Felicia Harris, Ph.D. is a writer, researcher and educator hailing from Georgia, by way of Texas. While pursuing a master’s degree in health and medical journalism at the University of Georgia, she developed an interest in multimedia storytelling and the use of social media to create and share knowledge.

A combination of interests in media, health, and culture inspired Harris to pursue a Ph.D. in mass communication with an emphasis in media studies and health promotion and behavior. In February 2015, she successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, “Hashtag Intervention: How #BlackGirlsRun is making “healthy” go viral.”

Currently, Harris is an assistant professor of communication studies in media at the University of Houston-Downtown, where she teaches courses centering mass media, communication research, and race and ethnicity.

A proud first-generation scholar of color, Harris is an enthusiast for the role of education and technology in the advancement of women of color. In addition to traditional scholarly engagement with research, she is committed to spreading ideas in non-academic venues and approaches. She’s presented a visual media project on Black women’s experiences with stress to the American Public Health Association and facilitated a panel discussion with the co-founders of Black Girls RUN! at South by Southwest Interactive 2014.

In the future, Harris aspires to create multimedia works that stem from her research and allow them to be accessible on the web. By reaching outside the bounds of academia, her goal is to share innovative communication research with industry practitioners, community leaders, and engaged publics.

View and download Dr. Harris’s current C.V.