OCA – Orange County Chapter

2010 Organization of Chinese Americans Orange County Chapter Officers

President: Lisa Akiyama
Lisa is the Scheduler/Officer Manager for CA State Senator Tom Harman. She has also served as the Education and Multi-cultural Affairs Chair for OCA-OC this past year. For Senator Harman, Lisa manages and coordinates all aspects of Senator Harman’s District schedule. She directs the District Internship program, represents Senator Harman at events, and organizes all aspects of most District Advisory Events. Lisa graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a major in Political Science and a minor in Education. Lisa has volunteered at Orange County’s Therapeutic Arts Center tutoring children with learning disabilities and at a number of political events and campaigns in Orange County. She also currently serves on the Board for the Orange County President’s Council (OCPC). She enjoys beach volleyball, biking, tennis, rooting for the Dodgers and Lakers, cooking and travel.

Vice President: Paul Odanaka
Paul has been actively involved with several nonprofit organizations as a corporate representative: the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City; Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance; National Hispana Leadership Institute; Organization of Chinese Americans; and the Women’s Foodservice Forum. Paul is also an active member of several nonprofit organizations: Planning Director for the PG Retreat, 501(c)(3) organization for families with profoundly gifted children; Board Director and Treasurer for Skateboard Moms Inc., 501(c)(3) organization that empowers women and promotes children’s literacy in under-served communities and Board Director for OCA Orange County and JACL – SELANOCO chapters.
Paul Odanaka is a Diversity and Inclusion and Operations Director most recently with Chili’s, a restaurant brand with over 1400 restaurants and $4 billion annual sales. Chili’s is part of the Brinker International portfolio of restaurants, including Maggiano’s Little Italy, Romano’s Macaroni Grill and On the Border.
Paul developed Chili’s first Diversity and Inclusion program, initiated and led Chili’s Diversity Executive Committee as well as the Diversity Task Force. He oversaw cross-functional teams and empowered them to develop Diversity and Inclusion training programs that included Generational Diversity, Cultural Differences, English as a Second Language, Inclusion Case Study, Community Engagement and a best in class Women’s Leadership and Mentor Program. In 2006 Paul was awarded the OCA Corporate Achievement Award for demonstrated leadership and commitment to Brinker International and his dedication to the Asian Pacific American community and to the community-at-large.

After studying Hotel and Restaurant Management at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, Paul joined Far West Services Inc. Paul was designated the concept General Manager of the Specialty Restaurant Division to develop McFadden’s Bayside (Fresh Sea Food), Ernesto’s (Nouvelle Cuisine) and Baxter’s (Casual Dining). In 1985, Paul took the opportunity to join a small growing company called Chili’s. While serving in various operation roles Paul helped develop Chili’s Southern California market from two to today’s seventy-two restaurants.

In 1994, Paul was granted a 15-month sabbatical from Chili’s/Brinker International to backpack around the world—on $15 a day. Immersing himself in local cultures from East Africa to Southeast Asia, India, Nepal and the island nations of the South Pacific, Paul gained a deep appreciation and knowledge for a wide variety of cultures while acquiring first-hand insights into diverse social structures, impoverished but resilient people, and the incredible potential of the global economy.
Paul enjoys supporting and improving his community, quality time with his family, world travel—and everything about food (especially eating!).

Secretary: Nikun Khoongumjorn
Nikun is a Software Engineer working in the mobile phone industry. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine in Computer Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. At UC Irvine, he was a part of the Engineering Student Council, IEEE, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu as well as the UC Irvine Chinese Association. Nikun went on to receive his Master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University. Nikun was born in Bangkok, Thailand and moved to the United States at a very young age. He currently resides in Irvine. He has served as the Secretary for OCA-OC in 2009.

Treasurer: Daniel Chew
Daniel Chew is a Systems Engineer in the aerospace industry. He received his Bachelor’s degree at University of California, Irvine in 2004, double majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Daniel recently finished his Master’s degree at University of Southern California in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Digital Signal Processing. He was born and raised in Northern California, until the age of 18, when he moved to Irvine for college. While at UC Irvine, he was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu. He was President of Eta Kappa Nu from 2003-2004. Daniel currently resides in Irvine.

Membership Chair: Shawn H Kim
Shawn is the District Representative/Constituent Services Director for California State Senator Lou Correa. He oversees and advises on all incoming constituent caseworks. Furthermore, Shawn advises Senator Correa on Asian Pacific Islander, Business, Senior, Veterans, and Mobilehome issues as well as representing the Senator in cities of Buena Park, Stanton and Garden Grove. In addition to his work, Shawn currently serves as a Korean Community advisory member to Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and a board member of the Korean American Federation of Orange County. Prior to his current position, Shawn has worked in real estate and as an investment banker. Shawn is a graduate of the University of California with Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology.

