ALIST_Anniversary2017_Final (2)

ANNIVERSARY 

2017/2018 

ISSUE 14 

THE ANNIVERSARY 

ISSUE 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | i

ii | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018

IN THIS ISSUE 

ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018 

Autumn 2012 Issue: 

Yul Kwon 

Pages 3-7 

Autumn 2012 Issue: 

Angie Chang 

Pages 8-9 

Holiday 2013/2014 Issue: 

Thuhien Nguyen 

Pages 30-31 

Spring 2014 Issue: 

Kenneth Lin 

Pages 32-34 

Summer 2014 Issue: 

The Fung Brothers 

Pages 43-44 

Holiday 2014/2015 Issue 

Pages 45-46 

Winter 2013 Issue: 

Sheila Marcelo 

Pages 10-13 


Adora Svitak 

Pages 35-36 


Anjali Shah 

Pages 47-48 

Winter 2013 Issue: 

Elaine Kwon 

Pages 14-16 


Helen Wan 

Pages 37-38 


Padmasree Warrior 

Pages 49-51 


Ernestine Fu & Brian Wong 

Pages 17-25 


Hines Ward 

Pages 26-29 

Summer 2014 Issue 

Pages 39-40 


Andrew Yang 

Pages 41-42 


Dr. Wendy Suzuki 

Pages 52-53 

Summer 2015 Issue 

Pages 54-55 


Christina Ha 

Pages 56-57 


Glenn Sugiyama 

Pages 58-62 

Fall 2016 Issue: 

Chien-Chi Huang 

Pages 71-72 

ALIST Magazine 

Self-Reflection 

Page 76 

NAAAP Spotlight: Elizabeth 

Yang, NAAAP National 

President and Rose Olea, 

NAAAP Chicago Chapter 

President 

Page 89-90 

Spring 2016 Issue 

Pages 63-64 


Andrew Ly 

Pages 65-66 


Ally Maki 

Pages 67-68 

Fall 2016 Issue 

Pages 69-70 

Joyce Tang, Founder and 

Chief Customer Happiness 

Officer of AgilisIT 

Pages 77-78 

Gracie Kim, Author of 

‘Please Love Umma’ 

Pages 80-81 

Weike Wang, Author of 

‘Chemistry’ 

Pages 85-86 

Kalista Tazlin, Producer, 

Writer and Actress 

Pages 93-94 

Alfa, Singer/Songwriter of 

‘Spark & Fury’ 

Pages 97-98 

NAAAP 100 Award 

Honorees & Inspire 

Recipient 

Pages 101-102 

A-POSELENOV 

Copyright (C) 2017 ALIST magazine. All rights reserved. Title is protected through a trademark registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Printed in U.S.A. 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 1

THE STAFF 

EDITOR’S NOTE 

PUBLISHER 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

ALIST DIGITAL 

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR 

SENIOR COPY EDITOR 

COPY EDITOR 

RESEARCH EDITOR 

LAYOUT MANAGER 

BUSINESS 

EXEC. GEN. COUNSEL 

ASSOC. GEN COUNSEL 

ASSOC. GEN. COUNSEL 

WEBSITE MANAGER 

ANN CHEN 

CATHERINE LAW 

JENNIFER YAMADA 

LAURA LI 

LISA SITA 

ANDREW JUNG 

ALYSON TONG 

PETER WOO 

ALEXANDER KO 

CHRISTINE WONG 

BI YOO 

MARKETING/PR 

DIGITAL AD MANAGER BRIE MANAKUL 

CREATIVE 

PHOTOGRAPHER 

DIGITAL ARTIST 

ERIC BOTHWELL 

JACKIE HO 

ELYSIA SU 

JASMIN HUANG 

WRITERS 

BRYAN CHEUNG 

NINA HUANG 

RUBAIYAT KHAN 

MICHAEL L. MALINER 

JENNIFER SUZUKAWA-TSENG 

SAMUEL TSOI 

SEE XIONG 

This special 5th Anniversary issue 

is over 100 pages, where it is jam 

packed with a few pages of our past 

issues and new content. We wanted 

to give you a glimpse of who and 

what we covered in each past issue 

and we were also able to follow up 

with some of them to be included in 

our special celebration. 

Issue #14 sounds insignificant but 

not to ALIST Magazine. It started 

out with a handful of passionate 

volunteers who saw a need for an 

Asian publication. So, let’s start by looking back: 

Issue #1: Yul Kwon, Facebook. 

Issue #2: Shelia Marcelo, Care.com 

Issue #3: Ernestine Fu, Alsop Louie Partners and Brian Wong, 

Kiip. 

Issue #4: Hines Ward, Former Wide Receiver for the Pittsburgh 

Steelers. 

Issue #5: Kenneth Lin, Credit Karma. 

Issue #6: Andrew Yang, Venture America and various entrepreneurs. 

Issue #7: Betty Lo, Nielsen and Singapore designers. 

Issue #8: Padmasaree Warrior, Cisco. 

Issue #9: Amna Nawaz, Emmy award-winning anchor of ABC 

News’ Digital and Livestream platforms. 

Issue #10: Glenn Sugiyama, DHR International. 

Issue #11: Andrew Ly, Sugarbowl Bakery. 

Issue #12: Hitoshi Tanaka, J!NS Eyewear. 

Issue #13, Pre-Anniversary Issue: Srinivas Reddy, Prudential. 

We also talk to Joyce Tang of AgilisIT; Gracie Kim, Love Umma; 

Kalista Tazlin, Alfa and Weike Wang, Chemistry. 

The past 5 years has been amazing and we will continue to grow and 

with your help, we will have more milestones to celebrate. We thank 

you for joining us on our journey! 

Copyright 2017 by ALIST Magazine. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Cover 

and contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. 

ALIST is a registered trademark of NAAAP Inc. offices. Single copies to be distributed in 

the U.S., its territories and posessions and Canada are $3.99 per copy. Yearly subscription 

rate in U.S., its territories and possessions, and Canada is $12.99. Please contact ALIST 

for single copy or subscription prices issued locations outside of the U.S., its territories and 

possesions, and Canada. For subscription orders or customer service, please access http:// 

alist.storenvy.com/. Address all subscription correspondence to contact@alist-magazine.com. 

ALIST is published three times a year. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to ALIST 

Magazine c/o NAAAP 4850 Sugarloaf Pkwy., Suite 289, Lawrenceville GA 30044. 

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS: Occasionally, we provide our customer list to companies whose 

products might interest you. If you do not wish to receive these mailings, please send your request 

to: contact@alist-magazine.com 

The biggest thank you goes out to the ALIST Magazine staff and 

I want to personally appreciate each and every one of you for making 

this the best 5th Anniversary Issue! 

2 | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018

AsiAn AmericAn leAdership 

the 

2012 

winners 

yul 

kwon 

revealed 

The renaissance man on facing fears, career, and leadership 

Autumn 2012 WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | Alist-mAgAzine.com | 3

IN THIS ISSUE 

Publisher: 

executive editor: 

Managing editor: 

Managing editor: 

research editor: 

ediTorial 

cyndy yu-robinson 

chuAn tsAy 

debbie choy grAge 

christine mcFAdden 

AndreW Jung 

Autumn 2012 — volume 1, issue 1 

2 | EDITOR’S NOTE 

3 | we are Vincent Chin 

digital editor: 

entertainMent: 

arts/lifestyle: 

food: 

contributors: 

alisT-magazine.com 

business 

dir. of oPerations: 

dir. of Marketing: 

sales Manager: 

sales Manager: 

digital ad Manager: 

outreach Manager: 

Pr Manager: 

Marketing coordinator: 

exec. general counsel: 

executive assistant: 

PhotograPhy editor: 

PhotograPher: 

PhotograPher: 

graPhic design Mgr: 

digital design Mgr: 

creaTive 

AngelA Ju 

elAine WAng 

rAchel Kuo 

Jenny lu 

JenniFer ho 

Juliet shen 

cAlvin sun 

cAtherine lAW 

John zhAng 

troy lu pung 

Amy she 

brie mAnAKul 

uyen le Kry 

teresA chung 

KJ pArK 

peter Woo 

JessicA phAn 

eric bothWell 

JAcKie ho 

elysiA su 

thAi nguyen 

zethus suen 

EMPOWERING WOMEN | 10 

ENTREPRENEURS 

fashion with a twist | 14 

JAKE CHOI’s silver lining | 18 

Yul kwon | 22 

Revealed 

4 | wHAt’s happening 

5 | Technology 

6 | Dan Kim: The Man 

Behind Red Mango 

dorothy he 

Kristen lu 

diAnA tAo 

JenniFer yAmAdA 

wriTers 

lAurA li 

peArle lun 

sAmuel tsoi 

uyen le Kry 

NAAAP 100 | 28 

Special thanks to: Bill Imada, Anna Phommavong, Greg 

Chang, Chris Twellman. Cover photo by Eric Bothwell. 

Fonts provided by The League of Moveable Type. 

A nAAAp publication 

published for nAAAp by 

Weiss & hughes publishing, inc. 

www.weissandhughespublishing.com 

copyright © 2012 Alist magzine. All rights reserved. title is protected through a trademark registered with 

the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Printed in U.S.A. 

4 | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018 

www.alist-magazine.com | 1

FEATUrE 

“ 

Today, i’m going to raise my hand in class,” the young Yul 

said to himself. 

