ELI Faculty and Staff

Masami Nishishiba, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Public Administration 

Mark. O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University

503-725-5151
nishism@pdx.edu

Masami Nishishiba is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Public Administration at the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University. Since September 2006, she has been serving as Assistant Director of the Executive Leadership Institute at the Hatfield School of Government.

Dr. Nishishiba has taught graduate courses in organizational theory, organizational behavior, diversity in the workplace, intercultural communication, research methodology, and statistics. Her research interests include issues of social diversity, civic capacity, and comparative local government. As a methodologist, her specialties include hierarchical linear modeling, structural equation modeling, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis.

Dr. Nishishiba has been engaged in community-based research and professional training for public agencies, including the following.

• Directed the Japanese Municipal Officers Mid-career Training Program, now entering its fourth year, sponsored by the Tokyo Foundation and conducted at PSU.
• Led a team of PSU faculty and consultants to develop and deliver a two-year Culturally Competent Management Certificate Training program for all 1,050 managers employed by the City of Portland.
• Conducted a cultural assessment for the City of Longview, Washington.
• Conducted strategic planning for the Medford Police Department, Oregon, and for the Regional Fire Training Division in Kirkland, Redmond, and Woodinville, Washington.

Dr. Nishishiba’s work in self-funded, community-based activities resulted in scholarly publications. Her most recent work is a co-authored Japanese/English bilingual book, Project management toolkit: A strategic approach to new local governance. The book is a product of the Japanese municipal officers training program. An article in Journal of Public Affairs Education was based on data she collected in the Civic Capacity Initiative research at PSU, funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for Improving Post Secondary Education (FIPSE).

Dr. Nishishiba is actively engaged in interdisciplinary and university wide service activities. During the past three years, she has served as co-chair of the PSU Diversity Action Council. She is the faculty advisor for the undergraduate Civic Leadership minor, and a member of the Urban Transfer Research Network Project in the Office of Institutional Research. Earlier, she was coordinator for the Leadership for Change cluster, University Studies. She occasionally works with the Center for Japanese Studies, and offers regular courses in Japanese-English Interpreting through the PSU Foreign Language Department.

Dr. Nishishiba completed her doctorate in Public Administration and Policy at PSU in 2003. Her dissertation involved developing and evaluating a cultural competency plan for the Department of Community Justice, Multnomah County, Oregon. She completed her master’s degree in Communication Studies at PSU in 1998, and her bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Osaka University in 1983.

Japanese Municipal Officer's Mid-Career Training Program (PDF)

The Hermiston Herald Article (PDF)

East Oregonian Article (PDF)

East Oregonian Article (PDF)

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