Theresa Kao

高敏婕
Production Program Coordinator

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
What I Am: ​First Generation Taiwanese Immigrant

Theresa is a Production Program Coordinator for the Animation Industry Immersive Lab at Asians in Animation. Her work consists of connecting with different AiA Immersive Lab groups, assisting with organizing any internal communications, and doing research scouting out talented artists.

For Theresa, Asians in Animation is the best way to connect with fellow Asian storytellers who feel the need to make their stories palatable to a specific mode that has been utilized for decades in the Western world. She is very interested in shining a spotlight on stories influenced by wide varieties of Asian cultures you don’t tend to see on the big screen.

Theresa grew up watching animated movies and shows, but the medium didn’t click with her until she discovered experimental 90s MTV animation such as The Maxx (1995) and Aeon Flux (1991). That’s when she realized the potential of animation used in strange, macabre settings that both pushes the limits of what live action is capable of, and how applicable it is for mature audiences.

After graduating with an Animation major degree and a Writing minor degree from California College of the Arts in 2021, she is currently working as an Indie Game Development Artist, and takes lead on character design and concept art for a few projects in development. She aspires to be a storyboard artist who tells horror stories with a grown up target audience one day! 

Fun Fact: Theresa’s favorite pastime hobby is pinning insects. She would’ve gone into Entomology had the field not been more turbulent than Animation (which is saying a lot).