Renaissance man Yul Kwon recalled his turning 

point during a miserable adolescence when he dealt with 

psychological disorders, bullying, and depression. looking at his 

accomplishments today, it is hard to imagine that the Survivor 

winner was not born to be in front of a camera or behind a 

podium. “leadership is very much a learned skill,” Kwon says. in 

fact, Kwon’s successes in law, government, business, and media 

are all fruits of many painstaking years of overcoming fears and 

constantly improving himself. 

sitting down with alist, the 37-year-old conveys an 

unwavering sense of who he is, exuding confidence you would 

expect for one of the ‘sexiest men alive’ according to People. 

at the same time, Kwon exhibits a refreshing authenticity, 

disarming humility, and deep intellect as he talks about 

challenges and responsibilities in his life and in the world. 

A True Survivor 

the breakout moment came for Kwon when he won the hit 

reality show Survivor in 2006, after already filling his résumé 

with names such as google, mcKinsey, and the U.s. senate. 

in the controversial cook islands season featuring tribes 

divided by ethnicity, Kwon garnered legions of fans through his 

sportsmanship, articulate negotiation skills and collaborative 

strategies. as the first asian american champion, Kwon 

demonstrated emotional intelligence and leadership that shattered 

stereotypes of asian men and exemplified the possibilities of 

transcending racial barriers. 

“For much of my childhood, I felt like 

I was a freak.” 

Kwon’s modus operandi of taking risks, advancing a cause, 

and constantly challenging himself has become not only a 

vindication for the years of hard work, but also a metaphor for 

his career leading up to and after Survivor. 

“For much of my childhood, i felt like i was a freak,” Kwon 

recalls, describing his constant fear of getting beat up, sweating 

uncontrollably in front of people, and self-deprecating isolation 

and silence after developing a lisp, ocD, and paruresis (“shy 

bladder syndrome”). “i spent most of my life thinking that i was 

the only one who felt this way.” Kwon remembers mourning his 

brother’s close friend who committed suicide, which became 

a wake-up call. He questioned how a person can cut his life 

so short. “actually, i think i know,” Kwon thought then. “He 

probably felt like how i was feeling. if i didn’t change myself, i 

will live a life of loneliness or just give up hope.” 

in a process of incremental but steady change, Kwon took 

small and tangible steps, such as answering a question in class 

and greeting a stranger every day. “a lot of times people don’t 

24 | aUgUst 2012 


Five Years Later: 

Yul Kwon, Facebook's Director of Product Management 

AM: How do you define success and how do you measure up 

to your own definition? 

YK: Ooh, this is a tough one. I tend to think of success across 

three dimensions: professional, family, and personal/social. 

Professional success reflects how far you’ve risen or achieved 

in your chosen profession. On this score, I think I’ve done 

ok, but not great. I’ve switched careers too many times to be 

really good at any one thing, although I feel lucky to have had 

a broad diversity of experiences. With regard to family, this is 

probably where I feel like I’ve experienced the most success. 

I have a wonderful wife and two amazing girls who are the 

lights of my life. But I don’t spend nearly as much time with 

my family as I want to or should, so on most days, I kind of 

feel like I’m failing. Personal/social success for me refers to 

your level of self-actualization or social impact. I think I’ve 

done ok here, certainly better than I would have guessed 20 

years ago. I had a lot of anxieties and self-doubts in youth, and 

while I’ve never fully overcome them, I haven’t let them stop 

me from doing the things I’ve wanted to. And I’m fortunate to 

have had opportunities to drive broader social impact in a way 

that most people probably don’t get. 

Having first gained national recognition as a winner of the 

“Survivor” TV show in 2006, Yul Kwon career has ranged from 

hosting Discovery Channel documentaries to operating and 

developing Red Mango retail stores. We spoke with the current 

Director of Product Management at Facebook about his personal 

journey and what he’s learned about success. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you were when 

you started this journey, where did you think it was going to 

lead you? 

Yul Kwon: I’m really not sure. I used to plan out my life in 

minute detail and set goals for what I would do and where 

I would be at various points. But my life kept changing so 

frequently that I realized this was a moot exercise. As a result, 

I didn’t have any clear expectations of where my journey would 

take me. Although I did hope that it would lead me to having 

a great family, and in that respect, I feel really blessed. 

KENNY KIM 

AM: What do you worry about, and why? 

YK: I tend to be a worrier by nature, so I worry about pretty 

much everything. I worry about my family and their health, 

the future well-being and happiness of my kids, the rise 

of intolerance and extremist views around the world, the 

dysfunction of our political system, global warming, nuclear 

proliferation, whether I have bad breath, whether this pudge 

around my waist is ever going to go away … all right, I’d better 

stop or I won’t be able to sleep tonight. But there’s one thing 

I don’t worry about anymore – whether anyone will notice 

that I’m an awkward, sweaty dancer (because dancing is just a 

theoretical concept to me now). 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you 

do with the money? 

YK: I’d use it to self-finance a run for political office. Just 

kidding, I’d rather put a pointy stick in my eye. I’d probably 

donate a portion of it to charitable causes, use some of it to 

launch a startup, and invest the rest into an index fund. 

AM: If you could select one person from history and have 

them truthfully answer one question, who would you select 

and what is the question? 

YK: I’d ask James Madison:, “Is the Second Amendment of 

the U.S. Constitution intended to provide the right to bear 

arms only to militias or to private individuals as well?” 


MUSEREFINED 

Modern fine jewelry 


FEATUrE 

In December 2011, angie chang, 29, 

got laid off from her job as product 

manager at a startup company, her 

sixth startup in six years. chang packed her 

things and moved to another san Francisco 

startup, but this time it was not anyone 

else’s but her own—women 2.0—which 

she co-founded in 2006 with three other 

twenty-something women, shaherose 

charania, shivani sopory, and wen wen 

lam. 

“at every tech conference, we were 

the only women in the room,” chang 

said. “and we all wanted to meet role 

models—women who had started their 

own companies.” 

charania, now ceo of women 2.0, 

had a colleague who matched the four 

founders and tossed them into a room at 

Facebook where he worked. the women 

came up with the name ‘women 2.0’ and 

set out to create a conference specifically 

for women. 

about 100 women attended the first 

women 2.0 conference and discovered a 

sort of intrinsic connectedness that led 

to a demand for more. chang said, “we 

were flooded with questions such as when 

is the next one, where’s your sign-up list, 

what’s your website, and how do i get more 

information?” 

that was how, like many successful 

startups that originated with one simple 

concept, women 2.0 was born. it is now 

an emerging global media company and 

business network supporting women 

in technology and startups. its mission 

is to inform, inspire and educate a 

“At every tech 

conference, we were 

the only women in 

the room,” Chang 

said. “And we all 

wanted to meet role 

models—women who 

had started their own 

companies.” 

12 | aUgUst 2012 



Angie Chang, CEO of Girl Geek X 

Angie Chang has been running Girl Geek Dinners in the Bay Area since 2006, hosting over 150 events to help women in 

tech network. She continues to contribute to Women 2.0, which she co-founded, and recently served as the VP of Strategic 

Partnerships at Hackbright Academy. 

how I’m tracking in my odyssey/journey. 


AC: In 2017, I worry about how the next generation is 

perceiving the workplace and world at large. I also worry about 

the large tech monopolies like Facebook and Google crushing 

all competition, so I root for innovative startups to achieve real 

success instead of cashing out by getting acquired. 



lead you? 

Angie Chang: When I was graduating college, and looking 

for a job, I wanted to work at Google or Facebook. But since 

I didn’t get a job at a big-name company, and started working 

at a VC-backed startup, I began seeing the benefits of working 

with scrappy self-starters — I learned and was challenged to 

be a self-starter too. I’m grateful for the company of fellow 

women in entrepreneurship and tech, which I found through 

Women 2.0 and Girl Geek X. 



AC: Success is relative to those close to you by proximity, 

right? Your neighbors, in-laws, colleagues, social media 

network. To me, success is liking what you do, and doing what 

you like — whether it’s raising kids and/or starting companies 

and/or working in corporate. I’ve seen women do any number 

of those configurations at a given time in their lives, and I’m 

always considering some of those levers as different life and 

work goals are achieved or feel less likely at the moment. At 

35 years of age right now, I’m feeling pleasantly surprised at 

ANGIE CHAN 



AC: Here in San Francisco, we have multiple hospitals being 

named after tech CEOs who are billionaires. On the UC 

Berkeley campus, I was excited to see the Dr. Connie and 

Kevin Chou building open this fall at the Haas School of 

Business! Kevin, I learned recently, is a 37-year-old Taiwanese 

founder and CEO of Kabam; - it’s impressive to see such 

relatively young founders succeed and give back in a big way to 

the public university. So, if I won $20 million in the lottery, I’d 

like to find a way to provide a building or space for the public 

to promote entrepreneurship — bring people together from 

different industries and expertise. 




AC: I’d love to hear from Warren Buffet (as a brilliant 

businessman and supporter of women, birth control, and 

Hillary Clinton’s recent presidential campaign) on what 

he thinks about what happened in November, and how we 

can incentivize companies and organizations to have more 

diversity in their teams (i.e. from engineering to leadership) 

for sustainable growth — similar to what the Long-Term 

Stock Exchange is working toward. 

