Heather Starr Fiedler, Ph.D.

Chair of the Department of Community Engagement and Leadership
Professor of Multimedia
Director of Wood Street Communications

Contact Information

• Office: 210 Thayer Hall
• Phone: 412-392-3409
• Fax: 412-392-3917
• Email: hstarr@pointpark.edu

Education

• Ph.D., Educational Technology, Nova Southeastern University
• M.A., Organizational Communication, University of Albany
• B.A., Broadcast Journalism and Business, SUNY College at Buffalo

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Community Engagement
• City-University Life
• Seminar in Communities, Engagement & Leadership
• Community Engagement Practicum
• Social Media Practices
• Social Media Analytics & SEO
• Social Media Campaigns
• Typography
• Survey of Mass Communication
• Multimedia Capstone

Background

Heather Starr Fiedler, Ph.D., has a dual appointment in the School of Communication and the Department of Community Engagement and Leadership, which she chairs. 

For the Department of Community Engagement, she serves as the director of the Ph.D. in community engagement program as well as the first-year experience program. Her work focuses on university-community partnerships and helping serve basic needs for the community. 

In the School of Communication, she focuses on new and emerging media technology and social media. Additionally, she serves as the director of Wood Street Communications, the University's non-profit outreach program. 

Prior to coming to Point Park in 2000, she taught business and computer science at West Virginia Northern Community College, communications at Robert Morris University and was the director of training for Gateway Computers in Pittsburgh. She is the founder of the nonprofit Play it Forward Pittsburgh, which is the largest gently-used toy drive in the Pittsburgh region. 

She lives in Indiana Township with her husband Mike and two sons Matthew and Benjamin. 

Professional Affiliations

• Chair, Interactive Media and Emerging Technologies Division, Broadcast Education Association
• Board Chair, Play it Forward Pittsburgh

Selected Presentations

• "Where Can We Go? How Improving Restroom Facilities in Downtown Pittsburgh Will Create Positive Outcomes for Businesses, Tourism, and All Residents," 2022.

• “Social Impact: Connecting Classroom and Community through Wood Street Communications,” Engagement Scholarship Consortium Annual Conference, 2016.

• "A Social Lab’s Impact on Race, Equity and Social Injustice (poster),” National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, 2016.

Awards, Honors and Distinctions

• Credential: Community Engagement Fundamentals, Campus Compact's Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program, 2021
• Named Pennsylvania Mother of the Year by AmericanMothers.org, 2021
• Named one of 14 "Women in Media" by the Women & Girls Foundation, 2010
• Selected as one of Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40, 2009
• Communicator Awards - PittsburghMom.com, 2009

Point Park Features

• "Point Park University Study Examines How Safer, Cleaner Alleyways Could Positively Impact Quality of Life in Downtown Pittsburgh"
• "'Where Can We Go?' Public Restroom Study Provides Community Engagement Students with Hands-On Research Experience"
• "Department of Community Engagement & Leadership Welcome New Cohort with Symposium and a Service Project"
• "Faculty Highlight Distinctiveness of B.A. in Multimedia Program"
• "Poverty Simulation Event Makes an Impact on University Community"
• "Pioneer Pantry Serves Point Park Students in Need During the Holidays" 
• "New Food Pantry Serving Point Park Students"
• "Telling Stories and Changing Lives Theme of Fall 2015 High School Media Day" 
• "Point Park Offering Region's First Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Community Engagement Program" 
• "M.A. in Communication Technology Adds Social Media Concentration"
• "A Discussion on Digital Media with Heather Starr Fiedler"

In the News

• "Point Park Expands Thanksgiving Food Drive to Help Students Dealing with Food Insecurity," WPXI, Nov. 17, 2023.
• "Food Pantries Act as a Lifeline for College Students as State Works to Address Food Insecurity Crisis," Oct. 16, 2023.
• "Poppin' Tags Free Store in West Deer Stocked with Point Park Students' Discards," TribLIVE.com, June 1, 2023.
• "Making New Year's Resolutions: It's the Perfect Time for a Reset," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dec. 31, 2022.
• "Can Downtown Grow Without an Upgrade to Public Restrooms?," Pittsburgh Magazine, Sept. 16, 2022.
• "Tips on Sharing Back-to-School Photos on Social Media," WTAE-TV, Aug. 12, 2022.
• "Study Calls for Installing More Public Restrooms in Downtown Pittsburgh," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 6, 2022.
• "Point Park Creates Aeroponic Community Garden," WTAE-TV, March 4, 2021.
• "False Narratives Seeped in Through Multiple Channels to Fuel Violence at the Capitol," TribLIVE.com, Feb. 7, 2021.
• "She's Mother of the Year. Really.," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 7, 2021. 
• "Heather Starr Fiedler Named 2021 Pennsylvania Mother of the Year," AmericanMothers.org, Jan. 27, 2021.
• "Women & Business: Heather Starr Fiedler, Ph.D.," Pittsburgh Magazine, Oct. 19, 2020.
• "Point Park's Food Pantry Back Open to Help University Community in Need," WPXI-TV, July 8, 2020.
• "Point Park University Offering Volunteer Opportunities Through Campus," KDKA-TV, May 1, 2020.
• "Workers Face Challenges as They Work From Home," Washington Observer-Reporter, April 4, 2020.
• "Gun for Bill Peduto on Twitter, and He'll Fire Back - But Should He?", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 4, 2019.
• "Backlash Over Antwon Rose Posts Should Make Social Media Users Think Twice, Experts Say," TribLIVE.com, July 6, 2018.
• "It's No Game, Poverty Becomes Real in a Simulation at Point Park," PublicSource.com, Jan. 19, 2018.
• "Exploring the 132 Tweets that Pennsylvania Politicians Deleted in 2017," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dec. 26, 2017.
• "New Food Pantry Helps Point Park Students in Need," TribLIVE.com, Sept. 26, 2017.
• "West Deer Offers Corrective to Online Rumor Mill," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 30, 2016.
• "Point Park University's New Ph.D. in Community Engagement Program," Our Region's Business, Oct. 25, 2015.
• "Facebook to Directly Host News Content (starts at 23:09)," Essential Pittsburgh, May 14, 2015.
• "Point Park Students Go Beyond Just Building Resumes," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Nov. 3, 2014.
• "Point Park Student Agency to Help Nonprofits Connect," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 15, 2014.