Dr. Lisa Gates is a published author in the field of communication and an award-winning educator obsessed with helping students recognize their own unrealized potential. With two decades in the college classroom and years of consulting experience, she is passionate about working with undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students to develop their communication and leadership competencies so they can attain the relationships and careers they envision. The primary courses she has taught include: Communicating Leadership, Ethnography of Communication, Intercultural Communication, Research Methods, Business and Professional Communication, Advanced Public Speaking, Organizational Communication, Relational Communication, and most recently she has taught some of this same course content and managed interdepartmental initiatives as a Program Coordinator for the Center for Student Involvement - Communication and Leadership at University of California, San Diego. Lisa also served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at a private liberal arts college. In her time away from work, Lisa enjoys volunteer work with organizations such as Rachel's House, St. Vincent de Paul, New Alternatives Herrick Children's Center, and Meals on Wheels. Her doctorate is in Communication with an emphasis in gender and organizational studies from the University of Southern California, where her dissertation--nominated for ICA dissertation of the year--focused on organizational power and politics. A devoted Aztec, she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from San Diego State University in Communication. Dr. Gates can be reached at lgates@mail.sdsu.edu.