AM: What does ALIST Magazine mean to you? 

AC: I am thrilled that there are publications and avenues 

like ALIST Magazine for Asian-Americans to be profiled 

with sexy photoshoots highlighting their multi-dimensional 

accomplishments. For example, I was so happy to see Sheila 

Lirio Marcelo on the cover of ALIST magazine for taking her 

company Care.com from startup to IPO as founder and CEO! 


WINTER 2013 

care.com's 

SHEILA MARCELO 

DOMINATING THE 

SERVICE INDUSTRY 

WITH A $100 

MILLION BET 

THE 

FEMALE LEADERS 

ISSUE 

SHEILA MARCELO • ANN LEE • ALICE HUANG • VIVIAN WONG • EVERYDAY HEROES 


IN THIS 

ISSUE 

WINTER 2013 

22 

Permission to 

coNFroNt Your Fears 

Vivienne Wong of Oracle shares her 

journey of becoming VP of Product Design 

for one of Silicon Valley’s behemoths. 

4 

LEADING OFF 

must-know drinking etiquette 

for professionals; how it can 

progress your career. 

6 

EvEryDAy hErOEs 

Making a difference where it matters. 

10 

DON’T GET sETTLED 

ann lee talks about china, the u.s., 

and her new book. 

14 

TONy hONG 

From quarters to art shows 

and major retail. 

16 

ELAINE KwON 

Power woman of New York. 

18 

alice huang 

An American microbiology 

pioneer shares her story. 

26 

sheila marcelo’s 

$109 million bet 

How an Asian American woman is 

ruling the service industry. 

Copyright © 2013 ALIST magzine. All rights reserved. Title is protected through a trademark registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Printed in U.S.A. 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 11 

www.alist-magazine.com | 1

Like many crises, the big one in 

Sheila Marcelo’s life happened when 

she could least afford it. At the time, 

Marcelo was managing multiple roles-- 

graduate student and working mother of 

two--when her father had a heart attack 

while carrying her baby up a flight of 

stairs. She suddenly faced a huge problem: 

not only did she need care for her father, 

but she also needed help for her mother, 

care for her two young children and overall 

peace of mind as a young professional 

juggling responsibilities at work, school 

and home. It was only through a stroke 

of luck that Marcelo managed to find a 

reliable caregiver. 

Although she eventually pieced 

together care for her family, this 

experience stuck with Marcelo and 

inspired her in 2006 to found Care. 

com, an online service that matches 

families with caregivers. Headquartered 

in Boston, Care.com offers a breadth of 

care solutions, including childcare, special 

needs, senior care, pet care, tutoring, 

housekeeping and benefits solutions for 

corporations. 

“When it was time to start my own 

company, I knew that helping families 

find affordable, reliable, quality care 

was something that could truly make a 

difference,” says Marcelo. 

Under Marcelo’s leadership, Care. 

com has garnered funding from Silicon 

Valley’s top venture capitalists, such as 

angel investor and LinkedIn founder Reid 

Hoffman. However, the most important 

vote of confidence may be from the more 

than 7 million members who consistently 

use its services. 

Roots of Her 

Entrepreneurial Spirit 

As a Filipino-American woman, 

Marcelo is not your usual CEO. In 2012, 

women held 14.3 percent of Executive 

Officer positions at Fortune 500 companies, 

and Asian Americans make up less than 

2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. What is 

Marcelo’s background, and how did it 

prepare her to lead a fast-growing Internet 

company? 

While Marcelo’s own personal 

emergency helped light the idea for 

Care.com, her entrepreneurial spirit 

can be traced back to her childhood in 

Asia. Growing up in the Philippines, she 

witnessed her parents’ determination 

to explore a variety of business paths to 

support her and her five siblings. Their 

entrepreneurial pursuits included real 

estate, trucking, rice mills, and even 

chicken and duck farms. 

“Watching them then, I saw very 

Filipino traits: resourcefulness, strong 

work ethic, innovation and care for others,” 

28 | winter 2013 


“I don’t see things as hurdles,” shares Marcelo. “I see opportunities 

to test and iterate ideas. I believe it’s about evolutions, not 

revolutions --both in work and in life.” 

says Marcelo. “I took these lessons to heart 

and they are very much a part of me and 

Care.com.” 

Although Marcelo initially gave 

in to her parents’ wishes for her to be 

a lawyer and went to Harvard Law 

School, she couldn’t shake the feeling 

that her true interests lay in business and 

entrepreneurship. Following her gut, she 

simultaneously attended Harvard Business 

School and became one of a select group of 

people to receive a joint JD/MBA degree. 

Rather than work for an established 

company or law firm out of graduate 

school, Marcelo took a risk and joined an 

Internet startup called UPromise, which 

helps families save money for college. She 

soon went on to work for another Internet 

company, TheLadders.com, a job-matching 

service for career-driven professionals. 

“The two experiences solidified what 

I’d felt for a long time,” Marcelo reflects. 

“I wanted to use the power of technology 

to build a company focused on helping 

people.” 

Building the “Amazon of Care” 

With that vision in mind, Marcelo 

faced the immense task of constructing 

Care.com from the ground up. Pulling 

from her past experiences, she determined 

that building her company came down to 

two key, interwoven factors: people and 

values. 

“It’s one of the things they don’t 

teach you in business school but it is 

fundamental to building a successful 

company,” she stresses. “Having the right 

team--a team that shares the same values 

and ideals--is essential to launching and 

growing a company, to attracting and 

retaining talent, and to navigating the 

myriad obstacles that arise along the way.” 

However, to Marcelo, the “right team” 

was more than just skill sets. “For me, it 

is about people who share a value system, 

www.alist-magazine.com | 29 



chord of life 

A master of music and 

martial arts, Elaine Kwon 

doesn’t stop there 

STORy by gRACE RONg WANg | PhOTOS by JACKIE hO 

Prize-winning pianist Elaine Kwon made her orchestral debut with the 

Washington-Idaho Symphony at age 15 and has performed solo, concerto, 

and chamber music concerts throughout the U.S. and internationally. As 

a soloist, she received standing ovations at her 2008, 2010 and 2011 Carnegie 

Hall concerts, as well as in her solo concerto performances with the Slovak 

Sinfonietta, Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra, Finger Lakes Symphony and the 

New York Chamber Virtuosi. As chamber musician, she toured regularly for 

10 years as part of the Hebert/Kwon piano duo, and performed as a member 

of Forecast New Music Group, Light and Sound Water Trio, Sapphire 

Ensemble and OCTET. As composer, she created an original score for 

the acclaimed Shakespearean play, Corsetless, which premiered 

in Buffalo, N.Y., was showcased in Carnegie Hall, toured 

through Ireland and is being made into a feature film. 

Her recording of the Rubinstein Piano Concerto No. 4 

with the Slovak Sinfonietta was released on Artist’s Choice 

Recordings in December 2011. 

Elaine received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University, a Master of Music 

from New England Conservatory with highest honors and the Distinction in Performance 

Award, and a Bachelor of Music from University of Texas in Austin with highest honors 

and the Academic All-American award. She is now a Lecturer/Affiliated Artist at MIT, 

where she teaches music theory and piano lab. 

As an avid martial artist, Elaine holds a second-degree black belt in taekwondo 

and is a five-time U.S. National Taekwondo champion in Traditional and Creative 

Forms (1994, 1997-2000). Presently she studies Shaolin Kung Fu. She was chosen 

to represent Nike in the 2003 Asia campaign as a martial artist and has appeared 

in numerous magazines, advertisements and videos. She hosted the 2006 actionadventure 

host-wrap show The Lounge--Shaken ‘n Stirred on ImaginAsian TV. 

She has been a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was honored 

as a “Power Woman” of New York. Elaine was the subject of a documentary for 

the Arirang TV series, Dream It, which was broadcast internationally to 89 million 

households. Elaine lives in New York City, where she continues to find ways to 

combine and communicate her passion for music, martial arts, food/wine, and 

optimal living. 

Grace Rong Wang is a full-time consultant in a management consulting company 

in New York City. She writes ad-hoc for NAAAP Charlotte. Grace is also an amateur 

violinist, playing for symphonies in her spare time.” WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 15


Elaine Kwon, Concert Pianist, Martial Artist and Lecturer 

Award-winning concert pianist Elaine Kwon is 

a lecturer in music at Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology (MIT) and has a career spanning soldout 

performances at Carnegie Hall to collaborations 

with musicians such s Questlove. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you 

were when you started this journey, where did 

you think it was going to lead you? 

Elaine Kwon: As a kid, I never had a clear 

vision of what my life would be. I didn’t start 

out in music with an end goal in mind. I started 

piano at age 4 because I wanted to be like my 

older sister -- my mom taught us both. I also 

didn’t have many other opportunities to thrive 

in rural eastern Washington state as an Asian 

girl. It was tough growing up there. I dreamed 

of living in New York, and I was fascinated 

with variety shows: music, dancing, singing, 

comedy. At some point early on, I saw piano as 

a way to build confidence and identity, as well 

as being a ticket out of there, and I kept trying 

to achieve the next step in front of me along 

this path: local, state, national competitions 

and recitals. I had to defy my father (and break 

his heart) in order to pursue music as a career, 

so in college it was a constant struggle to excel 

and support myself through undergrad, masters 

and doctorate. I was driven forward more by 

necessity than passion. 