Public Affaris Chair: Nap Chan

Nap Chan currently works at State Farm Insurance Company in the Multicultural Business Development Group where she helps increase organizational capacity by providing consistent guidance and insights on multicultural markets; and by assisting the leadership to recognize the value of the multicultural market and the development of sustainable multicultural-related programs. Nap is very active in multicultural communities. She supported and represented State Farm at numerous community events, including LEAP Conference NYC, Asian Women Conference NYC, MAOF Women Conference, NALEO, CA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Convention and KAC National Convention. Nap is also a council member of Young Emerging Professionals (YEP).

Nap graduated from Temple University with a degree in Risk Management and Insurance and was a member of the Temple University chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma. She has sincere interests in professional development, community service, and cultural responsiveness.

In her spare time, Nap enjoys bowling, travelling, movies, concerts and classical music. She roots for the Eagles, Phillies and Lakers.

Community Relations: Michelle Nguyen
Michelle Nguyen is currently a graduate student at Pepperdine University pursuing her Masters in Psychology. She received her bachelor’s degree from University of California, Irvine in Psychology with a minor in sociology. Currently, she works as a private tutor for high school students. She is also an intern for State Senator Tom Harman and does research with professors at Cal State Fullerton to better understand the effects of eating disorders in Asian American women. In her spare time, she loves to bake and play volleyball. She also enjoys finding new restaurants and trying out new foods. Michelle was born in Northridge and grew up in Irvine. She currently resides in Aliso Viejo.

Programs: Carrie Gan
Carrie is an educator with a Bachelors degree in economics and education from UC San Diego and Masters in Education from UCLA. Carrie recently taught in the Los Angeles inner-city of Watts, and is now currently volunteering her time with non-profit organizations including the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP-OC), Asian Professional Exchange (APEX), and the Asian Business Association (ABA-OC). Since 2007, she has worked with actress Hayden Panettiere to manage PanettiereCloset.com, a charity website aimed to raise funds for the Whaleman Foundation. In her spare time, Carrie enjoys skeet shooting, riding her motorcycle on the weekends, and playing tennis.

Information Technology Chair: John Lew
John was born in Wyoming and is a first-generation-American-born Chinese-American. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and obtained his Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. He has worked for 5 years in both small and very large aerospace companies developing rocket propulsion systems. This has allowed him to live and work in Seattle, Phoenix, and Southern California. For the last 2 years, John has been a project manager/engineer for a hotel development firm, overseeing legal, franchise, technical, and financial negotiations. He is a strong advocate of renewable energy and bringing awareness to the issues of Climate Change. He enjoys witty debates, appreciates sci-fi, and has a quirky sense-of-humor.

2009 Organization of Chinese Americans Orange County Chapter Board of Directors

Board Advisor: Jhemon Lee, M.D.
Dr. Jhemon Lee is Vice Chair of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging of Los Alamitos Medical Center and a partner in Los Alamitos Radiology Group. Jhemon grew up in Maryland, received his bachelor’s degree in Engineering Sciences at Harvard University, and obtained his medical degree from the University of Maryland. He completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at the University of Chicago, where he was chief resident, and a fellowship in abdominal imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Jhemon is a former president of OCA-Orange County and was on the steering committee for the 1997 OCA National Convention in Chicago. He is President of the Advisory Board for the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA). He has been involved in the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) for over ten years. His most recent position in NAAAP is Co-Chair of the 2008 NAAAP National Convention in Los Angeles; past roles include serving as its National President, the President of its Chicago chapter, and on the board of its Boston chapter. He has been a board member, Director of Professional Development and founder of the Healthcare Special Interest Group for Asian Professional Exchange (APEX) in Los Angeles. Honors include being named to “Who’s Who in the World,” “Who’s Who in America” and “America’s Top Physicians,” and a NAAAP National Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jhemon also does acting and improv comedy on the side, as a member of the Advanced Team of Cold Tofu Improv, and taking classes with East West Players’ Actors Conservatory, including studio project performances of “The Laramie Project” and “Twelfth Night.” His latest hobby, believe it or not, is cooking.

Alex Quong
Alex Quong is a software engineer for Boeing. He works on projects which defend the country. In his spare time, he is also the former OCA-OC Vice President. This involves defending Asian American civil rights. Alex, a.k.a. “the Defender.” He was born and raised in California and therefore, is ideally suited to serve on OCA, which stands for Organization of Chinese AMERICANS (emphasis added). Growing up in Palos Verdes, he decided to travel far from home and acquired his B.S. in Computer Science from Santa Clara University (Go Steve Nash!). From there it was on to UC Irvine for a M.S. in Applied Mathematical Statistics.
After graduation, it was time to pay back those student loans (see first paragraph). Since work is not that fulfilling (is it ever?), he has joined OCA-OC to meet friends! Seriously though, with his extensive knowledge of the Asian American community in Southern California and his first-hand knowledge of being a banana, he feels OCA-OC is the ideal outlet to improve the lives of Chinese and Asian Americans in Southern California and Orange County specifically. Not only did he serve as former Vice President for OCA, he also served with Young Generation Asian Professionals (YGAP) in many capacities.

