Shontavia Johnson

Women are often underrepresented as experts in the media and in industry, even though they have developed deep expertise. Shontavia has cultivated her years of experience and become a highly-regarded expert in the male-dominated fields of intellectual property law, tech, and internet culture. She will share thoughts and strategies on how women can build a personal brand around their expertise, how to create a business based on that expertise, and how to become a known expert who has editors and journalists constantly knocking at your door (or in your inbox!).

We tend to think of memes as funny images, gifs or videos, with the popular ones dominating our social media feeds. But, memes go deeper that this. Memes are scientific units of cultural information that impact our collective humanity. And, they are using our brains and the internet to spread themselves as widely as possible. Shontavia will provide a background on the science of memetics, an explanation about how we interact with, and can be controlled by, memes on a regular basis, and observations on how memes are using us to drive human culture. She will also suggest strategies for recognizing when memes are influencing human behavior and what, if anything, can be done about it.   

There has been a seismic shift in the way brands and companies view content. We are in the midst of a content renaissance–blogs, vlogs, podcasts and images are capturing the attention of nearly everyone with a laptop or cell phone. The people creating this content must be savvy when it comes to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and publicity rights–commonly collectively referred to as intellectual property rights. Shontavia will explain what each of these types of intellectual property protect and how content creators can develop strategies to protect the work they are creating for themselves and others. 

Law is America’s least diverse profession. According to the American Bar Association, 85 percent of all lawyers in America are white, and 65 percent are men. And lawyer demographics have not changed much in at least a decade. While the profession has made some efforts toward increasing diversity and embracing inclusion, its membership does not yet reflect the increasingly global and diverse clientele that it serves. As a result, the percentage of women of color practicing law in every sector remains disproportionately small and undeniably stunted.

Nowhere is this more apparent than within the field of intellectual property. Women of color, in particular, are significantly underrepresented in a practice area where population growth and globalization are making diverse legal representation increasingly important, if not critical, for business success. Shontavia will share current data on the practice’s demographics, why it is important to diversify the field, and strategies to bring more women of color to the table.

Shontavia has spent a significant portion of her career in higher education and is comfortable speaking to all levels of students and faculty, from K-12 through the college/university level. Shontavia has spoken at schools around the United States and in places like England, France, China, and Haiti.

For Student
Connecting with Students has changed incredibly over time – between cell phones, short attention spans, and access to the world via the internet, it takes a specially cultivated conversation to connect with young people on a meaningful level. It also requires working knowledge of social media, Fortnite, and new technology. Shontavia can help students see not just how these things connect with them to their immediate circles, but also the world.

Topics with a student focus include:

• Social Media Literacy
• Entrepreneurship for All Ages
• Paying for College
• Finding Your Passion

For Faculty
Shontavia has held academic roles at all levels: including fellowships, assistant/associate/full professor, named chair, and university-level administration. As a scholar and teacher, she has particular expertise in connecting academic scholarship to public outlets.

Topics with a faculty focus include:

• Publicizing Your Research
• Navigating the Tenure and Promotion Process
• Bouncing Back from Missteps in Academia
• Telling Your Story
• How to Get the Most out of a Scholarly Agenda
• Being a Person of Color in the Academy