Jesus M. Rivera (he/him) is a Teaching Faculty III in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, teaching strategic communication courses. He brings a decade of professional communications experience – spanning internal communications, crisis and issues management and public relations – directly into the classroom.
Most recently, Rivera served as Internal Communications Manager for the Wisconsin School of Business at UW–Madison, where he advised senior leadership on communication strategy for high-profile initiatives, directed the launch of the school’s intranet platform, WSB Commons, and led internal content strategy across newsletters, intranet content and all-school meetings.
Rivera has taught communication and marketing courses at institutions across Wisconsin since 2020, including UW-Madison, UW-Parkside, UW-Milwaukee, Cardinal Stritch University and Edgewood University, covering topics such as public speaking, social media marketing, interpersonal communication, media writing, and intercultural communication.
Prior to his work in internal communications, Rivera spent several years in public relations and crisis communications, including as deputy spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department, where he supported media relations and executive messaging during high-profile incidents. He also worked as a communications contractor and associate for public safety and private-sector clients.
Rivera holds a B.A. and M.A. in Communication from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.