Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidates (L-R) former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senator Bernie Sanders take the stage for the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 25, 2020. Randall Hill/Reuters

Diana Carlin is Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University and serves as the secretary of the board of directors of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She has held the posts of Professor of Communication Studies and Dean of the Graduate School and International Programs at the University of Kansas.

Carlin is an expert in political communication, particularly its intersection with gender and political debates. She has studied the effectiveness of debates in educating the electorate as a member of the Advisory Board for the Commission on Presidential Debates for 13 years from 1987-2000..

Carlin is associated with the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equality at the University of Kansas and has conducted numerous focus groups to study public perceptions in the context of political discourse, and is the author of Gender and the American Presidency: Nine Presidential Women and the Barriers They Faced.