National University of Singapore

ORCID: 0000-0001-9141-5970 

Dr. Cristian Badarinza is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, a Faculty Affiliate of the Institute of Real Estate Studies, and a Network Associate of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, London.

His research interests are in the areas of residential real estate, household finance and financial economics. Previously, he has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at Saïd Business School, a Research Assistant in the Monetary Policy Research Division of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main, and has obtained a PhD and an MSc in Economics from Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main.

He is part of the Oxford-Harvard-Sloan Initiative for International Comparative Household Finance. This research initiative connects academics from Europe and the US which seek to explore how household financial markets (such as mortgage, pension, and risky asset markets) are set up around the world, and whether there are international best practises that can be established.

Keynote Speech
Real estate sustainability: Taking stock or going with the flow?

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Suman Mishra (PhD, Temple University) is a professor and graduate program director in the Department of Mass Communications at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Mishra also holds faculty status in Women’s Studies and Graduate Studies. She is the core member of SIUE’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT} Campus Center. Mishra teaches courses in research methods, transnational media, media and health, media campaigns, media and society, international advertising, and media law and policy. She has been recognized with the Teaching Distinction Award and the Phenomenal Woman Award at SIUE. Mishra’s research focuses on social identities in multicultural markets, consumer culture, advertising and strategic communication, visual communication, globalization and transnational flows of media and information, religion and spirituality in the marketplace, and media representation of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, disability, and nationality. She has received several top paper awards at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and Central States Communication Association (CSCA). Mishra has a Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication from Temple University, Philadelphia and a M.A. in Advertising from Michigan State University, East Lansing

Keynote Speech
Media Industries and AI: The Changing Landscape of Business and Communication

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Dr. Sorin Nastasia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Communication Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the director of the International Studies degree program within the College of Arts and Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in Communication and Public Discourse at the University of North Dakota in 2010, an M.A. in Communication and Public Relations from the National University for Political Studies and Public Administration in Romania in 2003, an M.A. in International Relations from the Academy of Economic Studies in Romania in 1999, as well as an M.A. in American Cultural Studies in 1996 and a B.A. in Romanian and English Languages and Literatures in 1995 from the University of Bucharest in Romania. While at the University of North Dakota, he worked in public relations and graphic design for the Center for Community Engagement and the Housing Office, and in his native Romania he was an international relations counselor for the Ministry of Culture and a public relations counselor for the Ministry of Education.

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Dr. Nastasia teaches undergraduate courses including Public Relations Campaigns, Public Relations Case Studies, Public Relations Visual Communication, International Public Relations, Technology Applications in Public Relations, Introduction to Public Relations, Persuasion and Social Influence, Communication Theories, Interpersonal Communication Skills, and Public Speaking, as well as graduate courses including Seminar in Public Relations and Seminar in Intercultural Communication. Dr. Nastasia has so far organized two study abroad courses giving students opportunities to learn first-hand in international settings, one to France and Romania in summer 2012, and one to Germany and Hungary in summer 2014.

Dr. Nastasia is a critical-cultural scholar seeking to understand international public relations practices and international crisis communication cases as well as of media and public portrayals of underprivileged and disadvantaged populations. For his research, Dr. Nastasia has won four Top Paper Awards at annual conferences of the National Communication Association. Dr. Nastasia has published research in the edited volumes Case Studies in Crisis Communication: International Perspectives on Hits and Misses at Routledge, Communication and PR from a Cross-Cultural Standpoint at Peter Lang, The Walk of Shame at Nova Publishing, and The Palgrave International Handbook on Women and Journalism at Palgrave McMillan. His work also appeared in the PR News Media Training Guidebook, the Sage Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics, and the journals TelevIZIon and The Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations.

He is working on a co-authored book on children’s perceptions of the Japan 2011 disasters. Dr. Nastasia currently serves at department level as Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Technology and website editor, and as a faculty advisor for the PRSSA chapter at SIUE, and at university level he is the president-elect of the Faculty Senate.

Keynote Speech
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practices for 21st Century Businesses