Dr. Monique Mitchell Turner is faculty and Associate Dean at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. Turner has held faculty positions in Departments of Communication at the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, and the University of Maryland. Turner’s expertise is in risk communication, with a particular focus on persuasive message design and evaluation, risk perception, and cognitive processing of health risks—including informed decision making and critical thinking.
Dr. Turner is the author of the Anger Activism model—a behavioral theory explaining the conditions when emotions (anger) can be constructive versus deleterious. She is most well known for her work in risk perception and risk communication. She regularly conducts communication training programs in risk communication, behavior change, persuasive message design, and critical thinking for organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Food and Drug Administration.
As the former director of the Center for Risk Communication Research at the University of Maryland, Turner’s research has been funded by organizations such as Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Homeland Security among others.
Turner was formerly the associate editor of Communication Research Reports, is the past chairperson of both the Communication and Social Cognition Division of the National Communication Association and the Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association. She is the former Senior Editor of Health Communication.