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Women We Admire: Jenny Kao

Jenny Kao insertBring your lunch and join us to hear Jenny Kao, the next speaker in the Women We Admire series:

DATE: Tuesday, June 7
TIME: 12 – 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Franklin Lobby 1
DIAL-IN: ReadyTalk 1-866-740-1260; access code 7226879

Kao is the chief of staff for the Public Affairs Division and founding executive director for Issues Management, Policy Analysis and Coordination (IMPAC) at UCOP. In this dual role, she serves as deputy to the senior vice president of Public Affairs, develops external messaging and public rollouts for the president’s initiatives and other priorities, directs the development of the university system’s positions on state and federal legislation, and provides policy guidance, analysis and research to further the university’s public policy agenda and initiatives.

A product of California public education, Kao has worked in the public sector and in public higher education for over two decades. Before her current role as chief of staff and executive director, she was asked by UC senior leadership in 2008 to co-lead the university’s state governmental relations office in Sacramento. Prior to this, she served as deputy to the executive vice president for External Relations and special assistant to two previous UC presidents, from 2000-2007. Before that, she worked as the higher education policy analyst in then-Governor Gray Davis’ administration from 1999-2000. She began her career in higher education working three jobs—in undergraduate admissions policy, student services, and student athletics—at the UC Berkeley campus.

Kao earned her B.A. degree (with honors) in American History from UC Berkeley, with a minor in French Literature. She holds a master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University. An immigrant and non-native English speaker, Kao was born in Taiwan, raised in San Francisco and now calls Oakland home.

Kao’s talk is part of the Women We Admire series, initiated by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (PACSW) in 2009. PACSW brings women to UCOP from around the system to share insights about their careers, workplace challenges and work-life balance. All members of the UCOP community are invited to learn how to make the most of working at UC.

Find upcoming speakers in the series and archived audio of past talks on the Women We Admire website.


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