Headshot of Julie Lellis

Julie Lellis

Professor of Strategic Communications

Department: Strategic Communications

Office and address: Schar Hall- Communications Bld, Office 202A 2850 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244

Phone number: (336) 278-5747

Professional Expertise

strategic communications, writing, identity, health communication

News & Notes

Education

Ph.D. in Mass Communication, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007. 

M.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology and Counseling, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001.

B.A. in Sociology, University of Richmond, May 1999.

Employment History

Assistant Professor of Communications, Elon University, School of Communications, 2010-present. 

Assistant Professor, Emerson College, Department of Marketing Communication, 2007-2010.

Project Director, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Emergency Medicine, 2001-2004. 

Leadership Positions

Associate Department Chair, Faculty Fellow for Substance Education

 

 

 

 

Publications

Archer, J. & Lellis, J.C. (2017, May 9). How to restore customer trust through content: Don’t be a zombie, for starters. The Dubs.

Lellis, J. C. & Eggleston, M. (2017, April 27). Stay ahead by being human and not a zombie: How a top-performing snack company prioritizes values. The CEO Magazine

Lellis, J. (2017, March 27). Values count: Five tips for increasing job satisfaction via self reflection. PR News.

Fitzgerald, F., Miller, A., Lellis, J. C. (2017, March 13). How millennials can help your brand succeed and what they seek in return. PR News 74(10), 2.

Eggleston, M. & Lellis, J. C. (2017, March 2). Identity matters: How content strategists build trust and loyalty. Chief Content Officer

Eggleston, M. & Lellis J. C. (2017, February). Identity matters: How content strategists can build trust and loyalty. Chief Content Officer, 12-15.

Lellis, J. C. & Eggleston, M. (2017). The Zombie Business Cure: How to Refocus Your Company’s Identity for More Authentic Communication. New York: Career Press.

Lellis, J. C. (2016). Waving the red flag: FTC regulation of deceptive weight-loss advertising 1951-2009. Health Communication 31(1), 47-59.

Lellis, J. C. (2015, November 25). 3 steps to becoming your own PR editor. PR News.

Lellis, J. C. (2015, October 19) 5 brainstorming techniques for better PR writing. PR News.

Lellis, J. C. (2015, September 21). 5 identity-building writing tips. PR News.

Lellis, J. C. (2015, August 4). 7 points to consider when your brand gets involved in social issues. PR News.

Miller, B., & Lellis, J. (2015). Audience response to values-based marketplace advocacy by the fossil fuel industries. Environmental Communication.

Miller, B., & Lellis, J. C. (2015). Response to marketplace advocacy messages by sponsor and topic within the energy industry: Should corporations or industry trade groups do the talking? Journal of Applied Communication Research 43(1), 66-90. 

Lellis, J. C. (2014). Dreaming of a black Christmas and “what is best” for Durham: Strategic advocacy during the selective buying campaign. In N. Clark (Ed.), African Americans in the History of Mass Communication: A Reader. Peter Lang Publishing.

Lellis, J. C. (2014). Organizational identity in nonprofit communication about disability. In R. Hart (Ed.), Communication and Language Analysis in the Public Sphere. IGI Global, 358-390.

Clark, N., Lellis, J. C., Padgett, G. E. (2013). Communitarian ethics and achieving diversity in mediated communications: A panel discussion. The International Journal of Organizational Diversity 12(1), 61-71.

Lellis, J. C. (2012). Cause identity: A measurement of disability organizations’ communicated values. Public Relations Review 38, 508-510.  

Lellis, J. C. (2011). Silence on the stomping grounds: A case study of public communication about disability in the 1990s. Disability & Society 26(7), 809-823.

Brice, J. H., Evenson, K. R., Lellis, J. C., Rosamond, W. D., Aytur, S. A., Christian, J. B., & Morris, D. L. (2008). Emergency Medical Services education, community outreach, and protocols for stroke and chest pain in North Carolina. Prehospital Emergency Care 12(3), 366-371.

Lellis, J. C. (2008, March). Local news coverage of disability: Current themes and the role of nonprofit organizations as sources. 11th International Public Relations Research Conference Proceedings: Research that Matters to the Practice, 437-455, Available at http://www.institute forpr.org/files/uploads/IPRRC_11_Proceedings.pdf.

Lellis, J. C., Brice, J. H., Evenson, K. R., Rosamond, W. D., Kingdon, D., & Morris, D. L. (2007). Launching online education for 911 telecommunicators and EMS personnel: Experiences from the North Carolina Rapid Response to Stroke project. Prehospital Emergency Care 11(3), 298-306.

Evenson, K. R., Brice, J. H., Rosamond, W. D., Lellis, J. C., Christian, J. B., & Morris, D. L. (2007). Statewide survey of 911 communication centers on acute stroke and myocardial infarction. Prehospital Emergency Care 11(2), 186-191.

Lellis, J. C. (2006, March). A complex normality: A case study of the group process in a nonprofit public relations committee. 9th International Public Relations Research Conference Proceedings: Changing Roles and Functions in Public Relations, 310-321, Available at http://ipr.wieck.com/files/uploads/9th_IPRRC_Proceedings.pdf.

Brice J. H., Lellis, J. C., Evenson, K. R., Rosamond, W. D., Christian, J. B., & Morris, D. L. (2005). EMS education, protocols, and community outreach for stroke [Abstract]. Prehospital Emergency Care, 9(1), 140-141.

