Media Relations and Communication
As one of the nation's largest, most dynamic universities, it's no surprise that the great work we do at FIU is making headlines. Our Media Relations and Communication team is central to ensuring that we convey the right message, serving as the liaison between the university and news media and helping the members of our university community tell the FIU story.
Whether you're a journalist looking to get in touch with an FIU area expert or a faculty member seeking to promote cutting-edge work, Media Relations and Communication can help.
Maydel Santana '91, MSM '16
AVP of Media Relations and Communication
Email: santanam@fiu.edu
Tel: 305-348-1555
Twitter: @maydel
I have worked in and with South Florida media for the better part of the last three decades. I began my career at The Miami Herald in the afternoon of the first day of my freshman year at FIU. I majored in journalism and worked on the student newspaper, while working at The Herald part time, first as an assistant for the social column, then as a weekend assistant on the news desk and later as a junior features writer.
After graduation from FIU, I went to work at el Nuevo Herald, The Miami Herald’s Spanish language sister paper. I worked as a general assignment reporter, covered education and immigration. Among the most memorable stories I covered were the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Cuban rafter crisis of 1994.
In 1995 I returned to FIU to join the media relations team as the assistant director, where I have been part of FIU’s spectacular transformation into a research institution and one of the largest universities in the country. In my media relations capacity, I lead a bilingual, award-winning team that helps tell the FIU story to local, regional, national and international media and manages crisis communication for our 54,000 student institution.
Recently I went back to the classroom to earn a graduate degree in marketing.
Madeline Baró MPA '11
Senior Director of Media Relations
Email: mbaro@fiu.edu
Tel: 305-348-2234
I am a communications professional with two decades of experience in journalism and media relations. I currently serve as Director of Media Relations for FIU. In that role, I supervise the team that writes and disseminates news about the university to national and international media outlets, as well as assists media looking to cover news about FIU or include FIU experts in their coverage. Prior to joining FIU, I worked for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, covering the Cuban-American community and other immigrant communities in Miami. Before that I worked for the Associated Press in Texas, including two years as the correspondent in Harlingen, on the U.S.-Mexico border. My other journalism experience includes working for the Miami Herald’s online edition, writing breaking news for the website and technology articles for the Living section. I am a native of Hialeah, Florida and hold a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Latin American Studies from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in public administration from FIU.
Ana Valdes MBA '17
Director of Communications
Email: anvalde@fiu.edu
Tel: 305-348-5408
As a bilingual communications professional with more than two decades of experience in journalism, communications and speechwriting, I now serve as Director of Communications for FIU. In that capacity, I am the university president’s speechwriter, and manage internal communications for the university. Prior to joining FIU in 2019, I worked at Miami Dade College as Director of Internal Communications and Community Engagement and the Florida Department of Children and Families as Director of Communications for the Southern Region. For 10 years, I worked as a newspaper reporter at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, helping the company launch its first and only Spanish-language weekly newspaper and later covering politics, transportation, social services and breaking news for the English-language daily newspaper. A native Miamian, I hold a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in business administration from FIU.
Dianne Fernandez '94
Director of Broadcast Media
Email: dfernand37@fiu.edu
Tel: 305-608-4870
I am an Emmy-nominated, veteran broadcast journalist who spent 17 years covering some of the nation’s biggest stories. Most recently, I was the political reporter for WSVN-Channel 7 covering a historic recall election that garnered national attention and the turmoil within the City of Miami Police Department. It was the culmination of a 10-year career at 7News spent cultivating sources and earning the trust of a community. Using the skills honed on the scenes of some of this country’s biggest news stories, I became FIU’s Broadcast Specialist in 2011. It is my job to get FIU on the nation’s airwaves.
Angela Nicoletti MS '19
Science and Research Communicator
Email: anicolet@fiu.edu
Tel: 305-348-0272
I am an award-winning storyteller with over a decade of experience working in communications, media relations and speechwriting. As FIU’s science communicator, I get the chance to do what I’ve done since I was a child — be curious (about everything!)
Every day, I get to dive deep into FIU’s amazing research and innovation, so I can break it all down and tell everyone about why it matters. These stories are shared through a variety of different platforms — from FIU News to press releases for influential news media — to help promote FIU as a top, public research university committed to excellence in research. Additionally, I work with our researchers to communicate about their own work through opportunities like The Conversation and Academic Minute.
Previously, I’ve worked in different capacities at FIU. Initially, I handled higher level communications for senior leadership and administration, as well as media relations projects on university initiatives. Then, I accepted a position as a communications manager, helping identify story opportunities and media placement efforts for strategic research areas in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. I also worked at Broward College, where I assisted media efforts and staffed the 2014 Florida Gubernatorial Debate, where more than 200 national, state and local reporters were in attendance.
I hold a bachelor’s degree in English from Florida Atlantic University and a master’s degree in Global Strategic Communications from FIU.