NCA Leadership

Tina M. Harris (University of Kentucky, Ph. D.) is the inaugural Douglas Manship-Dori I. Maynard Endowed Chair of Media and Cultural Literacy in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. This is the first endowment of its kind in the U. S. Her primary research interest is interracial communication, with specific foci on critical communication pedagogy, race and identity, diversity and media representations, racial social justice, mentoring, and racial reconciliation, among others. Dr. Harris is the Vice President of the National Communication Association, a National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar, an International Communication Association Fellow, and author of the groundbreaking book Dismantling Racism, One Relationship at a Time (2023, Rowman & Littlefield).  Collectively, these accomplishments attest to her stature as a prolific and trailblazing scholar in the communication discipline. Dr. Harris is regularly invited to give keynote addresses, serve as a scholar-in-residence, and contribute original research to books, top-tier peer reviewed journals, and encyclopedias in the communication field and other disciplines because her expertise is vast, innovative, and of the highest quality.   

Dr. Shaunak Sastry is Professor of Communication and Inaugural Director of the Pahl Center for the Study of Critical Social Issues at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dr. Sastry is the First Vice-President of the National Communication Association, and a member of NCA’s Executive Committee. Dr. Sastry’s award-winning health communication research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Waterhouse Family Institute, and the Center for Clinical & Translational Science and Training. His areas of research interests include pandemic governance, health impacts of climate change, and community-engaged health research. Sastry currently serves as Co-Director of the Community Engagement Core of the Cincinnati Center for Collaboration on Climate and Community for Health (C4H), which is an NIH-funded P20 research center dedicated to studying the interactions between extreme weather, climate change, and health. Dr. Sastry has previously served as Senior Editor of the journal Health Communication, and sits on the editorial boards of several Communication journals.

Born and raised in South India, Dr. Srivi Ramasubramanian (Ph.D., Penn State University) centers collaboration, care, community, and courage in all spheres of life. She was the first woman of color to be tenured and promoted to Full Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University, where she also served as Associate Dean of Liberal Arts. In 2021, she moved to New York to accept the prestigious endowed position as Newhouse Professor at Syracuse University. An NCA Distinguished Scholar and ICA Elected Fellow, she has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, 150 conference presentations, and 140 invited keynotes/workshops to her credit. Her pioneering research on critical media effects, media literacies, data justice, and community-centered dialogues builds bridges across cultures, disciplines, and subfields. She has actively mentored over 150 grads and 80 undergrads, most of whom identify as students of color, women, international, and/or LGBTQ+, thus creating mentorship pathways of excellence for those historically on the margins of the discipline. She has or is serving on more than a dozen editorial boards, as editor-in-chief of Comm Monographs, Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Comm Research, and as the Chair of the NCA Mass Comm Division. She is the recipient of numerous Top Papers and Awards within NCA, including the Presidential Citation for her contributions to the #CommSoWhite movement, IDEA Scholarship Award, Critical Cultural Studies Division Distinguished Scholar Award, International & Intercultural Comm Division Distinguished Scholar Award, and the Gerald Philips Award for Distinguished Applied Comm Scholarship. Her recent books include The Oxford Handbook of Media & Social Justice (2024, with Omotayo Banjo), Quantitative Research Methods in Comm: The Power of Numbers for Social Justice (2nd Edition, 2025; with Erica Scharrer), Equitable Media Literacies (2025; with Paul Mihailidis and colleagues), and Blue Nectar: Feminist Bhakti Poems on Divine Bliss (2025).

During her 2025 NCA presidential year, Dr. Jeanetta Sims aligned the efforts of NCA’s Executive Committee, National Office, and governance groups around L.I.F.T. (Leading with Imagination and Forward-Thinking); she is known as a highly collaborative, respectful leader who believes in listening, honoring people and scaling through Mt. Fuji moments. Dr. Sims is a tenured professor and former dean of the University of Central Oklahoma’s (UCO) Graduate College and University College as well as the co-creator with students of the Broncho Education and Learning Lab (BELL). She championed UCO’s HLC Quality Initiative which culminated in a new first year experience called Broncho Blueprint. Dr. Sims is a 30+ award-winning scholar, educator, poet, and founder of Diverse Student Scholars. Along with numerous academic publications, she is the author of poetry and prose in the Moments in Soul-journal series and We Are Here series. In 2022, she was named a DaVinci Institute Fellow, Women Who Inspire Award recipient, a Marketing Management Association Fellow, and the inaugural recipient of NCA AACCD’s Dorthy Pennington Award. She is the 2023 Oklahoma Christian University Distinguished Alumna of the Year, and an Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductee.

