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University of Wisconsin–Madison

Ethics Center Staff

Headshot for Kathleen Bartzen Culver

Kathleen Bartzen Culver

Director

Kathleen Culver joined the School of Journalism & Mass Communication in 1999 to help launch an innovative converged curriculum to prepare students for a changing media landscape. When Culver was advised early on that she was “preparing students for jobs that may not even exist yet,” she scarcely had a clue how quickly and massively the ground would shift. Read more.

Headshot, Lindsay Palmer

Lindsay Palmer

Affiliate Faculty

Lindsay Palmer is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison. She studies global media ethics from a qualitative perspective, especially focusing on the cultural labor of conflict correspondents in the digital age. Read more.

Headshot, Krista Eastman

Krista Eastman

Administrator & Communications Specialist

Krista Eastman is a writer and editor with expertise in university communications and external relations. As the administrator of the Center for Journalism Ethics, she assists with strategy, communication, event planning, and special projects.

2023-24 FELLOWS

Our student fellowship program welcomes exceptional UW–Madison students with a strong interest in creating a more ethical future for media. Over the course of one or two semesters, fellows work under the mentorship of our director, advisory board and administrator, to produce original reporting on the critical ethical issues of our time and to contribute to the life of the Center.

Headshot of JD Duncan

JD Duncan

JD Duncan (they/ he) is a research master’s student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison who focuses on gender, sexuality, and the far right. They study both the framing of these issues within these spaces and discourses, as well as its effects on individuals’ lived experiences. JD has a BA magna cum laude in Television and Radio, and minors in Political Science and Sociology from Brooklyn College. They have also been a teaching assistant for multiple journalism courses, including Journalism and Strategic Communication, Radio Production and Audio Storytelling, including podcasting.

Jane Houseal

Jane Houseal is a senior at UW-Madison pursuing a degree in journalism with certificates in Gender and Women’s Studies and Digital Studies. Jane has covered a variety of topics on and off campus including local politics, campus culture and arts. She is currently the Outreach Coordinator for Sex Out Loud, UW-Madison’s peer-to-peer sexual health resource. Previously, she was a reporting intern at Isthmus and an Editorial Intern at Spotify. She also served as an editor for Moda Magazine. She is passionate about reporting on the LGBTQIA+ community, politics and health. 

Hannah Ritvo

Hannah Ritvo is a senior at UW-Madison studying reporting, environmental studies and strategic communications. She is currently interning with PBS Wisconsin and previously interned for the Isthmus. She was the arts editor of the Daily Cardinal in 2022, and continues to write for their state news and arts sections. Hannah is passionate about photography and reporting on the LGBTQ+ community, the environment and politics, and plans on pursuing a career as an investigative journalist. 

Sophia Vento

Sophia Vento is a senior at UW–Madison studying reporting, strategic communications, Spanish, political economy, philosophy and politics. Sophia previously served as the Editor-In-Chief of The Daily Cardinal and the Sharon Stark Investigative Intern for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Her reporting interests include K-12 and higher education, development, media, and politics.

Estelle Xiao

Estelle Xiao is a senior at UW-Madison pursuing honors degrees in journalism and international studies, as well as certificates in education studies and digital media analysis. Estelle previously served as president of the UW-Madison chapter of the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association from 2021 to 2023. She organized a number of traditional Asian festival celebration events in order to increase cultural diversity on campus. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in intercultural communications with a focus on how new media platforms and technologies cover and shape international public affairs.

FORMER FELLOWS