Dr. Michelle Ferrier is the dean of the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication at Florida A&M University.

Previously, she was an associate professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. She is the president of Journalism that Matters and the founder of Trollbusters.com, a rescue service for women writers and journalists experiencing online harassment. She is the principal investigator for the Media Deserts Project that uses GIS technologies to examine places in the United States where fresh news and information are lacking.

Ferrier has 30 years of experience in curriculum development and innovation around media entrepreneurship and new media technologies. Ferrier’s research interests include digital identity and reputation management, community engagement and online communities.

She received a doctorate from the University of Central Florida in Texts and Technologies where she developed online communities, online learning and new media storytelling technologies. She also holds a master’s degree from the University of Memphis in journalism and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Ferrier is an avid gardener who tends spaces both in physical spaces and online. She enjoys painting and jumping out of airplanes.