Abbie Hodgson

Abbie Hodgson is a visiting assistant professor of Communications and Media Management at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. She holds a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas, where she previously taught classes in public speaking, rhetoric, persuasion, political communication, and leadership for over a decade. Hodgson’s academic research and writing focused extensively on the transformative role of women in politics, which align with her professional experience as a political strategist and nonprofit leader. As a communications practitioner, Hodgson has worked on more than 100 political campaigns, from the top of the ticket, including Hillary Clinton for president, down to local town boards. Notable, she also served as speechwriter for Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who went on to serve as President Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Most recently she served as the inaugural director of The Ascend Fund, a collaborative fund dedicated to accelerating the pace of change towards gender parity in U.S. politics. She strategically raised and invested over $12 million in organizations championing women’s political leadership and initiated a pivotal pilot program to increase female representation in state legislatures.

• Strategic political communication
• Campaign messaging and media management
• Speechwriting and executive communication
• Gender equity in politics and public policy
• Nonprofit and philanthropic leadership
• Leadership communication in public affairs
• Communication pedagogy and public speaking

• Gender and political communication
• Rhetoric and persuasion in U.S. politics
• Women’s leadership and representation in government
• Public address and political speechwriting
• Media framing and political identity
• Transformational leadership and communication

• Visiting Assistant Professor, Fordham Gabelli School of Business
• Director, The Ascend Fund

• PhD, Communication Studies, The University of Kansas, MO
• MA, Communication Studies, The University of Kansas, MO
• BA, Political Science, The University of Kansas, MO

• Assistant Professor of Communications and Media Management, Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business