An educator-turned-artist, storyteller, and community builder, Dr. Ada Cheng has utilized storytelling to illustrate structural inequities, raise critical awareness, and build intimate communities. Committed to amplifying and uplifting marginalized voices, she has created numerous storytelling platforms for BIPOC and LGBTQIA community members to tell difficult and vulnerable stories. Since 2016, she has been featured at storytelling shows and has done her solo performances all over the country.

She has worked extensively with community organizations to integrate storytelling as part of their institutional practices. She has also assisted community members in telling stories in public by facilitating storytelling circles and workshops.

Dr. Cheng has been a speaker for the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau since 2019. She was named Educator of the Year in 2021. She is the 2023-24 Lund-Gill Endowed Chair at Dominican University. Her interests encompass academia, storytelling/performance, and advocacy. n