Biography
Mikayla Brown is a Communication PhD student at Temple University. She received her BA from Hunter College in media studies with a focus in women and gender studies and her MA degree in new media and digital culture from The University of Amsterdam.
Prior to pursuing her PhD, Mikayla worked in integrated marketing communication, focusing on political advertising where she used psychographic data, location-based advertising, persuadability and voter propensity charts, programmatic media buying, and other neuromarketing tactics to elicit million-dollar donations and influence voter behavior. She also worked in public relations – publicity, events, and media relations – at some of the top fashion PR agencies, such as Williamson PR, PR Consulting, and Aeffe S.p.A. She also worked at CDR Fundraising Group, The New Media Firm, Freddie Mac, and Finn Partners, among others. Her contentious industry experience utilizing persuasion architecture, market demographic research, and targeted segmentation sparked her interest in exploring the ethics of data usage, media regulation, and surveillance.
Mikayla has recently been experimenting with hybrid experienced reality (XR) media arts, using augmented reality (AR) software Unity and Adobe Aero, as well as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Animate, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and 3D modeling software SketchUp to reimagine museum and curatorial practices. Combining digital layers and tactile engagement, Mikayla is also working on unlocking the meaning behind physically and virtually exploring layers through the process of bookmaking and speculative annotation. Her recent work aims to reshape narratives of value, art making, art possession, and art interpretation to address museum’s challenges to (re)adapt, (re) engage, (re)create, and (re)patriate. Through mapping and installation projects, she is experimenting with screen design prototype, site selection, Datawrapper, Palladio, Madmapper, projection design, sensor based or video tracking installation, and vr/ar/mr to re-envision multi-modal, decolonial projects in virtual spaces and in digital exhibitions, always working at the "fragments" of communal-technical interactivity.
You can read more about Mikayla’s professional and academic experience on her website: mikaylascottbrown.com or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaylasbrown/
CONFERENCES
Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA) Annual Conference | October 2022 | “Cyber Citizenship Initiative - Open Education Media Literacy Resources”
National Council for the Social Studies Professional Learning | August 2022 | “Quick-Click-Media Lit Resources! An Exploration of The Cyber Citizenship Initiative”
Museums Without Walls Conference | August 2022 | “Virtually Exploring the Benin Bronzes Repatriation Initiative”
National Association for Media Literacy Education | July 2022 | “Cyber Citizenship Initiative: The Next Level”
2022 Cultural Studies Association Conference | June 2022 | “The Barred Museum - A Radical Reimagining of Museology in the Lower Delta”
The 11th Annual Teacher to Teacher Conference at The University of North Carolina | March 2022 | “Interactive Oral Session”
5th Annual Symposium at The University of Pittsburgh Cultural Studies (CLST) and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) Graduate Student Organization | February 2022 | “The Representation of African Americans on Institutional Websites” & “A Web Histographic Exploration of the 'Issues' Tab on Whitehouse.gov”
The Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) Independence Conference | August 2021 |“Data, Eternity, and Death: Identity and the Digital Afterlife - Algorithmic Imaginations: Rethinking Algorithmic As A Heuristic For Understanding Computationally Structured Culture”
Black and Disabled Media Professionals | The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) at Arizona State University | February 2021
University of Amsterdam | New Media and Digital Culture Master's Introduction Day Panel | March 2019
RESEARCH INSTITUTES
Digital Media Winter Institute - SMART Data Sprint | Universidade Nova de Lisboa - NOVA FCSH - iNOVA Media Lab | January 31 – February 2022
Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) Summer School - Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology | February 2022
Digital Methods Winter School and Data Sprint - The Digital Methods Initiative (DMI) | The University of Amsterdam | January 2019
TEACHING
Teaching Assistant | Intro to Media & Society | Fall 2022 |Temple University
Teaching Assistant | The Future of Your TV | Fall 2022 |Temple University
Teaching & Research Assistant | Portrait of “the Other” in British Mass Media | Summer 2022 | Temple University & Arcadia University | London, England
Teaching Assistant | Journalism & Society | Fall 2021, Spring 2022 |Temple University
Teaching Assistant | Intro to Media Analysis | Fall 2021, Spring 2022 |Temple University
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Cyber Citizenship Initiative – National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) Graduate Resource and Content Curator Fellowship | February 2022 – June 2023
Future Faculty Fellowship Award | Temple University | 2021 – 2026
2021 Focus Scholar at The Georgia Institute of Technology | 2021
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, Inc Award | 2018
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATES
IRB Social and Behavioral Research Certified
Centro Basis Certified
Snapchat Ads Manager Certified
Sprout Social Certified
Asana Certified Pro
PROFESSIONAL CLIENT ROSTER
The Alzheimer’s Association, Rashida (Tlaib) for Congress (winner of MI CD 13), Spiros (Mantzavinos) for the 7th (winner of DE SD 7), T'Wina Nobles Democrat for State Senate (winner of WA LD 28), NARAL, Planned Parenthood Michigan, Planned Parenthood National, Dr. Shelley Lenz for North Dakota, Vermont National Education Association, SEIU, Fuse Washington, Michigan Education Association, Ohio Education Association, Indiana PAC for Education, Ranked Choice Voting Massachusetts, The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting Maine, The Chamberlain Project, The HUB Project, Jenn Alford Teaster for New Hampshire (Jenn 4 NH), Progress Virginia and Progress Arizona, Sista Scotus #SheWillRise, Shared Interest, Black Philanthropy Month, Institute for Intellectual Property & Social Justice, The Ella Baker Center, Philip V. McHarris, Donna Hylton, PolicyLink, NATIONTIME documentary, Kino Lorber, Black Women Animators, Cartoon Network, Brian Atwood, Sophie Theallet, Kurt Geiger, Pringle of Scotland, Moschino, Handvaerk, Pas de Calais, Vera Wang, Tiffany & Co., The Center for Popular Democracy, Zoom Where It Happens, The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), WNBA, Babeland, AfroPunk, Bedstuy Pride, Audre Lorde Project, Wing Ma’am app, GLAAD, The Center - New York City LGBTQ Community Center, Healthy Chicago, OutFest, NBJC, HRC, Out.com, GLBT Travel Expo
ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2022-2023 Social Chair | Media & Communication Graduate Student Association | Temple University
Labor Union Member | The Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA)
2022 82nd Annual Peabody Awards Screener Committee
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
What It Means To Be Black In Amsterdam | Travel Noire | Interview with Travel Noire
Masters of Media | The University of Amsterdam | “Will Mind Control Devices Soon Make Us Loose Our Minds?” and “Data after Death: Shaping Our Human Identity and the Construction of the Self through Our Digital Footprint” Masters of Media Website