RICHARD WEST is Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Emerson College in Boston. At the national level, Rich is Past President of the National Communication Association (NCA) and past President of the Eastern Communication Association (ECA), the oldest professional communication organization in the country. Rich's scholarship intersects family, communication, and identity is the co-author of several books in multiple editions (IPC: Interpersonal Communication; Gender and Communication/3rd edition; Understanding Interpersonal Communication: Making Choices in Changing Times; Perspectives on Family Communication; and Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Applications). He is also co-author of Communication: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press) and Interpersonal Communication (Sage Publications). Rich is the recipient of various distinctions, including Emerson's Norman and Irma Mann Stearns Distinguished Professor, Illinois State University's Outstanding Alum in Communication Studies, and NCA's Bernard J. Brommel Award in Family Communication.

CHRISTINA S. BECK is Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University. Dr. Beck is Past President of the National Communication Association. As part of her Enhancing Opportunities NCA Presidential Initiative, she established the NCA Anti-Bullying Project. Beck has also served as President of the Central States Communication Association, Editor of Communication Yearbook (volumes 30-33), and Book Review Editor for Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives. Beck has published four award-winning books in the areas of health communication and gender: The Lynching of Language: Gender, Politics, and Power in the Hill-Thomas Hearings, Partnership for Health: Building Relationships between Women and Health Caregivers, Communicating for Better Health: A Guide through the Medical Mazes, and Narrative, Health, and Healing: Communication Theory, Research, and Practice, in addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters.