Kay Lawson is Professor Emerita of Political Science at San Francisco State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1971. Kay was a visiting professor at the University of Paris, Sorbonne, 1992-2000 and has also had visiting appointments at Rutgers University, Columbia University, the University of London, and the University of Paris, Nanterre. She was a co-editor of the International Political Science Review 2000-2009. She is the general editor of two series, Political Parties in Context (Praeger) and Perspectives in Comparative Politics (Palgrave). Her most recent work is Political Parties and Democracy (5 volumes, Praeger Publishers, 2010), for which she served as general editor, bringing together 54 indigenous authors to write about the relationship between parties and democracy in 46 nations (see "Work in Progress"). For her many other books and articles, see “Publications”. For her volunteer work in Oakland Serves, see “Work in Progress”.