Lori Lopez

Lori Kido Lopez is a Professor of Media and Cultural Studies in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also serves as the Associate Dean for Social Sciences in the College of Letters & Science. Her research focuses on Asian American media activism, race and digital media, and engaged scholarship. Lopez holds affiliate faculty positions in the Asian American Studies Program, the Gender and Women’s Studies department, and the Institute for Diversity Science.

Education: Ph.D. in Communication (University of Southern California, 2012); M.A. in Mass Communication (Indiana University, 2008); B.A. in Asian Studies and Media Studies (Pomona College, 2006).

Research highlights include investigations into Asian American audiences, media production by marginalized communities, and the intersection of race with digital technologies. She is the author of *Asian American Media Activism*, *Micro Media Industries: Hmong American Media Innovation in the Diaspora*, and *Race and Digital Media: An Introduction*. Her work has been recognized with prestigious awards such as the Board of Regents’ Diversity Award (2023) and the Chancellor’s Inclusive Excellence Teaching Award (2020).

Lopez has organized Madison’s Asian American Media Spotlight film festival since 2015 and serves on the advisory board of the Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies. She teaches courses on race and media, qualitative research methods, and feminist media studies.

Her advocacy extends beyond academia: she co-created the Vilas Video Camp to empower marginalized youth through media production and has led campus initiatives to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.