Saturday Keynote Speakers
Emil Guillermo
Award-Winning Asian American Journalist and Commentator
Emil Guillermo is a veteran award-winning Asian American journalist and commentator known for his outspokenness and provocative wit.
In 1989, as a senior host of NPR's All Things Considered, he was the first Asian American male to regularly helm a national news program. In 2000, his book, Amok, a compilation of his columns in AsianWeek won an American Book Award. His columns have appeared in newspapers around the country. For a brief time, he served as DC press secretary to Norm Mineta in the 103rd Congress.
A native San Franciscan, Emil graduated from Lowell High School and Harvard College where he was class humorist.
He currently runs a business helping Asian American professionals and their companies.
He blogs at www.amok.com, and at www.twitter.com/emilamok
He knows about sex with Asians first hand and will talk about sex and the future of Asian America.
Audrey Buehring
Advisor on Intergovernmental Affairs
White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Audrey Buehring serves as Advisor on Intergovernmental Affairs in the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Auburn University in Alabama. She worked as an engineering program manager for General Motors Onstar, where she took Onstar from conception to production on several vehicle lines. Post-production, Audrey retired from the engineering field and obtained an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Florida and a J.D. from the University of Denver. She accepted a Presidential Management Fellowship with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in August 2009 and joined the Office of Public Housing and Voucher Programs (OPHVP). In OPHVP, Audrey worked on issues in the areas of voucher program policy, Veterans' Affairs Supportive Housing, and rent burden. She is currently on rotation to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Having always been a part of the AAPI community, Audrey is pleased to have the opportunity to work on AAPI-related issues, particularly in the areas of education, housing, and veterans' affairs.
Jenny Ming
President & CEO, Charlotte Russe, Inc.
Former President of Old Navy
Director of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan
Jenny Ming has an extensive record of achievement in the retail apparel industry. She was part of the executive team that founded Old Navy in 1994, and became the President of that brand in 1999. In this role, Jenny oversaw all aspects of Old Navy and grew the store base to over 950 in North America, the total revenue of 6.7 billion dollars and the company to 45,000 employees. She stepped down in 2006.
In recognition of her achievements, Jenny was included in Fortune magazine’s 2003 and 2004 list of 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business. She was also named as one Business Week magazine’s 1999 Top 25 Managers of the year. In 2006, Jenny received the Merage Foundation Award for Leadership in Business and Community Service. Most recently (2010), Jenny was selected as one of the San Francisco Business Times' Top Women in Business.
On September 2008, Jenny joined Advent International, a global private equity firm as an Operating Partner to focus on investment opportunities in the apparel retail sector globally. In partnership with Advent International, Jenny joined Charlotte Russe, Inc. as President and CEO, when Advent took the company private in October 2009. Charlotte Russe is a fashion retailer for young adult women with 500 stores and over $800M in sales. It has corporate offices in San Francisco and San Diego. She splits her time between the two offices.
Jenny serves as a board member for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plans, the Merage Foundation for the American Dream. She is a trustee for MOCA (Museum of Chinese in America), a national home for the precious narratives of diverse Chinese American communities, and a member of Committee of 100, a non-profit organization of accomplished Chinese Americans from business leaders to the arts. She also sits on the Cornell University College of Human Ecology Advisory Board. Jenny graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in clothing merchandising and a minor in marketing.
Daphne Kwok
Chair of the President's Advisory Commission on
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Empowerment of all Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) has long been one of Daphne Kwok’s core values.
Ms. Kwok is the newly appointed chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as announced by President Obama on July 26th, 2010
Since spring of 2008, Ms. Kwok has served as Executive Director of Asians & Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California (APIDC). APIDC, a non-profit organization, seeks to give a voice and a face to AAPIs with disabilities, to break down the stigma in the AAPI community about disabilities and to provide technical assistance to organizations wanting to effectively work with AAPIs with disabilities.
Daphne Kwok served as the AAPI Vote Lead Coordinator for Obama for America and as the AAPI Vote Director for Pennsylvania for Change.
She was the Executive Director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) in San Francisco from 2005-2007. AIISF’s mission is to preserve and restore the Angel Island Immigration Station and to promote the role that it played in shaping America’s past, present and future.
She was the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) in Washington, DC for four years, focused on increasing political participation of the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) community and working with the APIA elected officials from school board members to Members of Congress.
For 11 years, she was the Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a non-profit, civil rights organization with more than 10,000 members. She coordinated programs and services for 45 chapters and 37 college affiliates and monitored issues pertaining to the Asian American community, such as hate crimes, campaign finance reform, immigration reform, Census 2000, English-only, and affirmative action.
During the Wen Ho Lee investigation, Ms. Kwok testified before the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus on the impact of federal counter-intelligence and security investigations on Asian Pacific Americans at the Department of Energy. She was subsequently appointed to the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Council.
From November 1997 until April 2001, Ms. Kwok was the first elected Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a network of national APA organizations.
A 1984 graduate of Wesleyan University in East Asian Studies and Music, Ms. Kwok is the first Asian American elected and appointed member of its Board of Trustees.
Ms. Kwok’s board service has included numerous national AAPI boards including the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center, Coalition of Asian Pacific American Community Development, and the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund. She is currently Chair of APIAVote and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation. Her views have been featured on national radio and TV programs as well as in major newspapers and magazines.
Leon Edward Panetta
19th Director of
Central Intelligence Agency
Leon Edward Panetta became the 19th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on 13 February 2009. As Director, he leads the Agency and manages human intelligence and open source collection programs on behalf of the Intelligence Community.
Mr. Panetta has dedicated much of his life to public service. Before joining CIA, he spent 10 years co-directing with his wife, Sylvia, the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, based at California State University, Monterey Bay. The Institute is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit center that seeks to instill in young men and women the virtues and values of public service. In March 2006, he was chosen as a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan committee established at the urging of Congress to conduct an independent assessment of the war in Iraq.
