Shannon Norris Parish

Areas of Expertise

• Agricultural Literacy
• Food Security
• Q Methodology
• Qualitative Methodology
• Risk and Crisis Communications
• Science Communications

Professional Summary

Shannon Norris Parish, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University. As a science communicator, she strives to help audiences understand the basics of food, fiber, and natural sciences. Her research investigates the role of agriculture in national security and national defense. Guided by enhancing stakeholder agricultural literacy, her efforts support establishing a safe, secure, and stable food supply. She has contributed—as a PI or Co-PI—to more than $54 million in grants and extramural funding, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Parish has received numerous research and academic accolades, including “40 Under 40” from the state of New Mexico in 2023, the 2025 Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) Early Career Award, the 2025 Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) Academic and Research Award of Excellence, and the 2023 American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) Early Career Award for the Western Region. She was also recently selected as an Innovative Teaching Fellow through Texas A&M University’s Center for Teaching Excellence. In her former capacity at New Mexico State University, she was awarded the 2023 NMSU Professor of the Year and the 2021 Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU) National Innovative Teaching Award for novel pedagogical approaches in her classroom.

Dr. Parish serves the profession in a variety of settings, including serving as the managing editor of the Journal of Applied Communications; an invited member of the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy—Social Sciences Subcommittee; an invited member of the University Consortium on Health, Food, and Agricultural Resilience; and a committee member of the National FFA Organization Agricultural Communications Career Development Event (CDE).