Don Waisanen is an associate professor in the Baruch College, CUNY Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, where he teaches courses and workshops in public communication—including executive speech training, communication strategy, and seminars on leadership and improvisation. All his research projects seek to understand how communication works to promote or hinder the force of citizens’ voices. Previously, Don was a Coro Fellow and worked in broadcast journalism, as a speechwriter, and on political campaigns. He is the founder of Communication Upward, an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University, and he received a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School.