From July 1994 to January 1997, Mr. Panetta served as Chief of Staff to President Clinton. Prior to that, he was Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position that built on his years of work on the House Budget Committee. Mr. Panetta represented California's 16th (now 17th) Congressional District from 1977 to 1993, rising to Budget Committee chairman during his final four years in Congress.
Early in his career, Mr. Panetta served as a legislative assistant to Senator Thomas H. Kuchel of California, special assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, director of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, and executive assistant to Mayor John Lindsay of New York. He also spent five years in private law practice. He served as an Army intelligence officer from 1964 to 1966 and received the Army Commendation Medal.
Mr. Panetta holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a law degree, both from Santa Clara University. He was born on 28 June 1938 in Monterey, where his Italian immigrant parents operated a restaurant. Later, they purchased a farm in Carmel Valley, a place Director and Mrs. Panetta continue to call home. The Panettas have three grown sons and five grandchildren.
Saturday Workshop Speakers
Svetlana Kim
Author of White Pearl and I: A Memoir of a Political Refugee
Svetlana Kim is the author of White Pearl and I: A Memoir of a Political Refugee, which chronicles her journey from Russia to the United States, where she arrived with only one dollar in her pocket and a few words of English at her disposal; today, she is a leader among her peers in the business world, and has been honored with numerous awards citing her commitment, skill, and integrity. Svetlana is an entrepreneur and community leader.
Those who have read Svetlana Kim's first book, White Pearl and I: A Memoir of a Political Refugee, have been touched by her life story and her ability to tell it with such passion and encouragement. Her book is unique in that it's written by Lana was raised a Soviet-Korean in the former USSR, and paints a vivid picture of what life was like for Koreans living under communist rule in Russia.
In February 2010, Orphan International Worldwide honored her with its Global Citizenship Award for her work towards saving the lives of children in Haiti.
Kim's stellar leadership, ethical business practices, and community service was recognized when the Euro-American Women's Council bestowed her with the Goddess Artemis Award. The EAWC brings together women of diverse backgrounds and accomplishments to work together toward the advancement of women's access to positions of leadership and to pave the way for the next generation of women business leaders.
In 2009, the International Leadership Foundation paid tribute to Kim with its Leadership Award, selecting her from among a group of potential honorees including congress members, presidential cabinet secretaries, and other high-ranking officials.
In 2008, Kim became an Asian Academy Hall of Fame inductee. She shares this acclaimed honor with Norman Mineta, the former Secretary of Transportation, and with the nation's 24th Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao.
Having left the communist world behind, Kim has fully embraced the freedoms of the American political and social system, and has actively been involved in the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; the Hillary for President presidential campaign; the Women's Campaign Forum; the Women's National Democratic Club; AARP Women's Leadership Circle; and Calvary Women's Services. She has held committee or officer positions with the Junior League of Washington, D.C. (Chair, Targeted Grants); the Asian Leaders Association of the Asian Academy Hall of Fame; the National Press Club (authors' committee); Capitol Speakers Club; and the Asian American Justice Center.
Kim shares her business acumen and managerial experience by serving on several boards of directors, including: the Asian Division Friends Society of the Library of Congress (Board Vice President, 2007 – present); the Global Advisory Board of the Euro-American Women's Council; the National Council of Asian American Business Associations (East Coast president, 2009 – 2010); the Asian Leaders Association; the Pacific Coast Immigration Museum; and Korean American Women's Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as a steering committee member of the Global Coalition for Korean reconciliation.
As a former Director for the Business Women's Network (a division of NBC Universal), Kim worked with over one hundred small businesses representing over $1.5 billion in revenues. She also served as a Director for Strategic Partnerships for the National Association for Female Executives.
Kim has been featured and profiled in Women's Life magazine in Seoul, Korea; the Asian Fortune; Networking Times; NASDAQ's Closing Bell; and The Gazette, a publication of the Library of Congress. In 2009, she delivered the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Keynote Address at the Library of Congress. She was chosen to attend the Asian American Pacific Islanders Celebration in the White House, among 50 other prominent Asian-American leaders.
Svetlana Kim's passion for helping young Asians achieve their own American dreams fuels her daily work and volunteerism. Married, she splits her time between Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
Jeanette Nyden
Owner/Attorney of J. Nyden & Co., Inc.
Jeanette Nyden works with business people to improve both their confidence and skill level at the bargaining table. She understands what it takes to navigate complex contracts and complicated relationships. In fact, she wrote a book on it. Negotiation Rules! A Practical Approach to Big Deal Negotiations.
Recognizing in 2003 that business people needed relevant and practical negotiation advice, Ms. Nyden started J. Nyden & Co, Inc. Since then, Ms. Nyden has trained and coached hundreds of people at businesses ranging from powerhouses like Microsoft to startups like NetStar Communications. Ms. Nyden is an active, professional mediator, business attorney and adjunct professor in Seattle, Washington.
Before starting her own company, Ms. Nyden handled litigation for a boutique Bankruptcy firm. This experience developed her ability to identify and implement strategies (not just tactics) when dealing with hidden motives that can often hinder the negotiation process. Earlier in her career, she served as an Assistant Public Defender in Chicago, Illinois, the largest criminal justice system in the United States.
Ms. Nyden earned her B.A. and Juris Doctorate from the Southern Illinois University. Ms. Nyden donated hundreds of hours mediating disputes for the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution, a nonprofit organization. She has taught negotiation classes at various universities in Puget Sound over the last 4 years. Ms. Nyden and her husband have lived in Seattle since 2002.
