12 and undergraduate students.
Moore also blogs on education, media and technology issues at DavidCooperMoore.com.
Hugh Kesson
Hugh Kesson is currently coordinating work between CMIL and the New Media and TechnologyCharter School in northeast Philadelphia. Hugh has been a high school teacher, college professor, media educator and documentary film maker. He has worked in the US, UK and Australia, and has managed to add to his collection of higher education qualifications on all three continents. His work and research is broadly concerned with issues of equality in media and education, and is specifically focused on the development of digital literacies.
Former Visiting Fellows:
Tomas Duran – visiting fellow, Autonomous University Barcelona (2015)
Soijin An – visiting fellow, Korean Broadcasting Service (2013)
Student workers:
Vivian Allegretti (work study, Spring and Fall 2024)
Chris Cook (work study, Fall 2023)
Kayla Paul-Koch (work study, Fall 2022 and Spring 2023)
Danny Kilderry (work study, Fall 2021 and Spring 2022)
Baker McNamara (work study, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021)
Andrew Shaqfeh (work study, Fall 2019 and Spring 2020)
Abigail Turrisi (work study, Fall 2018)
Andrea Miller (work study, Spring 2017)
Joselyn Castro (work study, Spring 2016)
Cara Glatfelter (work study, Fall 2015 – 2016)
Cari Dienstman (work study, Spring 2015)
Melissa Lam Ly (work study, Fall 2014)