Dr. William A. Donohue
Distinguished Professor of Communication, Michigan State University

Dr. William A. Donohue is currently a distinguished professor of Communication at Michigan State University.  He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1976.  Dr. Donohue has published extensively in the areas of conflict, communication, negotiation and mediation while also conducting workshops and other intervention activities focusing on communication, leadership development, and conflict management.  His co-authored book, Framing Matters: Perspectives on Negotiation Research and Practice in Communication, provides a broad understanding of the role of framing in negotiation research.  Dr. Donohue is a recent past president of the International Association for Conflict Management and is on the editorial board of several major journals. 

Jeff Lambert
President & Managing Partner, Lambert, Edwards & Associates
 

Jeff co-founded Lambert, Edwards & Associates in his basement in 1998 and has built it into a top-10 public relations firm in the Midwest with 12 straight years of growth, culminating in the firm being named national Agency of the Year by both PR Week and PR News in 2010.  Jeff is responsible for day-to-day operations and the long-term vision of the firm, in addition to heading the strategic account teams on several of the firm’s largest publicly traded and privately held clients. Prior to starting LE&A, he served in senior communications roles in both agency and corporate settings. He has managed communications on national product launches, media campaigns and brand launches, as well as on a variety of crisis assignments and transactions.  Jeff was named to PRWeek’s distinguished “40 Under 40” list, was a Midwest finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award, and serves on numerous non-profit boards including the YMCA, Junior Achievement and Michigan State’s College of Communications Arts & Sciences.

Heather C. Swain
Interim Vice President for University Relations, Michigan State University
 

Heather has 15 years of experience in higher education marketing and communications—including branding, marketing, and media communications—at Michigan State University, Ball State University, and Indiana University. During that time, she has led two major rebranding projects; conducted nearly 100 focus groups with higher education target audiences; overseen numerous quantitative research projects; and served for six years as primary university spokesperson with responsibility for issues management.