Cindy Klingberg
Land Combat Program Ops Manager
Raytheon
Cindy (Tang) Klingberg has over 21 years of experience where 13 of those years have been with Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. She has been a project engineer, manufacturing engineering manager, a certified Raytheon Six Sigma Expert, and currently a program manager supporting Land Combat weapon systems. Cindy’s responsibilities include working with program directors to ensure success by providing strategic and growth direction and involvement in day to day operations.
Outside of work, Cindy is involved several community organizations. She is currently serving on the UA College of Engineering Advisory Board and the University of Arizona (UA) Alumni Board of Directors since 2004. Cindy also serves on the UA President’s Asian Pacific American (APA) Advisory Council, which identifies the needs specifics to the UA APA community. She is a member of the Raytheon Asian Pacific Association (RAPA) and has served as vice president. Cindy has served on the board of directors for the YWCA of Tucson and the UA Asian American Faculty, Staff and Alumni Association. Cindy also contributes to Raytheon sponsored activities: UA College Campus Recruitment and the UA Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) judge for the annual design competition. Outside of work, Cindy enjoys water skiing, tennis, and camping.
Past recognitions have included Raytheon’s Woman on the Move Award, Raytheon Six Sigma President’s Award, and the Tucson Pan Asian Community Alliance Woman of the Year Award.
A native Arizonan from Phoenix, Cindy is a second generation Chinese-American. Cindy received a Bachelors’ of Science in Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Arizona.
Edward Miyashiro
Vice President
Raytheon Company
Edward Miyashiro is a Raytheon Company vice president and deputy general manager of Raytheon Missile Systems. He assumed the position in August 2006 and was elected an officer of the company in May 2007. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.
Headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., Missile Systems has locations in California, New Mexico, Kentucky and Arkansas. Its broad portfolio of weapon systems supports every mission area of its customers, including air-to-air, land combat, naval weapons, strike weapons, missile defense, guided projectiles, and directed energy systems. The business continually develops and invests in new, innovative technologies to provide rapid, high-quality, affordable mission capability to its customers. With a workforce of 12,500 employees and 2008 sales of
$5.4 billion, Raytheon Missile Systems is the world’s lead- ing producer of weapon systems for the United States military and the allied forces of more than 50 countries.
A 34-year veteran of the defense industry, Miyashiro previously served as vice president of the business’s Naval Weapon Systems product line with responsibility for providing the U.S. and its allies with broad mission capabilities in anti-surface warfare, layered air defense, naval surface fire support and ballistic missile defense. In this role since 1998, Miyashiro led and participated in numerous international cooperative developments and production programs involving more than 20 allied countries.
Dawn K. Manley, PhD
Manager of the System Research and Analysis Department
Sandia National Laboratories
Dr. Manley is the manager of the Systems Research and Analysis Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California. She is responsible for developing and leading programs in transportation energy systems analyses with government, industry, academic, and international partners. Her group has examined the feasibility of and technology options for future transportation energy pathways, including advanced efficiency, biofuels, hydrogen, and electric vehicles. Most recently, her group completed a major study with General Motors that examined the feasibility of large scale biofuels production in the US. She is currently serving on the National Petroleum Council’s Future Transportation Fuels Biofuels Study Team. Dr. Manley has organized energy policy and systems modeling workshops for interdisciplinary exchange between energy policy and technology communities. Prior to this, she served as manager of the reacting flow research department in the Combustion Research Facility, which explores the fundamental science of combustion chemistry-fluid dynamic interactions via advanced laser diagnostic and high performance computer simulations. In this role, she developed a successful proposal for a new $5M Computational Laboratories Facility co-sponsored by DOE/Offices of Science and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Dr. Manley’s research career at Sandia has spanned developing decision frameworks and utilizing advanced simulation technologies to train and educate decision makers, community responders, and civilian and military public health officials to prepare for bioterrorism threats. She received her BS degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and her MA and PhD degrees, also in chemical engineering, from Princeton University. Her doctoral studies examined the influence of surface chemistry on thin film flows.
Masood Z. Hadi, PhD
Senior Member of the Technical Staff
Sandia National Laboratories
Dr. Hadi is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff in the Biomass Conversion Technologies Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California. He has been subject matter expert and experimental lead for a number of internally and externally funded projects and built effective relationships with academic and industrial partner and established shared goals and leveraged these relationships to enhance Sandia’s biological sciences efforts.
His expertise is in the areas of molecular biology, genomics, and protein structure function relationship. His research group at Sandia National Laboratories studies the structure function relationships, interactions and dynamics of molecular machines in DNA repair pathways and virus host interactions.
He is also the Director of high throughput sample preparation group at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (concurrent appointment). The primary scientific mission of JBEI is to advance the development of the next generation biofuels – liquid fuels derived from the solar energy stored in plant biomass. At JBEI he heads a multidisciplinary research team responsible for developing and integrating chemical and biological technologies using robotics and liquid handling systems for the conversion of biomass to transportation fuels.
Dr. Hadi’s early research career at Sandia has spanned developing framework and infrastructure for molecular biology, protein production and engineering utilizing state of the art bench scale technologies and automating them using liquid handling systems. His doctoral studies examined DNA recombination and repair mechanisms in eukaryotic systems.
Hideki Hamamoto
President
HH Trans Pac Inc.
Hideki Hamamoto, is currently the President of a private consulting practice in northern Virginia and advises on U.S.-Japan related business matters primarily related to U.S.-Japan Cooperative Programs for the Department of Defense.
He had a forty-three year career in the Aerospace/Defense Industry encompassing engineering and business development. Hamamoto completed his career with an an eight-year assignment to Tokyo, Japan and culminated his career as President of Raytheon/Japan from 2000 to 2003. He retired from the company upon his returned to Virginia in 2003.
