Melissa Murphy

Dr. Melissa Murphy is the Founder and Chief Communication Coach of The Pitch Academy and award-winning teacher and scholar in organizational communication and technology at The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Murphy currently teaches business communication in the nationally-ranked McCombs School of Business. She has taught professional communication skills, nonverbal communication and organizational communication for the Moody College of Communication and has also held academic teaching positions in marketing for the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization program as well as teaches numerous workshops for Texas Executive Education.

She has published work on web conferencing in the classroom, international crisis communication, interviewing, communication pedagogy, health communication, and professionalism for students and recent college graduates. Her latest work investigates the role of storytelling in raising capital in rewards and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.

She coaches students, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and professionals of all ages to pitch themselves and their ideas in meetings, presentations, and interviews. Over the last decade, she has worked and provided training for several non-profit organizations and companies in fields such as technology, education, consumer products, healthcare, finance, insurance, and government. During her spare time, she watches Kickstarter videos and is a community ‘Barracuda’ mentor for young entrepreneurs at Moolah University in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Murphy holds a BA degree in Corporate Communication from The University of Cincinnati, and an MA and PhD in Organizational Communication and Technology from The University of Texas at Austin, where she received multiple fellowships including the High North Fellowship at the Bodø Graduate School of Business at The University of Nordland. Prior to her appointment at The University of Texas at Austin, she was in the music business industry holding positions in digital sales and marketing.

Recognized by the Speech Communication Association as the most outstanding graduate teacher in the state of Texas, she was recently awarded Assistant Instructor of the Year by the Department of Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin as well as Faculty Honor Roll at the McCombs School of Business.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) The University of Texas at Austin (2012 — 2016)
• Masters of Arts in Communication Studies The University of Texas at Austin (2010 — 2012)
• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) University of Cincinnati