Eike Mark Rinke
Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
On 31 December 2016, my tenure as editor of the Political Communication Report, your webmaster for politicalcommunication.org, and social media manager for our divisions ended. Luckily, we have won two highly motivated and capable individuals, Björn Buß and Louisa Imperiale, who have assumed these positions for the next three years. I think we can all look forward to the fresh ideas and energy Björn and Louisa will bring to their respective positions as our new APSA/ICA PolComm communications officers. To help you getting to know them, we have put up brief biographies of theirs below.
A warm welcome and all the best for your new positions to both of you, Björn and Louisa!
Björn Buß: New politicalcommunication.org Webmaster and Editor of the Political Communication Report
Björn Buß is a final-year PhD candidate at Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany), where he conducts comparative research on media exposure and political engagement, under the supervision of Prof. Christian Welzel. He has been the spokesperson for the largest and longest standing network of students and early-career scholars in political communication in German-speaking countries, NapoKo, an official affiliate of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) and the German Political Science Association (DVPW). In this position, Björn has gathered lots of experience serving the communications needs of the political communication community, including the organization of annual workshops for early-career scholars in political communication.
Prior to joining us as the new webmaster of our website politicalcommunication.org and new editor of the Political Communication Report, Björn has worked as a communications officer for the World Values Survey Association, whose successful Facebook and Twitter channels he helped found.
He holds an M.A. degree in communication studies and economics from the University of Greifswald. His research work on media-political parallelism, citizens’ media use and their political participation has been presented at a variety of conferences. Björn has also taught a number of classes on political culture, media systems, and research methods at Leuphana’s Institute of Political Science.
You can contact Björn via email and/or follow him on Twitter.
Louisa Imperiale: New Social Media Manager of the APSA & ICA Political Communication Divisions
Louisa Imperiale is a veteran political fundraiser and current Ph.D. student at American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C. After spending fifteen years funneling money into U.S. politics – and observing its corrupting, outsized influence firsthand – her academic work in Political Communication now focuses on getting money out of politics.
Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Louisa coordinated major donor fundraising for the Republican Party, serving as the Director of the Republican Regents and Team 100 programs for the Republican National Committee and as Director of Development for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. In addition, Louisa has extensive campaign experience, having served as Finance Director for a $30M Senatorial race and a $100M Gubernatorial campaign, and as Deputy Finance Director for a Presidential campaign in 2012.
She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Alabama and attended the Executive Masters in Leadership program at Georgetown University. She is also an alumnus of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University, and was honored to attend the 5th International Summer School in Political Communication and Electoral Behavior at the University of Milan, where she presented her work on political privacy. Louisa serves as a Board member for Running Start, which works to inspire and train the next generation of young women political leaders.
Louisa is a frequent public speaker and commentator on the topics of politics, entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, strategy, marketing, communication, fundraising, and philanthropy. She is very excited to be teaching Understanding Media at American University this semester. After 16 years of living in Washington, D.C., Louisa considers herself a proud Washingtonian, and enjoys taking advantage of the District’s cultural institutions with her husband and two young children.
You can contact Louisa via email, through our Facebook website and/or follow her on Twitter.