Dawna I. Ballard (Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara) is associate professor of organizational communication and technology in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. An expert in chronemics—i.e., the study of time as it is bound to human communication—she researches what drives our pace of life and its impact on the communication practices and long-term vitality of organizations, communities, and individuals.

Dr. Ballard’s new book, Time by Design: How Communicating Slow Allows Us to Go Fast (released December 2025) introduces readers to chronemic design, a process through which we fashion time itself. Drawing on her research across a range of industries, she illustrates how the most effective people, groups, and organizations use relationships as a lever for speed and offers a practical toolkit for doing so. She was recently awarded the prestigious 2025 David Meyers Research award for the article “Unhurried Conversations in Health Care Are More Important Than Ever: Identifying Key Communication Practices for Careful and Kind Care” published in the Annals of Family Medicine.

Her research and commentary are regularly featured in mainstream news outlets, such as The New York Times, Fortune, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Forbes, Inc., NBC News, and NPR as well as venues such as SXSW and Creative Mornings. Her expertise is sought after by global think tanks such as the Aspen Institute and The European House Ambrosetti.

A member of the National Communication Association (past Chair, Group Communication Division), International Communication Association, and the International Society for the Study of Time (past Council Member), she co-directs the internship program and teaches courses on communication in groups, teams and communities, scale development, and chronemics.

Find more information about Dr. Ballard and her research at