About Us

We are a group of educators and scholars passionate about the practice of media literacy education.

Since 2021, our work has combined years of experience within the media literacy practice and teaching with that of scholarship from the social science and humanities fields. We prioritize an integrative and collaborative process as key to our mission, and seek to bring together practitioners and scholars within the many subdomains of media literacy to build key learning targets and goals assisting educators and administrators with the implementing of media literacy education.

Our work is driven by the passage of Illinois Public Act 102-0055, which requires media literacy education for 9th-12th graders and 3rd-8th graders in Illinois.

Organizational Partners

Members

Join our coalition by filling out this short form – ILMLC Free Membership Form

Executive Committee

Yonty Friesem, Ph.D. Co-Founder

Yonty Friesem is director of the Media Education Lab and Associate Professor of civic media at Columbia College Chicago, where he founded two MA programs in Strategic Communication and Civic Media. Yonty’s work and research in civic media focus on the opportunities to improve social and emotional skills of students in formal and informal settings using media production as civic engagement. Apart from being an award-winning film producer, Yonty offers professional development for educators who want to drive social change in their community with their students using the power of digital media. Yonty’s publications in academic and professional journals include theory of empathic dialogs via media they call digital empathy, evaluation of various civic media programs, and explorations of implementing digital and media literacy in schools. Yonty received their Ph.D. in Education from the University of Rhode Island and MA in Leadership and Policy in Education from Tel-Aviv University.

Contact: yfriesem@colum.edu

Anna Kozlowska-Barrios, PhD, MLIS, MA

Director of Research & Academic Affairs

As an Associate Professor, Reference and Liaison Librarian, Honors College Instructor, and Fellow at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Anna has published articles and presented on media and information literacy (MIL) and is active on many national and international committees. In 2023, she was elected the Representative for North America and Europe for the International Steering Committee of the UNESCO MIL Alliance. She holds a doctorate in Education Policy, Organization & Leadership with a concentration in Global Studies in Education. Her research explores how the MIL curriculum can encourage participatory politics and informed civic engagement among college students with immigrant backgrounds. She is a recipient of four UIC teaching awards: Honoring Our Professors Excellence (2023), Enchanting Educator (2024), Honors College Instructor of the Year (2024), and Teaching Recognition Program (2025). For more information about Anna’s research interests, the courses she teaches, and MIL activism, please visit https://uicollaboratory.uic.edu/4767-anna-kozlowskabarrios.

Contact: akozlows@uic.edu

Michael A. Spikes, Ph.D. Co-Founder

Michael A. Spikes is a lecturer and director of the Teach for Chicago Journalism program at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. He has held previous roles with the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University where he developed curriculum and training in news literacy as the director of its Digital Resource Center and News Literacy & Civic Learning Project. Michael has also held positions as a Media Studies and Production teacher in both public and public charter schools in Washington DC; as a member of the Newseum’s educational advisory team; and as a media producer and editor for numerous organizations including NPR, the PBS NewsHour, and the Kellogg School of Management.

He has published in outlets including Nature, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Information and Learning Sciences. His expertise has been cited in publications including Reuters, NPR, and the Los Angeles Times.

Contact: michael@michaelspikes.com

Jami Rhue, ABD & MAT

Director of PK-12 School & Community Partnerships

Jami Rhue is a longtime scholar and practitioner of elementary and media literacy education, librarianship, plus tactile teaching and learning within Chicagoland school communities. From Wicker Park to Roseland and Canada to the U.S. Virgin Islands, she became a media artist of mass communication and theatre from Chicago State University and then a certified K-9 educator from National Louis University. Along the way, she professionally developed into a master in the art of teaching and in 2025, was recognized by AISLE as being a “Front Page” School Librarian and in 2024 as an All4Ed Future Ready Librarian.

In addition to leading her school’s Related Arts department, Jami also collaborates with all team members regularly, plus coordinates and hosts schoolwide programming such Parent Enrichment, Career Day, and Summer Reading.

As an advocate of all things literacy, Jami also leads an organization called YURWI (Youth. Urban. Reading & Writing Initiative) which provides multimodal workshops and resources for children, parents, and educators.

Currently, Ms. Rhue is a Doctoral candidate of Educational Leadership at Chicago State University. Her research focuses on MLE state policy and school leadership.

Contact: director@yurwi.us