Masami Nishishiba (Ph.D, Portland State University) is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration and the Associate Director of the Center for Public Service, at Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University. Her academic expertise encompasses research methods, cultural competence in the public sector, local government performance management, and civic engagement. She has served as a principal investigator and a consultant for numbers of local government focused projects both in U.S. and overseas. Dr. Nishishiba’s publications have appeared in State and Local Government Review, Journal of College and Character, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Public Affairs and others. She is also a lead author of a Japanese/English bilingual book Project Management Toolkit: A Strategic Approach to New Local Governance. Dr. Nishishiba has a B.A. in Linguistics from Osaka University, Japan, M.S. in Communication and Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from Portland State University.