Anna Ciao, PhD, EDCS

Anna Ciao, she / her, is a Professor of Psychology at Western Washington University, a public university focused on undergraduate education. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and completed a clinical internship and post-doctoral training at the University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program. Dr. Ciao is passionate about teaching and training. At Western, she teaches a variety of courses in psychology and mental health and promotes experiential learning to give students hands-on experience to prepare them for their future careers as researchers, clinicians, and advocates. She leads the Eating and Body Image (EBI) research team, a group of undergraduate students who run peer-led interventions and conduct research related to body liberation, food and body justice, and prevention of disordered eating. The EBI team emphasizes community-engaged research methods to collaborate with communities most impacted by individual and societal inequalities related to eating disorders, weight bias, and body image concerns. Dr. Ciao also is the current director of Western’s Center for Cross-Cultural Research, which supports student and faculty-led research and education related to culture and psychology.