Kenneth A. Lachlan is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. He holds research affiliations with UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention and Policy, and the Sustainable Global Cities Initiative. He served as the Editor in Chief of Communication Studies from 2016 to 2018. His research interests include the functions and effects of social media during crises and disasters, community-level risk mitigation interventions, and the role of cognitive processing styles in responding to emergency messages. This research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NOAA, and Japan Science and Technology Agency.

Ambar Basu (Ph.D., Purdue University) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida. He has served as chairperson and graduate director of his department. He is a recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award and Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award at the University of South Florida. He has served in leadership positions in the Health Communication Division of the National Communication Association and has recently been elected to serve on the National Communication Association’s Finance (and Executive) Committee. Most recently, he was awarded the Promoting Equity and Inclusivity Award from the Health Communication Division of the National Communication Association.
He writes on and about the intersections of culture and communication in marginalized health settings. His research and teaching focus on material and discursive dimensions of underprivilege in the context of global capital formations. With particular emphasis on theorizing culture as a site of transformation, his scholarship documents and analyzes narratives about health that emerge from dialogue between his self (as the researcher) and research participants. He uses critical ethnography as a primary method of research and highlights the implications of knowledge production in collaboration with underprivileged communities. Self-reflexivity, as a practice and a thought-frame, is integral to his scholarship.

He has published two edited books, the most recent one being ‘Critical Health Communication: Theory and Practice.’ He has served as Senior Editor for Health Communication and co-edits a Routledge book series titled Critical Cultural Studies in Global Health Communication.

Dr. Michael Lechuga is Associate Professor of Culture and Communication and Department Chair at the University of New Mexico. His scholarship includes a number of books and numerous publications in NCA’s premier journals. He serves on the editorial boards of several NCA journals including the Quarterly Journal of Speech and Communication & Critical/Cultural Studies.  A lifetime NCA member, Dr. Lechuga has received multiple awards including the New Investigator Award from the Critical Cultural Studies Division. His commitment to academic service extends to community engagement, where he leads initiatives connecting academic research with Indigenous land sovereignty and environmental justice projects.

Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock is a Professor of Communication and Performance Studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she leads 4 Community Performance Troupes and is the Graduate Coordinator for the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program. At NCA, she is the recipient of the Donald Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education, The IDEA Engagement Award for the impacts of her community performance work, The Lilla A Heston Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Interpretation and Performance Studies, the Jim Ferris Award for Outstanding Contributions in Disability and Communication Studies, and the Mid-Career Scholar Award in Ethnography. 

Kathleen Glenister Roberts (Ph.D., Indiana University-Bloomington, 2001) is Professor and Executive Director of the Honors College and Bridges Common Learning Experience at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. She has published six books, including the national award-winning Alterity and Narrative (2008) and The Limits of Cosmopolis (2014). With a background in sociolinguistics, her research primarily concerns the intersections of pragmatics, ethics, and culture. These topics are reflected in her many peer-reviewed essays in journals such as Text and Performance Quarterly, Communication Theory, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Argumentation and Advocacy. Dr. Roberts has also won numerous state and regional honors for teaching, mentoring, scholarship, and service. She serves on the advisory board of August Wilson House in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and on the board of the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka.

John M. Sloop is Professor of Communication Studies at Vanderbilt University and Director of the minor in Sports and Society.  The author of multiple books and essays, Sloop is a critical cultural scholar who has tackled a number of subject areas in mediated culture (e.g., incarceration, gender fluidity, immigration, soccer), always with a view toward problematizing cultural meanings and ideological assumptions.  