Evenson, K. R., Lellis, J. C., Brice, J. H., Rosamond, W. D., Christian, J. B., & Morris, D. L. (2003). Dispatch services for acute stroke and myocardial infarction: The North Carolina Rapid Response to Stroke project [Abstract]. Stroke, 33, 285-286.

Presentations

Lellis, J. C. (2017, June). Don’t be a zombie: Identity-based communication strategies for effective and original communication. Presented at the International Association for Business Communicators World Conference. Washington, D.C.

Lellis, J. C. (2017, April). Don’t be a zombie (even when you’re tired): Identity-based communication strategies. Presented at The Public Relations Society of America’s Southeast District Conference, Birmingham, AL.

Lellis, J. C. (2017, March). Don’t be a zombie: Identity-based communication strategies. Presented at the High Five Conference, Raleigh, NC.

Lellis, J. C. (2016, April). Mind your identity: Defining yourself as a communications professional. Presented at The Public Relations Society of America’s Southeast District Conference, Knoxville, TN.

Harter, J., Lellis, J., DeaMaioNewton, E., Brigman, J., Foran, K., McCorkle, A., & Bryant, M. (2015, October). Mindfulness for college students: Cultivating spiritual wellness and compassion across traditions. Panel at the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Austin, L. & Lellis, J. C. (2014, October). Enhancing pedagogical tools in the public relations writing course: Reflecting on the importance of writing enjoyment, confidence, and achievement. Poster session at the annual PRSA Educators Academy conference, Washington, D.C.

Austin, L., Lellis, J. C., Gallicano, T. D., & Levenshus, A. (2014, October). Teaching digital media writing: Challenges, opportunities, and examples for public relations education. Panel at the annual PRSA Educators Academy conference, Washington, D.C.

Miller, B. & Lellis, J. C. (2014, May). Audience response to values-based environmental marketplace advocacy. Paper presented at the annual conference for the International Communications Association, Seattle, WA. 

Lellis, J. C. (2013, November). Om a Little Louder: Integrating Yoga into Communications Inquiry. Abstract presented at the fifth annual Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education Conference, “Integrity of Practice: A Contemplative Vision for Higher Education, Amherst, Mass.

Motley, P., Sturgill, A. & Lellis, J. (2013, November). Community culture: Community partners speak about working with students with backgrounds different from their own. Abstract presented at International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Conference, Omaha, NE.

Miller, B. & Lellis, J. C. (2013, August). Who should do the talking? Marketplace advocacy messages by corporations or industry trade groups. Paper presented in the Advertising Division of the annual meeting for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, D.C.

Nelson, T. A., Lackaff, D., Lellis, J. C., Saltz, S. (2013, April). The role of liberal arts in social media pedagogy. Panel presentation at the annual meeting of the Broadcast Educators Association, Las Vegas, NV.

Lellis, J. C. (2013, February). Creating and applying a custom dictionary to measure organizational identity in nonprofit marketing and public relations research. Panel member: Rhetorics of Cultural Identity. Paper presented at the DICTION Studies conference, Austin, TX.

Clark, N., Lellis, J. C., Padgett, G. E. (2012, June). Communitarian ethics and achieving diversity in mediated communications. Paper presented at the Twelfth International Conference on Diversity, Vancouver, Canada.

Lellis, J. C. (2009, August). Voiced values: Communicating a local organizational identity for disability. Paper presented in the Mass Communication and Society Division of the annual meeting for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Boston, MA.

Lellis, J. C. (2008, March). Local news coverage of disability: Current themes and the role of nonprofit organizations as sources. Paper presented at the annual International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.

Lellis, J. C. (2006, August). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's silent campaign: Public communication regarding disability issues in the early 1990s. Paper presented and recipient of the “John S. Clogston Memorial Award for Top Student Paper” in the Media & Disability Interest Group at the annual meeting for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, San Francisco, CA.

Lellis, J. C. (2006, April). Sustaining the issue: How issues management helps nonprofit organizations communicate about disability and chronic illness. Paper presented at the 2006 Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, Lexington, KY.

Lellis, J. C. (2006, March). A complex normality: A case study of the group process in a nonprofit public relations committee. Paper presented at the annual International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.

Lellis, J. C. (2005, August). Christina’s doin’ it…so should I? The nature of celebrity health advocacy and advice in media. Paper presented in the Public Relations Division of the annual meeting for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, San Antonio, TX.

Lellis, J. C. (2005, March). Tough enough? Trends in FTC regulation of deceptive weight-loss advertising. Paper presented and recipient of “Top Student Paper” award in the Law Division of the annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium, Athens, GA.

Brice J. H., Lellis, J. C., Evenson, K. R., Rosamond, W. D., Christian, J. B., & Morris, D. L. (2005, January). EMS education, protocols, and community outreach for stroke. Abstract presented at annual meeting of the National Association of EMS Physicians, Naples, FL.

Evenson, K. R., Lellis, J. C., Brice, J. H., Rosamond, W. D., Christian, J. B., & Morris, D. L. (2003, February). Dispatch services for acute stroke and myocardial infarction: The North Carolina Rapid Response to Stroke project. Abstract presented at the annual American Heart Association International Stroke Conference, Phoenix, AZ.