Recipient, William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement
California State University, Los Angeles

Born in Hawaii and raised in Oxnard, California, by a Navy chef and a registered nurse, Lesley Anne Asistio rebelled by becoming an artist. She realized that she wanted to pursue a career in theatre, but she did not know that she would face extraordinary personal setbacks and illnesses. Fortunately, she realized that there was a better life for her, and after eight years and six different colleges, she graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in theatre arts at CSU Los Angeles. Lesley is now back in school working on an interdisciplinary studies master's degree in theatre for women of color. As a graduate student, Lesley has produced two autobiographical plays at The Nest, CSU Los Angeles' new experimental student theatre. REGRETS, her one-act play, has been chosen to be presented at the 2007 Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska. Her one-woman show, White Butterflies, will be further developed at the 2007 CSU Summer Arts Solo Performance Workshop. A writer, director and performer, she hopes to create a company that empowers women of all colors through the arts.