Bill Hessert, Director of Strategic Communications
Bill oversees the planning, implementation, and evaluation of all strategic communications within the College of the Liberal Arts. He has also led his own strategic communications firm, Bill Hessert Ink, served as director of college relations for the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, and served as executive editor of State College Magazine and Pennsylvania Business Central over the course of his career. Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lycoming College and his master’s degree in journalism from Temple University.
Kathy Swidwa, Communications Strategist
Kathy manages undergraduate and prospective student communications and marketing for the college. She also oversees social media strategy, brand management, the CLA Communicators LISTSERV and shared Canva account, and the annual All-Comm meeting. She graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2013 and a master’s degree in higher education in 2016.
Kirsten Smith, Public Relations Generalist
Kirsten oversees the college’s and Dean Lang’s social media accounts. She spearheads communications and marketing efforts for alumni and donor events, maintains digital signage, designs and distributes leader’s letters, and co-supervises our strategic communications interns. Kirsten graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations in 2018.
Anissa Ilie, Lead Writer
Anissa is the primary development communications officer for the College of the Liberal Arts, developing messages and materials that advance the college’s fundraising, stewardship, and volunteer engagement priorities. She serves as a key adviser to the director of strategic communications and senior-level administrators in the college on public/media relations and philanthropic communications. Anissa has worked in a variety of communications and public relations roles in both healthcare and higher education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
Josh McAuliffe, Senior Writer
Josh spotlights faculty research and accomplishments via feature stories and press releases and assists with other strategic communications. Prior to joining the College of the Liberal Arts, he served as a marketing communications specialist at Penn State Scranton and as assistant director of strategic communications at Penn State Lehigh Valley. Earlier in his career, he was a features writer at The Times-Tribune in Scranton. Josh earned his bachelor’s degree in History from Penn State.
Becka Turner, Multimedia Specialist
Becka collaborates with College of the Liberal Arts units to create graphics, promotional materials, signage, and a variety of other digital and print media. She graduated with an associate degree in graphic arts from South Hills School of Business & Technology in 2019.
Kate Kenealy, Marketing Communications Specialist
Kate supports both the college’s and the School of Public Policy’s marketing needs. She furthers the college’s goals through social media, marketing, and storytelling that highlights student, faculty, and alumni accomplishments. Kate has previously held positions in marketing, social media, graphic design, and photography. She earned her bachelor’s degree in French and Francophone Studies and an undergraduate certificate in Digital Arts from Penn State.
Shree Chauhan, Editorial Assistant
Shree manages the University Brand Review (UBR) system—reviewing, editing, and approving—all promotional materials for units across the college. Prior to joining the Strategic Communications team, she spent a decade in the nation’s capital shaping federal and state education policy. Outside of the communications field, she is also an abstract artist and owner of her small business, Shreeniverse. Shree earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Miami and her master’s degree in public administration from American University.
Strategic Communications Interns
Isabella Macon
Isabella manages the college’s Twitter (X) account, assembles monthly social media reports, and writes alumni and student spotlight stories for Penn State News. She is a fourth-year student double majoring in Public Relations and Spanish with minors in Digital Media Trends and Analytics and Global and International Studies at Penn State. Isabella also serves as vice president of programming for Penn State’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter.
Danielle Mather
Danielle manages the college’s Instagram account, assembles weekly undergraduate newswire emails, and writes alumni and student spotlight stories for Penn State News. She is a fourth-year student majoring in Human Development and Family Studies, with minors in Sociology and Psychology. Danielle also serves as the vice president of public relations for Greeks CARE, a collaboration between the Gender Equity Center and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Olivia Bonsick
Olivia manages the college’s Facebook account and writes student and alumni spotlight stories for Penn State News. She is a third-year student double majoring in Public Relations and Political Science. On campus, Olivia is also involved in THON, Happy Valley Comm, Public Relations Student Society of America, and serves as the vice president of operations for Alpha Omicron Pi.