The Speakers

President Lynn Mahoney

Lynn Mahoney serves as the 14th president of San Francisco State University, one of the nation’s premier urban comprehensive universities, serving a student population of more than 22,000. The first woman appointed to serve as the University’s president in a permanent capacity, Mahoney succeeded Leslie E. Wong, who retired in July 2019.

CSU Trustee Wenda Fong

Wenda Fong began her 40-plus year career in television as the producer and host of her own live, talk show series in Los Angeles. Fong is the producer and director of music and variety specials, awards shows, reality specials, sitcoms, talk shows, documentaries, PSAs, and live events. She holds the dual distinction as being the first person of color and first woman to have produced the Emmy Awards. She has launched productions across the United States and around the world, including China, Canada, Europe and Africa. Fong received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian American Studies from the University of Southern California.

Asst. Director Quajuana Chapman, Assistant Director,

General Education and Intersegmental Partnerships

Quajuana M. Chapman serves as the Assistant Director of General Education and Intersegmental Partnerships in Academic Programs at the CSU Office of the Chancellor. In this role, she oversees systemwide initiatives in general education, transfer curriculum, transfer credit policies and articulation, and Credit for Prior Learning. She collaborates with partners across the state on transfer-related initiatives to facilitate and expand equitable access to high-quality educational opportunities leading to a CSU baccalaureate degree. She earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership from California State University, Fullerton, and her MPA and B.A. in economics with a minor in public administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Dean Grace Yoo,

College of Ethnic Studies, SF State

Yoo has worked in higher education for over 30 years, 27 of which have been at SF State. She began as an Asian American Studies lecturer faculty member in 1996 and 18 years later became chair of the same department, serving in that role until 2018.

Dean Ifeoma Nwankwo,

College of Liberal and Creative Arts

Dr. Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo is Dean of the College of Liberal & Creative Arts, overseeing the College's academic, financial, and administrative functions.

Dean Andreana Clay,

College of Health and Social Science

Andreana Clay, PhD is Dean of the College of Health and Social Science. She has been at SF State since 2004 and is the author of “The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back: Youth, Activism, and Post Civil Rights Politics.” She has additionally published numerous essays in publications such as Social Justice, Critical Black Studies Reader and the Journal of Lesbian Studies. She is former chair of the Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies, the first Black woman to hold the position.

CSU AEES Awards Symposium Keynote:

Provost Amy Sueyoshi

Amy Sueyoshi is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at San Francisco State University. She previously served as dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at the same institution, the first and longest standing college of its kind. She is a historian by training with an undergraduate degree from Barnard College and a Ph.D. from University of California at Los Angeles. Her research area lies at the intersection of Asian American Studies and Sexuality Studies. She has authored two monographs Queer Compulsions: Race, Nation, and Sexuality in the Affairs of Yone Noguchi and Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American “Oriental.” Her essay “Breathing Fire: Remembering Asian Pacific American Activism in Queer History” was a part of the award-winning National Park Service LGBT Theme Study published in 2017. Amy is also a founding co-curator of the GLBT History Museum, seeded the intergenerational Dragon Fruit Oral History Project at API Equality Northern California, and is the co-founder and co-chair of the biennial Queer History Conference hosted by the Committee on LGBT History. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Clio Award for their contribution to queer history, San Francisco Pride Community Grand Marshal, and the Phoenix Award for her service to the Asian and Pacific Islander queer women and transgender community.

Special Guests

Trustee Julia Lopez, Lopez currently serves as a board member of two organizations: California Competes and One Future Coachella Valley, which are dedicated to improving educational outcomes to meet state and regional economic development and workforce needs. She previously served as a board member of KQED, a Northern California public media outlet, and The Christensen Fund.

Faculty Trustee Darlene Yee-Melichar, Dr. Yee-Melichar has served as an active faculty leader on the Executive Committees of the SF State Academic Senate and the Academic Senate CSU. Among her numerous community-professional contributions, she currently serves on the California Department of Aging’s ADRC Advisory Committee; California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform’s Board of Directors; and the Health Plan of San Mateo’s CareAdvantage Advisory Committee.

Jackson Wilson, PhD, is Chair of the Academic Senate of SF State University.

Brandon Foley, PhD, is the president of Associated Students at SF State for the 2024-25 term. Born and raised in the Bay Area in a Filipino-American and Irish immigrant household, he earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering from SF State in Fall 2023 and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering as an SF State Scholars student.

Emcee: Robert Keith Collins, PhD

Robert Keith Collins, PhD, is Project Manager and Associate Professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University.

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