Phyllis Ryder studies the rhetorical moves that encourage and discourage people from believing they can effect change. She focuses on the local level and the rhetoric of nonprofits (how do nonprofits persuade people of the world that is, the world that can be, and their methods for bridging the two)? As a teacher, Ryder designs writing courses that employ community-engaged learning, where students collaborate with local nonprofits to wrestle with the real-world challenges of "writing well." Her publications include a book Rhetorics for Community Action and articles about public writing, antiracism, community-engaged teaching, and teaching information literacy.