I didn’t realize until much later that my love 

for music could really take me anywhere, from 

playing with orchestras internationally to 


performing annually at Carnegie Hall in benefit 

of a cause I deeply care about (Best Buddies). 

And I finally had the extra “bandwidth” to 

explore other dreams, such as learning martial 

arts. 

Only recently have I started to find more joy in 

music as a way of expressing my varied interests 

and tying in the things I love, through Savor 

Your Senses, an immersive music pairing series 

that I co-founded with my husband in 2009. 

Since my last interview in ALIST, I’ve focused 

more on building this performance platform. 

I feel blessed to be having this much fun with 

music now -- performing with musicians from 

all genres, wine experts, chefs, and connecting 

them with audiences in bespoke, creative ways. 

As a kid, I couldn’t have imagined that playing 

piano would lead to this so many years later. 

AM: How do you define success and how do 

you measure up to your own definition? 

EK: To me, success is when you can live each 

day with genuine happiness, kindness, hope and 

no regrets. It means doing the work to know 

who you are, what you want, what you can 

uniquely offer the world, and taking action to 

live as fully and as happily as possible. 

I think my success is still a work in progress. I’m 

doing my best every day. 

I haven’t always known what makes me feel 

genuinely happy. I spent a lot of time when 

I was younger, caring too much about what 

others thought, trying to please everyone 

around me. I’ve since learned that for me, 

happiness is living a balance of the things I 

love, the main elements of my life -- music, 

martial arts and teaching -- my Passion, 

Health and Purpose. They’re all part of what 

call my LifeChord. My Passion for music 

and performing drives me forward, and the 

martial arts I train every day helps keep me 

Healthy and able to pursue my Purpose, which 

is teaching. I’ve taught at MIT since ’99, and 

also through Savor Your Senses, which brings 

me full circle back to piano performance. As 

corny as it may sound, I truly hope that through 

my efforts to live my own LifeChord, I can 

influence others to form and live their own 

LifeChord, and we can all be successful. 


EK: I worry about running out of time and 

not being able to do all that I want to do. As 

a late bloomer, it’s taken a long time to find 

my own voice and create structures like Savor 

Your Senses and LifeChord, and now I feel 

time pressure. There’s a lot of ageism these 

days, unfortunately, so I worry that may limit 

opportunities. But I find inspiration in all the 

evidence of people doing phenomenal things in 

later stages of life. In my mind, 50 is the new 

30. I truly believe it’s never too late to create 

or do new things, make changes for the better, 

add value and be a kick-ass contributor to this 

world. 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, 

what would you do with the money? 

EK: So many things! But I guess first I would 

set up my family so they’d never have to worry 

about living comfortably. Then I’d expand 

everything I’m already doing right now: Savor 

Your Senses, charity performances, LifeChord 

and more. I’d invest in hiring people to help 

build Savor into an enduring, global platform. 

I’d create more Elaine Kwon and Friends 

benefit performances. My Carnegie Hall 

concerts and many Savor Your Senses events 

have helped raise money and awareness for 

different causes, and I’d love to continue this on 

a bigger scale. I would also customize a spacious 

loft in NYC to accommodate a couple concert 

grand pianos for Savor Your Senses events, 

chef ’s kitchen, big wine fridge and a side room 

that could house a kicking bag. And set up a 

lifetime supply of ripe persimmons! 

AM: If you could select one person from 

history and have them truthfully answer one 

question, who would you select and what is 

the question? 

EK: I would want to meet Beethoven and 

ask him a million questions! But since he was 

known to love wine, I would ask what kind of 

wine he would pair with the last movement of 

his “Appassionata” Sonata. In my Savor events, 

I’ve paired this piece with many different 

types of wine -- it would be amazing to know 

Beethoven’s choice! This brings to mind a quote 

attributed to him: “Music is the wine which 

inspires one to new generative processes, and 

I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious 

wine for mankind and makes them spiritually 

drunken.” 

AM: What does ALIST Magazine mean to 

you? 

EK: To me, ALIST means strength, 

empowerment, community, expression and 

hope. As Asian Americans, we need valuable 

resources like ALIST to help provide a bigger 

voice for us. It’s comforting and inspiring 

to know about the amazing things Asian 

Americans are doing through these shared 

stories. I’m very grateful to be able to share 

mine through ALIST. Happy Anniversary and 

Happy 2018!

Mobile advertising that 

people actually like. 

www.kiip.me 


SPRING 2013 

Youngest In 

the VC Game 

ErnESTInE FU and 

BrIan Wong arE 

TakIng STarTUpS 

By STorm 

THE 

disruptors 

ISSUE 

DAVID HENRY HWANG • APA HERITAGE MONTH • SOPHIA TONG • DONALD FAN 


IN THIS 

ISSUE 

SPRING 2013 

24 

taKING StaRtUPS BY StoRm: 

Hear straight from the youngest and 

brightest in the venture capital world 

5 

LEADING OFF: 

what’s in the bag of Paul tran, Senior 

Director of Business Development 

at Fransmart? 

6 

EVERYDAY HEROES: 

aloha! meet our heroes from 

the Rainbow State 

10 

TURNING PASSION 

INTO CAREER: 

Sophia tong makes a career out 

of playing games 

PHoto: eRIc BotHwell 

16 

GLObAL LEADERSHIP 

AT WAL-MART: 

Donald Fan gives an inside look 

at the mega-retailer 

20 

ASIAN AMERICAN ICON: 

the stage is David Henry 

Hwang’s canvas 

http://corporate.prudential.com/view/page/corp/32265 

PHoto: lIa cHaNG 

Copyright © 2013 ALIST magzine. All rights reserved. Title is protected through a trademark registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Printed in U.S.A. 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 19 

www.alISt-maGazINe.com | 1

Ernestine Fu has accomplished in 

just over two decades what many 

would take a lifetime to even 

attempt to complete. Fu, who turned 

22 this April, is the youngest person to 

have ever given venture capital funding, 

sourcing her first deal of $1.3 million when 

she was just 19. 

A Stanford PhD student who has 

already completed both Bachelor and 

Master’s degrees in less than four years, 

Fu is an associate at Alsop Louie Partners, 

a position that — combined with her first 

investment — landed her on the cover of 

Forbes Magazine in August 2011. 

Fu is also a member of Mensa, 

a published researcher, soon-to-be 

published author of a book co-written 

with the former dean of Stanford Law 

School, an instructor for and creator of an 

unprecedented, popular Stanford course 

on entrepreneurship, and more. 

Despite all of her accomplishments 

and accolades, Fu remains humble and 

surprisingly accessible. Upon sitting down 

with ALIST in the middle of Stanford 

campus, Fu immediately jumped up, 

asking if she could get water or buy 

food for this interviewer’s sake. And just 

hours before her interview with ALIST, 

Fu was recognized by a freshman girl 

in the dining hall who had read about 

her and approached her to talk about 

entrepreneurship. 

“I think it’s about shaping the 

career path that works best for 

you and not necessarily following 

someone else’s career.” 

Fu is also a philanthropist to the 

core. She co-founded an internationally 

recognized nonprofit to bring resources 

to the underprivileged, helped start an 

initiative to bring services and products 

to developing nations and was recently 

asked to be a member of a federal advisory 

council for the National Center for Service 

& Innovative Leadership. 

Fu, who believes that the secret to 

success is “being earnest and passionate 

about what you’re doing,” has lived up to 

her namesake from the beginning. 

motivated from the Start 

Fu is the second daughter of Chineseborn 

parents and speaks “half Chinese, half 

English” at home, which is in Northridge, 

Calif., just outside of Los Angeles. Her 

parents, both from Shanghai, speak the 

Shanghainese dialect. She has an older 

sister by one year, Christine. 

Her parents immigrated to the United 

States on student visas. Her father attended 

San Diego State and her mother studied at 

University of Southern California. 

At the age of 10, Fu created her first 

business card when she and her sister 

started “Jobs Sisters.” 

They sold handmade cards, held piano 

and flute recitals and held bake sales. 

Both Fu and her sister attended North 

Hollywood High School Highly Gifted 

Magnet. Entry into the school is restricted 

to students with an IQ of above 145. Fu has 

been a member of the IQ society Mensa 

since her sophomore year of high school. 

Fu took her first AP test — World 

History — in her freshman year, being the 

only student in her accelerated program to 

do so. By her senior year, she was accepted 

to Stanford University. 

When the financial crisis hit in 2008, 

Fu’s father lost his job at 

Great Western, a bank 

eventually acquired by 

JP Morgan. “He was 

right in the middle 

of the phase; he was 

essentially laid off.” Fu’s 

mother was a stay-athome 

mother. 

Prompted by 

the hardship, Fu was 

determined to pay her 

own way through school, costing $52,000 

a year. “If everything’s going smoothly, 

you’re not as motivated to push forward in 

some ways,” she said. 

