Ailea Merriam-Pigg

Ailea Merriam-Pigg is a Lecturer in the Department of Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They hold multiple leadership positions, including Chair for the Game Studies Division at the National Communication Association (2025–present), Secretary for the Disability Issues Caucus (2024–present), and Future Faculty Partner Co-Chair for UW-Madison’s Teaching Academy (2023–present). Their research spans rhetoric, digital media, gaming, and cultural studies, with a focus on communication dynamics in performance, online communities, and participatory action.

Education: Completed an MA Project at San José State University (2017) exploring cyberanthropology and geek philanthropy. Professional roles include audio editing for Playback (2018–2019) and serving as Secretary for Badger Rhetoric (2019–2021).

Research interests include the interplay of rhetoric in media, gaming’s cultural impact, and inclusive leadership practices. Recent work examines color-purposeful casting in theater, metagame analysis on Twitch, and participatory action in community-based projects. Their non-academic writing appears in Nerdist and Nerdy but Flirty.

Awards include the Baxter Inclusive Excellence Award (2025), Risser Award (2025), and Helen K. Herman Award (2024). Teaching spans courses like Digital Communication, Rhetoric in Politics, and Intercultural Communication since 2018. Grants include the Elliott Dissertation Scholarship (2022) and Graduate School Fellowship (2022).

Labs/Teams: Active in UW-Madison’s Communication Arts program and national organizations like the National Communication Association, where they’ve held multiple leadership roles.