Tammy Peng
Tammy Peng is an attorney and policy advocate for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center’s Orange County office. Tammy works with the ever-increasing and diverse API population in Orange County, home to the largest number of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam, on issues ranging from immigration and language access to education and hate crimes. Tammy is the immediate past vice chair of the Refugee Forum of Orange County, a coalition of community-based organizations and service providers targeting the county’s refugee community, and serves on the State Bar of California Committee on Delivery of Legal Services, and Orange County Bar Assn.’s Community Outreach, Diversity and Equal Justice and Pro Bono committees. Tammy received her J.D. from Whittier Law School, her M.A. in journalism from USC, and B.A. in political science from UCLA. (Go Bruin!)

Howard Wang, Ph.D.
Dr. Howard Wang received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Oregon, and a M.S. in Clinical Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After a brief career in teaching clinical mycology at the Mayo Clinic and conducting research in Legionnaires’ Disease at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he found his calling in education, and obtained both a M.A. and a Ph.D. degree from UCLA in Higher Education Administration.Dr. Wang is the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of the Student Health and Counseling Center at the California State University, Fullerton. He served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs for two years at the California State University, San Bernardino; and as the Chief Executive Officer to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Development and Health Division at UCLA for more than a decade. His tenure in student affairs work includes managing many student services areas, including student health services and counseling and psychological services. He also served as an advisor to several student groups, including the International Golden Key Honour Society. He is often invited to China to provide training on student development theories, student affairs administration and governance, and other selected topics on the U.S. higher education systems. One of his presentations, “Student Affairs Management in Higher Education,” became part of a chapter in a book published by the Zhongshan University Press in 2005. An article, “Student Affairs in China,” was published in the Fall 2004 issue of Leadership Exchange magazine published by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He was also a member of the writing team for the 1998 “International Student Affairs and Services Manual” published by the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) and is currently one of the editors for the 2nd edition of the same manual.

Dr. Wang became involved (since 2005) in a bill that was recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush into law, designating eligible higher education institutions with 10% or more financially needy Asian Pacific American students as “Asian American and Native American Pacific Islanders Serving Institutions.” He worked with a number of colleagues in higher education and helped draft the “Findings” section in several legislative proposals during the early stages of the proposed bill; and with several community organizations and business leaders to help rally the passage of this bill. The current law will provide federal funding to eligible community colleges and universities for academic support services as well as community outreach programs to better serve the Asian American and Pacific Islander students. He is continuing his efforts in educating the community on this law, and work with his colleagues to insure its fair implementation.

Ellen Lu

Ellen Lu worked for the University of California, Irvine as Associate Director of Community Relations in the Office of Community and Government Relations. She supported the university in building relationships, upholding the university’s image and generating support for UC Irvine’s mission of education, research and public service. In addition to her full-time job, Ellen volunteered and served OCA-OC as president for two terms, the National Latina Business Women Association of Orange County (NLBWA) as secretary and board of director, the Asian Business Association of Orange County (ABAOC) as corporate advisory board member, as well as sat on many committees throughout the Orange County non-profit community. Ellen received the Community Leader Award from the ABAOC in 2008 and the Latino 100 Award in 2009 for her passion in giving back to the community.

Ellen graduated from the University of California, San Diego with degrees in biology and Chinese literature. She is a proud alumna of Kappa Zeta Phi Sorority at UC San Diego and continues to guide and advise the organization. Her passions are giving back to the community through service opportunities and building partnerships amongst colleagues and organizations. She enjoys cooking, baking, tennis and traveling. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Ellen moved to Los Angeles in 1997. She recently relocated to Taipei, Taiwan and is looking forward to integrating herself into her new community.

Hsuan-Yao Lee
Yao received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine in computer engineering where he was a part of the Engineering Student Council. He was also involved in the UC Irvine Chinese Association where he served as the Sports Coordinator. He went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in electrical engineering specializing in computer networks.
Yao is an avid sports fan and enjoys many sports especially basketball. Born in Taiwan, Yao moved to the U.S. at very young age and grew up in Palos Verdes Estates.
Yao has relocated to Taiwan but will remain involved in an advisory role as a member of the newly created Advisory Counci for 2010.

2009 Organization of Chinese Americans Orange County Chapter Student Interns

Jacqueline Wu
Jacqueline is a third-year Political Science major at the University of California, Irvine with the intent of going on to law school.  She remains involved with campus organizations through being the Vice President of the Pre-Law Society, the coordinator of its Peer Mentorship Program, a member of the Law Forum, and a student member of the Legal Studies Committee.  Also, she volunteers at the Orange County office of the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team.  In her free time, she enjoys hula hoping, bargain hunting, and checking the real estate market.

Justin Balagtas
Justin Balagtas is in his third year at the University of California, Irvine majoring in Political Science with a minor in Statistics. His studies focus on the involvement and effects of Religious and Ethnic minorities in American Politics and plans to attend Graduate School to obtain a Ph.D. in Political Science. He is a member of the Campuswide Honors Program and Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honors Society. In his spare time, he spends time playing various musical instruments and enjoys learning to cook different types of foods.