Guang Ming taught at the University of Chicago in the Law, Letters & Society department and practiced in the Intellectual Property and Technology practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles. She has also been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Charleston School of Law.

Whitley is an elected Councilwoman for the Town of Mount Pleasant. She was first elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021 to a second four-year term.

She serves on the Board of the John and Martha Rivers Performance Hall Foundation in support of the Gaillard Center, the Board of Governors for Explore Charleston, and the board of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. She is also a longtime volunteer with the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program in both California and South Carolina, and serves as board member and President of California’s Girls State Alumnae Foundation.