Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Communication
Major Professor
Patrice M. Buzzanell, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Mahuya Pal, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Jane Jorgenson, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Ph.D.
Keywords
organizing in crisis, organizational change, communication theory of resilience, sensemaking, collective leadership, case study
Abstract
This dissertation investigates how nonprofit organizations cultivate resilience through communication and practice during periods of disruption, focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a case study of Apex for Youth—a New York City-based nonprofit serving low-income Asian and immigrant youth—this research explores how organizational members co-constructed resilience in response to both the pandemic and rising anti-Asian hate. Guided by the Communicative Theory of Resilience (CTR) and practice theory, resilience is examined as a dynamic, relational process enacted through daily organizational life.
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, Formative Influences Timelines (FIT), ethnographic observation, and organizational documents. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four key practices that fostered resilience at Apex: reframing all work as mission work, embracing role fluidity and collaboration, blurring boundaries between organization and community, and developing collective mindfulness. These themes illustrate how resilience emerged through communication and practice, often amid tensions and uncertainty.
By coupling CTR with practice theory, this dissertation contributes to the theorization of nonprofit resilience as a relational, situated, and ethically grounded phenomenon. It challenges traditional, outcome-based models of resilience by foregrounding tensions, improvisation, and the emotional and moral labor of resilience work. The study also provides practical insights for nonprofit practitioners, especially those navigating resource constraints, systemic inequities, and rapidly changing environments. Ultimately, this dissertation advances a communicative understanding of resilience that emphasizes values-driven action, collective agency, and the transformative potential embedded in everyday organizational practice.
Scholar Commons Citation
Pyatovskaya, Evgeniya, "“We Built Our Plane as We Flew It”: Communicative Resilience in Nonprofit Organizing During the Pandemic" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10994
