BIOGRAPHY

Emmy-award-winning visual storyteller Tricia Ellen Connelly has touched the lives of thousands with her work producing a rich vein of public-media content, focusing primarily on education. Now researching and instructing at the University of Central Florida, she is helping elevate the next generation of content creators. When she was with PBS, Tricia met and worked with her late mentor, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Bersia. He ingrained into her the credo: “you don’t choose to fight human trafficking, it chooses you.” Tricia believes strongly that everyone can use their own skill sets to help fight against trafficking. As part of her master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies, Tricia worked with survivor Tina Kadolph, sociologist Dr. Hugh Potter, and cyber security expert Dr. Ted Reynolds to propose content-driven anti-human trafficking strategies. Their focus aimed at analyzing and improving existing media efforts related to trafficking. Their efforts also sought to engage a larger, more diverse audience. Tricia’s work in this crucial arena has only just begun and she is determined to continue making an impact through content creation and collaboration.