Dr. Leanne K. Knobloch is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois. Her research focuses on times of transition within relationships, particularly how military couples communicate across the deployment cycle. She is a Science Advisory Board Member of the Military Child Education Coalition and a recent recipient of the Centennial Scholar Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois. Learn more about her work here.

Bryan Abendschein earned his M.A. from Saint Louis University and is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on times of stress and change within close relationships. He is working on a dissertation project focused on how couples communicate after stroke.

Dr. Erin Basinger is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She holds an M.A. from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her research focuses on interpersonal communication, health communication, social support, and coping.

Dr. Kelly McAninch is an assistant professor and the Director of Undergraduate Education in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky. She earned an M.A. from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her research considers how individuals communicate about difficult topics.

Dr. James Kale Monk is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri. He received his M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Kansas State University and his Ph.D. from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois. He studies relationship quality and stability in romantic relationships during life transitions, with a particular interest in how military couples navigate transitions across the deployment cycle.

Erin Wehrman  is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Missouri State University. She received her M.A. degree from Missouri State University and is working on her Ph.D. in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois. She studies interpersonal communication, emphasizing families and couples during times of stress and crisis, particularly military service and grief. Her brother and two cousins served or are serving in the U.S. Army.