Shane Carlin
National Convention Director

Shane Carlin is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Advancement at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was born in Seoul, South Korea and is a Korean American Adoptee where he grew-up in Union, Kentucky and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky in Agricultural Communications and his Master of Science in College Student Personnel at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Carlin has also worked as the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and in Residence Life & Housing at Miami, Northwestern, and Capital Universities. Carlin has been a speaker for TEDx Lakeshore East in Chicago, IL. Working on the international scene is another area Carlin has experienced. He presented to College of Business and Engineering students at Hong Kong University & Science Technology in the fall of 2009. Carlin also escorted, mentored, and advised University of Illinois, Hong Kong University & Science Technology, Korea University and Seoul National University students for a C40 Technology and Management (T&M) Sustainability Case Study Competition in Seoul, South Korea. He also took a group of students to Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing, China with the T&M Program. When Carlin isn't working at his full-time job he sits on a few other boards such as the Midwest Asian American Student Union (MAASU) Board of Advisors, Korean Cultural Center, the National Association of Asian American Professional (NAAAP) as the National Leadership Academy Chair and National Convention Director, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Student Affairs Development and External Relations Knowledge Community Chair as well as being the first Asian American to be on the Kentucky 4-H Foundation Board, and the University of Kentucky National Alumni Association Board He is also the founder and former President of the NAAAP-Columbus Venture (National Association of Asian American Professionals). In addition, Carlin has been a public address announcer for the Kentucky 4-H Horse Show, sporting events at Miami and Northwestern Universities.

Sherry Tang
Senior Associate Director

Sherry Tang received her B.S. in Accountancy and her Masters of Accounting Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign. She was very involved on campus, being a member of and serving on the executive boards of numerous student organizations such as Asian American Association, Asian American Student Housing Organization, and Beta Alpha Psi Honors Business Society. Currently, Sherry is a part of the assurance practice at Ernst & Young, LLC in Chicago, Il. She is also working on completing her CPA certification. This is Sherry's second year as a member of the NAAAP Convention Team.

Lisa Thai
Assistant to the Director

Lisa Thai, a recent graduate from the University of St. Thomas, received her Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management and Finance. During her undergrad, she was involved and held many positions within Hana, a Multicultural Organization to promote cultural awareness across the UST community. She was also involved with the Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU) as a participant. Through her involvement and dedication, she discovered her passion to advocate and become a leader for the APIA community as the Executive Coordinating Committee’s (ECC) Secretary and Co-Chair for the 2011 Spring Conference. Currently, she works as an Item Management (IMN) Specialist for Target Corporations in Minneapolis, MN.

Edward Yun
Associate Director for Local Arrangements

Edward Yun represents licensed professionals, surgery centers, clinical laboratories, pharmacies, hospitals and other health-related businesses in resolving the broad spectrum of legal issues that confront the health care industry. Edward counsels health care providers in regulatory compliance matters and represents them in license applications and transfers, managed care agreements, joint ventures, commercial transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.  He provides guidance with respect to their day-to-day business activities.  He frequently advises health care providers regarding the prohibition against self-referrals, kickbacks, fee splitting, and health care fraud, as well as claims processing and reimbursement issues.  Edward also counsels health care providers with respect to shareholder disputes and restrictive covenants. Edward's past experience includes representing health care providers in Medicare, Medicaid and insurance audits, governmental proceedings, commercial litigation and appeals.  He has also defended health care providers against claims of medical malpractice, negligence and products liability.  Edward is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and New York Law School and is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey.  He is profiled in Marquis' Who's Who in American Law.

Brad Baldia
National President

Brad Baldia received his BA in English and Biology from Bucknell University and a Masters in Public Health from Temple University. In 1995, Brad served as a White House Intern in the Office of Presidential Personnel. He currently works as the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition. In addition, he works extensively with Asian community organizations on a local and national level, such as the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs and the National Association of Asian American Professionals (Brad was Founding-President of the Philadelphia chapter. He was elected in August, 2006 as Executive Vice President of NAAAP National; National President & Chairman in August, 2008 and was re-elected as National President & CEO in 2010.Brad serves on various boards including the Multicultural Affairs Congress (Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau) and the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. He is also member of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Advisory Committee; the FBI Philadelphia’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee and serves as faculty for the Center for Progressive Leadership.

