Jonathan Berrang is the 2024-2025 Presidential Engagement Fellow in the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement. He graduated from James Madison University in 2023 with a B.A. in Media Arts and Design, and a minor in Educational Media. As a student, he was an active member of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, where he served as the Graphic Design chair. Jonathan has an extensive skill set, particularly in visual design, web design, and other media and communications-related work. When deciding on possible career paths, Jonathan knew he wanted to be able to apply his skills in a way that could help improve communities and make a positive impact. He was very excited when he found the opportunity to serve as the Engagement Fellow for the Madison Center, and is thrilled to be a part of promoting the center’s and university’s mission. 

Position Overview

The Madison Center is an academic, non-partisan center whose mission centers on strengthening our democracy for the common good. We advance civic learning and democratic engagement through knowledge, skills, and values that emphasize active participation in political and civic life. Throughout the year, the Madison Center leads a wide variety of initiatives including numerous university-wide events, a year-round voter education and registration initiative, administering the Governor’s Fellows Program, which places students in positions in the Governor’s Office and in various agencies throughout the administration, Traveling Town Halls that connect political candidates with student leaders, a wide variety of civic learning programming, including our new Civic Leadership minor and NextGen Service Program. The center also hosts two popular podcasts: Democracy Matters and the student-run Dukes Vote podcast. 

The Madison Center Engagement Fellow will serve as the leader of the Center’s communication efforts. The Fellow will lead a team of undergraduate students in developing and executing a comprehensive strategy that shares the compelling story of the Madison Center. This includes creating engaging promotional materials for events (flyers, posters, etc.), managing the Center’s social media efforts, creating and editing videos, audio for podcasts, websites, coordinating with internal and external partners to promote our efforts, and developing new, innovative ways to share our work.