A native of central Louisiana, he earned a Bachelor's with a concentration in Business and a minor in Speech from Northwestern State University. He continued his education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he earned a Master of Arts in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication in 2006. He received his PhD at Louisiana State University in Communication Studies in 2012. His research examines the role of communication in crisis situations. Dr. Bannon has presented papers at the Louisiana Communication Association, served as a Forensics coach and has co-authored a book chapter in The Influence of Communication on Physiology and Health Status.