Lena M. Chao

Lena M. Chao is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at California

State University, Los Angeles where she also serves as Director for the

Asian and Asian American Institute. Prior to joining the faculty at CSULA,

she wason the administrative staff of the Media Institute for Minorities at

the University of Southern California and worked as a Public Service

Coordinator at KFWB News radio in Los Angeles. She also has worked at Radio

Espanol and served as Media Director for the American Civil Liberties Union

of Southern California.

Her areas of scholarly specialization include public relations, mass

communication, and intercultural and interpersonal communications. Her

academic work has been published in Human Communication, California Politics

and Policy, and Feedback among others.

She was on the founding board of the Media Action Network for Asian

Americans (MANAA), a watchdog group that monitors communications media in

the United States for fair, balanced and accurate portrayals of Asian

Pacific Americans. Her public service activities also includes membership on

the advisory boards of two non-profit organizations, The Coalition of

Brothers and Sisters Unlimited, and the Estelle Van Meter Multipurpose

Center, both located in South Central Los Angeles. She is Faculty Director

for Service Learning at Cal State L.A., promoting curriculum development and

faculty and student involvement in community service learning opportunities.

Ms. Chao received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of

California, Los Angeles, and her M.S. in Print Journalism and Ph.D. in

Communication Arts and Sciences from the University of Southern California.