Maureen Mauk holds a PhD in Communication, specifically Media & Cultural Studies, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She studies content regulation, effects of digital content mediation on parents, and the ethics and responsibility surrounding U.S. television and platformized media and content policies. Her research considers the use of algorithms for family screen content from a feminist perspective with a focus on its implications on parents, also researching how women and youth are harnessing social media for social betterment and change and working to rewrite women back into television media history. Mauk currently serves as a Senior Analyst for Sony-owned Crunchyroll in the Standards & Practices department and is also affiliated with the Institute for Research on Digital Literacies at York University in Toronto. Maureen’s expertise includes parental controls, network, broadcast, digital, and children’s entertainment. She works in the development of content standards, UX, content review, classification, and clearance for linear, streaming, and metaverse frameworks. An environmental and women’s rights activist, Maureen is the Co- Founder of FLARE (Families Lobbying Against Refinery Exposures), created after the explosion of the ExxonMobil Oil Refinery in Torrance CA & working towards better monitoring, environmental policies, enforcement and air quality and safety in the South Bay Community of Los Angeles, California. Mauk and FLARE teamed with Sonoma Technology to win a $2.77 million ExxonMobil Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) fund grant. The project utilizes some of the penalty payment payed by ExxonMobil post- explosion to create a monitoring and alert system in the community to provide warnings and updates to residents regarding chemicals in the air. Maureen graduated from Cornell University, earning a B.S. in Communication, where she also played D1 Field Hockey and went on to work in public relations and marketing before heading to graduate school to receive her Masters in Communication from Boston University where she completed the Thesis documentary, shot in Ireland and Scotland, “The 13th Crossing.” In LA, she cut her teeth on set and in the writers’ rooms of Malcolm in the Middle, Scrubs, Brothers & Sisters, and The Office, then transitioned towards Studio production at 20th Fox. She has 15+ years experience as a Standards & Practices exec, first at FOX Broadcasting, next at Mattel, then consulting for Little Dot (Disney Princess, Pixar Cars, Sony, Mattel, StoryBots, Warner), and most recently with Crunchyroll.
