Chapman University’s Vice President for Research, Thomas Piechota, hosts Ask the Experts Virtual Town Hall: Orange County Survey – Public Perceptions of the Pandemic on Wednesday, May 12 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM PST. The event will feature O.C. Survey authors Fred Smoller and Mike Moodian, who will be joined by Orange County District 2 Supervisor Katrina Foley and Director of the Orange County Health Agency Dr. Clayton Chau. The panel will discuss public perceptions of the pandemic as presented in the O.C. Annual Survey. An interactive Q&A will follow the discussion.  

The entire Chapman community (staff, faculty, and students) and the broader community are invited to join. Click here to register for the Zoom webinar. Visit www.chapman.edu/asktheexperts  for more information on the Ask the Experts series.

Expert Biographies 

Fred Smoller, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, where he has been faculty since 1983. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University. His primary areas of interest are American politics, emphasizing media and politics, local government, and public administration. Smoller directs Chapman’s annual local government conference, the Orange County Annual Survey, and is the author of the 2018 book, From Kleptocracy to Democracy: How Citizens Can Take Back Local Government.

Michael A. (Mike) Moodian, Ed.D., is a lecturer of leadership studies for the Attallah College of Educational Studies, and he co-directs the Wilkinson College Orange County Annual Survey each spring. He is the editor of the textbook Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence (Sage, 2009) and a member of the UC Irvine Olive Tree Initiative Advisory Board. Two separate California governors appointed Mike to the California Commission on Judicial Performance. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Mike to the commission in 2015 and reappointed him in 2017, and Gov. Gavin Newsom reappointed Mike for a four-year term this year. Mike’s colleagues on the commission voted him vice-chairperson in 2020 and 2021.

Clayton Chau, M.D., Ph.D., is the Agency Director and County Health Officer of the Orange County Health Care Agency. He was previously the Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer for MindOC, the nonprofit entity that supports BeWell O.C., a coordinated system to improve Orange County’s mental health services. Dr. Chau has held leadership roles in behavioral health and care management at major public and private health organizations, including Providence Health System and L.A. Care Health Plan. He started his career working for 13 years with Orange County Behavioral Health Services. Dr. Chau obtained his medical degree from the University of Minnesota and his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Chelsea University. He completed his psychiatry residency at UCLA/San Fernando Valley followed by a fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health focusing on substance abuse and HIV. In 2012, Dr. Chau was recognized with leadership awards from the National Council for Behavioral Health and the American Psychiatric Association. 

Katrina Foley is a community leader, successful businesswoman, working mom, and attorney who became Orange County’s first Democratic woman elected to the Board in 2021. She previously served as Costa Mesa’s first directly elected Mayor in November 2018 and was re-elected in 2020. Foley also served as Mayor in 2016-2017 and was on the Costa Mesa City Council for 12 years. Previously, she served on the Newport Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees from November 2010 to November 2014. Katrina is President of the Foley Group, A Professional Law Corporation in Costa Mesa.  Supervisor Foley’s top priorities are COVID vaccines, ending homelessness, workforce development, climate action and she supports public transparency in governance.

For more information about this Town Hall, contact:

The Office of Research: Thomas Piechota, Vice President for Research, piechota@chapman.edu or (714) 628-2897. 

Media Contact: Amy Stevens, Director of Public Relations, amstevens@chapman.edu or (714) 289-3143.