Fu matriculated at Stanford in fall 

of 2009, selecting to pursue a Bachelor 

of Science Civil and Environmental 

Engineering (CEE) major after taking 

a sophomore course fall quarter titled 

“International Environmental Policy” 

taught by Professor John Weyant, who 

shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al 

Gore in 2007. However, while attending 

a mixer full of Stanford graduates and 

venture capitalists (VCs), Fu met one of the 

partners of the VC firm Alsop Louie. 

record-setting VC Funding 

as a rookie 

Fu landed an Associate position at 

age 19 with Alsop Louie Partners in March 

2011. She further stunned everyone when 

she successfully pitched her first deal 

within her first two months in the form of 

a $1.3 million investment for Qwhisper, an 

analytics platform for social data. 

Amazingly, Fu did not know much 

about the VC world before she started at 

Alsop Louie. “There’s not really any VC 

handbook or VC school,” she points out. 

Upon finding Qwhisper in Stanford’s 

InfoLab (a database research group) and 

presenting it to Alsop Louie, Fu faced a 

roadblock after the firm initially did not want 

to fund the company. “Something really had 

to stand out for them to fund it,” remembers 

Fu. After asking firm members one by one 

for feedback, the deal closed. “[After] a week 

or a week and a half, everyone was on board, 

except for one person.” 

Even then, the job wasn’t over. Alsop 

Louie wasn’t the only firm extending 

offers to Qwhisper. After a period of 

intense negotiations, Alsop Louie became 

Qwhisper’s seed investor, putting in $1.3 

million in seed money. Fu, at 20 years 

old, became the youngest person to have 

sourced a deal and given VC funding. 

Then, six months after starting at 

Alsop Louie, Fu landed the cover of Forbes 

Magazine. After all, it was not every day 

that a full-time student moonlighted at a 

prominent VC company and closed a deal 

within the first two months. At the time of 

the six-hour photo shoot, she also had no 

idea that she might even be on the cover 

of the magazine. “I was a little bit naïve. 

I didn’t know if they did a photo shoot it 

was going to be a bigger article.” 

“It was during my sophomore year, it 

was right during Dead Week,” remembers 

Fu, referring to the last week of school at 

Stanford before final exams. “I actually 

tried to push off the photo shoot because it 

26 | SPRING 2013 


“[I’m] not just disrupting things because I 

should break the rules or something, but 

because it’ll lead to a better cause.” 

was Dead Week.” In fact, the first time Fu 

saw her face on the physical August Forbes 

cover was at an airport store in between 

flying from Florida to Alaska for an 

internship, following several excited text 

messages from friends. 

Since her explosively successful entry 

into the VC world and securing her first 

deal, Fu has even been approached on 

campus by student entrepreneurs looking 

to pitch their own ideas. 

“I don’t think it’s bothersome,” she 

says, noting that this definitely does not 

happen every single day. “I’m still a student 

at Stanford. They’re my peers.” 

published, printed, and a phd 

on the Way 

In case her Stanford professors 

worry about her commitment to 

academics, Fu’s work at Alsop Louie 

has not stopped her from pursuing a 

full plate of extracurricular activities, 

while concurrently achieving countless 

accelerated academic accolades. 

Currently in her fourth year at 

Stanford, it would be difficult to describe 

Fu as a senior. As of March 2013, she 

had already completed her CEE BS with 

honors as well as a Master’s Degree in 

Management Science & Engineering 

(MS&E), finishing two degrees in 

two separate fields in less than four 

years — a feat that would take most 

Stanford students at least five years to 

complete. What’s more, she finished with 

memberships to two honor societies: Tau 

Beta Pi and Phi Beta Kappa. 

This spring, Fu signed on to begin 

a PhD program at Stanford in the CEE 

Department. When ALIST interviewed 

her, she was on day four of her program. 

Although still in the early stages, Fu is 

“currently leaning toward a combination 

of energy and economics,” for her doctoral 

focus. She guesses that she is the youngest 

person in the CEE PhD program. 

For the first time in a while, Fu is not 

enrolled in any classes, which she says is 

“extremely relaxing.” Previously, in order 

to complete her multiple degrees in such 

a short span of time, Fu took a monstrous 

course load that was nearly double that of 

the average Stanford student — something 

the University tries to stop or limit through 

a petition process above a certain number 

of units. However, as Fu discovered, the 

loophole was that this process did not apply 

to ‘coterm’ students who are enrolled in 

both bachelor and masters programs. 

Fu recently added “published” to her 

list of achievements. Her honors thesis, 

which was completed her junior year — not 

surprisingly a year before schedule — was 

accepted for publication. Fu was the first 

author on her paper titled “Is Adaptation 

Sustainable? A Method to Estimate Climate- 

Critical Construction Resource Capacity,” 

in Construction Innovation’s special issue 

on Addressing Global Challenges for a 

Sustainable Built Environment. 

In addition, Fu is currently coauthoring 

a book on public service 

with Thomas Ehrlich, former Stanford 

Law School dean, entitled Civic Work, 

Civic Lessons. Fu met Ehrlich during her 

sophomore year through the Center for 

Philanthropy and Civil Society, where she 

also worked as a researcher, and almost 

said no to their first meeting due to a busy 

schedule. A few weeks after their meeting, 

Ehrlich asked Fu to co-author. “The book 

is structured so that every single chapter he 

writes half in first person, then I write half 

in my first person,” says Fu. The release 

date is set for Fall 2013. 

Supplementing her never-ending list 

of accomplishments, Fu was the youngest 

person ever selected for the Kauffman 

Fellows Program, which is normally 

reserved for post-grads, and co-founded 

the Frugal Innovation Initiative, which 

helps the spread of services and products 

to developing nations. 

disruptor or Change-maker? 

When asked what motivates her, Fu 

answers simply: “I just like doing things 

that are fun and that excite me. I’ve never 

felt the need to add on this, and that, and 

that.” Her future goals include “probably 

being involved in government to some 

capacity,” with the federal advisory council 

“an exciting first step.” She adds that public 

service is very important to her. 

As for what the foreseeable future 

holds for Fu, “I’ll definitely be at Stanford,” 

she says, which she adds is, “still so exciting 

because so much innovation happens 

here.” She will continue to work under the 

Kauffman Fellows Program, and is eager to 

release her book this fall. 

When it comes to advice to youth 

interested in business, Fu recommends being 

a trailblazer, creating a unique life path rather 

than following the paths of others. 

“I think it’s about shaping the career 

path to what you want it to be,” she says. “I 

think sometimes students feel the need to 

go, for example, on the consulting route, 

or I need to go to McKinsey first to get 

experience, then go to Harvard Business 

School. I think it’s about shaping the career 

path that works best for you and not 

necessarily following someone else’s career.” 

ALIST’s “disruptor’s” theme, 

highlighting young APA’s who are not 

afraid to challenge the status quo in various 

businesses and industries, would seem to 

align perfectly with Fu’s philosophies. 

But when asked if she would consider 

herself a “disruptor,” Fu, after a second 

of speedy calculation, answers that 

“maybe change-maker would be a more 

appropriate word.” Referencing Ashoka’s 

CEO & Founder William Drayton’s 

publication: “Everyone a Changemaker: 

Social Entrepreneurship’s Ultimate Goal,” 

Fu sees herself as “not just disrupting 

things because I should break the rules 

or something, but because it’ll lead to a 

better cause.” 

www.alISt-maGazINe.com | 27 


whereas Ernestine was the 

youngest person to ever give 

VC funding, Brian Wong was 

the youngest person to ever receive VC 

funding. In 2010, when he was just 19 years 

old, Wong received seed funding from True 

Ventures for his startup company Kiip. 

Kiip, a company which partners with 

advertisers to implement real rewards 

when crucial levels are achieved on 

mobile apps, was birthed after Wong was 

fired from his previous job in business 

development at Digg. Pronounced “keep,” 

Kiip rewards users with tangible gifts 

ranging from gift cards on game apps to 

free water bottles on fitness apps. 

Noticing how many people were on 

their phones playing games while on a long 

flight, Wong came up with the idea to gift 

relevant rewards for achievements. 

Wong previously co-founded “Follow 

Formation,” an automatic following tool, 

but received his first VC funding from 

True Ventures. He describes his first seed 

funding as “very accidental.” 

“I ran into a VC and ended up going 

to a partner’s meeting,” Wong says. “I was 

showing them my idea, a random mockup I 

made, and all of the sudden a couple weeks 

later, we get this phone call.” 

Wong, a native of Canada who 

graduated from the University of British 

Columbia at the age of 18 (skipping four 

grades in the process), describes spending a 

lot of time “learning on the fly.” 

“I had no idea what I was doing. 

Funding … that process … I needed to 

learn while it was happening,” Wong 

remembers. 

“kiip”ing it real 

The name Kiip comes from a play 

on the word “keep.” Wong dished out a 

number of puns that have since developed: 

“Kiip it real, Kiip going, Kiip playing, Kiip 

up.” The two i’s in Kiip were inspired by 

Nintendo marketing, such as the Wii. 

According to Wong, many mispronounce 

the company name as “kip,” until the puns 

start rolling. “Once people know how to 

pronounce it, it sticks in their brain.” 

The rewards from Kiip are not 

determined strictly by achievement 

— Wong realized that players’ abilities are 

scattered and implemented an algorithm 

to make rewards relative, eliminating the 

potential problem of certain rewards only 

reaching an elite demographic of players. 

“10,000 points in a game might be a piece 

of cake to you, but 10,000 points might 

take me a month to get. 

