Riamsalio (Kao) Phetchareun

Riamsalio (Kao) Phetchareun is the Research & Special Projects Manager for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). At SEARAC, Kao’s program work focuses on coordinating SEARAC’s annual Leadership and Advocacy Training and assisting with training and technical assistance to local community-based organizations. His policy work centers on economic development and census related issues.

Kao graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a certificate in Asian American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds a Master of International Public Affairs degree with an emphasis on policy analysis from the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining SEARAC, Kao was actively involved with student organizations and multicultural initiatives both as an undergraduate and graduate student. Kao is Laotian American. His family emigrated from Laos in 1988 and relocated to the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois area.