Authors

Sara Kim (PhD) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Her research is in intercultural communication and online intergroup contact, and she is interested in examining communication strategies that can improve intergroup relationships, facilitate intercultural adjustment, and help individuals cope with life transitions. She teaches diverse communication classes such as intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, research methods, communication theory, and public speaking.

Douglas Marshall (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Department of Arts & Humanities at Southern University at New Orleans. After completing his Ph.D. in Rhetoric at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Douglas and his wife Kiley moved to New Orleans in the summer of 2013. Since that time he has volunteered for WWOZ, the Bywater Neighborhood Association, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Doug has been granted two separate fellowships that support his research of New Orleans death rituals through the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Archive. He is also a member of the Krewe of the Rolling Elvi and sits on the organization’s board of directors. Douglas has research interests rooted in how we communicate about death and how music and performance plays a part in death rituals.

June Pulliam (PhD) is a Distinguished Instructor of English, Screen Arts, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she teaches technical and legal writing, as well as courses about horror film and fiction and Young Adult fiction. She is the author of several books on the horror genre and punk rock and is an expert in the field of zombie studies.

Victoria VanNest (EdD) is a Professor of Communication Studies. With a professional background in business management with 15 years as a Project Manager in the automotive field, she brings that professional experience into the classroom. Victoria’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and a Master of Arts in Organizational Communications, both from Michigan State University. Her doctoral work is in retention focusing on underserved populations, with a degree in Higher Education Leadership and Management from Walden University.

James Yeargain (MFA) is an Associate Professor of Speech and Dramatic Arts at University of Holy Cross in New Orleans. Nationally, he is a member of National Alliance of Acting Teachers as well as a union member of Actors Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Locally he is an active member of the theater company The NOLA Project. While working with students in public speaking, he uses his experience to assist with performance techniques to improve student communication with an audience as well as strategies for stress management. He received his BFA from New York University and his MFA from University of New Orleans.

Editor

KC Celestine (MSLS) is a Technical Services Librarian at Fletcher Technical Community College. She is the librarian leader appointment to the Interactive OER for Dual Enrollment Public Speaking Cohort, from LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network and the Louisiana Board of Regents, funded through an Open Textbooks Pilot grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 2021–2022. Throughout this project, KC provided project management services. She received her Master of Science in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Her professional interests include open educational resource development and technology in libraries and higher education.