“When we first started the model, 

I was actually reading a book called 

Predictably Irrational, and I was inspired,” 

says Wong. “You don’t know when the 

rewards come; I don’t tell you a set path 

to get there. It’s more about just doing 

the things you want to do. My whole 

philosophy was to tap into existing 

patterns of behavior. I want you to play 

the game because you want to entertain 

yourself. I want you to play the game 

because you want a reward.” 

Kiip currently has 45 employees in 

its main offices in San Francisco and New 

York, and is expanding into the Midwest. 

There are also satellite offices in cities 

ranging from Los Angeles, to London. 

“As a company, I think the two major 

things that contributed to our growth — 

strategically — is the fact that we took a 

model that started off very simple as an 

idea: real rewards for virtual achievement,” 

says Wong. “And we expanded on it. We 

looked at the concept of the physical 

reward and decided to add virtual rewards, 

which in hindsight is so obvious.” 

“The second thing was expanding 

beyond games,” he continues. “The core 

DNA in the idea for Kiip came from the 

inspiration around games, but we quickly 

realized that these moments that we were 

really trying to harness also existed in all 

types of apps.” According to Wong, Kiip 

is relevant to apps ranging from focusing 

on fitness, to creating a to-do list, to 

maintaining a recipe book. “There’s so 

many moments we realized that made Kiip 

applicable almost in every industry.” 

In January, Kiip took an investment 

from Interpublic Group of Companies 

(IPG), one of the “big four ad holding 

companies.” 

“I think the validation that came 

from that was indicative of the type of 

traction we’ve been getting from the bigger 

brands,” he says. Wong recalls the difficulty 

of initially introducing the concept of 

“rewarding in the moment” to potential 

buyers. However, after making a footprint 

in the industry, Wong says that business 

has become easier. 

“We’re almost a 3-year-old company. 

I joke around that three years is like 21 in 

dog years,” laughs Wong. “When you’re 

still around after three years as a startup, 

it’s actually a very interesting milestone. 

The brands now are less about ‘what do 

you do?’ and more about ‘how do we make 

something cool happen?’” 

28 | 22 | SPRING ANNIVERSARY 2013 2017/2018

Kiip currently works with 15 

percent of Fortune 500 corporations. 

“That’s been a huge milestone and 

we’re super proud of that as well,” he 

says. In addition to IPG, Kiip also took 

investments from Digital Garage, True 

Ventures, Relay Ventures, and Hummer 

Winblad at the end of 2012 totaling $11 

million, according to a news release 

from IPG. 

When asked if Wong considered 

himself a “disruptor” in the industry, 

his answer was simple: “Sure.” Kiip has 

certainly made an impact in the virtual 

advertisement industry — according to 

Wong, Kiip is currently integrated into 

approximately 1,000 apps and games. 

The company racks around 350 “new 

game moments of achievement” per 

month. Within the network, there are 

about 55 million users, with endless 

potential to expand. 

“I think being able to challenge 

ourselves and question the norm even 

within the company that we all started and 

being able to accept our growth potential 

from that was one major thing that helped 

add to it,” said Wong. 

Aside from being a noticeable 

disruptor in the industry, Wong himself 

www.alISt-maGazINe.com WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 29 | 23


Ernestine Fu, Partner at Alsop Louie Partners 

Angel investor and venture capitalist Ernestine 

Fu has previously been featured on the cover of 

ALIST Magazine (as well as Forbes magazine) for 

her accomplishments in the venture capitalist and 

finance industries at a young age. At Alsop Louie 

Partners, Fu focuses on deep-tech and disruptive 

technologies. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you 

were when you started this journey, where did 

you think it was going to lead you? 

Ernestine Fu: I’m constantly surprised by 

where life has taken me. I thought I would be 

a researcher or civil servant, but I’m a venture 

capitalist. 

For context, I first moved to Silicon Valley 

for my undergraduate studies at Stanford. I 

jumped straight into academic research and had 

the opportunity to work with amazing people 

-- inspiring fellow students and wonderful 

professors -- at both the engineering and 

humanities schools. 

While at the engineering school, I had the 

privilege of collaborating with the chief scientist 

of Disney Imagineering, Ben Schwegler. To my 

surprise, our research resulted in an award for 

the top undergraduate thesis in engineering and 

sciences. My interest in research subsequently 

led to a PhD program that I started during my 

senior year at Stanford. 


ERNESTINE FU 

At the humanities school, I researched civic 

engagement and developed my interest in 

public service. The research evolved into a book 

that I co-authored with former Stanford Law 

School dean Tom Ehrlich, titled “Civic Work, 

Civic Lessons.” As you can tell from these 

endeavors, I was essentially an academic and 

philanthropy geek -- not your prototypical 

venture capitalist. 

So how did I jump from research and 

philanthropy into the completely foreign 

world of venture capital? When I was 19, I 

was introduced to the partners of a venture 

capital firm, Alsop Louie Partners. I was 

immediately fascinated with the background of 

the partnership as they included leaders in the 

public sector: Gilman Louie previously founded 

the CIA’s venture arm, In-Q-Tel; Bill Coleman 

began his career in the U.S. Air Force; and Bill 

Crowell was Deputy Director of the NSA. 

Each of them were leaders in their respective 

fields, yet they all shared a noble commitment 

to serve. To be honest, I was more interested in 

working with the incredible individuals at the 

firm than in the idea of “being a VC.” 

Fast-forward six years, it's been an absolute 

blast. I've had a ton of fun leading and 

negotiating financing deals, sitting on boards 

and advising founders on business strategy, 

recruiting and hiring associates, raising capital 

from limited partners and investors, among 

other things. Sometimes the best path is the 

least expected. 

AM: How do you define success and how do 


EF: To me, success means being the best 

possible version of yourself -- and living in 

accordance with your core values while doing 

so. 

When I wake up every day, I challenge myself 

with some important questions: Is what 

I’m doing today worth it? Am I keeping an 

open-mind? Am I continually growing and 

learning? Am I contributing and giving back? 

Is this truly satisfying and does it make me 

happy? And most importantly, am I following 

my own moral compass? These represent some 

of my core values that I try to make sure aren't 

compromised in the pursuit of my daily goals. 

AM: What do you worry about and why? 

EF: A lot of things concern me: the health and 

welfare of friends and family, a financing deal 

falling apart, acquisition problems at startups I 

invest in, students of the entrepreneurship class 

that I teach being unable to meet graduation 

requirements, the state of our democracy, the 

list goes on and on. 

Rather than focus on what worries me, I like to 

focus on how I handle my worries. Everyone 

worries -- the fact that you worry shows 

you're human and conscientious. But instead 

of staying concerned, worried and stressed, I 

always ask myself, "What is the worst thing that 

can happen?” Coming to terms with this early 

on helps bring me clarity, peace of mind, and 

readies me for the next step. I can then focus on 

channeling my time and energy towards finding 

solutions and improving the situation. 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, 


EF: I’m obsessed with autonomous vehicles, 

so I would probably spend it all on R&D! And 

maybe a couple of weeks in the French Riviera. 

Beyond basic (and boring) financial planning, 

the interesting component to me is how I 

would allocate funds for philanthropy and more 

notable causes. 

The most important causes to me right now are 

(in no particular order): 

• Involving more women and young girls in 

STEM 

• Addressing sexual harassment and 

discrimination in tech 

• Advocating for comprehensive immigration 

reform 

• Reducing the income inequality in the Bay 

Area 

• Combining climate change adaptation and 

mitigation measures at the local level 

• Preparing our nation's transportation 

infrastructure for autonomous vehicles 

• Promoting civic engagement and active 

participation in our democracy 

AM: If you could select one person from 


question, who would you select and what is 

the question? 

EF: A few years ago, I first encountered the 

Curse of Tippecanoe -- a conspiracy theory 

that seeks to explain why every president 

elected in a year ending in zero since William 

Henry Harrison has died in office, at least until 

the reign of Ronald Reagan. 

My question to President Reagan: was your 

narrow escape anything more than a fluke? 

AM: What does ALIST Magazine mean to 

you? 

EF: ALIST Magazine shares the powerful 

stories of Asian American leaders whom I 

admire and whose footsteps I would be proud 

to follow.


Brian Wong, CEO of Kiip 

AM: How do you define success, and how do you measure up 


BW: Success for me is not defined by the status or financial 

milestones, but rather the serendipitous occasions you create 

for yourself. Spending time investing in optionality leads to 

success. Access to people and access to resources give a person 

the most optionality in life. With a network of minds and a 

plethora of resources, you can go anywhere and be anything 

that you want because you have the means to. I am constantly 

evaluating how to gain access to a better network and more 

resources. 


BW: I worry about changes in the environment around me 

that may make success more difficult. Things like political 

safety and industry changes are what worry me, because 

they are things I have no control over. What if one day, all 

of a sudden some big moment changes the trajectory of the 

industry and suddenly people no longer want to buy ads? 

Once recognized as the youngest person ever to receive venture 

capital funding, Brian Wong, 26, is the cofounder and CEO of 

Kiip (pronounced “keep”), a marketing and monetization platform 

that has raised over $30 million in funding. We chatted with the 

entrepreneur about his singular focus. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you were when 

you started this journey, where did you think it was going to 

lead you? 

Brian Wong: Truthfully I had absolutely no idea where my 

journey would lead. I did know that getting to the good at 

the end of it would take a massive amount of hard work, but 

the vision of what the future may hold was always a bit of a 

mystery. I think that can hold true for most entrepreneur; it’s 

the nature (and appeal) of the journey. 