Mr. Baldia has received numerous awards for his efforts, including the "Unsung Heroes Award" by Keystone Mercy Health Plan and "National Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award" by the National Conference for Community and Justice. In 2002, he was recognized as one of the "Top 30 Most Influential Asians in America Under the Age of 30". In 2007, Brad was one of fifty individuals citywide that was nominated for the “Spirit of Philadelphia” award by Greater Philadelphia Cares. In July, 2008, Mr. Baldia was named one of Philadelphia’s 101 Top Connectors by LEADERSHIP Philadelphia.

Chun-Fai Chan
Associate Director - Convention Programming

Chun-Fai was born in Hong Kong and came with his family to the United States when he was four years old. He has lived in the city of Boston for much of his life and went to both public and private school in the area. He graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Biology as well as a Master’s in Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Currently, he is a middle school math teacher in Boston Public Schools and has been teaching there for seven years. Chun-Fai also serves as a Commissioner on the Asian American Commission for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball, singing, and mentoring the next generation.

Jean Choi
Associate Director - Career Fair

Jean received her B.S. in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master of Science in Finance from Boston College.  She began her NAAAP journey by joining the Networking Committee of the Boston Chapter and continued to stay involved by serving as the Assistant Director of the Career Fair at the 2011 NAAAP National Convention in Boston, MA.  Over the past 6 years, Jean has worked at various financial institutions including Union Bank of California, Bank of America and State Street Corporation, and she is currently an Audit Specialist at State Street conducting internal audits for mutual funds and ETFs.  In her spare time, Jean enjoys watching movies/reality TV shows, capturing priceless moments with her DSLR, and traveling.

Esther Lee Cruz
Assistant Director - Career Fair

Esther is currently an MBA candidate (class of 2013) at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  Prior to Wharton, Esther worked as a consultant then a project manager at Chatham Financial, a boutique derivatives consulting firm.  Outside of work, Esther enjoyed serving her Philadelphia voting district as an elected Committee Person.  She also enjoyed volunteering for NAAAP Philadelphia as the Vice President of Non-Profit Relations.  Esther graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College in Illinois with a B.S. in Mathematics and Sociology.

Fabian De Rozario
Chief Business Development Officer

Fabian De Rozario is the founder and principal of GlobalConnect Consulting & Training, a firm specializing in developing capabilities in diversity & inclusion leadership, cross-cultural agility, and workforce engagement.  Each year, Fabian delivers more than 100 speeches, workshops and retreats for associates, managers and leaders in Fortune 100 companies domestically and abroad.  

Fabian was born and raised in Malaysia, completed his secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland, and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.  He has served in student services leadership roles at Northern Illinois University and at University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  From 1998 to 2006, Fabian served as the Director of U.S. University Relations and Director of Global Operations for the Golden Key International Honour Society headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In 2005, Fabian received the Georgia Society of Association Executives President’s Award, and in 2006, he was named an honoree of Who’s Who in Asian American Communities in Georgia.  Fabian recently completed a 2-year term as president of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) and now serves as NAAAP National’s Chief Business Development Officer.  He is a member of the prestigious Leadership Atlanta program, Class of 2011 and is also an alum of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute.  Fabian currently serves as a board member of the Center for Pan-Asian Community Services (CPACS) and was previously as a board member of the Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE).

His hobbies are travel, gardening and food - particularly Asian fare.  Fabian and his wife, Jesslyna, reside in Atlanta, Georgia.  Fabian can be reached at fabianconnect@gmail.com.

