Dr. Lauren Reichart Smith (Ph.D., University of Alabama) is an associate professor and the director of research for the Center for Sports Communication and Social Impact at Rowan University. Her research focuses on the effects of sports media on our emotions. This focus has enabled her to complete research that focuses on issues of gender, race, and national identity. She has examined attitudes and perceptions with respect to participation in sport, primarily surrounding transgender athletes, as well as attitudes and perceptions of athlete activism. Lauren has been involved with IACS since her first conference in 2011. She served as the vice chair/chair/past chair of IACS from 2014-2021 and has also served as an officer in the past for Southern States Communication Association and AEJMC. 

Dr. Angela Pratt (B.A., Campbell University, NC, USA; M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; Ph.D., University of Tennessee, USA) is a Teaching Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. Her pedagogical and research interests include Strategic Communication, Sport Administration, Qualitative Research Methods, Gender and Sport Communication, Experiential Learning, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sport. Prior to her work at UNC-CH, Dr. Pratt was an Assistant Professor in the Sports Studies Department at Bishop’s University (QC, Canada) for three years, an Assistant Professor in the Clemson University (SC, USA) Department of Communication for six years, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Bradley University (IL, USA) for five years. Dr. Pratt’s sports industry experience includes posts as Sports Sales Manager for the Greater Raleigh (NC, USA) Convention and Visitors Bureau, Assistant Director of Marketing for the University of Virginia Department of Athletics (USA), Public Relations Director for the Raleigh (NC, USA) Capital Express (USISL A-League soccer), and Media Relations Intern for the Charlotte Hornets (NBA). 

Travis R. Bell is an Associate Professor of Digital and Sports Media and the Director of Graduate Programs and Research in the Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications at the University of South Florida. He has published more than 30 journal articles and book chapters and is lead author of CTE, Media, and the NFL. He teaches courses with an emphasis on broadcast journalism, visual storytelling, sports media, and media literacy. Bell’s research interests are in sport and medical communication intersect with race and gender, and he is a documentary filmmaker. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of South Florida, a M.S. in Sport Management from Florida State University, and a B.A. in Radio/TV Broadcasting and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. He worked nearly two decades in professional journalism, including 12 years in television news as a multimedia journalist. Bell previously served a five-year term as a Board Member for IACS. Learn more about his research, teaching, and service on his website www.travisrbell.com.

Dr Beth Fielding-Lloyd is Head of Teaching and Learning Enhancement in the College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She earned her PhD in Sport Communication at Manchester Metropolitan University and her research interests center on gendered organisational practices and media representations in sport using methods of discourse analysis. Her current research projects include the global development and professionalisation of women's football (soccer) and women’s sport as a space for social justice and advocacy. She is also co-founder of the Sport, Media and Identity network (@SM_Identity), which aims to bring together sport journalists and academics to promote critical and inclusive practices in sport media.  

Xavier Ginesta is Senior Lecturer at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia. He also collaborates with the Olympic Studies Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain. His main research interests are Sport Management, Communication and Politics and Sport Place Branding. His research has been published in several international journals, such as Communication & Sport, Soccer & Society or the American Behavioural Scientist. He has published the book untitled Les multinacionals de l’entreteniment. Futbol, diplomàcia, identitat i tecnologia [Entertainment Multinationals. Football, diplomacy, identity and technology] (Editorial UOC, 2020) and he is the co-editor of the volume Sport, Globalisation and Identity. New Perspectives on Regions and Nations (Routledge, 2020). He is a member of the TRACTE research group at UVic-UCC [Audiovisual Translation, Communication and Territory] and is member of the Sports Management Advisory Board at Widener University (Chester, PA).

Molly Yanity (Ph.D., Ohio University) is a professor of journalism and sports journalism at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. She also serves as department chair and director of the graduate programs in journalism and sports journalism. She is a two-time, previous chair of AEJMC’s sport communication interest group. In 2021, Yanity collaborated with Dr. Danielle Coombs to edit, write and publish “2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Media, Fandom, and Soccer’s Biggest Stage.” She has been published in several journals and edited collections. During the 2019 WNBA season, she covered the Connecticut Sun for The Athletic. Before her career in higher education, Yanity was a full-time sports writer on the West Coast for 15 years. She prioritizes teaching over research and her syllabuses, lessons and reading lists can be found at mollyyanity.com. 

Dr. Frauke Hachtmann is a professor and William H. Kearns Chair in Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research explores the strategic use of emerging media in sport communication as well as complex crisis response advertising. Her work has appeared in numerous journals, including the International Journal of Sport Communication, the Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, and the Journal of Advertising Education. She is a member of several journals’ editorial boards and has served as head of the AEJMC Advertising Division, research chair of the American Academy of Advertising, and associate dean and graduate chair in her college. A former Division-1 athlete at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln she worked in sports marketing before joining the academy

Ariel Newell is a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She researches the impact of sports on culture and society through critical feminist perspectives. Her work emphasizes inclusivity in sports and media, sports activism, and amplifying marginalized voices globally. She received her Bachelors and Masters of Arts  in Liberal Studies for Education and Communication Studies from Califiornia State Univeristy of San Bernardino. She has presented her work at national and international conferences. Newell has attended conferences including IACS, ICA, NCA, and other interdisciplinary conferences.

Kate Lavelle (Ph.D., Wayne State University) is an Associate Professor and the Director of Public Speaking Center at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She teaches courses in the Public Communication and Advocacy emphasis area in the Department of Communication Studies. Her primary research interests are in the relationship between rhetoric and sports, specifically in examining issues of race, gender, and nationality. Kate has been serving IACS since 2012. 

Brody J. Ruihley is an Associate Professor of Sport Leadership and Management at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He holds a PhD in Sport Studies with a concentration in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, an MS in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville, and a BA in Communication from the University of Kentucky. His primary research is in the area of fantasy sport and public relations in sport. Brody has been serving in this role since 2010. 

Evan Frederick is an Associate Professor of Sport Administration at the University of Louisville. Prior to joining the University of Louisville in 2016, Frederick was a faculty member at the University of New Mexico and the University of Southern Indiana. He holds a Ph.D. in Sport Management, an M.S. in Sport Management, and a B.A. in Communication and Culture all from Indiana University. His primary research interest is the intersection of sport and social media. His secondary research interest is sport communication and media theory.