Jolan is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Indigenous Culture and Institute of Ethnic Relations and Culture at College of Indigenous Studies, National Dong Hwa University. She earned her Ph.D. (2002) in Justice Studies (Interdisciplinary Program in Law and Social Science, in year 2005 renamed to Justice and Social Inquiry, moved from the College of Public Programs to the College of Library Arts) and M.S. (1996) in Justice Studies from Arizona State University (USA). Her undergraduate degrees were B.S. in Women's Studies(1993, ASU) and B.A. in Social Work from Tainan Theological College and Seminary (1991). As a Taiwanese Siraya-PingPu Indigenous scholar and activist, she advocates her knowledge in the field of social (in)justice and human rights. Throughout her academic and professional experiences, she has focused on research and examines social (in)justice linked to gender and race/ethnicity.
Jolan is particularly concerned with social justice systems' responses to disadvantaged groups and how theories and reality interact in these contexts. She uses primarily theoretical perspectives of human rights discourses and critical legal approaches to analyze social (in)justice. Her master thesis addressed women's human rights issues and legal reform movement in Taiwan. Her Ph.D dissertation studied Indigenous Peoples' collective human rights, status recognition, and identity-based movement.
Jolan has been at the National Dong Hwa University since August 2004. Prior academic position was Center for Urban Inquiry at Arizona State University (1998 - 2004). She has been working with community-based action research projects that required incorporating a high degree of cultural sensitivity, and currently she teaches gender and ethnics related courses for both undergraduate and graduate level students.
Jolan's research interest areas are Justice Theories, Law and Society, Human Rights, Gender/Ethnic/Class, Collective Identity and Social Movement, Indigenous Peoples' Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights, PingPu / Siraya Studies, Critical Race and Legal Studies. Her new book, Collective Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Identity-Based Movement of Plain Indigenous in Taiwan, published with Routledge in March 2006.
Jolan is visiting fellow of Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica in 2008. Jolan is very active in many NGOs, currently she serves as Executive Editor of Taiwan Journal of Indigenous Studies, member of Board of Directors for the Mackay Medicine, Nursing and Management College, Executive Director of Institute of National Development,Vice Secretary General of Taiwan International Studies Association, Financial Manger of Taiwan International Studies Quarterly, Higher Education Committee Member of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, Multicultural Committee Board Council Member of Taiwan Public Television Service, and member of Board of Directors of Taiwan Environmental Action Network. She was co-Chair of Green Party Taiwan, Member of Borad of Directors of Taiwan International Studies Association and Executive Editor of Taiwan International Studies Quarterly.