Julie Digianantonio
Associate Director, Program Book

Julie is an Ohio native who earned a B.A. in Religion from Case Western Reserve University. An experienced editorial and communications professional, she currently works as a Communications and Social Media Consultant for BMW of North America, LLC. While Julie appreciates reading about adventures, she much prefers to embark on traveling excursions of her own. She resides in the Windy City with her husband, Jason, and is a member of NAAAP Chicago. This is her second year serving as the Associate Director, Program Book.

Dennis Espiritu
NAAAP NY President

Dennis Espiritu is a first-generation Filipino-American and is the son of a retired Master Chief in the Navy.  He graduated from the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD) earning a BS in General Science.  He left active duty in 1999 and immediately affiliated with the Navy Reserves.  His civilian jobs included technical sales with TTC/ACTERNA and ADP, financial services with Morgan Stanley, and most recently staffing/recruiting with Ajilon.   In Feb 2002, he was activated for ten months in response to 9/11 and sent to the Middle East. Since Jan 2009, he returned to active duty as a Navy City Outreach Officer.  His primary duties is to carry out the Navy's Diversity initiatives and outreach. Commander Dennis Espiritu has earned numerous campaign and personal awards (Navy) and completed several sales and leadership courses.  He is a Certified Staffing Professional (CSP) by the American Staffing Association. Dennis Espiritu has been active with NAAAP since 2009 and is currently the President of the NAAAP New York metro chapter.

Lisa Fisher
Assistant Director - Programming

Lisa is a 2010 graduate from the University of Missouri and majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance & Banking. While attending college, she was actively involved with the Asian American Association (AAA) and the Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU). This is her first year with NAAAP and is very excited for the upcoming year as Assistant Director of Programming.

Albert Ho
Associate Director - 2013 Convention

Albert Ho has been a NAAAP member since 2002, and has served on the Toronto Board since June of 2006. He has previously served as the Director of Public Relations, NAAAP National Representative and was co-chair of the Silk Road Gala (2009).

He has attended the following National Conventions: 2002 Boston, 2003 Toronto, 2005 Chicago, 2006 Seattle, 2007 Atlanta and 2008 Los Angeles. He has served on various National committees including 2008 Convention Sponsorship Committee, 2008 National Leadership Retreat Planning Comittee, 2008 NAAAP Values Commitee.   In March 2010, Albert was honoured with the Province of Ontario Volunteer Service Awards in recognition of 5 years of service with NAAAP Toronto.

He is a Registered Nurse and currently works on a General Internal Medicine floor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He also serves as an Executive member-at-large with Sunnybrook's Nursing Council and is also the founding President of the Ryerson University Nursing Alumni Association.

Sherman Kong
Chief Programs Officer, National

Kong is the Director of Business Intelligence Practice at Broadstreet Data Solutions Inc. (BDSI), with responsibilities including management and execution of consulting services from resources under his practice. He assists in overseeing partnership between BDSI and the technology vendor SAP BusinessObjects. From having serviced client organizations across Customer Product Goods, Finance, Manufacturing, Energy, Pharmaceutical and Media Research verticals, he aims to instill in members the same passion of achieving career-progression goals, personal interests and professional maturity.

As his 2nd consecutive year serving as Chief Program Officer on NAAAP National Administration team, Kong continues to develope outlets on expanding the NAAAP footprint and further cultivate long-term relationships with community leaders and groups for sustainable program offerings within the membership domain. His role focuses on management and execution of initiatives that revolve around promoting cultural, personal, and professional development-related values amongst NAAAP community and partnership base through activities and programs, including speaker functions, program collaboration opportunities with other professional associations such as PMI and LEAP, and internal leadership development focus. Kong recognizes the advantage of relationship building with both corporate and non-profit counterparts as well as other chapters to foster new ideas as priorities. He works closely with other national and local committees to facilitate program guidance. Kong oversaw the planning and structure of the overall seminar program and facilitated speaker arrangements and other workshop elements at the 2010 NAAAP National Convention in San Francisco, CA and subsequent 2011 installment in Boston, MA.

