Board of Directors

Sefa Aina, Associate Dean and Director of the Draper Center for Community Partnerships at Pomona College. Sefa is a founding member and currently serves as the Board Chair for EPIC (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities), a founding member of PIECE (Pasefika Inland Empire Coalition for Empowerment), and a founding member of NPIEN (National Pacific Islander Educators Network) and UCLA PIER (Pacific Islander Education & Retention).

In September of 2010, Sefa was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Sefa served as the Vice-Chair of the Commission from 2010 – 2014.

Pooneh Fracyon Butler has more than 13 years of organizational and development experience with America’s Promise Alliance, a non-profit organization with over 450+ national partners devoted to delivering services to America’s most vulnerable youth. After a four-year tenure as a Senior Director specializing in executive operations, she assumed the role of advisor and liaison to the CEO and the Chair of America’s Promise Alliance. In the interim, she supported her growing family and recently relocated to Florida with her husband and 3 young children. Pooneh holds an MBA from George Mason University.

Weili Cheng is the Former Executive Director of the Yale Alumni Association where she oversees the direction of alumni organizations and programs and provides a channel for communication between Yale University and its alumni.

Weili has over 30 years of combined experience in hospitality and law. She started her career in law with a prominent Honolulu law firm and then as an attorney advisor and trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1985 she began a 30+-year career with Marriott International and held a number of leadership roles involving Litigation, Strategic Planning and International Lodging Development and Global Operations.

William Cho, First Vice Chair and Seattle Chapter President of the Asian McDonald’s Operators Association (AMOA). Mr. Cho has more than twenty years of experience in owning and operating McDonald’s locations in the Greater Seattle area. He currently owns eight restaurants in the cities of Auburn, Federal Way, Fife, and Tacoma. Mr. Cho’s current leadership positions include: First Vice Chair of Asian McDonald’s Operator’s Association (AMOA), Seattle Chapter President Asian McDonald’s Operator’s Association (AMOA), Chairman of OPNAD Asian Consumer Marketing Committee, Executive Board of OPNAD, Executive Board of Western Washington Operator’s Association, and Chair of Regional Multicultural Committee (Walnut Creek).

Jennifer Peru Gary is a Managing Partner at litigation support services firm Trustpoint’s Washington, D.C. office. Prior to her role at Trustpoint, Peru Gary also served as a federal prosecutor with the US Department of Justice and subsequently, as a white-collar criminal defense litigator with a law firm. She was born and raised in Waialua, a small sugar plantation town in Hawaiʻi, and is a first-generation college graduate, who had first-hand experience in the K-12 and university systems in Hawaiʻi. “As a proud Native Hawaiian, this opportunity is such a blessing because it will allow me to not only give back to my Native Hawaiian community, but to come alongside stakeholders back home to work together to overcome some of the challenges that Hawaiʻi faces with their educational system, which directly impacted me while I was growing up, and shaped who I am today. I am very excited about and humbled by this opportunity to serve on APIA Scholars’ board.” said Jennifer Peru Gary.

Nancy Lee is the Chief of Staff to Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. She is also the Executive Vice President of International Business Operations.

Previously, Ms. Lee served as President of Aquarius Ventures, overseeing investment strategy and overall operations across a portfolio of business ventures led by Mr. Iger before his return to Disney in November 2022.

Ms. Lee also previously served as a Director in the Corporate Strategy and Business Development Group.

Lindsay Ah Loo has served as the Executive Director of the Nakupuna Foundation since 2020. Tasked with shaping the Foundation’s vision and managing its charitable activities, she has supported the Nakupuna Foundation since its formation. A Kamehameha Schools Graduate and Oahu native, Ah Loo received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Yale as well as an MBA from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. For over 15 years, she supported the U.S. Navy as both a civil servant and consultant. Since 2015, she has been part owner of Na Aliʻi Consulting & Sales, which was founded in 2003 by her father, the late Warren Nakupuna Ah Loo—namesake of the Nakupuna Foundation and Nakupuna Companies.

Scott served as a former APIA Scholars Board Member and Chair of the Development Committee (2008-2018). He was the Vice Chair Board of Directors (2011-2017) for Spark 10, served as a board member of the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (2008-2011) and currently sits (2021–present) on the Board of Advisors for the Rochester institute of Technology (RIT) Hospitality Program.

Jeff Luong serves as Vice President of Network Engineering and is the former President of  Broadband Access and Adoption Initiatives, responsible for leading AT&T’s efforts to help bridge the digital divide by working with state, county and city governments. Jeff and his team coordinate efforts with AT&T’s Network, Product and External and Legislative Affairs teams to create best-in-class broadband solutions for government entities.

Jeff brings a wealth of experience to his role, with 25 years in AT&T’s network organization. In his previous position, Jeff served as Vice President – Wireless and Wireline Access Network across the nation’s 24 western states.

