Empowered by Park

By Katya Mirsky '26, April 15, 2024

New York City event celebrates communications alumni dedication to social responsibility.

President La Jerne Terry Cornish and Amy Falkner, Dean of the Park School, gathered with alumni (from left) Alexander Cammy ’16, Jazmin Correa ’06, Ellis Williams '13, Elena Piech ’19, and Leah Galant ’15 at the Empowered by Park Event.

(Photo by Steve Hockstein)

Students in the Roy H. Park School of Communications don’t just graduate with industry knowledge and honed skills. They leave Ithaca College with an understanding of how to use those skills and knowledge to make the world a better place.

Those were the traits being celebrated on April 5 at the Empowered by Park event, held in New York City as part of the yearlong celebration of the 50th Anniversary of school’s founding.

The event featured a panel of five alumni: Alexander Cammy ’16, Manager of Marketplace and Cultural Intelligence at Paramount and a GLAAD Consultant; Jazmin Correa ’06, Global Director at Merck, a research-intensive biopharmaceutical company; Leah Galant ’15, a member-owner at Meerkat Media; Elena Piech ’19, a producer at ZeroSpace, a production and creative studio; and Ellis Williams ’13, a director and producer at CBS Sports.

“Let’s celebrate our anniversary, but let’s also celebrate who we are in our DNA and who we are as we move forward,’” she said. “As we look forward to the next 50 years, these are our alums that are going to make a difference.

Amy Falkner, Dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications

Each alum has utilized their positions and careers to help uplift minority voices and promote social justice through the media.

Devan Accardo, the new Director of Park Productions, the college’s student-staffed professional production unit, worked closely with each alum to produce a 50-second video showcasing their contributions towards the media industry and social responsibility.

Each alum was given the opportunity to share how they use their platform to advocate for social justice. (Photo by Steve Hockstein)

Amy Falkner, Dean of the Park School, said the event was a way of honoring the past while highlighting the future that the school’s alumni will help shape.

“We thought, ‘Let’s celebrate our anniversary, but let’s also celebrate who we are in our DNA and who we are as we move forward,’” she said. “As we look forward to the next 50 years, these are our alums that are going to make a difference. It was a very organic idea to call this event ‘Empowered by Park,’ as you can hear our five featured alumni talk about how important their Park education was as a springboard to their success. To a person, they described being instilled with confidence by their professors and by the projects they were able to complete as undergraduates. The culture at Park is one of mentorship and encouraging students to step right in and tell stories that matter, no matter the discipline."

Learn more each alum's accomplishments in this video, created by Park Productions.

“I was a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar for most of my college career, and the work of many professors in the CSCRE furnished my understanding of the importance of social justice and incorporated the lessons in those classrooms into my life,” he said. “The Park School served as the grounds to create class projects that had tie-ins to race and culture and gave me the confidence to be bold about my aspirations to be in the position I am in now.”

He went on to thank several members of the Ithaca College community who were instrumental in his growth as a person and a creator.

Several of the alums commended the school for its uniquely involved approach to media studies and collaboration

The event was an opportunity for alumni to connect with former mentors, such as Pete Johanns associate professor of television and digital media production.

(Photo by Steve Hockstein)

“The intersection of all forms of communication and media with social responsibility emphasizes the importance of using communication channels responsibly, ethically, and inclusively to promote positive social outcomes,” said Bob Regan, who was a member of the school's 50th Anniversary team. “By prioritizing social responsibility in communication practices, individuals, organizations, and media outlets can contribute to building a more informed, empathetic, and equitable society.”

“Without the possibility for social impact or change, I would not find meaning in my filmmaking practice,” said Galant.

Williams, whose award-winning video project on systematic racism, “8:46,” was a major inspiration behind Empowered by Park, noted that his understanding of ethics and accountability were instilled in him through both the Park School and the college’s Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (CSCRE).

“The Park School served as the grounds to create class projects that had tie-ins to race and culture and gave me the confidence to be bold about my aspirations to be in the position I am in now.”

Ellis Williams '13

Cammy, whose work at Paramount and with GLAAD places an emphasis on representing and empowering voices from the LGBTQ+ community, also feels that values such as media transparency and advocacy were accentuated during his education.

“I took a mass-media research methods class with Jack Powers that was really instrumental in showing that side of TV,” he said. “It’s important for researchers to have a data-integrity lens but also have an empathetic, human lens and understand the power of what [they] are producing.”

The intersection of media and social responsibility is an integral part of the Park School’s teachings, one that promotes collaboration between various departments at Ithaca College

“When I was at the Park School, I had the chance to go after whatever I was interested in. Nobody at the school ever told me ‘No.’ It was always an opportunity to say yes and keep moving.”

Elena Piech '19

“I was an MLK Scholar, and that was a connector between social responsibility and the work I was doing at the Park School,” said Correa. “I was exploring themes of social justice through the scholarship, and I would always do a media component to it. Those things together were a bit of a foundation in terms of my approach to social responsibility and media.”

The event also gave the alumni a chance to reflect back on the avenues opened up to them during their time at IC.

“When I was at the Park School, I had the chance to go after whatever I was interested in,” said Piech. “Nobody at the school ever told me ‘No.’ It was always an opportunity to say yes and keep moving.”

President Cornish was able to meet with alumni during the event as well. (Photo by Steve Hockstein)

“Looking back, I’m really appreciative that we were taken seriously, even at our age, and were told that, yeah you can make a film, you don’t have to ask anybody for permission. Even though you’re a young woman, you still can make something, you can go out right now and make something.” said Galant.

“The culture at Park is one of mentorship and encouraging students to step right in and tell stories that matter, no matter the discipline,” said Park School dean Amy Falkner. “Students are encouraged to go for it, and they do every day, from the first day they step foot on campus, and that attitude carries through [into their] careers.”

The event was a reminder of the strength of the school's faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

“The evening was a resounding success as alumni and faculty mingled, exchanging memories and reinforcing ties. They were united in their determination to propel the energy of the night forward, cherishing the school’s legacy and excited about the next 50 years,” said Regan.