Hamamoto is currently a Vice-Chairman for the U.S.-Japan Council, a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. and is also on the Board of Governors of the Japanese American National Museum. He has also been past President of the Washington DC Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, developing youth programs such as the Washington Leadership Program for National JACL.
Hamamoto was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the California State Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo, California, and his Masters Degree in Systems Engineering from the West Coast University in Los Angeles, California. He currently resides in Fairfax Station, Virginia with his wife Sachiko. They have two adult daughters, Mrs. Sheri Boyle in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and Ms. Lori Hamamoto in New York City.
Santosh Dawesar
Senior Systems Engineer
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems
Santosh Dawesar has been a Senior Systems Engineer II at Air Defense Radars for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) since October 2008. He is member of the Advance Programs Section. In this position, he is involved in system architecture as Lead System Engineer of Confluence ® -- a Smart Collection System™ . Dawesar has a variety of responsibilities, including:
• Ontology Development
• Integration of various Software Systems
• Defining message protocol used among software agents and tactical systems
• High Level Architecture (HLA) simulation
Prior to his current assignment, Dawesar was a member of the fast paced and dynamic Mission Innovation cross business team. Here, he lead the Raytheon Adaptive Mission Profiler (RAMP) Mission Profiling Project. He researched innovative technologies to profile civilian and services missions.
Dawesar was also member of Advance Modeling and Simulation Section of Raytheon Network Centric Services (NCS), where he designed and developed Modeling & Simulation applications for visualization and analytical applications.
Prior to joining Raytheon in July 1999, Dawesar worked as a software engineer with Lockheed Martin IS, Burlington, MA. He was responsible for maintaining and upgrading their Modeling & Simulation Trainer System.
Dawesar, also served as President, Vice President, and Treasure of the Raytheon Asian Pacific Association – Northeast (RAPA-NE).
Dawesar earned his Masters Degree in Computer Science from Boston University in 2001, Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston in 1996. He is a qualified Raytheon Six Sigma Specialist.
Mable F. Yee
CEO & Founder
Engage her, Inc.
Mable F. Yee is an entrepreneur, activist, filmmaker and business leader. She has spent the past 30 years in the corporate, high technology, non-profit and Media industries. She is the CEO & Founder of Engage Her, Inc. a non-profit dedicated to educating, activating and creating a new leadership pipeline of multicultural communities.
Yee spent 14 years working for large corporations and technology companies such as Xerox Corporation, Ashton-Tate and Network General. She worked at corporate headquarters and had national marketing responsibilities for launching and managing $50-$120 Million software, hardware and networking global product lines. She spent the next 10 years as the cofounder & CEO of several start ups in the Software, Internet and Consumer marketing industries including Soleil Network Technology and Kiracom.com introducing Network Applications and Internet Target Marketing technologies.
Mable has continuously volunteered her time for the AAPI communities and leadership development. She is a co-founder of the Asian Business League, was the Chairperson of the Chinatown Youth Center and a Senior Advisor of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP).
Yee is a filmmaker and produced the ground breaking documentary: Engage Her: Getting minority women to lead and vote in 2008. The documentary was screened across the country to help turn out minority women and communities to vote. She also is a video producer, blogger and social media specialist on new social media technologies.
Yee has won numerous awards including: California Assembly District No. 14’s 2010 Woman of the Year Award, 2010’s 10 Women Building Bridges Award and NAAAP’s 100 Award. She is a fellow of the Women’s Media Center, Progressive Women’s Voices, a member of SheSource.org database of public speaking experts.
Mable has extensive media, public speaking and training experience. Among numerous media outlets, she has appeared on the Today Show, NBC, KRON-TV, Hard Copy, People, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, KPFA. She also speaks at conferences on topics ranging from technology to leadership development. She also has a consulting management practice focused on developing multicultural leadership best practices.
Ash Hanson
AVP, Leadership & Organizational Development
ARAMARK
Ash Hanson is Senior Director of Talent Management at ARAMARK Corporation and has been with the organization since 2002. During her time at ARAMARK, Hanson has had responsibility for building and implementing a number of key programs supporting the company’s talent management strategy including ARAMARK’s Executive On-Boarding Program and Executive Coaching Network. Most recently, Hanson led the effort to implement the new leadership competency model across the enterprise, as well as the effort to update the performance management and succession planning processes. In addition, Hanson consults on various organization development, change, and design initiatives across the corporation. Prior to her current role, Hanson served as the Human Resources Generalist for the corporate groups at ARAMARK. Hanson’s background includes over 16 years of experience in business development and human resources in the technology and professional service industries and has worked in India, Malaysia, and the U.S.
Tom Farmer
Training Director
ARAMARK
Tom has been employed with ARAMARK for 20 years which supplements his additional 17 years in the industry. He began his career with the ARAMARK organization when it was known as ARA Services and spent his first 13 years in operations with Business Services. Starting as a FSD in New Jersey, he was promoted to a District Manager in the Philadelphia market and remained in that role for 10 years. Tom transitioned into a Training Manager Role in Business Services and then after 2 years, joined the Corporate Training and Organizational Team where he is now a Director who oversees the Leadership Development Series
Tom was certified to deliver Situational Leadership six years ago and has delivered the process to many groups over that time period. Through his experience as a District Manager, he has always valued and practiced the principles that the Situational Leadership process delivers.