Kong currently resides in Toronto where he earned his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto. He has been a Chinese Canadian citizen after spending his childhood in Hong Kong for 14 years. He enjoys photography and low-budget films, and has recently started learning percussion to push his fondness of the rock music genre into new height.

Jenny Liang
Associate Director - Volunteer Management

Jenny is currently an attorney in New York and works in corporate, real estate, and intellectual property matters. She is originally from Oklahoma and has since lived in North Carolina, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago. Jenny has a B.S. degree from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Previously, she worked in business consulting in the communications and technology industry.

Cyndy Yu-Robinson
Chief Marketing Officer, National

Cyndy Yu-Robinson is an Public Involvement Specialist with URS Corporation, a global company which researches, designs, and manages complex projects including public transit, roads, airports, and stormwater controls.  Her passions include environmental sustainability, community service and philanthropy, and sports and fitness.  Cyndy worked as a government affairs and public information officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 18 years and as the Asian Special Emphasis program Manger for 9 of those years.  She moved into private sector as Lenovo's Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for one year, and served on numerous non-profit boards including that of Sustainable North Carolina for 3 years.  Her service to the Asian community includes working at the Asian Women's Center in San Francisco, an officer of Triangle Area Chinese American Society in N.C., president of the NC-Chinese Business Association, and most recently conducting outreach to Asians and Pacific Islanders in North Carolina as part of Census 2010.  Cyndy graduated from Stanford University in 1987 with a bachelor's in human biology and from the University of California, San Diego, in 1991 with a master's in international relations and Pacific Studies.  As NAAAP's Chief Marketing Officer, Cyndy oversees branding, communication of new and existing NAAAP programs, convention marketing, media relations, and use of social media.

Annie Sit
Assistant Director - Program Book

Annie is a professional designer who has diverse experience in interior, graphic, and architectural design. She earns a B.S. in Interior Design from Indiana University Bloomington, and is currently pursuing a Master in Architecture degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before her graduate studies, she had worked as an Associate Designer at NBBJ in Columbus, Ohio, with a focus on healthcare interior architecture for six years. Annie also has strong interests in graphic design. She has worked on graphic design projects for not-for-profit organizations such as the National Association for Asian American Professionals (NAAAP), the Asian American Cultural Center, and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Illinois since 2008.

Samantha Wu
NAAAP Chapter/Venture - New York/Assistant Director of Volunteer Management

Samantha is an admitted attorney in New York State and currently resides in Toronto. She has worked in consumer protection, human rights and immigration law, and is currently pursuing her legal accreditation in Ontario. Samantha has a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Originally from Taiwan and grew up in Vancouver, she enjoy working with the Asian-American and Canadian communities. During law school, Samantha was a cultural ambassador for the State Intellectual Property Office of China Program, running a patent law seminar for visiting Chinese officials. In New York, she volunteered with Human Rights First in the asylum and refugees program.

Sue Feng
Webmaster

Sue Feng is a student at the University of Illinois, studying industrial design and informatics. She is part of the Asian American Student Housing Organization on campus, as the webmaster. She is also a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America. Sue is graduating in May 2012.

Sia Moua

Sia Moua was born in Thailand, and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. She graduated from Denison University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Communication. As a student, she worked on advancing the interests of Asian-American students/community on and off campus. She held several leadership positions in student organizations, such as the Midwest Asian American Students Union. Following college, she served in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania as a Girls Education and Empowerment Volunteer. Sia also served with AmeriCorps as a Project Development Coordinator at HandsOn Twin Cities. Currently, she is an Analyst at Macy's. Sia is committed to defending human rights and ensuring social justice. She is an avid volunteer, enjoys traveling, loves impressionism (especially Monet), and learning new languages.

Annie Lam

Annie Lam is currently a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is studying Communication and minoring in English. In the past she has interned for Chicago Sun-Times Media as their Communications Marketing Intern where she gained experience specializing in sales, advertising, and marketing.

