About Me

Thank you for your interest in me! 

Below is some information and background on my professional self. I’ve am an active member of a variety of professional associations, including the Western States Communication Association, National Communication Association, and the International Communication Association. On a personal level, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband. I am actively engaged in social justice and human rights work through my association with the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission. I am a Lebanese-American (my mother was born in Beirut and my Grandmother is from Palestine), born and raised in Southern California.

I enjoy hiking, camping, cycling, live music, art, and yoga.

Education

Academic Positions

Other Positions

  • PresentFeb 2023

    1st Vice President

    Western States Communication Association

  • Present2020

    Co-Founder & President

    Something Queer Music and Arts Collective `{`Nonprofit in San Francisco`}`

  • 20212018

    Finance Committee Chair

    Western States Communication Association

  • present2017

    Commissioner

    Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission

  • 20192018

    2nd Vice President

    Western States Communication Association

  • 20192016

    Diversity Council Chair

    National Communication Association

Awards

  • September 2022
    Presidential Award for Service, Santa Clara University
    I received the presidential award for service from the President of Santa Clara University
  • February 2018
    Outstanding Publications Reviewer Award
    Western Journal of Communication
  • February 2018
    Top Four Paper in Organizational Communication
    Western States Communication Association
  • February 2018
    The Top Paper in Interpersonal Communication
    Western States Communication Association
  • November 2017
    Presidential Citation for Service
    National Communication Association

    This award was given to me for my work as a member of the Task Force for Diversity for the association where I worked with NCA leadership to improve the governance documents for the association.

  • February 2018
    The Top Paper in Interpersonal Communication
    Western States Communication Association
  • January 2015
    Sage Publications Spotlight Video on Research
    Boren, J. P. (2014). The relationships between co-rumination, social support, stress, and burnout among working adults. Management Communication Quarterly, 26, 3-25. doi: 10.1177/0893318913509283. This recognition was given to researchers of highly-read/cited articles published in Sage Journals. I was asked to record a 10 minute video about the article for inclusion on the Sage website.
  • June 2013
    Top Paper in Organizational Communication
    International Communication Association Presented at the annual meeting, London UK for the competitively-selected paper:
    Worker co-rumination mediates the relationships between social support and stress and burnout. Papers were first selected for the conference (~30% acceptance) and then the top-scoring papers were submitted to a panel of experts to select the top 4 papers in Organizational Communication.
  • February 2012
    Top Paper in Health Communication
    Western States Communication Association Presented at the annual meeting, Albuquerque, NM for the competitive-selected paper:
    Affectionate communication can suppress immunity: Trait affection predicts antibody titers to latent Epstein-Barr virus.
  • November 2006
    Top Paper in Nonverbal Communication
    National Communication Association. Presented at the annual meeting, San Antonio, TX for the competitive-selected paper:
    Synchrony and reciprocity of nonverbal behaviors between romantic partners during conflicts.

     

  • November 2004
    Top Paper in LGBTQ Studies
    National Communication Association. Presented at the annual meeting, Chicago, IL for the competitively-selected paper:
    Coming out in the workplace: The influence of norm violations on employees’ perceptions of homosexual managers’ credibility. This paper was based on my MA thesis and was selected as the top paper (among all student and non-student papers) by the Caucus on LGBTQ Concerns.