Monica Ganas

In the early 1980s, Monica Ganas was a member of the comedic/satiric trio "The Rick and Ruby Show", in which she was billed as "Ruby". In a 1981 episode of "Mork and Mindy", the group appeared as themselves. Some time after leaving the group, she pursued a career in academia and obtained a doctorate. Dr. Ganas is now an associate professor of Communication Studies at Azusa Pacific University and a 20-year-veteran of the entertainment industry, performing as actor, writer, and occasional producer/director, principally in satirical comedy. She holds a doctorate in Communication from the University of Kentucky, and a masters degree in English from San Francisco State University. Her areas of scholarship, publication and teaching are popular culture, media, theatre, community development and communication for social change. Having developed the Media Studies emphasis in Communication Studies, she recently co-authored APU's new Cinema and Broadcast Arts major. The wife of a pastor, she is co-director of the Azusa Renaissance Center, a grassroots movement to restore arts in Azusa through workshops and performance venues. She also directs plays for APU Theatre, and is now co-authoring a Theatre major at APU. She serves on the organizational boards of the City of Angels Film Festival and Reel Spirituality and is a frequent presenter at the National Communication Association and Popular Culture Association conferences.