Linda Peek Schacht

interim chair, Org and Pol Comm, Emerson

Professor Peek Schacht knows the world and its workings quite well. She has had a distinguished career in both political and corporate communication and has influenced and experienced Washington and big business from the top-most levels. In 1979, she was national press secretary and communications director for President Jimmy Carter's re-election committee. In the 1980s, she was director of communications for the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee. She later had a 12-year tenure as VP for communications and public affairs strategy for the Coca-Cola Company. Professor Peek Schacht brings this uniquely keen view to shaping the undergraduate program curriculum as well as her Leadership class. "There has been such a renewed interest in social advocacy and political leadership among this generation," she says. "Our program turns their wonderful idealism into a profession that can impact lives."