The Office of Diversity Initiatives
About Dr. Detore-Nakamura, University Director, Office of Diversity Initiatives
Joanne Detore-Nakamura holds a B.S. in public relations and journalism from Syracuse University; an M.A. in English from the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York; and a Ph.D. in American literature and women’s studies from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Dr. Detore-Nakamura is also an assistant professor of humanities and communication in the Humanities and Social Sciences department, where she has taught a variety of literature, writing, and communication courses since 2002. At a previous institution, Detore-Nakamura spearheaded campus-wide diversity efforts while she was a tenured, full professor of communications and served as the chair of the Communication department for two years. She was the recipient of a prestigious research fellowship at Southern Illinois University, passed her preliminary exams with distinction -- the highest award -- and won the English department’s only research award for her outstanding research paper in a blind submission process.
Prior to her academic career, Detore-Nakamura was a director of public relations and fundraising for a non-profit organization in New York and an account executive for a technical public relations and advertising firm in Rhode Island.
Detore-Nakamura is currently finishing a scholarly book on women’s friendship and communication (under contract) and has a book of poems under consideration with another publisher. She has authored several book chapters and scholarly articles, has published poems in refereed creative journals, and has written more than a dozen columns for magazines and newspapers. She has been a presenter or chair at more than twenty regional, national, and international conferences in her field. She appears as an expert on Italian-American discrimination in "Anti-Italianism: Discrimination and Defamation in the History of Italian Americans," a 30-minute documentary, directed and produced by Paul Budline for the Charles and Joan Alberto Italian Studies Institute. The film features Joe Piscopo, other actors, writers, politicians, and scholars from across the country.
In addition to her scholarly work, she has facilitated diversity training sessions for academia and non-profit organizations. She earned two certificates in diversity training from the National Multicultural Institute in Washington, DC. in 2000 and 2001. She is an editorial board member and manuscript reviewer for the humanities division of Scientific Journals International. She is listed in several volumes of Who’s Who of American Education, Who’s Who of American Women, and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.
At Embry-Riddle, she has twice been nominated by the senior class for Outstanding Faculty Member; chosen to be inducted as a faculty member into the leadership honor society; Omicron Delta Kappa, and nominated for an Exceptional Service Award from the Chancellor’s Office. At her previous institution, she was a finalist for Distinguished Educator. She is a member of various honor societies including Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society and was the recipient of many scholarships including the Gannett Journalism Scholarship.
Dr. Detore-Nakamura is an active member of the Embry-Riddle and greater Daytona Beach communities. She continues to serve on a number of committees and to advise the award-winning "NASA Means Business" team, which won the grand prize award in 2007 in the national public relations campaign contest sponsored by the Texas Space Grant Consortium. She is a member of the Girl Scouts of the Citrus Council and volunteers at area schools. She holds membership in many professional associations including the Popular Culture Association, the American Italian Historical Association, and the Association for Research on Mothering, among others. Dr. Detore-Nakamura’s research interests include multicultural and women’s issues and literature, the working-class, 19th century and 20th century literature, motherhood, underrepresented groups in science and math, management theory, active learning theory, feminist pedagogy, and popular culture among others.
She and her husband, Eric Nakamura, have two young children, Emily and Luke Nakamura.
