Ronald L. Jackson II is Professor & Chair of Communication Studies and Professor of Journalism & Media Management at University of Miami. A Past President of the National Communication Association and the Eastern Communication Association, he is an internationally recognized scholar whose work has profoundly shaped the study of communication, identity, and culture. Across more than three decades, his scholarship has advanced critical-cultural approaches to communication through publication of 20 books and over 125 scholarly publications. It is why he has been selected as an International Communication Association Fellow and a National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar. He is widely known for developing Cultural Contracts Theory, a framework for understanding cultural identity negotiation, as well as the Black Masculine Identity Theory.  He has introduced a new construct he has coined Message Imprints, which is discussed in his TedTalk on What Memories Teach Us About Love.

Zachary Benetatos is a Ph.D. student in Communication at the University of Miami, where his research examines how individuals navigate connection, agency, and resilience in an increasingly AI-mediated world. Drawing on experimental methods, his work investigates the ways AI communication styles shape how people think, feel, and make decisions in emotionally significant and high-stakes contexts, with implications for both scholars and practitioners. He is also the founder of Unscripted, a communication training organization built around experiential learning and leadership development, and a co-founder of transformative global retreats designed to reconnect individuals with themselves, others, and their environment. 

Deitrick Knatt is a researcher, editor, and cultural creative professional whose work examines communication, culture, identity, and community formation. His research engages questions of Black life, social justice, displacement, cultural memory, and the role of communication in shaping more equitable futures. Drawing from interdisciplinary traditions in communication, Africana studies, and cultural studies, his work explores how communities create, sustain, and imagine alternative forms of belonging, collective care, and social transformation. Through scholarship, editorial leadership, and cultural programming initiatives, Knatt is committed to fostering dialogue, preserving cultural knowledge, and connecting academic inquiry with community engagement and public impact.