Marketing Communication Faculty

Dr. Lellis served the state of North Carolina from 2001-2004 as project director for the North Carolina Rapid Response to Stroke project, a public health initiative sponsored by the Duke Endowment and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since 2003, she has offered assistance to a variety of organizations as a communications consultant specializing in health education and nonprofit marketing, public relations, and project management. She holds an executive certificate in nonprofit management from Georgetown University. Prior work experience also includes providing counseling and support services to youth and persons with disabilities.  

Dr. Lellis  primarily uses her research training to examine how aspects of the public relations process assist nonprofit organizations in communicating strategically about disability issues. Her research has been presented and recognized with awards at various regional and national communications conferences. Before joining the Emerson faculty in 2007, she was a recipient of a Future Faculty Fellowship from UNC-Chapel Hill and also awarded the Minnie S. and Eli A. Rubinstein Research Award from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill to fund her dissertation: Voiced Values: Communicating a Local Identity for Disability.