Dr. Erica N. Hilton has over a decade of experience working in digital and strategic communication for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an international labor union, and multiple national non-profit organizations. She has managed websites, social media, and digital ad campaigns; developed and executed strategic communication campaigns; and produced a docuseries on America’s labor unions rebuilding the World Trade Center. Dr. Hilton also served as the editor-in-chief for two online publications and was the lead writer and editor for a presidential appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She uses this practical industry experience to help develop her communications and media courses.

As an award-winning educator and researcher, Dr. Hilton has presented her work on the representation of minority groups in the mass media and the public relations industry at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the International Public Relations Research Annual Conference (IPRRC), the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (PCA), and the Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists (ASBS).

Previously, Dr. Hilton taught at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), and Methodist University. Her teaching expertise includes strategic communication, website development, digital media strategy, public relations, critical media literacy, and political communication. She utilizes design thinking frameworks to develop courses for both nontraditional and traditional students through in-person, hybrid, and online course facilitation.

Dr. Hilton received a B.A. in Communications Arts from Johnson C. Smith University, a M.A. in Public Communication from American University, and a Ph.D. in Mass Communications from The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).