Newhouse School welcomes five new faculty members

Five communications professionals will join the Newhouse School this fall, further enhancing the school’s already-robust faculty of more than 120 teachers, scholars and practitioners.

“These five outstanding communicators have excelled at the highest levels in their respected fields,” says Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato. “I’m grateful to the members of our search committees, who found these next generation educators who bring with them a commitment to students, diversity and the collaborative, global approach to communication that we need in this challenging time.”

Rawiya Kameir joins the magazine, news and digital journalism department as an assistant teaching professor. A writer, editor and critic, she was a finalist for a 2020 National Magazine Award in the Essays and Criticism category for three reviews published in Pitchfork. Kameir has served as deputy editor at The Fader and culture editor at The Outline. She has covered Tiffany Haddish, profiled Cardi B, interviewed Erykah Badu, reviewed Nicki Minaj and written about her own peripatetic upbringing in Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Cairo and Canada. She earned a B.A. in professional writing from York University in Ontario and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University, where her thesis focused on members of New York’s queer Muslim community.

Jim Olson ’91 joins the public relations department as a professor of practice. In a 25-year career that has spanned 50 countries across six continents, Olson has led corporate communications for some of the world’s best known brands, including Starbucks, United Airlines and US Airways. He was the vice president of corporate communications at US Airways during the emergency water landing of Flight 1549 in 2009. Most recently, Olson lived in Mauritius, where he was an executive in residence and chief communications officer for African Leadership University, which is focused on developing a new generation of African leaders. In 2016, he was recognized by the Holmes Report as one of the world’s 100 most influential in-house communicators. An alumnus of the undergraduate PR program, he earned an M.B.A. at the University of Southern California.

Jim Osman ’93 joins the broadcast and digital journalism (BDJ) department as an assistant teaching professor. An 18-time Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, Osman began his journalism career working as an anchor and reporter at radio and television stations in the Mid-Atlantic. His investigative work took him to TV stations in Tucson and Phoenix, and in 2005 he became the chief investigative reporter for KYW-TV in Philadelphia, where he earned recognition for his reporting on government accountability and veteran abuse. In 2012 he became a national correspondent for the Scripps Television Stations based in Washington, D.C., and launched the Media General Washington Bureau for the group’s 71 television stations. As Washington bureau chief, Osman hired and managed a staff that provided coverage of Capitol Hill and elections. Most recently, Osman was a political editor for Voice of America. He has appeared frequently on national cable news programs as a campaign analyst. He is a BDJ alumnus. 

Daniela Molta joins the advertising department as an assistant professor. She brings over a decade of experience in advertising strategy, media planning and execution, and digital and social media. From 2013-2019, Molta worked in the marketing departments at Facebook, GoPro and Netflix, where she was responsible for communications and advertising strategy. Prior to her time in Silicon Valley, she worked in digital media planning and buying at OMD and MEC (now Wavemaker) in New York. She earned an M.S. in integrated marketing from New York University and B.A. in communication from Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

Kelly Whitney joins the television, radio and film department as an assistant teaching professor.  A creative executive with expertise in media for children and youth, Whitney’s career comprises two decades of content and business strategy for nonprofit, education and media organizations. She has held positions with Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids and PBS. Most recently, she served as chief product and partnerships officer at iCivics, the most widely distributed civics education curriculum in the U.S. and one of the most widely scaled game-based learning curricula in the world. Whitney earned a B.S. in theater from Northwestern University, and a master of education and doctor of education from Harvard University.