Guidelines, Media Contacts and More
The UCF Media Relations office can assist the media with news stories, requests for faculty experts and more. As part of our mission, we are committed to honestly representing the university in all areas in accordance with UCF’s values of integrity, scholarship, community, creativity and excellence.
For most topics, the best contacts for the media are below. If you are a member of the media, you can receive news releases from our office. Email Zoemar Silva at [email protected] to join our media list. Please provide your media affiliation and any specific beats or reporting interests.
UCF Communications / Most University Topics
Margot Winick
Director of Media Relations
Office: 407-823-1492 | Cell: 305-308-7738
[email protected]
Zoemar Silva
Communications Specialist
Office: 407-823-1421 | Cell: 407-218-3537
[email protected]
University Leadership / Board of Trustees
Courtney Gilmartin
Chief Communications Officer
407-823-5300
[email protected]
Public Safety
Amanda Sellers
Public Safety Communications Manager
407-823-2833
[email protected]
Research and Graduate Studies
Mikita Nayee
Interim Director of Communications, Office of Research
407-823-3114
[email protected]
Carreen Krapf
Communications Manager, College of Graduate Studies
407-823-1165
[email protected]
College of Medicine
Wendy Spirduso Sarubbi
Assistant Vice President
407-266-1418
[email protected]
UCF Athletics
Adam Widman
[email protected]
For a complete list of UCF Athletics Communications staff members and their beats, visit ucfknights.com/staff-directory and go to the Communications section.
Faculty Experts
UCF has faculty experts and researchers available for comment and interviews on wide array of topics, including:
- Space exploration and technology
- Modeling, simulation and training
- Engineering and computer science
- Optics and photonics
- Health and medicine
- The economy
- Tourism and hospitality
To request an interview with a faculty member, please contact the UCF Communications team.
Reporting and Filming on Campus
UCF welcomes news media to its public campuses: the main campus in east Orange County, UCF Downtown in the Orlando business district, a health sciences campus in Lake Nona and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management located in the tourism hub. Most exterior areas are accessible to reporters and photographers. All members of the media, however, are encouraged to contact UCF Media Relations prior to filming or photographing on campus.
The UCF Media Relations office can provide high-quality B-roll and photographs of the campus to media. Prior clearance is required to conduct interviews, film or photograph inside campus buildings, residence halls and classrooms, or any other area that is restricted. Please contact us for assistance.
Commercial, private, documentary or student crews interested in filming on campus (whether indoors or outdoors) also should contact us for guidelines. Crews are encouraged to call several weeks in advance. In many cases, a location agreement must be signed and proof of insurance provided. UCF Strategic Communications may also request to review scripts for those portions of the production that would take place on campus. UCF assesses each filming request to determine any potential impact to operations. Filming that could interrupt learning, obstruct student access to facilities or campus services, or pose a distraction to other campus activities, may be declined. Additionally, filming inside areas or facilities that require additional staff support due to the location and/or the presence of specialized equipment could incur a cost. Filming that depicts criminal activity, weapons, physical altercations, violence, the threat of violence, or the aftermath of violence are typically prohibited in order to minimize the potential disruption to campus.
Additional restrictions and capacity limitations may apply to campus research labs.
Parking and Directions
Everyone who parks on UCF’s campus must have a valid parking permit. Media in unmarked vehicles are required to display a special “media” hang tag, which may be picked up at the UCF Communications office before arriving on campus. Marked television trucks are not required to carry the “media” decal, as their vehicle is considered a valid permit.
Media can park in any lot or garage on campus, excluding residential parking lots, handicapped spaces or reserved parking spots. Media parking permits also are not valid in metered parking spaces.
Permits picked up at the UCF Communications office must be returned upon leaving campus. For pick-up and return, we are located at in the Communications and Marketing division office at 12443 Research Parkway, Suite 301, in the Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to campus. Click for a campus map.
For directions to UCF’s main campus, click here.
Public Records Requests
The State of Florida has the broadest public records and open meeting laws in the country. Since the University of Central Florida is a public university, most of the activities and materials of our work fall under Florida’s “sunshine” laws.
All media requests for public records should go through the UCF Communications office, where we’ll be happy to assist you.