Headshot of Aynne Kokas

Aynne Kokas

Nonresident Scholar

Biography

Aynne Kokas, Ph.D., is a nonresident scholar for the Baker Institute China Studies Program and an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. She is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Kokas’ current research focuses on the circulation of U.S. environmental media on Chinese social networks. She also has written extensively about the challenges and opportunities presented by public-private partnerships in Sino-U.S. joint ventures, with particular focus on the media industries. Prior to Rice, Kokas was a project manager at the UCLA Anderson Center for Global Management and a teaching fellow in the flagship Global Environment Program at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Kokas has been a Fulbright scholar and a Social Science Research Council fellow in Shanghai, a Foreign Language and Area Studies grantee in Taipei, and a Chinese Ministry of Education fellow in Beijing. She also received multiple U.S. Department of Education grants in focusing on Korean language and culture. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, Kokas also speaks German and Korean. In addition to conducting research in Sino-U.S. industrial relations, Kokas has also worked as a management consultant focusing on Chinese market entry strategy. She holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from UCLA.

Contact at ak3ff@virginia.edu or 713-348-4683.