Panney Wei
Award-winning writer and motivational speaker on
women's issues
Panney Wei is an award-winning writer, TV-Radio host, and motivational speaker on women's issues, the power of the mind, and personal transformation, inspiring people to move through obstacles and achieve fulfillment in their lives. Great Granddaughter of one of China’s greatest statesmen and heroes, General Tso Tsung-Tang, immortalized in pop culture for his famous dish “General Tso’s chicken”, Panney has always inherited a passion for serving her community. She serves on the Board of several non-profits including the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, National Asian Artist Project, and as a National Senior Advisor for the National Association of Asian American Professionals and Women in NAAAP, and currently serves as State Secretary for the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus- California Democratic Party. She has been named one of the “2010 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” by the Asian American American Business Development Center and is a member of the prestigious National Speakers Association. Panney is host/producer/writer of her talk radio show "Positive Changes with Panney Wei" on KCAA 1050 AM, NBC News radio, ranked TOP 100 Best Podcasts in Spirituality on Itunes, broadcast to over a million listeners a month. Panney is also the Hollywood Relationship Advice Columnist for The Examiner.com and is trained as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and life coach, and finishing a Doctorate in Naturopathy. She is the author of several audios, articles, and an upcoming novel and self-help book on attracting the love of your life for women. Panney is happily married and lives in LA. www.panneywei.com.
David Lum
Director of Asia/Pacific Product & Support Operations
for the Government & Public Safety Business, Motorola
David Lum is the Director of Asia/Pacific Product & Support Operations for the Government & Public Safety business in Motorola. For over 27 years, David worked in the land mobile two-way radio business and has extensive experience in a wide variety of markets and applications that use two-way voice and wireless data radio systems. David’s work experience includes product development, systems marketing, manufacturing, systems engineering, field engineering, project management, sales and engineering training, business development, product operations, and regulatory affairs. David also contributes white papers and articles for industry magazines.
David is a self-proclaimed geek with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and went over to the dark side when he earned a Master’s of Science degree in Management from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
In his spare time, David serves as a Business Professor at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, teaching courses in global business, and effective leadership. David also serves as a senior advisory council member for the National Association of Asian American Professionals. David is also an Advanced Communicator Bronze in his Toastmasters club in Schaumburg.
Born and raised in the US, David is married to his beautiful wife for over 27 years, has two great teenage sons, and lives in the Chicagoland area. David’s hobbies include aviation (where he is a licensed private pilot), reading, microcomputing, teaching, public speaking, movie-watching, and spending time with his family.
Angela E. Oh
Executive Director
Western Justice Center Foundation
Angela E. Oh is an attorney, public lecturer, and community leader. She is Of Counsel to the Century City law firm of Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks & Lincenberg. In 1992, Oh gained national prominence as a spokesperson and mediator for the Asian American community in connection with the Los Angeles riots. Thereafter, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as one of seven Advisory Board Members on the President’s Initiative on Race, which was charged with engaging the nation in a dialogue on race relations in the United States of America. Oh has served in leadership positions on numerous select commissions and boards, including as Chairperson of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s Federal Judicial Nominations Committee for the Central District of California; a Member of the L.A. City Commission on Human Relations; a Lawyer Delegate to the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference; and Commissioner on the ABA Commission on Women in the Legal Profession. Oh is also a founding member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and a recipient of its Trailblazer Award. Oh’s public lectures and writings reflect the opportunities and challenges that diversity presents. Her lectures have taken her to China, Korea, the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Her teaching appointments have been at UCLA School of Law, UCLA Asian American Studies Department, and UC Irvine School of Social Sciences and Political Science. Oh is also an ordained Priest, Zen Buddhist - Rinzai Sect.
Kimberly Wong Oleson
Vice President of Clinical Operations
Medtronic Inc.
Kimberly Wong Oleson is the Vice President of Clinical Operations for Medtronic Inc. Medtronic is the global leader in medical technology and is currently ranked #160 on the Fortune 500 list. As part of Medtronic’s Corporate Strategy & Scientific Operations group, Kimberly is responsible for the enterprise-wide strategy for Medtronic’s global clinical research operations.
Kimberly has successfully held positions of increasing responsibility across multiple businesses within Medtronic which include: Senior Director of Clinical, Regulatory and Quality for the Ventures & New Therapies business, Institutional Official for the Medtronic Physiological Research Laboratories, and Senior Director of Clinical for Medtronic’s Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management business. With 20+ years of experience in the medical industry, Kimberly’s technical contributions have led to the commercialization of innovative medical therapies in the fields of drug delivery, neurology, cardiology, interventional radiology, and cardiac electrophysiology. For distinguished service, Kimberly is a recipient of Medtronic’s Star of Excellence Award.
Kimberly is a Principal Advisor for the Medtronic Asian Employee Resource Group whose charter is to attract, develop, retain, and maximize business contributions from Asian employees. Kimberly is an invited guest lecturer for national and international organizations on the subject of research ethics.
Ray Ju
President, PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Vice President, PMI Diversity Specific Interest Group
Ray is an active member of the Project Management Institute since 1987, certified as PMP #560. He is currently President of the SF Bay Area Chapter and Vice President of the Diversity SIG. His professional contributions include being a speaker at PMI events in the EU, North America and AsiaPac. Ray enjoys sharing his knowledge and learning on an academic level having developed and taught Project Management courses at San Diego State University and is an instructor on the faculty of UC Berkeley Extension.
He is founder of Get IT LLC, an international project consulting company. His work experiences includes leading collaborative local, national and global project teams for AT&T, Wells Fargo, Sun Microsystems, City of Oakland, Cisco, Chiron, Blue Shield, Perot Systems, CSAA, CompuMentor, Gilead and now at California Pacific Medical Center. Where Ray is responsible for the IT infrastructure design of two new hospitals and medical office buildings and a member of the Quality Development System program team rolling out the Toyota Lean Production system throughout the enterprise to improve patient care and quality of service delivery.
