Director of Communications

english7 [at] mit.edu (617) 253-1965

Michelle English is director of communications for the Center for International Studies. In this capacity, she oversees both MISTI and CIS communications and public events, including the MIT Starr Forum. Prior to joining CIS, she worked at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as its public communications officer. In this capacity she led national press conferences with the NIH/NHGRI, managed media outreach, branding, and launched public outreach initiatives, including the Midsummer Nights’ Science lecture series. She also worked in publishing at Natural Standard, an international research collaboration that systematically reviews scientific evidence on complementary and alternative medicine. Launched by clinicians at MGH, the first clients included the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Kaiser Permanente. During her time at Natural Standard as its research coordinator, she was appointed adjunct professor at Northeastern University for teaching and training pharmacy students during their clinical rotations at the company. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science, along with additional coursework in graphic design at MassArt, web design at the Boston Architectural Center, and graduate level studies in health communications through a joint program at Emerson and Tufts Medical School. She has been a longtime member of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW). While at the Broad, she received a CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) award that honors outstanding people who contribute to educational advancement. At CIS, she received an Infinite Mile Award from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences for the development of MIT Generation Global, a fellowship program that connects MIT students with local high schools to design solutions for the world’s most pressing issues.