Expertise
Laurie Trotta Valenti, PhD, is sole proprietor of Strategic Media & Communications. Her career has centered around education, media and the arts. For years she was spokesperson for elite universities, including Yale University, University of Southern California and Arizona State. Her articles on media, social issues in media and the arts have appeared in publications internationally. Laurie has also worked extensively with the entertainment industry to help inform writers, producers, directors, executives, actors, casting agents and other members of the creative community of the very real influence their work has on viewers.
Dr. Valenti's special interest lies in media education and helping schools integrate technology in meaningful ways that prepare students for digital citizenship throughout their lives. LTV Communications provides a range of services, including media education and program development for educators, public relations counseling, research and evaluation of projects, grant-writing and donor relations.
As a researcher, Dr. Valenti earned her degree in educational technology, where she was able to apply her ideas on eduction and media to curricula she designed. Her doctoral thesis examined the impact of media education on college students enrolled in film and media production programs. Her work also looked at the practical usage of media in the classroom. Findings reveal that technology for technology sake is not the answer. Technology is a tool to be used judiciously, but not in replacement of a teacher-guide.
Laurie was volume editor of the seminal textbook More Than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment (Westview Publications), written by her partner-husband, F. Miguel Valenti. The precepts set forth in More Than a Movie became the foundation for the first film production program in the nation incorporating media literacy and principles of ethics for filmmakers. That program, founded by Miguel Valenti in 2004 at Arizona State University, is now home to more than 500 students each year.