Elaine Law
Deputy Vice President, Community Relations
PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Elaine Law has over 13 years of experience managing large application, infrastructure, and process development/improvement projects for company such as McKesson Drug Company, Chiron Corporation, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, and Robert Half International. She has managed projects from $6 million dollars and programs over $33 million dollars. She has successful project experience in GXP environments as well as software development including process development, business analytics, procurement, resource management and PMO development. Elaine earned her bachelor’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry from University of the Pacific as well as her PMI certificate from UC Berkeley Extension. She is also a Certified ScrumMaster and has mentored project managers in multiple organizations. Her current Board role with the PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter is Deputy VP of Community Relations.
Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski
Director / Critical Issues 2010
PMI / SPBAC
Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski, PMP, currently delivers PMI based project management principles and PMP exam prep material all over the country. She also works with clients such as AT&T, Boeing and Lockheed Martin Marietta delivering customized programs to address specific situations within sales and delivery organizations. Before re-joining the training and development industry in late 2000, Kimi worked with multi-national and key accounts in the diverse environment of Silicon Valley. Her organizational skills and technical abilities, while keen, were not, she believes, the key to achievements, year after year, of significant corporate expectations of revenue and profitability. It is her understanding of how to work with the people whether next door or in the next time zone is the key to her ability to successfully manage projects.
Harry Chen
Senior Program Manager
Robert Half International
Harry Chen is currently a senior program manager at Robert Half International, the worldís largest specialized staffing firm. He has over 25 years of management experience working in the public and private sectors. As the CIO of the City of Oakland, Mr. Chen was the highest ranking Asian American member of the city administration. Prior to this position, Mr. Chen served as the Vice President of Network Services at Wells Fargo Bank.
Alan E. Yue
Services Consultant, Instructor, and Project Management Specialist
PMI Global Diversity Community of Practice Leadership Team
Alan is a professional services consultant, instructor, and project management specialist with over 24 years of experience. Alan applies subject matter expertise in the areas of: Strategy; Corporate Governance; Project Management; Information Technology Management; Security Management; Business Continuity / Organizational Resilience; Compliance; and, Human Capital Management.
As a professional services consultant and instructor Alan works with organizations to co-create value by developing integrated strategies with supporting governance and management models and systems. Alan accomplishes results by leveraging enterprise risk related disciplines to discover opportunities for improvement of cost structures and creation of additional revenue streams. Alan does this utilizing a a collaborative, consultative style of project leadership based on servant-leadership principles.
Alan has experience working with public, private, governmental, not-for-profit, and military entities. His industry experience includes: Healthcare; Education; Not-for-Profit Business Associations; Banking; Manufacturing; Civil Engineering and Construction; Technology; Energy; and, Hospitality.
Alan has served as President and Chair of the Board of Directors (2009), Vice-President (2008), and Director of Finance (2007) of the PMI Honolulu Chapter. And, he has also served as as Treasurer (2008/9) and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Life Foundation, a Honolulu based HIV/AIDS services organization (2007-2009). Alan is now serving on the PMI Global Diversity Community of Practice leadership team, and is an invitee to the PMI Leadership Institute Master Class – 2011 North America.
Alan has been a member of a member of PMI since 1997, and is also a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, Association of Contingency Planners, International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium, Disaster Recovery Institute International, and Business Recovery Managers Association.
Alan is in relocation to San Francisco, California, from Honolulu, Hawai; he enjoys hiking, daily gym workouts, cooking healthy tasty foods, and has not owned a television since 2002.
Albert Shen
President
Shen Consulting, Inc.
Albert Shen is small business owner whose leadership has made a big impact on some of the Northwest’s largest and most critical infrastructure projects.
Shen is currently the project management consultant on a new $400 million Rental Car Facility at Sea-Tac International Airport. Prior, his team helped complete the long awaited Third Runway and other multi-million dollar projects for the Port of Seattle. In 2008, The New York Times and other prominent national media reported on the innovative solution for airport “parking rage”, a project managed by Shen. In 2009, Shen Consulting, Inc. received the Seattle Mayor’s Small Business of the Year award.
Shen lends his expertise to support non-profit community organizations and political groups. He was appointed to the Washington State Commission on Asian and Pacific American Affairs, where he advises the Governor as the Vice Chair of Economic Development. Shen also serves four non-profit boards, including:
- Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (Council President)
- Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (Board Member)
- Northwest Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans Political Action Committee (Board President)
- National Association of Asian American Professionals (Executive Advisory Board Member)
Dawn Taketa Riordan
Director, Home Delivery & Digital Marketing
Peet's Coffee & Tea
Dawn Taketa Riordan is a marketing leader with extensive, broad-based experience including building new businesses, leading initiatives across functional lines and developing integrated marketing programs. She joined Peet’s Coffee & Tea in 2005, as Sr. Marketing Manager where she led the company’s largest integrated marketing programs. She was recently promoted to general manager of Peet’s e-commerce business, where her responsibilities include marketing, merchandising, product management and operations. In addition, she is spearheading the company’s digital marketing strategy for all channels.
Prior to joining Peet's, she spent over fifteen years at Gap Inc. in a variety of marketing roles. She started her career as a Media Planner/Buyer and worked her way up to Director of Media. In 1995, she switched gears and pioneered Gap’s digital marketing strategy including the launch of Gap Inc.’s first web sites.
A true blue, Dawn earned her BS from U.C. Berkeley in Political Economics then returned to earn her MBA from the Haas School of Business. Throughout the years, she has remained very involved at Haas. As a student, she served as the President of the Evening MBA Association. After completing her degree, she joined the Haas Alumni Council where she continues to serve today.
Cara Lowe
Managing Partner
Stein & Lubin
Cara Lowe is a partner in the firm's Business Department and is the managing partner for the firm. Her general business practice focuses on complex commercial transactions and on counseling companies of all sizes. Her practice also includes mergers and acquisitions, private placement financings, venture capital transactions and other debt and equity financings. In addition to advising partnerships and limited liability companies, she is also involved with employee stock incentive plans and other issuances of securities.