Katherine S. Thweatt earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, her M.A in Communication Studies and EdD in Instructional Communication from West Virginia University. In addition to her academic positions, she has more than a decade of professional experience helping companies utilize big data to achieve organizational goals. She worked as a Research Scientist at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, 2001-2007, implementing projects ($1.75 million in funding) at 14 sites enrolling over 1000 veterans between two projects. She also on-boarded cardiology clinical trials while writing grants to seek additional funding. She was Senior Manager of Clinical Quality at MemberHealth from 2007-2009, a Medicare Part D sponsor. Her work led to two national awards for programs that increased the use of ace inhibitors in diabetic beneficiaries and medication adherence in HIV positive beneficiaries. In 2009, she returned to the VA to assess the VA National Quality Improvement Initiative. In 2016, she was elected to plan the 2019 Eastern Communication Association (ECA) Conference. Since serving as ECA President, she returned to ECA as Director of Sponsorships in 2023 and 2025. She will begin serving as Executive Director of ECA on July 1, 2026. In 2023, she was awarded ECA’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2016, she was hired as the Graduate Director of Strategic Communication at SUNY Oswego where she successfully oversaw the development and implementation of this newly approved program. She added an online-only program that is now the cornerstone of the program. Dr. Thweatt is a proven leader who identifies and grows strengths in those she manages and those around her. Dr. Thweatt’s has expertise in program development, psychometrics/survey development, organizational assessment, and big data. She is a co-author of Interpersonal Communication: A Mindful Approach to Relations (2nd ed.) an open educational resource through Milne Open Textbooks.

Iccha Basnyat is an associate professor of global health communication in the Global Affairs Program with a joint appointment in the Department of Communication at George Mason University. She served on the Research Council from 2021-2023, as Research Council Chair-Elect in 2025, and is currently the Research Council Chair. She is the current Chair of the Health Communication Division. She also served as the Health Communication Division’s first DEI chair from 2021 to 2022. In addition, she is currently the associate editor for the NCA journal, the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, and the senior editor of the Health Communication journal. Dr. Basnyat was the recipient of the NCA 2025 Global Communication Award.

Dr. Noorie Baig (she/her) teaches at FLAME University, Pune, India. She earned her PhD in Communication at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She specializes in critical intercultural communication using qualitative and oral history methodologies. Her research focuses on how South Asians communicate and negotiate their identities in transnational and migrant contexts.

Aya Diab is a Doctoral Candidate studying political communication. She received her BA and MA from the University of South Florida. While she is interested in political communication broadly, she is most interested in political communication as it intersects with Middle Eastern contexts. Her current research utilizes orientalist frameworks to investigate how elite structures portray and discuss the Middle East.

Dr. Leandra H. Hernandez (she/her/ella) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. She is the Vice Chair for the NCA Activism & Social Justice Division and currently serves as the IDEA Council Representative for the NCA La Raza Caucus. 

Colby Y. Miyose (Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo in the Department of Communication. At NCA he is the Vice Chair for the Asian Pacific American Caucus and Communication Studies Division and currently serves as the IDEA Council Representative for the Indigenous Caucus. He is an Asian American and Pasifika scholar whose area of inquiry is in critical cultural media communication. Specifically, he focuses on various forms of representation of Asian/Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in media from gender, sexuality, race, and class (in film, social media, television, music).

Rebecca Mercado Jones (Ph.D., Ohio University) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations and affiliate faculty in Women and Gender Studies at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She teaches and researches in the area of critical cultural communication studies and serves on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Michigan and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan. When she’s not doing school or board work, she’s busy with her three kids. 

Tahleen Lattimer (she/hers) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan’s Center for Disability Health and Wellness in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Her research explores the intersection of disability studies and health communication, centering structural inequities and the lived experiences of marginalized communities. Her work integrates community-based and mixed-methods approaches to advance more accessible, person-centered systems of care and to support equitable health communication across the lifespan.

Lionnell “Badu” Smith (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an assistant professor of critical communication pedagogy at San Francisco State University. Broadly, he studies African and African American cultural rhetorics; however, he is specifically interested in the rhetorics of (a) critical Black pedagogies, (b) Black Language and raciolinguistics, and (c) Black religion, faith, and spirituality. Using critical rhetorical and qualitative methods, Dr. Badu is committed to exploring these interrelated areas through the various lenses of Afrocentric and Black Critical Thought to better understand how these rhetorical situations function, in both historical and contemporary contexts, to promote Black liberation, justice, and community.

Diana Isabel Martínez (she/her; PhD, The University of Texas at Austin) is an Associate Professor of Communication and Assistant Director for Seaver College’s Center for Teaching Excellence at Pepperdine University. Dr. Martínez’s work focuses on Latinx communities, social movements, visual culture, and rhetorical practices. Through this work, Dr. Martínez has contributed to the ongoing efforts to decenter the normative assumptions embedded in conventional definitions of rhetoric. She is the author of the monograph Rhetorics of Nepantla, Memory, and the Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers: Archival Impulses and coeditor of Latina/o/x Communication Studies: Theories, Methods, and Practice. Her publications have appeared in journals such as the Western Journal of Communication, Communication Quarterly, The Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics, and edited books.

