About
Back to TeamMichelle Hirschy is the Director of Wellness at La Jolla Country Day School, where she oversees a comprehensive PreK-12 wellness program and leads the development of integrative, preventive mental health initiatives for students ages 3 through 12th grade. With over 17 years of experience as a school counselor across three states, Michelle specializes in adolescent development and is committed to equipping students with the mindsets, skills, and resources they need to thrive.
About
Back to TeamMichele Johnsen is an award-winning media and communications expert who specializes in media literacy, public diplomacy, and the effects of digital communication on democracy and culture. She has been an invited media literacy lecturer and panelist at the United Nations Civil Society Conference, The Los Angeles International Visitors Leadership Program (a US State Department program), The California Youth Courts, the University of Irvine International Relations Forum, and at numerous schools, universities and organizational conferences.
A deeply reflective account of identity, tracing a decades-long.webp)
journey through race, gender, sexuality, and the complicated, often unfinished search for belonging.
In this book, author Ingrid Hu Dahl invites us into her innermost world, beginning not just with her childhood, but with her origin story.
When Michelle Hirschy and Dr. Nicholas Chan hosted me on their Growing Through It podcast, we kept returning to the same painful truth: parents and educators are worried, and for good reason. They are watching young people navigate a digital world that moves faster than adults can process and often faster than children can regulate.
Why Music Matters
Written by Catherine Morris
An Opening Essay | MediaEd Insights | Music Education Edition | March 2026
You, like most of us, can probably point to a moment in time when music made all the difference in the world to you. Those of us who attended the Media Education Lab’s collaborative webinar with the Swifties for Hope were reminded of the impact music can have through the study of fandom and its intersections with politics.
Making Space: The Evolving Mixtape in Romania
A Case Study | MediaEd Insights | Music Education Edition | March 2026
Written by Dr. David Gracon
Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls: An excerpt from "Sun Shining on Morning Snow"
Written by Ingrid Hu Dahl
A Book Excerpt | MediaEd Insights | Music Education Edition | March 2026
As I wrapped my final semester of graduate school and my two-year work contract, I had one thing left to do to
Spotify: Marketing "Mood" Over "Music"
Written by Joe Rubin
A Book Review | MediaEd Insights | Music Education Edition | March 2026
As a 3rd generation hobby musician in my family, I am extremely fortunate that my own kids accepted their pre-determined role as the 4th. Unfortunately, after fully embracing my instruments, taste and passion, the “pinch-me” euphoria of this outcome became tainted for me as they grew older.