Ms. Lowe represents a variety of start-up, emerging growth and middle-market companies in technology, real estate, professional services and other traditional industries on a variety of corporate, governance and compensation matters, financings and other complex transactions. Ms. Lowe's practice also involves counseling on entity formation, investor financing, strategic alliances and long-range planning, as well as representing sellers and purchasers in merger and acquisition transactions, and advising in the organization of complex joint ventures.
Ms. Lowe earned an B.A. degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. She earned her J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in 1994 and an LL.M degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2002. While at Hastings, Ms. Lowe served as an Articles Editor for the Constitutional Law Quarterly and as an extern for the Honorable Robert E. Jones of the U.S. District Court of Oregon.
Diana Paek
District Director, Human Resources, Bay Area North
Macy's Northwest.
Diana Paek is District Director of Human Resources for the Bay Area North district for Macy's Northwest region, a position she has held since 2006. Prior to this position, Paek was the human resources director for San Francisco-based Macy’s West. She is responsible for providing HR and business development services to Macy’s stores in the San Francisco Bay Area and previously for stores in Orange County, San Diego County and El Paso, Texas areas as well as corporate offices in San Francisco. She also oversees performance management, succession planning, recruitment, and employee relations.
Paek’s retailing career began in 1997 as team leader at Macy’s Pleasanton store in the Macy’s West division. She held numerous positions within Macy’s West, including assistant buyer, HR manager for merchants and HR manager for sales promotion. In 2006, she was named HR director for Macy’s.
Paek is a member of the retail advisory board for the Jewish Vocational Services in San Francisco. She has been repeatedly recognized for excellent partnership, and recently received Macy’s Star Academy Support Director of the Year Award.
A native of Southern California, Paek is a psychology graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.
Paek resides in Oakland, California, with her dog, Kobe.
John Lee
General Counsel & Secretary
Westlake Realty Group, Inc.
John Lee has served on the ABL-SF Board of Directors since its founding in 1980 and currently holds the position of Chairman. John is a practicing attorney, having spent most of his career as in-house counsel at Wells Fargo, with his last position as Assistant General Counsel before retiring in 2001. Since 2002, John has served as the General Counsel & Secretary for Westlake Realty Group, Inc., a privately-owned real estate company. He received a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D.-M.B.A. from Stanford University. John maintains a passionate interest in music and collects toy trains.
Claire Chang
Founder/Managing Director
ClaireSays, Inc.
Claire Chang has served on the Board of Directors of ABL-SF since 2003 and as the President of the Board since 2008. She is currently a Founder/Managing Director of a consulting firm ClaireSays Inc. that provides marketing, business/community development, product launch, social media strategy and PR/AR services. Claire also consults as Executive-in-Residence at an early stage investment firm Booga Ventures in Palo Alto. As a seasoned, passionate cross-cultural and bilingual professional with 14 years of marketing and operations management experience from raw stage start-up to large corporation. Claire most recently served as a Chief Community Officer at an early stage internet start-up in SF. Over the years, Claire has served as a member of the Executive Committee at Korea IT Network (KIN), Co-Founder Korean American Professional Women's Association (KAPWA) of Silicon Valley, and a former Board member of San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce. Other interests include golf, opera, wine, food and traveling. Claire received B.A. in Sociology from San Francisco State University.
Rick Gutierrez
Board of Directors of Asian Business League (ABL) San Francisco
Manager at Robert Half International Finance & Accounting
Rick Gutierrez has served on the Board of Directors of ABL-SF since 2009 and is currently a Manager at Robert Half International Finance & Accounting. He has over 23 years in finance/accounting and industry in multiple capacities. His experience includes accounting/financial management, audit, systems implementation and valuation before venturing in the field of executive search. In 2005 he was named RHI’s Worldwide Rookie of the Year for 2005. Rick actively participates in various finance and accounting alliances, nonprofit organizations, and various Asian networking groups. Rick was educated in Asia with a Degree in Business Administration – Accounting and a Masters Degree in Finance and Technology Management. Rick is a mentor to many individuals, not to mention a proud father of twin boys.
Stephen Jeong
Managing Director
Waypoint People Solution
Stephen is Managing Director of Waypoint People Solution – a management consulting firm specializing in using cutting-edge metrics to improve employee effectiveness. He also teaches Leadership and Motivation and Organizational Development at DeVry University as well as Tests and Measurement at Golden Gate University. Prior to Waypoint, Stephen was an Associate Director at Towers Watson where he advised Fortune 500 organizations across industries. Working with Ohio Department of Education, he also designed and implemented Ohio’s high-school vocational education program certification system (Ohio’s Career Technical Competency Assessment: OCTCA). Stephen holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Donna Fujii
Author, Founder
Donna Fujii Color & Image Institute
Donna Fujii is the award-winning author of the international best-seller, Color With Style, published in four languages. Donna is the recipient of the Image Industry’s highest honor, Association of Image Consultants International’s IMMIE Award. She also heads Donna Fujii Color & Image Institute in San Francisco and Tokyo and Donna Fujii Cosmetics, featuring her color analysis-driven makeup line and nature sensitive skin treatment products. Her long list of clients includes Shiseido and C’Bon Cosmetics, Univision TV Network, Macy’s, Federated and Takashimaya Department Stores, the Westfield Shopping Centers, Japan Air Lines and Academy Award-winning costume designer, Elois Jenssen. She has been featured on numerous TV shows including the Vicki Show, Sew News, and Pacific Fusion, and has also written numerous articles on color and style for Glamour, Redbook, Skin, Inc., and Face magazines. She also conducts walking tours of the Union Square shopping district through Shop And The City.
Vu H. Pham, Ph.D.