Shane Carlin
National Convention Director

Shane Carlin is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Advancement at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was born in Seoul, South Korea and is a Korean American Adoptee where he grew-up in Union, Kentucky and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky in Agricultural Communications and his Master of Science in College Student Personnel at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Carlin has also worked as the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and in Residence Life & Housing at Miami, Northwestern, and Capital Universities. Carlin has been a speaker for TEDx Lakeshore East in Chicago, IL. Working on the international scene is another area Carlin has experienced. He presented to College of Business and Engineering students at Hong Kong University & Science Technology in the fall of 2009. Carlin also escorted, mentored, and advised University of Illinois, Hong Kong University & Science Technology, Korea University and Seoul National University students for a C40 Technology and Management (T&M) Sustainability Case Study Competition in Seoul, South Korea. He also took a group of students to Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing, China with the T&M Program. When Carlin isn't working at his full-time job he sits on a few other boards such as the Midwest Asian American Student Union (MAASU) Board of Advisors, Korean Cultural Center, the National Association of Asian American Professional (NAAAP) as the National Leadership Academy Chair and National Convention Director, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Student Affairs Development and External Relations Knowledge Community Chair as well as being the first Asian American to be on the Kentucky 4-H Foundation Board, and the University of Kentucky National Alumni Association Board He is also the founder and former President of the NAAAP-Columbus Venture (National Association of Asian American Professionals). In addition, Carlin has been a public address announcer for the Kentucky 4-H Horse Show, sporting events at Miami and Northwestern Universities.

Sherry Tang
Senior Associate Director

Sherry Tang received her B.S. in Accountancy and her Masters of Accounting Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign. She was very involved on campus, being a member of and serving on the executive boards of numerous student organizations such as Asian American Association, Asian American Student Housing Organization, and Beta Alpha Psi Honors Business Society. Currently, Sherry is a part of the assurance practice at Ernst & Young, LLC in Chicago, Il. She is also working on completing her CPA certification. This is Sherry's second year as a member of the NAAAP Convention Team.

Lisa Thai
Assistant to the Director

Lisa Thai, a recent graduate from the University of St. Thomas, received her Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management and Finance. During her undergrad, she was involved and held many positions within Hana, a Multicultural Organization to promote cultural awareness across the UST community. She was also involved with the Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU) as a participant. Through her involvement and dedication, she discovered her passion to advocate and become a leader for the APIA community as the Executive Coordinating Committee’s (ECC) Secretary and Co-Chair for the 2011 Spring Conference. Currently, she works as an Item Management (IMN) Specialist for Target Corporations in Minneapolis, MN.

Edward Yun
Associate Director for Local Arrangements

Edward Yun represents licensed professionals, surgery centers, clinical laboratories, pharmacies, hospitals and other health-related businesses in resolving the broad spectrum of legal issues that confront the health care industry. Edward counsels health care providers in regulatory compliance matters and represents them in license applications and transfers, managed care agreements, joint ventures, commercial transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.  He provides guidance with respect to their day-to-day business activities.  He frequently advises health care providers regarding the prohibition against self-referrals, kickbacks, fee splitting, and health care fraud, as well as claims processing and reimbursement issues.  Edward also counsels health care providers with respect to shareholder disputes and restrictive covenants. Edward's past experience includes representing health care providers in Medicare, Medicaid and insurance audits, governmental proceedings, commercial litigation and appeals.  He has also defended health care providers against claims of medical malpractice, negligence and products liability.  Edward is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and New York Law School and is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey.  He is profiled in Marquis' Who's Who in American Law.

Brad Baldia
National President

Brad Baldia received his BA in English and Biology from Bucknell University and a Masters in Public Health from Temple University. In 1995, Brad served as a White House Intern in the Office of Presidential Personnel. He currently works as the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition. In addition, he works extensively with Asian community organizations on a local and national level, such as the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs and the National Association of Asian American Professionals (Brad was Founding-President of the Philadelphia chapter. He was elected in August, 2006 as Executive Vice President of NAAAP National; National President & Chairman in August, 2008 and was re-elected as National President & CEO in 2010.Brad serves on various boards including the Multicultural Affairs Congress (Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau) and the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. He is also member of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Advisory Committee; the FBI Philadelphia’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee and serves as faculty for the Center for Progressive Leadership.

