Bio
Allissa Richardson, 29, is an award-winning journalist and college professor who empowers people to tell their stories using new media. Prof. Richardson is passionate about training the next generation of journalists to be multimedia storytellers and critical thinkers.
At Morgan State University, Prof. Richardson’s unique teaching style earned her the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Advising for the 2007-2008 school year. That same year, she earned a promotion from the rank of lecturer to assistant professor. Most recently, the Knight Foundation’s Institute for Interactive Journalism awarded her a $25,000 grant to create a cutting-edge mobile journalism (“MOJO”) lab at Morgan. All MOJO students will learn to report using only Apple iPhones and iPads. Richardson appeared on NPR in June to discuss the project. Before becoming a professor, Richardson began her journalism career at JET magazine. There she had the privilege of working for, and with, the late publishing magnate, John H. Johnson. Within four months, Johnson promoted her from intern to assistant editor of the magazine, allowing her to pen cover stories at the tender age of 23. Richardson’s work also has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, Baltimore Sun.com and the Examiner newspapers. She earned the Weinstein-Luby Outstanding Young Journalist Award in 2002, and the Freedom Forum’s Chips Quinn Scholars award that same year.
When Prof. Richardson is not writing, she runs her fast-growing social entrepreneurship endeavor, called iMedia Works, LLC. The program trains K-12 students to use Web 2.0 technology. Students learn to create blogs, podcasts and vlogs, during the summer and after school. Richardson funds the project through her for-profit Web 2.0 consulting.
Richardson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School. She lives in Baltimore with her fellow media junkie husband, Bryant Richardson. People are often surprised to discover that the petite professor, standing only five feet tall, owns a 140-lbs. Rottweiler that she has wrapped around her finger. There’s also a Boxer and a kitten, but they prefer her husband.
