Dr. Jennifer Palilonis
Dr. Jennifer Palilonis is a full professor and the director of the Center for Emerging Media Design & Development. She holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from the Indiana University School of Informatics & Computing. Her fields of professional specialization are design thinking, human-computer interaction, cross-platform storytelling, visual journalism, graphics reporting, art direction, redesign, visual rhetoric, composition, e-learning, and interaction design. As the faculty advisor for the Professor Garfield project, she manages the project team, serves as video director, and is lead PI on all related research.
Kate Shively
Kate Shively’s career spans PK-6 and higher education contexts. Her research interests include examining the design of learning environments, digital literacy, and teacher preparation. She has presented and published her work nationally and internationally.
Melodie Griffin
Melodie Griffin is the project manager for the Center for Emerging Media Design & Development. She has a background in Virtual Reality video game research with a concentration in the survival horror genre. In addition, Melodie is an instructor for the Ball State University Department of Journalism and the administrative coordinator for the department’s Unified Research Lab.
In 2017, Melodie graduated with her BA in creative writing and literature. Two years later, she gained her master’s degree from EMDD program at Ball State University.
Savannah Dill
Savannah Dill is an experienced graphic designer with an emerging taste for UX design and research. She thinks of herself as a hybrid practitioner, both a thinker and a doer, being able not only to identify real opportunities at the fuzzy front end of the innovation process but also, design, develop and help drive a product to completion. While collaborating on the Professor Garfield Project she works with the team primarily to lead the innovation process through design thinking, usability testing, and content creation. She has a strong and diverse academic background with a Bachelor’s of General Studies degree focused on Science and Mathematics from Indiana University South Bend and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Emerging Media Design Development from Ball State University.
Pat Ormsby
Pat Ormsby is a professional graphic designer and second-year Emerging Media Design and Development student at Ball State University, who is fascinated with interaction design and actionable gamification. In everything Pat designs, he looks at with a critical eye to make sure the end users’ needs are met and that everything looks and functions well. In short, he likes to create great work that works. As a member of the Professor Garfield Project, he primarily works to design a strong user experience for teachers and students through design thinking, digital prototyping, and user testing. After Pat graduated from Cazenovia College with a BFA in Visual Communications, he worked as a junior art director at an advertising agency in Syracuse, NY. He currently works as a graphic designer at a nonprofit north of Washington, D.C.
Eileen Porzuczek
Eileen Porzuczek is an experienced content creator with backgrounds in writing, editing, public relations/marketing, publishing, teaching, customer relationship management, and various forms of design. As a professional, she values social responsibility and approaches projects with research and analysis to ensure the content produced successfully meets its goals. She has worked on a diverse range of projects and presented her work at numerous conferences. Eileen works with the team to advance the Professor Garfield Project through design thinking, user testing, content creation, and strategic marketing. Eileen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with concentrations in creative writing, professional writing, and digital media from Ball State University in 2019. Currently, she is finishing her master’s degree in Emerging Media Design and Development at Ball State University.
Angelos Mandilaris
Angelos Mandilaris is a Graduate Assistant for the Emerging Media Design & Development Center, an Information & Communications Science Graduate Student, and a Men’s Volleyball athlete at Ball State University. He is helping with research on Professor Garfield and in any other task that he is needed. He graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics from Barton College in 2020.
Chase Keller
Chase is a second-year Emerging Media Design & Development student at Ball State University. As a graduate assistant for the EMDD program, he assists with multiple design and research assets needed for the Professor Garfield (PGF) prototype website. These include page layout design, branding, and user immersion strategy for all PGF materials.
Darik Hall
Darik is a first-year Emerging Media Design & Development (EMDD) student at Ball State University. As a graduate assistant for the EMDD program, he contributes to the web development of the Professor Garfield prototype website, assists with the structural design of the site, and films material for instructional videos. In conjunction with Kyle Parker and his team, Darik serves as a technology advisor for the project. He also worked for Jim Davis at Paws Inc. for five years before starting his own media company, Deftly Creative.
Kyle Parker
Any Ung
Any is a first-year Telecommunications Digital Storytelling student at Ball State University. She develops and produces the PGF digital literacy instructional videos. While producing the videos, she defines the style, structure and content of each video, and is responsible for bringing the vision to life. Her role includes a variety of duties such as script writing and editing, shot composition, shot selection, briefing and managing the technical team, and video editing.
Erika Espinoza
Erika is a first-year Emerging Media Design & Development student at Ball State University. As a graduate assistant for the EMDD program, she assists with various design assets needed for the Professor Garfield (PGF) prototype website. This includes, but is not limited to, video graphics, page layout designs, and branding for all PGF materials. In 2018, she was part of a Pulitzer prize winning team at the Arizona Republic.
Tiffany Watts
Erika is a first-year Emerging Media Design & Development student at Ball State University. As a graduate assistant for the EMDD program, she assists with various design assets needed for the Professor Garfield (PGF) prototype website. This includes, but is not limited to, video graphics, page layout designs, and branding for all PGF materials. In 2018, she was part of a Pulitzer prize winning team at the Arizona Republic.