Denise Polk is a professor of the Department of Communication and Media at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA) with a Ph.D. from Kent State University. She has been at WCUPA since 2005 and has served roles as graduate coordinator and department chair, among other service roles across the university and community.

Her teaching and research areas consist of positive communication/building resilience, close interpersonal relationships, integrating work and family, and conflict resolution. She is also passionate about sustainability and gardening and has completed grant-funded projects, given tours of her garden, and spoken at several community functions on the role of communication in sustainability.

She is a former member of the West Chester Borough Council and currently serves on the Chester County Hospital Patient Family Advisory Council.

Dr. Muniba Saleem is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at University of California, Santa Barbara and a faculty affiliate within the Institute for Social Research at University of Michigan. Dr. Saleem studies how media affects interpersonal and intergroup relations between racial, ethnic, and religious groups using social scientific methods. Dr. Saleem’s work has been published in journals such as Communication Research, Journal of Communication, Child Development, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and American Psychologist. Her research has been funded by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, and Facebook.

Rico Self, a native of the Mississippi Delta, is an assistant professor of communication at North Carolina State University. He earned a Ph.D. in communication studies with an emphasis in rhetoric and cultural studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. His research chiefly examines discourses animating issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality in American culture. His published work can be found in several journals and edited volumes.

Ashli Quesinberry Stokes, Ph.D., is the Interim Chair of the Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Department, and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A 20-21 Fulbright Scholar, her research about communicating identity in the Southern food movement has been described as “a call to action.” She recently published Hungry Roots: How Food Communicates Appalachia’s Search for Resilience (USC Press), which was recently named one of five books for NC Humanities’ NC Reads Program. In addition to Hungry Roots, she also co-authored and edited two other books with Wendy Atkins-Sayre: City Places, Country Spaces: Rhetorical Explorations of the Urban/Rural Divide (Peter Lang), Consuming Identity: The Role of Food in Redefining the South. Her research exploring intersections between identity, activism, and regions has been featured in leading academic outlets such as the Southern Communication Journal, Public Relations Inquiry, Journal of Public Interest Communications, and Journal of Public Relations Research and includes five books.

Joshua Trey Barnett studies the rhetoric of earthly coexistence. An associate professor of rhetoric at the Pennsylvania State University, he is the author of Mourning in the Anthropocene: Ecological Grief and Earthly Coexistence (2022), which won the 2022 Tarla Rai Peterson Book Award in Environmental Communication, and the editor of Ecological Feelings: A Rhetorical Compendium (2025). His scholarship has been recognized with the 2022 Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award and the 2021 Early Career Award, both of which are bestowed by the National Communication Association, and the 2024 Faculty Excellence in Sustainability Award from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts. He is currently at work on three books: an introduction to Hannah Arendt’s environmental thought; a grounded theorization of caring rhetorics; and an edited volume on sylvan rhetorics.

Andy High’s research focuses on interpersonal communication, specifically supportive communication, and computer-mediated communication. Those two lines of research often overlap as he seeks to gain a better understanding of how supportive interactions unfold in different channels. Dr. High is active in the human communication and technology division and the interpersonal communication division of NCA. He has held several leadership positions in each division and is currently completing the sequence of serving as the chair of the human communication and technology division. In terms of research, he has received top paper awards from both divisions and was honored as an early career researcher from the interpersonal communication division.

Elizabeth Hintz (Ph.D. University of South Florida) is an Assistant Professor of Health Communication at the University of Connecticut since 2021. A native Wisconsinite, she received her M.A. from Purdue University and her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. Her research examines how people managing complex, stigmatized, and poorly understood health conditions experience and navigate challenging conversations with partners, family members, and clinicians. Her work can be found in journals such as Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, and Health Communication.

David C. Oh is an Associate Professor in the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Dr. Oh’s work sits at the intersection of Korean popular culture studies, Asian American media studies, and ethnic and racial studies. He has authored three books, edited two books, published around 50 articles and book chapters, and received numerous awards for his research and mentoring. Further, he currently sits on eleven Editorial Boards in communication, cultural studies, fan studies, and media studies. In 2018-19, he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

Dr. Pickett Miller is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Media at Samford University, where she teaches Communication Studies courses. Her research focuses on visual and rhetorical criticism of identity in popular culture and media, with particular attention to how representation shapes understandings of difference, embodiment, and belonging. She has led an Interpersonal Communication study abroad course and is currently expanding her research methodology to include autoethnography to examine the intersection of personal experience with society and culture.