Mr. Baldia has received numerous awards for his efforts, including the "Unsung Heroes Award" by Keystone Mercy Health Plan and "National Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award" by the National Conference for Community and Justice. In 2002, he was recognized as one of the "Top 30 Most Influential Asians in America Under the Age of 30". In 2007, Brad was one of fifty individuals citywide that was nominated for the “Spirit of Philadelphia” award by Greater Philadelphia Cares. In July, 2008, Mr. Baldia was named one of Philadelphia’s 101 Top Connectors by LEADERSHIP Philadelphia.

Chun-Fai Chan
Associate Director - Convention Programming

Chun-Fai was born in Hong Kong and came with his family to the United States when he was four years old. He has lived in the city of Boston for much of his life and went to both public and private school in the area. He graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Biology as well as a Master’s in Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Currently, he is a middle school math teacher in Boston Public Schools and has been teaching there for seven years. Chun-Fai also serves as a Commissioner on the Asian American Commission for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball, singing, and mentoring the next generation.

Jean Choi
Associate Director - Career Fair

Jean received her B.S. in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master of Science in Finance from Boston College.  She began her NAAAP journey by joining the Networking Committee of the Boston Chapter and continued to stay involved by serving as the Assistant Director of the Career Fair at the 2011 NAAAP National Convention in Boston, MA.  Over the past 6 years, Jean has worked at various financial institutions including Union Bank of California, Bank of America and State Street Corporation, and she is currently an Audit Specialist at State Street conducting internal audits for mutual funds and ETFs.  In her spare time, Jean enjoys watching movies/reality TV shows, capturing priceless moments with her DSLR, and traveling.

Esther Lee Cruz
Assistant Director - Career Fair

Esther is currently an MBA candidate (class of 2013) at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  Prior to Wharton, Esther worked as a consultant then a project manager at Chatham Financial, a boutique derivatives consulting firm.  Outside of work, Esther enjoyed serving her Philadelphia voting district as an elected Committee Person.  She also enjoyed volunteering for NAAAP Philadelphia as the Vice President of Non-Profit Relations.  Esther graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College in Illinois with a B.S. in Mathematics and Sociology.

Fabian De Rozario
Chief Business Development Officer

Fabian De Rozario is the founder and principal of GlobalConnect Consulting & Training, a firm specializing in developing capabilities in diversity & inclusion leadership, cross-cultural agility, and workforce engagement.  Each year, Fabian delivers more than 100 speeches, workshops and retreats for associates, managers and leaders in Fortune 100 companies domestically and abroad.  

Fabian was born and raised in Malaysia, completed his secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland, and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.  He has served in student services leadership roles at Northern Illinois University and at University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  From 1998 to 2006, Fabian served as the Director of U.S. University Relations and Director of Global Operations for the Golden Key International Honour Society headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In 2005, Fabian received the Georgia Society of Association Executives President’s Award, and in 2006, he was named an honoree of Who’s Who in Asian American Communities in Georgia.  Fabian recently completed a 2-year term as president of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) and now serves as NAAAP National’s Chief Business Development Officer.  He is a member of the prestigious Leadership Atlanta program, Class of 2011 and is also an alum of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute.  Fabian currently serves as a board member of the Center for Pan-Asian Community Services (CPACS) and was previously as a board member of the Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE).

His hobbies are travel, gardening and food - particularly Asian fare.  Fabian and his wife, Jesslyna, reside in Atlanta, Georgia.  Fabian can be reached at fabianconnect@gmail.com.