William (Bill) F. L. Moses serves as managing director for The Kresge Foundation’s Education Program, which supports postsecondary access and success for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students.

The key architect of Kresge’s education programming, Bill leads the team’s continuum of domestic and international grant activities.

Before joining Kresge, Bill served as executive director of The Thomas J. Watson Foundation in Rhode Island and as a senior analyst at the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, D.C. He also worked as a research officer at TechnoServe and held various administrative positions in Alaska’s state legislature and the federal government, including the U.S. Embassy in Cape Town, South Africa.

Nidhi Munjal served as the VP of Sustainability at Walmart. Nidhi’s career with Walmart spans 16+ years – she represented Walmart in overseas markets, including India, Argentina and Brazil, and led its efforts to create value for local partners and customers in a world where physical and online retail is converging.

Doug Murtha is group VP and chief business information officer of ITx for Toyota Motor North America. In this role, Murtha works closely with teams across the organization to support planning, prioritization, and realization of new value opportunities.

Prior to his current role, Murtha served as group vice president of corporate strategy and planning, responsible for mid- to long-term business strategies.

Wally Suphap is a writer, lawyer, teacher, editor & social justice advocate. At Columbia University, Wally has taught undergraduate writing, legal writing, creative nonfiction, and journalism, along with serving as a part-time writing consultant at the University Writing Center

Originally from Bangkok and raised in Los Angeles, Wally holds a BA from Columbia College, a JD from Columbia Law School, and an MFA in Nonfiction from Columbia’s School of the Arts, where they were a Lenfest Fellow and a Teaching Fellow. Prior to pursuing an MFA, they practiced corporate law as a dual qualified New York attorney and Hong Kong solicitor. Currently, they are completing a cultural memoir about their family-run Thai-Chinese restaurant.

Jacinta Titialii-Abbott is a former healthcare executive, attorney, and business consultant who advised companies in corporate structuring, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and other business transactions. Titialii-Abbott was Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at Tenet Healthcare Corporation, and also served as Assistant General Counsel. Titialii-Abbott started her career at the Seattle firm of Bogle & Gates in the business and real estate group.

In 1996 Modern Healthcare Magazine selected Titialii-Abbott as one of 10 up and coming healthcare executives in the United States. In 1999 President Bill Clinton appointed her to the first White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Commission.

Jacinta has been active for three decades on various non-profit and hospital boards of directors across the country, including the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Arts Commission, the Jack Nicklaus Children’s Healthcare Foundation, and APIA Scholars. Titialii-Abbott has two Bachelor of Arts degrees with majors in Political Science, Economics, and Art History from the University of Washington. She has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law.

Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng currently serves as the Deputy Chancellor with California Community Colleges, where she has also been a multicultural educator for 28 years. Her leadership, teaching, service, and research are guided by social justice and equity frameworks. She is also the current President of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE).

Prior to California Community Colleges, she served as the President of San Jose City College (SJCC). Dr. Tomaneng served as President of Berkeley City College in the Peralta Community College District, where under her leadership, the college implemented The Berkeley Promise, The Oakland Promise, and The Richmond Promise, academic transfer pathways designed to increase access to higher education for low-income, first-generation to college Black and Latinx students.

Felicia Turrentine Wasson is a well-rounded public affairs professional with over 30 years of experience in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. She currently serves as a Managing Director at The Penta Group, the world’s first comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm based in Washington, D.C. She previously served as the Director of  Social & Community Impact at NIKE, Inc. Her extensive career includes roles such as Community & Stakeholder Relations Director for The Coca-Cola Company, State Government Affairs Director for AARP Michigan, Public Policy Director for the Michigan Ministries of Ascension Health, and Michigan State Senate Chief of Staff. Wasson’s ability to create, develop, and maintain strong stakeholder relationships, coupled with her passion for inspiring positive change, makes her a valuable addition to the Board. 

Jason Wong has nearly three decades of progressive responsibility in accounting and finance. Jason currently works as SVP, Treasury and Investor Relations at Claritev.

His prior roles have included serving as CFO at Steel Partner Holdings, as VP – Treasurer & Investor Relations at Tiffany & Co and as the Chief Administrative Officer for Newell Brands Inc./Jarden Corp. for Europe.

Hans Yang is currently the General Manager for Microsoft for Startups, a role he has held since July 2022. With expertise in digital strategy and mentoring, he brings a wealth of experience to his position. Prior to his current roles, he served as Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he led the launch and scaling of new ventures for Fortune 500 companies. Hans has also held leadership positions at Luxe, where he oversaw operations for an on-demand valet business, and at The Walt Disney Company, where he managed the transition in mobile gaming. His career also includes significant roles at Zynga, Yahoo, and Taco Bell, demonstrating his broad expertise in product management and marketing.