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Chair of the Department of Community Engagement and Leadership
Professor of Multimedia
Director of Wood Street Communications

Pictured is Heather Starr Fiedler. Photo | Randall ColemanContact Information

Education

  • Ph.D., Educational Technology, Nova Southeastern University
  • M.A., Organizational Communication, University of Albany
  • B.A., Broadcast Journalism and Business, SUNY College at Buffalo

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Community Engagement
  • City-University Life
  • Seminar in Communities, Engagement & Leadership
  • Community Engagement Practicum
  • Social Media Practices
  • Social Media Analytics & SEO
  • Social Media Campaigns
  • Typography
  • Survey of Mass Communication
  • Multimedia Capstone

Background

Heather Starr Fiedler, Ph.D., has a dual appointment in the School of Communication and the Department of Community Engagement and Leadership, which she chairs. 

For the Department of Community Engagement, she serves as the director of the Ph.D. in community engagement program as well as the first-year experience program. Her work focuses on university-community partnerships and helping serve basic needs for the community. 

In the School of Communication, she focuses on new and emerging media technology and social media. Additionally, she serves as the director of Wood Street Communications, the University's non-profit outreach program. 

Prior to coming to Point Park in 2000, she taught business and computer science at West Virginia Northern Community College, communications at Robert Morris University and was the director of training for Gateway Computers in Pittsburgh. She is the founder of the nonprofit Play it Forward Pittsburgh, which is the largest gently-used toy drive in the Pittsburgh region. 

She lives in Indiana Township with her husband Mike and two sons Matthew and Benjamin. 

Professional Affiliations

  • Chair, Interactive Media and Emerging Technologies Division, Broadcast Education Association
  • Board Chair, Play it Forward Pittsburgh

Selected Presentations

Awards, Honors and Distinctions

  • Credential: Community Engagement Fundamentals, Campus Compact's Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program, 2021
  • Named Pennsylvania Mother of the Year by AmericanMothers.org, 2021
  • Named one of 14 "Women in Media" by the Women & Girls Foundation, 2010
  • Selected as one of Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40, 2009
  • Communicator Awards - PittsburghMom.com, 2009

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