Dr. Heather Ashley Hayes is a researcher, educator, author, speaker, and consultant as well as a nonprofit founder and director. She is also an advanced assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. She serves as Director of The Teach Out, a nonprofit aimed at breaking down barriers to educational access and runs Hayes Consulting Group, a consultancy space that works to empower clients in how they think about public communication, learning, inclusion, and success.

She previously was a Scott, Jensen, and Campbell Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts in the Department of Communication Studies and was an Elton Abernathy Fellow at Texas State University’s College of Fine Arts and Communication. Dr. Hayes’ work has been called “innovative” and “incredibly important” in the fields of communication and public discourse.

She is the recipient of numerous awards for her teaching and research including most recently, the Donald H. Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education from the National Communication Association (2023) and the John I. Sisco Excellence in Teaching Award from the Southern States Communication Association (2024). Her 2016 book Violent Subjects was nominated as the National Communication Association Critical/Cultural Studies division’s book of the year and two of her research essays have been awarded top paper designations across her career. 

Dr. Hayes holds a Ph.D. in communication studies with a concentration in public discourse and a minor concentration in anthropology; a Masters graduate certificate in neuroscience and Bachelors degrees in speech communication and political science with a concentration in critical legal studies. She also maintains Texas state board of education teaching certifications in social studies (6-12) and speech communication (6-12) with a concentration in special education, certifications transferable to at least twenty-three other US states via NASDTEC aligned reciprocity standards.

She is the author of two books (one forthcoming) in the field of communication, social change, and public discourse and is currently working on a book about how what we know about the brain helps us understand how we learn and how we build inclusive and equitable community. Her nonprofit The Teach Out is active in more than seventeen US states and three countries, with new units beginning bimonthly.

All of her accomplishments were placed on pause in 2019 when Heather faced a life-threatening brain tumor diagnosis. Her less than optimistic prognosis was followed by treatment, a 17-hour brain surgery, and a year long recovery that included adapting to the loss of sight in her right eye. Through her recovery, Heather discovered the true power of knowing our brain, learning, resilience, and community as she spent weeks relearning everything from how to walk to how to shower by herself. She now advocates for new ways to think about community, equity, and accessibility as they relate to education, the intersections of public discourse & social change, and everyday communication spaces.