Julie Digianantonio
Associate Director, Program Book

Julie is an Ohio native who earned a B.A. in Religion from Case Western Reserve University. An experienced editorial and communications professional, she currently works as a Communications and Social Media Consultant for BMW of North America, LLC. While Julie appreciates reading about adventures, she much prefers to embark on traveling excursions of her own. She resides in the Windy City with her husband, Jason, and is a member of NAAAP Chicago. This is her second year serving as the Associate Director, Program Book.

Dennis Espiritu
NAAAP NY President

Dennis Espiritu is a first-generation Filipino-American and is the son of a retired Master Chief in the Navy.  He graduated from the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD) earning a BS in General Science.  He left active duty in 1999 and immediately affiliated with the Navy Reserves.  His civilian jobs included technical sales with TTC/ACTERNA and ADP, financial services with Morgan Stanley, and most recently staffing/recruiting with Ajilon.   In Feb 2002, he was activated for ten months in response to 9/11 and sent to the Middle East. Since Jan 2009, he returned to active duty as a Navy City Outreach Officer.  His primary duties is to carry out the Navy's Diversity initiatives and outreach. Commander Dennis Espiritu has earned numerous campaign and personal awards (Navy) and completed several sales and leadership courses.  He is a Certified Staffing Professional (CSP) by the American Staffing Association. Dennis Espiritu has been active with NAAAP since 2009 and is currently the President of the NAAAP New York metro chapter.

Lisa Fisher
Assistant Director - Programming

Lisa is a 2010 graduate from the University of Missouri and majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance & Banking. While attending college, she was actively involved with the Asian American Association (AAA) and the Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU). This is her first year with NAAAP and is very excited for the upcoming year as Assistant Director of Programming.

Albert Ho
Associate Director - 2013 Convention

Albert Ho has been a NAAAP member since 2002, and has served on the Toronto Board since June of 2006. He has previously served as the Director of Public Relations, NAAAP National Representative and was co-chair of the Silk Road Gala (2009).

He has attended the following National Conventions: 2002 Boston, 2003 Toronto, 2005 Chicago, 2006 Seattle, 2007 Atlanta and 2008 Los Angeles. He has served on various National committees including 2008 Convention Sponsorship Committee, 2008 National Leadership Retreat Planning Comittee, 2008 NAAAP Values Commitee.   In March 2010, Albert was honoured with the Province of Ontario Volunteer Service Awards in recognition of 5 years of service with NAAAP Toronto.

He is a Registered Nurse and currently works on a General Internal Medicine floor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He also serves as an Executive member-at-large with Sunnybrook's Nursing Council and is also the founding President of the Ryerson University Nursing Alumni Association.

Sherman Kong
Chief Programs Officer, National

Kong is the Director of Business Intelligence Practice at Broadstreet Data Solutions Inc. (BDSI), with responsibilities including management and execution of consulting services from resources under his practice. He assists in overseeing partnership between BDSI and the technology vendor SAP BusinessObjects. From having serviced client organizations across Customer Product Goods, Finance, Manufacturing, Energy, Pharmaceutical and Media Research verticals, he aims to instill in members the same passion of achieving career-progression goals, personal interests and professional maturity.

As his 2nd consecutive year serving as Chief Program Officer on NAAAP National Administration team, Kong continues to develope outlets on expanding the NAAAP footprint and further cultivate long-term relationships with community leaders and groups for sustainable program offerings within the membership domain. His role focuses on management and execution of initiatives that revolve around promoting cultural, personal, and professional development-related values amongst NAAAP community and partnership base through activities and programs, including speaker functions, program collaboration opportunities with other professional associations such as PMI and LEAP, and internal leadership development focus. Kong recognizes the advantage of relationship building with both corporate and non-profit counterparts as well as other chapters to foster new ideas as priorities. He works closely with other national and local committees to facilitate program guidance. Kong oversaw the planning and structure of the overall seminar program and facilitated speaker arrangements and other workshop elements at the 2010 NAAAP National Convention in San Francisco, CA and subsequent 2011 installment in Boston, MA.

