Menaka Olson is an Adjunct Instructor of Communication Studies. She received her BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from San Diego State University and her MS in Strategic Communications & Public Relations from Purdue University.

As a communications professional with fourteen years in the non-profit sector in both Lake & Mendocino Counties, she has been teaching at the college level since 2020. She can usually be found on the class schedule with a course of Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication and/or Public Speaking. When not teaching, she and her (local elementary school teacher) husband spend their time at one of their son's basketball games or transitioning into life with a daughter who is a new college student.