He received a Bachelor of Business Administration (summa cum laude) from Colorado Mesa University (2001) and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2010). Dr. Engstrom describes himself as a teacher–scholar–consultant who aims to understand and improve business and organizational communication through rhetoric. His academic work weaves among the disciplines of communication, entrepreneurship, training and development, and organization studies. His current research focuses on professionalizing organizational communication, the relationships between institutionalized practices and organizational structures, and rhetorical fantasy themes used in professional communication.