Reimbursement Form
February 7-8, 2025
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards
Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards is located in the city’s Arts & Entertainment District, next to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The hotel is nestled in the Inner Harbor, near the Baltimore Convention Center and M&T Bank Stadium.
Welcome Information
NCA acknowledges that the land on which Baltimore is situated is the traditional and unceded territory of the Piscataway, Susquehannock, and other Indigenous peoples who have lived in this region for thousands of years. The Piscataway people are the original stewards of this land, maintaining a rich cultural and spiritual connection to the waterways, forests, and lands of the Chesapeake Bay region.
NCA has often gathered upon unceded lands, and those gatherings manifested the exclusions and erasures of many Indigenous peoples. We hope to honor the enduring relationships between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral territories. We recognize the grave harm that colonialism brought to these lands, in particular, the erasure of both Indigenous and African identities via slavery and racist laws that segregated all peoples into binary classifications of “white” and “black.”
We commit ourselves to learning from and amplifying Indigenous voices and stories, recognizing that this land acknowledgment is only one step in a larger effort toward transparency, reconciliation, and justice. We also honor the resilience of Indigenous communities, who continue to thrive and contribute to the cultural, environmental, and social fabric of this region.
Welcome to the Year of L.I.F.T. and to our Annual NCA Leadership Retreat!
You are a vital and important contributor to NCA’s sustained success and indeed to its future. Thank you for committing your time, energy, and talents to our Association through an in-person presence at this year’s gathering. During our time together, we will consider the many facets of NCA’s vision, mission, and strategic plan using L.I.F.T. (Leading with Imagination and Forward-Thinking) as a way of being. I appreciate your commitment and willingness to engage in advancing our Association.
With gratitude,
Jeanetta D. Sims, Ph.D., APR
2025 NCA President
| National Communication Association | |
| Annual Leadership Retreat | |
| Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards | |
| February 7 & 8, 2025 | |
| Thursday, February 6th | |
| Arrive in Baltimore. | |
| Check-in is 4:00 p.m. | Dinner on your own (NCA will reimburse up to $40) |
| Friday, February 7th | |
| 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Breakfast (East/West Ballroom) |
| 9:00 a.m. – Noon | Opening Session – Orientation and a Year of Collective L.I.F.T. (East/West Ballroom) |
| 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. – Noon | Opening Session Continues |
| Noon – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch (East/West Ballroom) |
| 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Reminders and Collective L.I.F.T. (East/West Ballroom) |
| 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Officer, Council, and Committee Meetings |
| NCA Officers (East/West Ballroom) | |
| Finance Committee (Salon F) | |
| IDEA Council (Salon E) | |
| Mentorship and Leadership Council (Salon D) | |
| Research Council (Salon C) | |
| Publications Council (Salon A) | |
| Teaching and Learning Council (Salon B) | |
| 3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Break |
| 3:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Officer, Council, and Committee Meetings Continue |
| 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | Dinner (East/West Ballroom) |
| Saturday, February 8th | |
| 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Breakfast (East/West Ballroom) |
| 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Officer, Council, and Committee Meetings – Work and Wrap-ups (Same Rooms as Friday) |
| 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. – Noon | Closing Session – Commitments, Next Steps for L.I.F.T., and Notes of Intention (East/West Ballroom) |
| Noon | Council/Committee Members Depart
Lunch on your own. (NCA will reimburse up to $40) |
| Name | Council/Office | Institution | ||||
| Sims, Jeanetta D. | Elected Officer- President | University of Central Oklahoma | jsims7@uco.edu | |||
| Harris, Tina M. | Elected Officer – First Vice President | Louisiana State University | tharris4@lsu.edu | |||
| Sastry, Shaunak | Elected Officer – Second Vice President | University of Cincinnati | shaunak.sastry@uc.edu | |||
| Niles Goins, Marnel | Elected Officer – Immediate Past President | American University | mnilesgoins@american.edu | |||
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| Thomas-Maddox, Candice | Finance Committee Chair | Ohio University, Lancaster | thomas@ohio.edu | |||
| Lachlan, Kenneth A. | Finance Committee Director | University of Connecticut | kenneth.lachlan@uconn.edu | |||
| Lechuga, Michael | Finance Committee Director | University of New Mexico | michaellechuga@unm.edu | |||
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| Scott-Pollock, Julie-Ann | IDEA Council Chair | University of North Carolina, Wilmington | scottj@uncw.edu | |||
| Baig, Noorie | IDEA Council – APAC | FLAME University | noorie.baig@gmail.com | |||
| Mercado Jones, Rebecca | IDEA Council – WC | Oakland University | rebeccajones@oakland.edu | |||