BRIAN WONG 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you 


BW: I would take that $20 million and invest in my next 

company, whateverthatmay be. 

AM: If you could select one person from history and have 

them truthfully answer one question, who would you select 


BW: I would ask Napoléon Bonaparte to explain what made 

him such a maniac. Why did he think, act and respond the 

way he did? (Other than to prove to the world that he was not 

short, of course). 


BW: ALIST is leading the charge in sharing exemplary 

stories of Asian American work and leaders, in a time when 

stories about success in the Asian American community are 

not often. I strongly believe Asian American success should be 

shared more broadly, and ALIST is allowing this knowledge 

to spread. 


HOLIDAY 2013/2014 

Hines Ward 

Athlete, Activist, Sportscaster, Son 

THE 

ISSUE 

26 | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018 WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | I

IN THIS ISSUE 

HOLIDAY 2013/2014 

COURTESY OF CASPER WONG 

5 

Leading Off 

Casper Wong and 

“The LuLu Sessions” 

6 

What’s on Your List, Irene Hsu? 

8 

Everyday Heroes 

Giving Back to the Community 

11 

Solomon Chen 

Dropout to Accessory Titan 

12 

News From Canada 

The Benefits of A 

Remote Workforce 

18 

Hines Ward 

Discovering his Own Identity 

26 

NAAAP 100 

PHOTO BY BRIAN CRUMB 


WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 27| 1

As far as football players go, 

Hines Ward was never the 

biggest, the tallest, or the 

fastest. Yet, for 14 years, Ward was 

a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh 

Steelers, eventually becoming the 

longest tenured player on the team. 

For Ward, 37, the journey toward 

his own leadership and success 

extends far beyond proving himself 

on the football field. His challenges 

surpassed exceeding expectations 

as an initial NFL third-round draft 

pick and being told that he was five 

inches too short. Ward additionally 

faced societal and identity-related 

challenges in being biracial; with Korean 

roots and an upbringing in the 

American South, Ward never had an 

easy assimilatory path as a minority. 

“Underdog stories inspire me,” 

said Ward. “Stories about overcoming 

adversity and hardship, stories 

that I, personally, can identify with.” 

A True Steeler 

Hines Edward Ward Jr. was born in 

1976 in Seoul, South Korea to Korean 

mother Kim Young He, and African 

American father Hines Ward Sr. 

As a child, Korea seemed an abstract 

and dissonant place. After moving to 

the United States, Ward grew up in 

the South, living with his paternal 

grandmother in Atlanta until he was 

reunited with his mother seven years 

later. Ward’s parents divorced when 

he was two. 

Ward harbored feelings of anger 

at his father’s absence and felt 

ashamed of his mother’s presence as 

he tried to reconcile the cultural dissonance 

of growing up with dark skin 

and a Korean mother. The world 

trapped Hines in a limited space and 

resulted in feelings of not fitting in. 

He was confused and confined by 

binaries, enduring racially charged 

taunting on the playground due to 

the way he looked. 

“As a biracial child, I never quite 

fit into any category of people. White 

folks didn’t accept me because I was 

black. Black folks didn’t accept me 

because I was Korean. And Korean 

people didn’t accept me because I was 

mixed. So I really didn’t know where 

I belonged,” Hines reflected about 

his childhood during his NAAAP 

100 acceptance speech. 

Sports became Ward’s salvation 

— solace from living on the margins 

and drifting between the many communities 

that produced feelings of 

alienation due to his race. The football 

field was a place where he belonged. 

Ward’s passion and talent for 

sports was what finally linked him to 

his peers, and through excelling in 

athletics, he found fulfillment. 

“My love and ability for sport 

was the only common link with other 

kids my age,” said Ward. “I excelled 

at all sports and tried to prove 

my worth to others with my athletic 

ability.” 

His career the NFL started off 

slowly. After injuries earlier in his career, 

he had no anterior cruciate ligament 

(ACL) in his knee, and teams 

passed him in first and second round 

draft picks. When the Steelers finally 

took him in near the bottom of the 

third round, they had no confidence 

in Hines’ ability to perform; he didn’t 

match the prototypical image of wide 

receivers. 

However, he succeeded beyond 

the statistical odds. Ward became an 

all-time touchdown receptions leader 

and an all-time receiving yardage 

leader. Ward additionally won two 

Super Bowl championships and four 

Pro Bowl selections. In 2006, he 

received the Super Bowl XL MVP 

award. He retired in March 2012. 

“As a child, you dream of that 

day, and there are only a handful of 

players who can say that they’ve won 

a Super Bowl MVP. I am most proud 

of that accomplishment,” Ward said. 

His talents translated to several 

different stages: He took home the 

Mirror Ball in Season 12 of Dancing 

with the Stars after covering some 

major yardage on the dance floor. 

He also made an iconic big-screen 

cameo in The Dark Knight Rises as a 

member of the Gotham Rogues. But 

his successes are not solely attributable 

to talent. 

“When I was younger, one of my 

coaches once told me: ‘Hard work 

beats talent when talent doesn’t work 

hard.’ That was something I always 

held onto,” said Ward. 

Heroic Homecomings & 

Seoul Searching 

Beyond his accolades in the stadium, 

Hines is also a father, a son, a humanitarian, 

an ambassador and a leader. 

When he received the NAAAP 100 

award in August, he shared it with 

his mother, whose courage, determination, 

and support Ward has always 

admired and appreciated. 

“Through it all, my mother has 

always maintained the same strength, 

love, discipline, and self-sacrifice for 

me,” he said. 

After he won the Super Bowl 

28 | 20 | ANNIVERSARY HOLIDAY 2017/2018 2013/2014

XL in 2006, he returned to Seoul, 

his birthplace and his mother’s home 

city. In Korea, he met children who 

shared his story of struggle with discrimination 

because of their biracial 

identity. Determined to foster social 

and political change, he established 

the Hines Ward Helping Hands Korea 

Foundation. 

“I still believe that the number 

one concern in the multiracial 

community is racial prejudice,” said 

Ward. “I still see a lot of it, especially 

with kids. I have dedicated my foundation 

efforts to doing all I can to 

promote biracial equality and end the 

discrimination that still drives a lot of 

biracial kids to suicide.” 

“My vision for the next generation 

would be that we truly look beyond 

the color or colors of someone’s 

skin and treat each other with equality 

in all things,” he continued. “It’s 

a battle that I will never give up on.” 

The foundation is a start to 

building a more equitable world for 

children growing up in a society 

rooted in binaries and biases. The 

Helping Hands Korea Foundation 

now also serves underprivileged and 

urban youth in the United States 

MANY INduSTRIES, ONE FOCuS: IP 

Intellectual Property protects “Through the innovations this role, I have behind been your new products and services. 

with literacy programs in Pittsburgh 

and Atlanta. 

In 2010, Ward was selected by 

President Obama to be one of the 

commissioners on the White House 

Initiative for Asian Americans and 

Pacific Islanders. In this position, 

he was an integral part of the Initiative 

of Childhood Obesity among 

the American Samoan community. 

He also participated in the first ever 

Southeast Action Summit in Atlanta, 

where he grew up. In the coming 

www.fitzpatrickcella.com 

22 | HOLIDAY 2013/2014 

year, he is slated to host a White 

House anti-bullying event, as well as 

co-hosting another event with Apolo 

Anton Ohno, an eight-time Olympic 

medalist and newly appointed 

White House Commissioner. 

highlights, receptions, and yardage. 

able to gain more perspective on the 

It’s also our sole focus. 

Now, he is part of the NBC Sunday 

Korean side and the Asian side of my Night Football broadcast team. 

culture, as well as the issues impacting 

“I wanted to stay in football since 

our Asian communities every- 

I’ve played it all my life, but I defi- 

where,” said Ward. “I have definitely 

nitely didn’t want to get hit anymore 

built community with my fellow after I retired. This seemed to be 

commissioners. They are a brilliant a natural progression for me,” said 

group of the nation’s best minds. It Ward. “My next aspiration is to be 

has been a learning experience, and I one of the industry’s best broadcasters. 

I have WASHINGTON always been interested CALIFORNIA have been happy to use my celebrity NEW YORK in 

and fan base to create greater awareness 

of the needs of the AAPI community.” 

Off the Field, 

but Back-on-Screen 

Although Ward has retired from 

playing for the Steelers, he hasn’t retired 

from football. His legacy in the 

sports industry moves beyond career 

the other side of football and now I 

am fortunate enough to be able to 

live out this part of my dream and 


E 

EVERYDAY 

HEROES 

THUHIEN NGUYEN 

BY CHRISTINA VO 

About this column: 

This column is about Asian American volunteers: people who 

have a full-time job but still make time to give back to their 

community. These are the unsung everyday heroes. We want to 

highlight these Asian Americans who make life better for other 

people every day while expecting nothing back in return, except 

perhaps a smile. 

This column will rotate to different parts of the country. In this 

issue, we go to the San Francisco Bay Area. There, we meet a 

volunteer whose relentless efforts are making a difference in her 

local community, in her own unique way, every day. 

When Thuhien Nguyen 

arrived in Minnesota as 

an immigrant from Ho 

Chi Minh City, Vietnam, it was her 

mother who instilled in her the idea 

of what it meant to build a community 

around her. 

