Alumni Award Profile: Heidi Hennink-Kaminski

Congratulations to Heidi Hennink-Kaminski (Ph.D. ’06), the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Hennink-Kaminski’s research focuses on interdisciplinary health communication, emphasizing social marketing strategies to promote healthy behaviors at both individual and community levels. Her research has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, among others. Before joining Michigan State University in 2024, Hennink-Kaminski was an 18-year faculty member at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was the Hugh Morton Distinguished Professor.

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hennink-Kaminski.

WHAT EXPERIENCE AT GRADY COLLEGE DID THE MOST TO PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR CAREER?

I received top-notch research training in the doctoral program, but it’s Grady’s culture of encouragement and support that has had the most profound influence on my career as a scholar and leader. The academy typically celebrates and rewards faculty for their individual expertise and reputation. This can lead to “me-ness”, not “we-ness”.  At Grady, however, I experienced firsthand the uplifting energy of a collaborative, supportive culture – among the faculty, among the graduate students and in the engagement between faculty and graduate students. True excellence includes what one does as well as how one does it — excellence does not require cutthroat competition. That philosophy, modeled in Grady College, continues to inform my daily professional and personal life.

HOW HAS MENTORSHIP HELPED YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER?

I’ve been blessed with amazing mentors throughout my professional and academic career, including Karen King and Len Reid here at Grady College.  Mentors have expanded my network, opening doors to new opportunities. In times of transition and challenge, mentors have provided support, advice and motivation to keep me moving forward.  But perhaps most helpful to me is the valuable perspective my mentors provided about my strengths and weaknesses, helping me to see my potential and my blind spots and build confidence in my abilities. It’s truly the gift that keeps giving as I also mentor and invest in others.

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS COMMUNICATORS SHOULD MASTER?

Excellent communication is about more than technical expertise. The best communicators know to first listen with empathy. The better you understand your audience and the circumstances around them, the more engaging and impactful you will be. This approach takes time, but it centers people and is well worth the effort.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?

I’m a lifelong learner at heart. The opportunity to learn something new or to hear someone’s story can be exhilarating.  It’s one of the best perks of an academic career.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR 20-YEAR-OLD SELF? 

Enjoy the now – don’t worry so much about finding the one right career or making the one right decision. You learn by trying, not chasing the illusion of certainty or perfection. And have fun!

The 2025 Alumni Award recipients will be recognized along with the 2025 Fellowship Inductees during the annual Grady Salutes event. This year’s Grady Salutes will be a luncheon on Friday, April 25. Details about sponsorship information and reservations can be found on our Grady Salutes registration page.

Editor: Lauren A. Pike, lauren.pike@uga.edu