The Kinder Institute for Urban Research (KIUR) is an interdisciplinary research organization at Rice University in Houston. The institute focuses on the intersecting issues of housing, education, economic mobility, health and population research. Research initiatives are housed under the five research centers of the Houston Education Research Consortium, the Houston Population Research Center, the Center for Community and Public Health, the Center for Economic Mobility, and the Center for Housing and Neighborhoods.
The center directors as well as the subject matter experts in each field are occasionally responsible for sharing key messages on behalf of KIUR with the public and media.
The client engaged Elmore to provide customized media training for the center directors and other researchers in the centers to build and/or refresh spokesperson skills, remind all spokespersons of the institute’s key messages, and relay best practices in representing the institute.
The purpose of these sessions was for participants to improve their media interview and public speaking skills through Elmore’s proven training method of interactive, on-camera practice and feedback, and to articulate the purpose and goals of their center in alignment with the key messages of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Elmore conducted two separate, four-hour sessions of media training on one day in February 2025. Participants in the first session were three directors of the KIUR’s Houston Education Research Consortium, Center for Community and Public Health, and Houston Population Research Center. Participants in the second session were researchers in the KIUR’s Houston Population Research Center, and Houston Education Research Consortium.
In April 2025, in advance of the Institute’s high-profile annual meeting, Elmore conducted a one-and-a-half hour refresher training on public speaking for Ruth Lopez Turley, the director of the KIUR. This session included practice speaking scenarios crafted specifically for her.
A two-hour media training and public speaking session was held in June 2025 for the assistant director and a researcher in KIUR’s Center for Housing and Neighborhoods.
Elmore received very positive feedback from participants in each session and from the communications department professionals who engaged our services. The request to schedule the June session was a testament to the success of the original February session, and at the conclusion of the June session our contact stated, “Now we need to find another opportunity to bring you back!
Even experienced spokespeople in the participant groups acknowledged learning helpful skills and the benefit of continued practice to sharpen their interview and speaking skills.
