Zachary White

Dr. Zachary White earned his Ph.D. in communication from Purdue University. He is an Associate Professor in the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. His research and teaching focus on helping people manage meaning and communicate life experiences amidst high levels of uncertainty and stress.

Zachary began living, researching, and exploring the caregiver experience in 2002 during his mother's diagnosis with brain cancer.

Throughout, he has researched a range of care experiences, including birth (parental NICU experiences), chronic caregiver experiences, and end-of-life caregiving (hospice care). His academic articles have been published in Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Family Communication, Communication Research Reports, OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, Health Communication, and Volunteering and Communication: Studies from Multiple Contexts. He is the co-author (with Donna Thomson) of The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).

As an award winning university professor, Zachary teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses addressing topics such as provider-patient communication, caregiver communication, the patient experience, health and illness narratives, digital health literacy, online social support, and sense making amidst life transitions. He also creates original digital health literacy programming for community organizations such as the YMCA.

Finally, he is the founder of the award-winning blog and resource for caregivers called “The Unprepared Caregiver” and the co-author of the “The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver.”