Her scholarship has been published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, and scholarly books. She has received national recognition for her work, including the most recent, 2025–2026 Southern Conference All-Conference Faculty Award recipient. She is a past president of the Alabama Communication Association.
As an accomplished public scholar, she was a 2019 TEDx Birmingham speaker, the 2022 keynote speaker for the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) national conference, and a 2023 keynote speaker at the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation national conference.

Heather M. Zoller is a Professor at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Communication, Film, & Media Studies. Her research in critical organizational and health communication focuses on public health, activism, and social change. She served as Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Applied Communication Research, and a Senior/Associate Editor at Health Communication and Management Communication Quarterly. Community engagement roles include membership in the National Academies of Sciences Engineering, & Medicine Committee on PPE.

Janelle Applequist (Ph.D., Penn State University) is an Associate Professor at the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications at the University of South Florida. She is the School’s Director of Internships, Concentration Head, and Associate Director for the Center for Sustainable Democracy in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

She specializes in health communication and advertising, collaborating on grants totaling $62 million. Since 2019, Applequist has served as an Academic Consultant for the Patient Engagement and Advisory Committee for the FDA, delivering five invited presentations to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and Office of Prescription Drug Promotion. 

Wendy Atkins-Sayre is Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Department of Communication & Film at the University of Memphis. She sits on the review boards of the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Communication Monographs, Southern Communication Journal, and Communication Center Journal. Her research centers on identity as constructed through discourse, with an emphasis on regional and social movement studies.  Her most recent book, co-authored with Ashli Stokes, is Hungry Roots: How Food Communicates Appalachia’s Search for Resilience (University of South Carolina Press).

Don Shin is Professor in the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University. His research examines how computational methods and algorithmic systems shape persuasion, meaning-making, and action in digitally mediated environments, with particular attention to algorithmic influence, trust, and decision processes. He focuses on the social and psychological mechanisms through which people interpret persuasive messages and engage with algorithmically curated information and consumption practices. His recent work integrates ethics, algorithms, human-computer interaction, and media studies to analyze online platforms as epistemic and persuasive intermediaries in contemporary communication. He has published extensively on communication technologies and digital media and is a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA Fellow).

Jiyoung Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Her research focuses on the intersection of emerging media, affective computing, and misinformation, exploring how these areas shape communication practices and audience perceptions. With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches, her work contributes to understanding the social and psychological impacts of technology-driven communication, particularly in the context of digital misinformation and emotional engagement in media environments.

Laramie D. Taylor (PhD, University of Michigan, 2005) examines media uses and effects—why people use media the way they do and to what effect. Dr. Taylor’s work focuses on three broad domains. First, Dr. Taylor studies how media influence perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to social interaction and relationships. Second, he studies the impact of media messages on health beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Finally, he studies how people use entertainment media to meet emotional, social, and identity-based needs. Dr. Taylor is an experienced educator and mentor has served NCA in leadership roles in the Mass Communication Division and as chair of NCA’s Doctoral Education Committee.

Dr. Sean J. Upshaw (Howard University, 2018) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas-Austin’s Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations in the Moody College of Communication. Dr. Upshaw is an accomplished Edward Alexander Bouchet Scholar with numerous publications in academic journals such as Health Communication, Applied Communication Research, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Journal of Health Communication, Patient Education & Counseling, and Journalism Studies. His research is centered around health disparities with a particular focus on visual information and persuasion in health message design, cultural health literacy, and cultural-media representation for historically underserved and marginalized Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Dr. Upshaw is a qualitative health communication scholar who investigates how BIPOC communities interpret and evaluate health messages and how this contributes to their health decision-making. He also utilizes community-participatory and culture-centered health communication approaches to contribute meaningful research involving health disparities and health inequities facing BIPOC communities using qualitative research methods. Dr. Upshaw is an active member of esteemed organizations such as the National Communication Association (NCA), the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Media (AEJMC), and the Association of Medical Illustration (AMI). 

