Melissa Rizzo

Melissa Rizzo is an interpersonal and organizational communication scholar specializing in identity shifts, relationship maintenance after life changes, emotion work, and supportive communication in families and communities. Currently, she teaches in the Ohio Honors Program at Ohio University and the Communication department at the University of Cincinnati Clermont. Previously, she served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the College of Wooster, teaching courses on Small Group Communication, Interpersonal/Family Communication, and Communication Theories.

Education: B.A. (2012), M.A. (2013 Organizational Communication, 2016 Communication Studies), and Ph.D. (2019 Communication Studies) from Ohio University.

Her research focuses on adoption narratives, maternal identity, health communication in community events (e.g., Relay for Life), and technology's role in parent-adolescent relationships. Key themes include identity negotiation, privacy dynamics in adoption, and digital communication's impact on family systems. Recent work explores academic mothers' experiences in online communities and genomic testing's role in adoption reunions.

Her publications span journals like Journal of Family Communication and Health Communication, with contributions to edited volumes on adoption, family communication, and mediated communication. Research highlights include analyzing birth certificate access as identity affirmation and studying pandemic-era family communication challenges.