New Division Leadership

New Division Leadership

The NCA conference in Denver (Nov. 19-22) was jam-packed with learning, networking, and collaboration. One of the best parts of any conference is welcoming our new Division leadership team, elected by you, the members, earlier this year. Please welcome the following folks to our team:

  • Vice Chair-Elect: Sean J. Upshaw. University of Texas at Austin
  • DE&I Vice Chair: Parameswari Mukherjee, Metropolitan State University of Denver
  • Graduate Student Representative: Sara Babu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Legislative Assembly Representatives: Luna Wu, Texas Tech University and Kami Kosenko, North Carolina State University
  • Awards Committee Reviewers: Emily Abellon, University of Portland; Kelsey Binion, University of Texas at Arlington; Monica Gallegos, California State University, Northridge; Mengfei Guan, University of Oklahoma; Shari Hoppin, Troy University; Kelly McAninch, University of Kentucky; Melissa Robinson, Penn State Fayette; Paul Wright, Indiana University Bloomington; Luna Wu, Texas Tech University; and Maggie Unruh, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Doctoral Student Representative)

Next, we presented our annual division awards, including:

  • Outstanding Contributions to Promoting Equity and Inclusion Award: Ambar Basu, University of South Florida
  • Distinguished Book Award: Elaine Wittenberg, Joy Goldsmith, Sandra
  • Ragan, Terri Parnell — Communication in Palliative Nursing: The COMFORT Model (2nd ed.; Oxford University Press, 2020)
  • Early Career Scholar Awards: Elizabeth Hintz, University of Connecticut; and Aurora Occa, University of Kentucky
  • Dale E. Brashers Distinguished Mentor Award: Kimberly Parker, University of Kentucky

This year’s winners were chosen from a combined total of 25 nominations, all of whom exemplify the robust scholarship, engaged advocacy, and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social change that characterize the field of health communication at its finest. In particular, the awards committees praised the methodological strength, theoretical significance, and practical contributions contained within and across the nominees’ materials, as well as the nominees’ collective scope of dedicated, consequential service within the classroom, to the discipline, and for their communities.

Lastly, during this recent election, our members overwhelmingly approved a new division-wide award, the Teri Thompson Distinguished Service Award, in honor of the founding editor of Health Communication, a foundational journal for our discipline. We’ll award this honor for the first time during the 2026 NCA conference.

Thank you everyone who nominated themselves or another great candidate, and thanks to all who took the time to vote. This is a robust division full of amazing scholars, students, and professionals, and it takes a village to keep it running smoothly.