Ashli Q. Stokes

Ashli Q. Stokes is a Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she teaches courses on Southern foodways, rhetoric, and public advocacy. She previously served as Director of the Center for the Study of the New South and was a 2020-21 Fulbright Scholar. Her research focuses on identity, activism, and regional dynamics, particularly within Southern food movements.

Education:

• B.A., Virginia Tech University, 1996
• M.A., Wake Forest University, 1998
• Ph.D., University of Georgia, 2004

Research Interests: Stokes explores how food communicates cultural resilience and identity, particularly in Appalachia and the American South. Her work bridges rhetoric, public communication, and social responsibility, analyzing the urban/rural divide and corporate communication strategies.

Publications & Awards: She authored three books including Hungry Roots (2021) and received the NCA PRIDE Award for pedagogy and the Janice Hocker Rushing Early Career Research Award. Her work appears in Southern Communication Journal, Public Relations Inquiry, and media outlets like NPR.

Grants & Funding: Stokes has secured grants from the North Carolina Humanities Council and other agencies to support food culture research. Her work often intersects with public advocacy and community engagement.