Instructor Siress has more than 20 years experience in academia and is a graduate of New York University’s (NYU) Steinhardt School of Culture, Communication, Education, and Human Development where he earned his MA in Communication Studies. He also earned his BA degree in Communication Studies from Emerson College in Boston. Instructor Siress has taught many classes in communication studies at various colleges and universities including Marymount Manhattan College, the CUNY college system of New York City, Monroe College, and Barry University in Miami where he taught classes such as Communication Theory, Rhetoric and Public Speaking, Intercultural Communication, Mass Media History, Popular Music and the Media to name a few. Prior to teaching, Instructor Siress worked for various professional business organizations in New York City including HBO where he was a staff writer and production assistant for the Original Programming Department. He worked doing research for the executive producers on several popular documentaries and nationally televised programs. Instructor Siress is an amateur filmmaker and musician who has performed with various musical groups and has also performed and produced several of his own recordings. Research interests include persuasion and communication theory, mass media history, semiotics, non-verbal communication, political rhetoric, and pop music history.