Student Symposium on Clear Communication

VIRTUAL MEETING
October 30, 2025
10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

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Julie Bradford - Keynote Speaker

Julie Bradford, MA, is the Associate Director of Patient Education at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she brings over 28 years of experience in the healthcare industry and two decades in leadership. A passionate advocate for health literacy, Julie leads institutional and center-specific programs that empower patients through clear, accessible education. Her work includes developing patient content in print and digital formats, refining health literacy and numeracy standards, and implementing style guidelines that enhance patient understanding across the institution.

Julie holds a B.S. in Journalism from Texas A&M University and an M.A. in Health Education from Sam Houston State University. Her career spans public relations, communications, and marketing in community hospital settings, as well as community health outreach —giving her a well-rounded perspective on patient engagement.

Beyond her role at MD Anderson, Julie is a dedicated leader in the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Southwest Chapter. Since 2022, she has served in many roles including Social Media Coordinator, Program Chair and President-Elect. She is currently serving her second term as President. Drawing from her leadership journey, she actively encourages others to explore chapter roles and will share insights on how local involvement can foster professional growth and community impact.

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What is the purpose of the event? 

The purpose of the Student Symposium on Clear Communication (SSCC) is to offer you, the student, an opportunity to share your work related to clear communication as it applies to your disciplines. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student, you can showcase your research and creative activities related to clear communication and improve your presentation skills for academic and career success. Only competitively selected projects will appear in the symposium. The symposium is organized and sponsored by the Institute of Plain English Research and Study (IPERS) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at UHD.

What is clear communication?

Clear communication is defined as communication that is understood on the first reading by the general public.
Effective Communicators:

• adapt communication to the needs of a specific audience to achieve different strategic goals,
• create readable, accurate, usable, and accessible products,
• use various concepts and theories of clear communication to maximize understanding, and
• clearly present results of research and creative projects that report findings on the efficacy of clear communication strategies.

Who can participate?

Individual students or a team of students from any discipline can present their research and creative works during the symposium. The symposium is open to both UHD students and those from other colleges and universities.

Information for Student Presenters

Information for conference paper submissions, deadlines, and preliminary schedule.

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Acknowledgments: The symposium is organized and sponsored by the Institute of Plain English Research and Study (IPERS) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Houston-Downtown.

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Symposium Chairs:

Dr. Ashleigh Petts, Assistant Professor, Technical Communication, Department of English
Dr. John Rountree, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, Department of Arts and Communication
Dr. Natalia Matveeva, Professor, Communication Studies, Department of Arts and Communication

Sponsors and Contributors:

This program is made possible by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute for Plain English Research and Study at UHD. ;