Roger Pao is originally from the Los Angeles area but has lived in many different places (including Indianapolis, Indiana; Durham, North Carolina; and Cambridge, Massachusetts). He is an attorney and educator with extensive experience in online legal education and an educational interest in creating exciting online courses.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, where he earned his J.D., and Duke University, summa cum laude, where he earned his Bachelor's degree, he worked as a transactional attorney at a couple law firms and has served as a subject matter expert for and taught a variety of online synchronous and asynchronous courses.