Tara L. Conley

Tara L. Conley is an Assistant Professor in the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University, part of the College of Communication & Information. Her work bridges media studies, feminist studies, Black studies, digital humanities, and science and technology studies. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Houston, an M.A. in Women's Studies from Texas Woman's University, and an Ed.D. in Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Her research focuses on interdisciplinary scholarship and multimedia production, including founding the Hashtag Feminism project to archive feminist discourse on social media. She produced the documentary Brackish about post-Katrina New Orleans and is currently working on DRY BONES, a film about Ike Maxwell, a legendary Black high school football player. Dr. Conley has been honored as the 2021-2022 Race and Technology Practitioner Fellow at Stanford University.

Her publications appear in journals like Feminist Media Studies and New Media & Society, and she serves on the editorial board of Women's Studies Quarterly. She teaches courses emphasizing social skill development for students with autism and engages in panel discussions on research inequalities. Her creative and academic work underscores intersectional approaches to media, technology, and social justice.