Grace Yao is the founder and CEO of KYA Consulting LLC, a Los Angeles-based communications and community engagement firm. With nearly three decades of experience in strategic communications, public affairs, and stakeholder engagement, she helps organizations build trust, strengthen relationships, and connect with their audiences through purposeful communications, meaningful partnerships, and collaboration.
Before founding KYA, Grace held leadership roles in higher education and the waste and recycling services industry, where she was a trusted advisor to executives and campus leadership for shaping compelling public narratives, navigating complex issues, and leading integrated communications and advocacy strategies.
A native of Los Angeles, Grace currently resides in Claremont with her four children. She has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Wellesley College. She is passionate about finding small ways to change the world for the better and is thrilled to support an organization that is doing exactly that for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.