Partner of Spectrum Knowledge, Inc.
As a Partner of Spectrum Knowledge, Inc., Vu H. Pham, Ph.D. works with dozens of organizations from the Fortune 500 to governmental and non-profit agencies to boost employee performance and strategic effectiveness. He conducts interactive training and data-driven research to achieve these results and works at the Center for Research on Employment and the Workforce (CREW) at California State University—Fullerton, as well as an instructor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Pham and his work have been featured on national and international multimedia venues, such as CNN, MSNBC, the Associated Press, Voice of America, The Los Angeles Times, KSCI International Television, Strategic Innovators, Asia in Play, Asian Week, Radio Free Asia and The Orange County Register. He has given keynote speeches on numerous occasions and presented at many conferences internationally, and has written for both academic and mainstream publications.
Previously, he held Research Fellow positions through the University of California Office of the President and the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. Having completed his doctoral degree from Cornell University, Dr. Pham’s specialties include the areas of culture, organizational development and leadership. His book is entitled, “Impressive First Impressions: The Most Important 30 Seconds of Your Career.”
His other honors and roles include being selected as the head of a Smithsonian cultural project and museum exhibit, a Role Model for KSCI International Television’s “Our Role Models” series and a Senior Advisory Board Member for the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP).
Sonya Gong Jent
Vice President of Operations
State Farm's Multicultural Business Development Group
Sonya Gong is a Vice President of Operations at State Farm’s Multicultural Business Development Group. She has worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years, starting with the State Farm as an auto claim representative and working her way up the management ranks. Sonya became the Regional Public Affairs Manager for Alabama and Mississippi in 1994. She has been a lobbyist, worked in philanthropic efforts and public relations before running one of State Farm’s response call centers and the Bank response center. Sonya also managed State Farm’s Health Operations for the eastern half of the US which included a multi-state transition. In 2006 she was named Vice President of Operations in the Southern Zone in Atlanta, Georgia with responsibilities across four states. Sonya was named to her current role in 2008 in State Farm’s corporate headquarters.
Sonya is the recipient of the Organization of Chinese Americans Corporate Achievement Award, the OCA National Community Service Award, named as recipient of the Who’s Who in Asian American Communities and recently recognized by AWIB (Asian Women in Business) with a Corporate Leadership award.
Sonya is the Executive Sponsor of AsiaNet – State Farm’s Asian Employee Resource Group, a past Bloomington Election Judge, a Voter Registrar, member of Central Illinois OCA Chapter and Chicago NAAAP. Sonya served on the Insurance Advisory Board for The University of Mississippi and is a Senior Advisor to the NAAAP National Board, NAAAP Chicago Chapter, Women in NAAAP, and MCLP (Multicultural Leadership Program).
Richard Lui
MSNBC News Anchor
Richard Lui has been named MSNBC anchor, based in New York City. Lui will anchor MSNBC dayside and starts with the network on August 30.
Richard Lui has been a news anchor for HLN, serving as an anchor for the network's late morning programming and as a news correspondent for "Morning Express with Robin Meade." Based in CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Lui joined CNN in 2005 as an anchor for CNN.com.
Since joining CNN, Lui has anchored live coverage of major breaking stories including the Virginia Tech shooting, the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict, the Mumbai train terrorist bombings and the Enron guilty verdicts.
In addition to anchoring weekday programming, Lui has reported live on events including CNN's "America Votes 2006" coverage and from New York's Ground Zero for CNN.com's live broadcast of the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Lui's reporting has also taken him to Singapore to research container scanning technology at the world's busiest port and to Indonesia to examine underage sex slavery and the economic effects of the 2002 Bali bombings.
Prior to CNN, Lui worked at Channel NewsAsia, an English-only news network reaching 21 Asian countries and territories. Based in Asia, Lui anchored major breaking news stories including the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh and the 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong. He also anchored live election results for Taiwan’s 2004 presidential election and "America Decides 2004," the network's U.S. presidential election coverage.
Lui started as a reporter at KALX-FM in Berkeley, Calif. Before joining Channel NewsAsia, Lui spent 15 years in business, most recently serving at Blink Mobile, where he and his co-founders developed a patented process for the launch of the first bank-centric payment routing network.
His business career focused on new venture creation in various management capacities at firms such as Citibank, Mercer Management Consulting and Lazarus Data Recovery. Earlier in his career, he had multi-year stints during the early growth stages of Mrs. Fields Cookies, and QED, an international oil spill clean-up equipment manufacturer.
Since 1985, Lui has volunteered at community organizations including the American Indian Family Healing Center, the Red Cross and the YMCA. He is also a pro bono management consultant to non-profits through an organization called Community Consulting.
Lui received his bachelor degree in rhetoric from the University of California- Berkeley and holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Maggie Y. Mui
Senior Vice President
San Francisco Market Regional President
Wells Fargo & Company
Maggie Mui is senior vice president and San Francisco market regional president. In her role, Maggie is responsible for $3.8 billion in deposits, 400 team members, and 20 Wells Fargo stores located in the heart of San Francisco financial district and surrounding neighborhood. Maggie also leads small business strategy and implementation for the San Francisco Bay Area region.
Prior to her current role, Maggie was the Director of Specialized Solutions, leading small business, consumer credit, and investments, acquisition, cross-sell, and retention initiatives for the San Francisco Bay Area region.
Mui is an active member in the community, serving on the Board of Directors at San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, Self-Help for the Elderly and, Asian Business League of San Francisco and Chinese Culture Foundation. In addition, she serves on the Advisory Board of the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Maggie has been enshrined in the San Francisco Business Times “Forever Influential Honor Roll”. In 2009 Maggie was honored with the 2009 National Asian Pacific American Corporate Achievement Award.