To learn more about Dr. Upshaw’s work, please click this link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sean-Upshaw-2 

Also, follow Dr. Upshaw on social media: 

Twitter: @iam_sju82 

LinkedIn: Sean J. Upshaw 

Kandace L. Harris, Ph.D. is currently the Associate Dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication (AMC) at California State University, Northridge, where she leads Student Success and DEI initiatives to inform educational policies, and advance institutional practices that promote student achievement. A recipient of the Rex Crawley Outstanding Service Award from NCA’s Black Caucus, Dr. Harris’ research focus includes media representation, social media, and the advancement of women and the underrepresented in the academy. She recently co-authored “Best Friends Forever: Representations of Sisterhood Among Black Women on Screen” in the book Sacred Sisterhoods: A Celebration of Black Women’s Friendships on TV & Film 1993 – 2023; and co-edited the book Being Mara Brock Akil: Representations of Black Womanhood on Television. Dr. Harris holds triple degrees from Howard University, including being one of the first graduates to receive a Ph.D. in Mass Communications & Media Studies.

Jonathan M. Bowman, PhD is a Professor of Communication at the University of San Diego and the Director of the USD Honors Program. He is a winner of NCA’s Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education and has been involved in leadership with NCA’s Nonverbal Communication Division. Bowman teaches courses in human communication processes, focusing on fostering the engaged expression of ideas alongside the elucidation of concepts within the context of inclusion and social justice. Bowman has been the recipient of the WSCA Distinguished Teaching Award, a University Professorship Award, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Keck Faculty Fellowship for undergraduate research, the Innovations in Experiential Education Award for his commitment to high-impact practices, and USD’s Outstanding Preceptor Award for excellence in teaching & advising, among others. He serves as a mentor to undergraduates in multiple capacities, including students involved in student government, greek life, academic honors, and/or campus faith-based organizations.

Bowman’s research program investigates interpersonal and nonverbal communication behaviors in a variety of contexts. His most recent book is Communication in Action (2025), and he also authored Nonverbal Communication: An Applied Approach (2nd ed., 2024), Interconnections: Foundations and Contexts in Interpersonal Communication (2019), as well as co-authored a monograph with Filar (2018) and an edited volume with Fritsvold (2016). His research has also been published in scholarly journals like The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Small Group Research, Communication Research Reports, and multiple book chapters. In addition to scholarly publications, Bowman has contributed his expertise to national and international media outlets, including newspapers, radio, podcasts, and television news programs. Media appearances include USA Today and Good Morning America.

Bowman received graduate degrees at Michigan State University as a University Distinguished Fellow, and an undergraduate degree at the University of California Davis as a Regent’s Scholar. He was an Assistant Professor at Boston College before arriving at the University of San Diego in 2007.

Renee Houston (Ph.D., The Florida State University) studies organizing to address inequities centered on issues of gender, social class and race. Grounded in civic scholarship she is interested in giving voice to multiple perspectives from in situ communicative contexts with the potential for real change. In her teaching she uses a social learning approach that brings voice, connection, and justice to her students that inspires them to seek their life’s purpose with skills, confidence. She is also an experienced higher education administrator with an extensive background in mentoring, program development, and education technology. Most recently, she developed several programs designed to provide key experiences that help college students move toward career choices. Her work was recognized with an award from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. 

Shauntae Brown White, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Mass Communication and interim Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at North Carolina Central University. White who also serves as the coordinator of the Women’s & Gender Studies program at NCCU, examines representations of black women in media. She is the recipient of the 2020 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award in Teaching Excellence. 

Michael G. Strawser (Ph.D., University of Kentucky) is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Central Florida. His teaching and scholarship center on instructional communication, faculty development, and the design of high-impact learning experiences across face-to-face, online, and hybrid environments. At UCF and previous institutions, Michael has served in a range of instructional and academic leadership roles, including undergraduate program coordinator, faculty fellow in a center for teaching and learning, director of graduate programs, and director of community-engaged scholarship. In these roles, he has led curriculum redesign efforts, supported assessment and accreditation initiatives, and developed faculty programming. Beyond his home institution, Michael has held editorial leadership roles with Journal of Faculty Development and serves on editorial boards for teaching-focused journals in communication including Communication Education and the Journal of Communication Pedagogy. His work advances the scholarship of teaching and learning by bridging instructional communication research with practical strategies that improve student learning and faculty success.

Lionnell “Badu” Smith (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an assistant professor of critical communication pedagogy at San Francisco State University. Broadly, he studies African and African American cultural rhetorics; however, he is specifically interested in the rhetorics of (a) critical Black pedagogies, (b) Black Language and raciolinguistics, and (c) Black religion, faith, and spirituality. Using critical rhetorical and qualitative methods, Dr. Badu is committed to exploring these interrelated areas through the various lenses of Afrocentric and Black Critical Thought to better understand how these rhetorical situations function, in both historical and contemporary contexts, to promote Black liberation, justice, and community.