Each week Dr. Payne interviews some of the leading academics, experts, and practitioners in the realm of politics, public opinion, and global affairs. He is the Co-Director of the Emerson Blanquerna Center for Global Communication and received an “Honoris Causa” from the Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations, University of Ramon Llull in Barcelona. Dr. Payne has taught at Yale and Tufts University as well as Occidental College. He has also received his B.A, M.A. and Ph.D at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is the co-author of Tom Bradley: The Impossible Dream, Mayday: Kent State, the play Kent State: A Requiem, and has authored academic and popular articles and book chapters for publications worldwide. After writing the first dissertation on the shootings at Kent State at Illinois, he is a noted expert on the May 1970 tragedy and its aftermath. He directed three, global conferences on Celebrity/Spectacle on the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana, and has continued to highlight this issue in politics as well as the infatuation with the British Royal Family. He is on the Advisory board of the Journal of Health Communication, Tripidos, American Behavioral Scientist, Media Ethics, Journal of Promotion Management, among others. Dr. Payne has served as Editor for American Behavioral Scientist’s special edition on the U.S. presidential campaign for every election since l988. He is past President of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, past chair of the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association, Executive Advisory Board member of the Global Communication Project, and the Academic Director of the global Team Harmony Project dedicated to eradicating hate. Payne has directed numerous global public diplomacy projects for governments, corporations, NGOs and community groups. He is the co-founder of the Saudi American Exchange, the first grassroots, people-to-people public diplomacy effort in the wake of 9/11, honored at the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative and the Middle East Public Relations Association. Payne has served as speechwriter for Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Robert Dole, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, Queen Noor of Jordan, Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia, as well as numerous CEO’s and heads of organizations internationally. He has consulted with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Treasury, City of Boston, City of Los Angeles, National Republican Institute, National Institute of Health, Atomic Energy Commission and U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Bechtel, Fidelity Investments, Watson Pharmaceuticals, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Formula One, among others.Dr. Payne received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Public Service, the first University of Illinois’ Speech Communication Alumni Award, the NCA Humanitarian Award, honors from the US Treasury, UNICEF, Formula One Racing, Friends of the Majestic Theatre, and the President’s Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Business Disciplines. He received grants from the U.S. State Department and the National Republican Institute, among others. He is a Schweitzer Fellow in health communication.
Successful Campaign - Emerson College Poli Comm Major Trey Fuccillo: Building the Plane While Flying It
•Dr. Gregory Payne
Trey Fuccillo is an Emerson College junior studying Political Communication with minors in Pre-Law and Philosophy. He’s a lifelong resident of Marlborough, Massachusetts, and was recently elected their newest Ward 6 City Councilor. Prior to being elected, Trey worked at Marlborough City Hall and the Marlborough Community Development Authority. In 2022, he served as the Deputy Director of Campus Engagement on Governor Maura Healey’s gubernatorial campaign.
Chase Taylor is the Strategic Communications Director at VIVA Politics and a senior Political Communications Major at Emerson College. He has worked on over 30 campaigns as a speechwriter and communications staffer/director. But now, with Trey’s victory, he has successfully won his first campaign as the campaign manager.
Trey Fuccillo and Chase Taylor are two Political Communication students who just put years of campaign experience to the test. Meeting early in their time at Emerson, they became friends while working together on the Maura Healey for Governor campaign. They had often discussed the possibility of Trey running for office, but early in May, Trey made the decision to run for Ward 6 City Council in his hometown and hired Chase as his Campaign Manager. For the next six months, they ran a grassroots operation in Marlborough, Massachusetts – a city nestled between Boston and Worcester. Together, they achieved a decisive 68% to 32% victory on Election night. This win makes Trey one of the youngest electeds in Massachusetts.
