Melissa Rizzo

Melissa Rizzo

Melissa Rizzo

Adjunct Faculty

Melissa Rizzo is an interpersonal and organizational scholar focused on examining identity shifts and relationships maintenance after major life changes, as well as the role of emotion work and supportive communication among community and family members. Melissa was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the College of Wooster for the last two years where she taught Small Group Communication, Interpersonal and Family Communication, and Theories of Communication. She currently teaches in the Ohio Honors Program at Ohio University and the Communication department at the University of Cincinnati Clermont. 

Selected Publications

Rizzo Weller, M. & Hosek, A. (2020). “Birth mothers’ experiences of privacy turbulence in relation to closed adoption information.” Journal of Family Communication, 20, pp. 250-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2020.1761807

Rizzo Weller, M. (2019). “I guess they’re all real moms then”: Constructing motherhood through language in the adoption community. Adoption Quarterly, 22, 265-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2019.1675836

Rizzo Weller, M. (2018). Relay for life as a storytelling occasion: Building community in the midst of suffering. Health Communication, 33, 510-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1278505

Education

B.A. Communication Studies - Ohio University 2012

M.A. Organizational Communication - Ohio University 2013

Ph.D. Communication Studies - Ohio University 2019