Staff Biographies

DC Vito (Executive Director) is the Chair of the Youth Services and Education committee of Brooklyn’s 6th Community Board. He has served as chair of the committee for two years, and a total of four years on the Board. He has been an active community organizer for well over a decade, managing and working on over 20 political and issue-oriented campaigns ranging from the local city council to national presidential races. He also served on the 6th Neighborhood Advisory Board of New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development. For the past eight years, he has worked professionally as a cartographer, running the mapping department of Con Edison Communications.

Dr. Katherine G. Fry (Education Director) is an associate professor of media studies and Deputy Chair for Graduate Studies in the Department of Television and Radio at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She earned her Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication from Temple University in 1994, and brings to The LAMP 15 years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in media history, criticism, theory, research methods, law and regulation, and media ethics. She has an extensive background in curriculum development. In addition to her teaching, Dr. Fry’s publications include the following books: Constructing the Heartland: Television News and Natural Disaster (2003, Hampton Press); and Identities in Context: Media, Myth, Religion in Space and Time (2008, Hampton Press). She has also published articles and contributed to books about communication technology and psychological well-being, television news, advertising and popular culture, radio, and German television. Her current research is in the history of news and in the future of news from the audience perspective. Fry is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Communication Association, and holds memberships with, and regularly presents on panels for, the International Communication Association, the Media Ecology Association and the Eastern Communication Association.

Ellen Uzonwanne (Program & Operations Manager) works closely with the LAMP’s leadership team, as well as supports the process for executing the strategic agenda. Prior to joining the LAMP, Ellen was a volunteer for Councilmember Bill de Blasio (Democrat: Brooklyn). Ellen is a 2007 Business Management graduate of Brooklyn College, and has professional work experience as both a senior paralegal and in government relations.

Emily Long (Communications Director) is also the Literary Director for Electric Pear Productions, overseeing their creative development and playwright workshops. She earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia University in 2006. While at Columbia, she edited and catalogued hundreds of interviews and transcripts for the Oral History Research Office, focusing primarily on their 9/11 Project. The LAMP is pleased to have Ms. Long on board as Communications Director, offering her extensive experience with numerous media through her work with Columbia’s Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Atlantic Theater Company, Sesame Workshop and Cine Mosaic to name a few.