About Kate McDowell 

Professor Kate McDowell focuses on storytelling as information research, social justice storytelling, and how the history of library storytelling can enhance contemporary data storytelling. Her projects engage contexts such as public libraries, non-profit fundraising, and health misinformation in online discourse. This research takes many forms, from publications to storytelling workshops and toolkits to research roles with international coalitions and working groups. She leads the nationally-funded Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy, which has been used by over 5,000 librarians in over 50 countries so far. Her book for libraries, Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact, came out in 2025. 

Read more about Kate McDowell on her website. 

Workshop: Putting Crisis Communications in Play

Photo credit: crisiscommunications.com

Thom Fladung will lead a hands-on workshop on crisis communication best practices and techniques including brainstorming key messages and participating in mock interviews, to help you prepare for any media interview or public speaking opportunity. With his practical approach to instruction and years of experience, you will walk away with pragmatic tips and best practices that you can put into play immediately to effectively communicate during a crisis.

About Thom Fladung

Thom Fladung serves as managing partner for Hennes Communications. He brings more than 33 years of daily newspaper and digital media experience to the agency, having served as a top editor at some of the nation’s largest newspapers such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Detroit Free Press. Over the past decade, Fladung has also played a lead role in helping newsrooms enter the digital age, including web, social media and handheld digital devices.

Thom is an expert at crafting effective, strategic messages on hard deadlines. He is also experienced at quickly evaluating, assembling and disseminating information – crisis management skills that are critically important for clients coping with reputation management issues and breaking crises. In 2017, Thom received the Communicator of the Year award from the International Association of Business Communicators.

Learn more about Thom on the Hennes Communication website.