Kong currently resides in Toronto where he earned his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto. He has been a Chinese Canadian citizen after spending his childhood in Hong Kong for 14 years. He enjoys photography and low-budget films, and has recently started learning percussion to push his fondness of the rock music genre into new height.

Jenny Liang
Associate Director - Volunteer Management

Jenny is currently an attorney in New York and works in corporate, real estate, and intellectual property matters. She is originally from Oklahoma and has since lived in North Carolina, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago. Jenny has a B.S. degree from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Previously, she worked in business consulting in the communications and technology industry.

Cyndy Yu-Robinson
Chief Marketing Officer, National

Cyndy Yu-Robinson is an Public Involvement Specialist with URS Corporation, a global company which researches, designs, and manages complex projects including public transit, roads, airports, and stormwater controls.  Her passions include environmental sustainability, community service and philanthropy, and sports and fitness.  Cyndy worked as a government affairs and public information officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 18 years and as the Asian Special Emphasis program Manger for 9 of those years.  She moved into private sector as Lenovo's Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for one year, and served on numerous non-profit boards including that of Sustainable North Carolina for 3 years.  Her service to the Asian community includes working at the Asian Women's Center in San Francisco, an officer of Triangle Area Chinese American Society in N.C., president of the NC-Chinese Business Association, and most recently conducting outreach to Asians and Pacific Islanders in North Carolina as part of Census 2010.  Cyndy graduated from Stanford University in 1987 with a bachelor's in human biology and from the University of California, San Diego, in 1991 with a master's in international relations and Pacific Studies.  As NAAAP's Chief Marketing Officer, Cyndy oversees branding, communication of new and existing NAAAP programs, convention marketing, media relations, and use of social media.

Annie Sit
Assistant Director - Program Book

Annie is a professional designer who has diverse experience in interior, graphic, and architectural design. She earns a B.S. in Interior Design from Indiana University Bloomington, and is currently pursuing a Master in Architecture degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before her graduate studies, she had worked as an Associate Designer at NBBJ in Columbus, Ohio, with a focus on healthcare interior architecture for six years. Annie also has strong interests in graphic design. She has worked on graphic design projects for not-for-profit organizations such as the National Association for Asian American Professionals (NAAAP), the Asian American Cultural Center, and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Illinois since 2008.

Samantha Wu
NAAAP Chapter/Venture - New York/Assistant Director of Volunteer Management

Samantha is an admitted attorney in New York State and currently resides in Toronto. She has worked in consumer protection, human rights and immigration law, and is currently pursuing her legal accreditation in Ontario. Samantha has a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Originally from Taiwan and grew up in Vancouver, she enjoy working with the Asian-American and Canadian communities. During law school, Samantha was a cultural ambassador for the State Intellectual Property Office of China Program, running a patent law seminar for visiting Chinese officials. In New York, she volunteered with Human Rights First in the asylum and refugees program.

Sue Feng
Webmaster

Sue Feng is a student at the University of Illinois, studying industrial design and informatics. She is part of the Asian American Student Housing Organization on campus, as the webmaster. She is also a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America. Sue is graduating in May 2012.

Sia Moua

Sia Moua was born in Thailand, and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. She graduated from Denison University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Communication. As a student, she worked on advancing the interests of Asian-American students/community on and off campus. She held several leadership positions in student organizations, such as the Midwest Asian American Students Union. Following college, she served in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania as a Girls Education and Empowerment Volunteer. Sia also served with AmeriCorps as a Project Development Coordinator at HandsOn Twin Cities. Currently, she is an Analyst at Macy's. Sia is committed to defending human rights and ensuring social justice. She is an avid volunteer, enjoys traveling, loves impressionism (especially Monet), and learning new languages.

Annie Lam

Annie Lam is currently a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is studying Communication and minoring in English. In the past she has interned for Chicago Sun-Times Media as their Communications Marketing Intern where she gained experience specializing in sales, advertising, and marketing.