University of Texas Ph.D
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Before joining the academy, I worked in government and politics, mostly in North Carolina. I handled a number of roles: public participation programs in clean water planning and coastal resource management; speechwriting for a big-city mayor and state-level cabinet secretaries and their deputies; and, media relations/PR/crisis management for a municipality and for several state environmental agencies. All of these activities provided real-world experiences with the realms of rhetoric, public relations, organizational communication, and politics. The study of communication is a fruitful way to blend an understanding of theory with the excitement and challenges of real-world communication practices.