Stephen J. McConnell is a media/digital communication technology researcher and storyteller/writer.

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Stephen earned his Ph.D. in 2022 in Public Communication and Technology from Colorado State University after working in journalism where he was a newspaper reporter and in marketing where he was the founder of a digital marketing company. Since 2017, he has been a university instructor, including at New York University, Colorado State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of Colorado Denver.

Stephen brings an interdisciplinary approach to his research and writing — the detailed eye of a writer and former journalist, the heart and meaning-searching of the humanities, the innovativeness of an entrepreneur, and the care, rigor, and empathy of a social scientist. His current research explores human interactions with AI technologies, from social media feeds to ChatGPT, with a key area examining how we can flourish during exchanges with these powerful communication tools so we enhance our autonomy, agency, productivity, and well-being.

He is also researching and writing about a variety of environmental issues in the U.S., and developing creative works, including fiction, short stories, and poetry.

Highlights:

• University instructor/mentor

• Award-winning scholar and writer, with more than 2,000 publications in a variety of fields, including the social sciences, journalism, marketing, creative writing, and op-ed.

• Social scientist, with peer-review publications and a vigorous conference schedule

• Entrepreneur, who ran a successful digital marketing company and managed a team of content creators

• Public scholar, with new op-ed work published, as well as developing a pipeline of additional public work

• Interdisciplinary qualitative researcher and teacher

• Storyteller, with professional and teaching experience in multiple print and digital genres