News

I recently shared social media research and advice during in a webinar for Learning & Insights for Forward Traction (LIFT), an initiative of Texas State University’s SCALEUP program, which focuses on helping small businesses grow. In the webinar, titled “Beyond the Post: Building Content that Builds Your Brand,” I shared a theoretically grounded perspective to the art of crafting social media content. It’s always energizing connecting theory with practice, and I hope the conversation sparked new ideas for how small businesses can tell their stories more effectively!

In my newly published study, Mike Devlin and I surveyed 115 advertising creatives to explore what helps them thrive—and what drives them away.

We found that feeling a sense of belonging predicts longer careers and stronger retention, and that feeling unique and creatively independent leads to greater external recognition. But rigid workplace policies can undermine both recognition and retention. Bottom line: If you want to keep your most creative people, foster working environments where they feel both seen and free. ✨

Check out the full study here!

I’m so proud to share that the President and Provost approved my promotion to Full Professor at Texas State University.

I’m so grateful for the incredible students who keep me inspired, the colleagues and mentors who’ve challenged me to grow, and the co-authors who’ve made research a true joy.

Here’s to continuing the work I love, making a difference, and lifting others throughout the journey ahead.

While chatting after a faculty meeting, my colleague Dr. Kristen Farris and I bonded over the constant notifications we were receiving from our children’s childcare apps. We loved seeing photos of our kids having fun at school and daycare; but the updates, we agreed, could also be incredibly distracting!

Like most of my research ideas—sparked by real-world communication challenges—we decided to study how working mothers experience childcare app communication.

This qualitative analysis explores how working moms navigate ideal worker and motherhood norms through childcare apps at work. In the paper, we share practical insights for employers, app developers, and working parents, so please read and share!

Thank you to the esteemed Department of Communication at Baylor University for a wonderful visit this week! Talked about my research with grad students, exchanged ideas with inspiring faculty members, and enjoyed an amazing dinner. Such a fulfilling day of academic connection and camaraderie!

Over the last few years, I have seen more and more friends talking about their work on Instagram and other social platforms, and I was eager to investigate this process. If this interests you too, then I encourage you to check out my new article, published with MA alum Madeline Martinson, in Social Media + Society about “personal social media use for work” — the process of posting work-related content from a user’s individual social-media account. Our manuscript demonstrates a behavioral pattern that we call “Labored Worklife,” a paradox of communicating both authentically and strategically, which allows workers to traverse complicated work and non-work borders and communicate multiple (even conflicting) identities on social media.

Every summer, I have the pleasure of teaching an education abroad program, Business Communication Abroad, with my colleague Seth Frei in Management. In addition to taking a group of TXST undergraduates to Europe to visit businesses and learn about communication in global workplaces, one of our courses is designated as a “Service Learning” class. In the course, students act as pro bono communication consultants, applying their knowledge and giving back to a local business we visit.

Beyond teaching, Seth and I have long discussed conducting research together, and I’m excited that we now have a few projects in the works! One of those projects explores the role of international service-learning in strengthening global workplace skills, and we are thrilled to have recently received a Service-Learning Research Grant to support our work. We are grateful for the Service-Learning Excellence Program at Texas State for this award!

My handbook chapter on “Organizational Entry Processes” with Michael Kramer, Scott Shank, and Vernon Miller is now published in the handbook of Organizational Communication Theory and Research. In the chapter, we review scholarly work in the areas of vocational socialization, anticipatory organizational socialization including recruitment and interview processes, organizational entry and encounter, role-making processes, and entry experiences of nontraditional newcomers. In addition to reviewing scholarship in each of these areas, we also offer suggestions for future research that I hope to investigate someday, such as studying “retiree’s” work and children’s anticipatory socialization from parents working remotely.

I enjoyed presenting at Texas State University’s Development Day, an event dedicated to employee professional development. My session provided research-based guidance for employees to strengthen their communication and foster collaboration.

I recently presented a virtual session on Crisis Communication for small business owners in Texas, sharing evidence-based communication strategies to help prepare for crises before they happen. The presentation was part of an online support and training program called BOOST, which seeks to help businesses’ ability to grow and contribute to a resilient economy. Thank you BOOST and the Translational Health Research Center for having me!