Karen Lindsey

Dr. Karen Lindsey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Strategic Communications where she joined the faculty in 2021. In 2022, she was selected as a Faculty Leadership Scholar. In 2024, she was appointed Faculty Director in Residence, a position reflecting her leadership in advancing student intellectual engagement and holistic development. She is faculty advisor to the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and serves as faculty advisor to students conducting undergraduate research.

Her scholarly and pedagogical work examines the intersections of race, gender, and organizational leadership, with emphasis on women in leadership well-being and leadership identity development. Her work bridges theory and practice through extensive public engagement and industry consultations. In 2024, she co-authored, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Strategic Communication: Becoming Culturally Proficient Communicators, a textbook adopted by multiple undergraduate programs.

Dr. Lindsey is an active public scholar and frequently invited guest speaker on brand and reputation management, inclusive communications, women in communications, and values driven use of artifical intelligence. Her national visibility includes a TEDx talk (2015) and she was selected as a featured presenter at South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2020. She regularly contributes to the marketing and public relations profession as a conference speaker, podcast guest, and consultant to academic, nonprofit, and corporate audiences.

Prior to her appointment at Elon University, Dr. Lindsey served as a lecturer in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University. Her higher education administrative experience includes appointments as Associate Vice President for Retention and Career Development at Mississippi College and Assistant Director of the Center for Career and Professional Development at Texas Christian University. These postion further inform her student-centered and career-integrated pedagogy.

Dr. Lindsey brings extensive professional experience in corporate communications, marketing and public relations to her academic work. She previously served as Vice President in Edelman’s Higher Education practice, where she advised university presidents and senior leaders on media strategy, brand safety, thought leadership development, and reputation management. Her additional professional experience includes communications leadership roles with Northwestern Mutual, the Chicago Tribune, U.S. Bank, and Wisconsin Gas (now WE Energies), as well as consulting assignments with public and private univiersities, non-profits, and the U.S. Army and Department of Defense.

Dr. Lindsey is a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and a fellow of the Women in Leadership Development Institute (WLDI). Her service contributions extend to professional organizations and community engagement, including volunteer work with the Alzheimer’s Association, The American Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels, and Girl Scouts of the USA.