| Cherney, Jim | IDEA Council – DIC | University of Nevada, Reno | jcherney@unr.edu | |||
| Calvente, Lisa | IDEA Council – CCC | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | lcalvente@unc.edu | |||
| Stanley, Liahnna | IDEA Council – IC | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | lstanley3@unl.edu | |||
| Johnson, Deryl | IDEA Council – CGLBTQ | Kutztown University | johnson@kutztown.edu | |||
| Diab, Aya | IDEA Council – SWANA | University of South Florida | ayah_diab@hotmail.com | |||
| Smith, Lionnell “Badu” | IDEA Council – BC | San Francisco State University | lsmith1914@sfsu.edu | |||
| Hernandez, Leandra Hinojosa | IDEA Council – LRC | University of Utah | leandrahernandez11@gmail.com | |||
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| Lewis, Laurie | Mentorship and Leadership Council Chair | University of Texas, San Antonio | laurie.lewis@utsa.edu | |||
| Roberts, Kathleen Glenister | Mentorship and Leadership Council Chair-Elect | Duquesne University | robertskg@duq.edu | |||
| Chen, Yea-Wen | Mentorship and Leadership Council | San Diego State University | yea-wen.chen@sdsu.edu | |||
| Hanasono, Lisa K. | Mentorship and Leadership Council | Bowling Green State University | LisaKH@bgsu.edu | |||
| Self, Rico | Mentorship and Leadership Council | North Carolina State University | cself@ncsu.edu | |||
| Stokes, Ashli Q. | Mentorship and Leadership Council | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | aqstokes@uncc.edu | |||
| Martínez, Diana I. | Mentorship and Leadership Council | Pepperdine University | diana.martinez@pepperdine.edu | |||
| Saleem, Muniba | Mentorship and Leadership Council | University of California, Santa Barbara | msaleem@ucsb.edu | |||
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| Sloop, John M. | Publications Council Chair | Vanderbilt University | john.m.sloop@vanderbilt.edu | |||
| Asante, Godfried Agyeman | Publications Council | San Diego State University | gofique@gmail.com | |||
| Valdivia, Angharad N. | Publications Council | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | valdivia@illinois.edu | |||
| Hintz, Elizabeth A. | Publications Council | University of Connecticut | elizabeth.hintz@uconn.edu | |||
| Oh, David Chison | Publications Council | Syracuse University | dcoh@syr.edu | |||
| Barnett, Joshua Trey | Publications Council | Pennsylvania State University | barnett@psu.edu | |||
| High, Andrew C. | Publications Council | Pennsylvania State University | ach208@psu.edu | |||
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| Warner, Benjamin | Research Council Chair | University of Missouri | warnerbe@missouri.edu | |||
| Basnyat, Iccha | Research Council Chair-Elect | George Mason University | ibasnyat@gmu.edu | |||
| Lee, Jiyoung | Research Council | Sungkyunkwan University | jiyoung.lee@skku.edu | |||
| Madlock, Annette D. | Research Council | Sister Circle Writers | annettemadlock@gmail.com | |||
| Atkins-Sayre, Wendy | Research Council | University of Memphis | wendy.atkins-sayre@memphis.edu | |||
| Black, Jason Edward | Research Council | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | jasedwardblack@gmail.com | |||
| Applequist, Janelle | Research Council | University of South Florida | applequist@usf.edu | |||
| Upshaw, Sean | Research Council | University of Texas, Austin | Sean.upshaw@austin.utexas.edu | |||
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| Thweatt, Katherine S. | Teaching and Learning Council Chair | State University of New York, Oswego | katherine.thweatt@oswego.edu | |||
| Hess, Jon A. | Teaching and Learning Council | University of Tennessee Knoxville | jonhess@utk.edu | |||
| Yastremski, David A. | Teaching and Learning Council | Ridge High School | dyastremski@bernardsboe.com | |||
| Smith, Lionnell “Badu” | Teaching and Learning Council | San Francisco State University | lsmith1914@sfsu.edu | |||
| White, Shauntae Brown | Teaching and Learning Council | North Carolina Central University | sbwhite@nccu.edu | |||
| Harris, Kandace | Teaching and Learning Council | California State University Northridge | kandace.harris@csun.edu | |||
| Houston, Renee | Teaching and Learning Council | University of California Santa Barbara | rhouston@ucsb.edu |
About the 2025 Presidential Crest of Dr. Jeanetta D. Sims
The Crest bears NCA’s vision prominently at the top and declares a presidential focus for 2025 as a Year of L.I.F.T. At the heart of the Crest is the NCA logo, which is a visual reminder to keep the Association at the heart of our engagement and oversight. The emblems surrounding the logo represent NCA’s mission to advance scholarship (magnifying glass), teaching (books), and practice (lightbulb) to foster a better world. The plant life, which is intertwined, expanding, overlapping, reaching in, and pulling out, reflects the vitality and movement of our members who engage in the collective efforts of expanding our mission and Association. The acronym of Leading with Imagination and Forward-Thinking is spelled out at the bottom of the inner circle where the letters for L.I.F.T. are more faint—a reminder that L.I.F.T. requires focus. The reference to the Crest’s creator as the 111th NCA President is acknowledgement of the 110 individuals who served previously, of the privilege of serving during this window of time, and of the charge to serve well for entrusting NCA to future presidents.