Igor Ristić, Ph.D., joined NCA as a Research Associate in June 2026. He is a longtime member, having attended his first NCA Annual Convention in 2010. He is inspired by communication work that supports research and translates complex information into compelling stories for the public. 

Dr. Ristić has more than six years of experience in government communications, including work for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and locally for the DC government. 

He has also taught Communication classes at universities for over a decade. He is currently on the Adjunct Faculty of the Master of Arts in Communication Program at Johns Hopkins University. In the past, he has taught Communication courses at Oregon State University, the University of Kansas, Haskell Indian Nations University, and Northern Kentucky University.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 2018, with a focus on intercultural communication. He completed an M.A. (2012) and a B.A. (2010), both in Communication, from Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Ristić's research and writing have been published in the Journal of Intercultural Communication Research; Communication, Culture, & Critique; several textbooks; and online.