Elaine Kathryn Andres (she/her/they) is an educator, interdisciplinary researcher, and writer who works with leaders, organizations, and coalitions to transform community needs and experiences into compelling power-building narratives that incite action. Her work in higher education, non-profits, and grassroots organizations has sharpened her ability to communicate across registers and coordinate challenges with diverse audiences and complex bureaucracies, while maintaining clarity, sensitivity, and community at heart.

Elaine earned her Ph.D. in Culture and Theory at UC Irvine with emphases in Asian American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Visual Studies. Her research focuses on the intersections of Black and Asian intimacies and solidarities, popular culture, and U.S. empire. Her writing has appeared in AAPI Nexus, Journal for Asian American Studies, Smithsonian Magazine, PBS American Experience, and the SAGE Encyclopedia for Filipinx American Studies. She has previously taught at UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount University and delivered guest lectures at Soka University of America, University of Minnesota, and Spelman College. Currently, Elaine teaches in the Department of Ethnic Studies at CSU East Bay.

When she is not crafting stories for change, Elaine can be found playing with mud at a community pottery studio, taking a dance class, or crate digging at a local record shop.

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