“My mom started a Vietnamese 

organization, brought a group 

of Vietnamese people together who 

shared similar dreams for their children,” 

explains Nguyen. “She showed 

me how to be an active member of 

the community, and because we received 

help when we arrived, it would 

be important to give back.” 

A few years after Nguyen moved 

to San Francisco to take on a position 

as a researcher for University of California, 

San Francisco, she realized 

she was ready to be more involved 

with the local community. Even 

though her day job was immensely 

challenging and intellectually stimulating, 

she wanted to connect to 

the community around her, and she 

knew volunteering would fill that 

void. 

By linking up with Hands on 

Bay Area (HOBA), Thuhien found 

an organization that had broad reach 

and access to different community 

projects, from working with homeless 

people, education initiatives, 

healthcare activities, and even working 

on projects outdoors. 

Nguyen began focusing her 

volunteer time on the Ronald Mc- 

Donald House, an organization that 

provides free lodging for families 

with kids receiving extended health 

treatment, a mission that she felt very 

passionate about. 

At the Ronald McDonald 

House, she brought together her 

interest in helping others, cooking 

(which she learned from her mother), 

and a genuine love for weekend 

brunches (her favorite weekend pastime). 

She volunteers with four to six 

others to make meals for the families 

staying there. 

PHOTO BY ERIC BOTHWELL 

“It’s truly a collaborative effort,” 

Nguyen explains. “Each person 

brings the ingredients and then we 

cook together.” 

Through her work, she has met 

some amazing individuals, from the 

project leaders to the patients and 

the families who begin to feel comfortable 

enough to share their own 

stories. 

Thuhien, who is currently applying 

to medical school, recognizes 

the value of the experience and how 

beneficial it will be for her future 

profession. Not only is she learning 

leadership, responsibility, and ways 

to communicate with people from 

different backgrounds, she is also 

gleaning lessons about humility and 

perspective. 

Regardless of where Nguyen ends 

up for medical school, she is certain 

she will continue to be involved with 

the local community. “Volunteering 

brings such value. It allows you to be 

a part of something bigger.” 

30 8 | ANNIVERSARY HOLIDAY 2013/2014 2017/2018


Thuhien Nguyen, M.D. 

more detours before the end. 

INA MARIA PHOTOGRAPHY 

Currently completing her Neurology residency at the University 

of Washington in Seattle, Thuhien Nguyen has spent years in 

medical academia as both a student and researcher. 


you started this journey, where did you think it was going 

to lead you? 

Thuhien Nguyen: I had hoped that my journey would 

either be straight line or a full circle. However, it turned 

out to be a series of zigs and zags that eventually drew a 

self-intersecting polygon. When I was in college, I was 

so sure I wanted to be a Physician-Scientist. That was 

my life's goal, and at times, my sole purpose. I declined 

my first medical school admission to pursue academic 

research. Ironically, after years in research, I realized that 

it wasn't for me. Instead, I wanted to become a surgeon. 

By the time I got that second medical school admission, I 

wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. While in medical 

school, I considered Emergency Medicine, Obgyn, Internal 

Medicine -- even Anesthesia was a strong contender at 

some point. Fifteen years after embarking, I'm training as a 

Clinician-Educator in Neurology. Currently, I'm hoping to 

become a Neurointensivist, but I have a feeling there will be 

AM: How do you define success, and how do you measure 

up to your own definition? 

TN: Success would be balancing my professional 

responsibilities and my personal priorities, and still 

maintaining wellness. In no particular order, I want to take 

great care of my future patients, teach my future students 

well, share daily joys with family and friends, and raise my 

son to be a kind-hearted, well-educated person. Some days, 

one aspect would take more time, and other days another 

would take the lead. Overall, I would say I'm decent at it, 

and I'm hoping to get better. 


TN: As a parent, I worry about my son's safety and 

happiness. As a doctor, I worry about missing a crucial 

diagnosis, and the worsening disparity of health care access 

between the rich and the poor. As an American, I worry 

about the stability and dignity of this republic. In short, I 

worry when some wounds are too deep to be healed. 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would 

you do with the money? 

TN: I would set aside 10% as my family's safety net, and 

invest the rest to fund a scholarship for disadvantaged 

students. Education is the catalyst to escape poverty. I was 

a recipient of a similar scholarship, and it afforded me a 

college degree that eventually got me to where I am today. 

This would be a way of paying it forward. Although I'd 

have to hire good people to manage the fund because I 

haven't the slightest clue how to run a scholarship program. 


them truthfully answer one question, who would you 

select and what is the question? 

TN: Elizabeth I. What qualities helped you prevail in a 

world and time dominated by men? 


SPRING 2014 

A BETTER EMPLOYMENT RECRUITING 

& STAFFING SOLUTION 

THE 

Doing what’s right and treating employees well leads to to better results for for your company. 

Doing what’s right and treating employees well leads to better results for your company. 

Ryko Staffing Solutions has a a unique operating philosophy and extraordinary 

Ryko Staffing Solutions has unique operating philosophy and extraordinary 

commitment to to our our outsourced employees and job job applicants that sets us us apart from 

commitment to our outsourced employees and job applicants that sets us apart from 

typical recruitment and staffing agencies. 

typical recruitment and staffing agencies. 

Visit www.rykostaffing.com 

Visit www.rykostaffing.com 

or or email info@rykostaffing.com to to learn more. 

or email info@rykostaffing.com to learn more. 

ISSUE 

© © 2013 II 2013 | 32 Ryko | Ryko SPRING Staffing ANNIVERSARY 2014 Solutions. 2017/2018 All All rights reserved. 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | I 

© 2013 Ryko Staffing Solutions. All rights reserved.

IN THIS ISSUE 

SPRING 2014 

3 

What's On Your List? 

4 

The Truth About Mentors 

6 

The First 90 Days Abroad in Hong Kong 

7 

Inside ALIST 

8 

Spotlight on NAAAP Leadership 

10 

Diversity Discussion with UPS 

12 

Follow the ALISTer: Adora Svitak 

14 

Kenneth Lin, CEO of Credit Karma 

20 

ALIST Reading List 

ERIC BOTHWELL 

BRYAN COLE 

21 

Breakout Writer, Helen Wan 

22 

Takashi Ohde's Career at Hitachi 

24 

ALIST Hot Tech Toys 

25 

Smartphone Shenanigans 

26 

Capturing the 626 Night Market with Jonny Hwang 

30 

ALIST Music Corner 

31 

Breaking the Music Barriers with Fiona Dawn 

32 

Dis/Orient/Ed Comedy with Jenny Yang and Atsuko Okatsuka 


WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 1| 33

Getting a mortgage, buying a car, 

applying for student loans - these 

are just several major financial decisions 

that rely on a strong credit score. 

Many consumers have flocked to websites 

that tout free credit score services, 

only to disappointedly discover hidden 

fees or a drawn-out process to access 

their scores. 

In 2007, Kenneth Lin founded 

Credit Karma with the aim of providing 

a truly free, consumer-oriented 

credit score-monitoring and financial 

management platform. While the 

company may be a mature 7 years old, 

under Lin’s leadership, it has maintained 

a level of growth that is reminiscent 

of a startup. Credit Karma currently 

has over 20 million users, nearly 

double that of a year ago, and the company 

recently secured an $85 million 

funding round led by Google Capital 

this past March. 

“For us, the goal is to build a platform 

that teaches and gives people 

access,” says Lin. 

BUILDING A FOUNDATION 

A first-generation Chinese American 

who was born in China but grew 

up in Las Vegas, Nevada - he moved 

to the U.S. when he was four. Lin 

grew up with the expectation from his 

parents that he’d become a doctor or 

a lawyer. But he wasn’t interested in 

writing and reading, and he didn’t like 

the idea of being with sick people. 

“I actually have a strong gravitation 

towards data and math, and really 

that aspect of the business world,” Lin 

says. He went on to study economics 

at Boston University and landed his 

first job at Partners First, a credit card 

company. 

The experience proved to be 

eye-opening for Lin. “I learned a ton 

about databases, how they work, and 

credit card debt,” he says. “It was probably 

some of the most sophisticated 

guys in the space. I really enjoyed 

learning about all the different aspects 

of marketing, as well as what banks 

could do.” 

After Partners First, Lin worked 

for a string of other companies, including 

FairMarket, an online auction 

company that went down in the 

Internet bubble of 2000, UPromise, 

a marketing loyalty company that allows 

members to apply account credit 

towards college savings, and E-Loan, 

an online mortgage lender. Each role 

would provide him with a new perspective. 

“When you look back at my career, 

you’re going to see the influence of the 

credit card space from Partners First,” 

he recalls, “the influence of FairMarket 

from the perspective ‘don’t do crazy, 

“It probably ties a lot into my upbringing - 

my parents were very entrepreneurial.” 

ERIC BOTHWELL 

16 34 | | SPRING ANNIVERSARY 2014 2017/2018

F 

FOLLOW 

THE 

ALISTER 

EMERGING LEADER: 

ADORA SVITAK 

BY RACHEL KUO 

This column highlights an up and coming individual who is passionate about what they do and are an inspiration to those who read their story. 

As a literary prodigy, with both 

prolific reading and writing capability, 

16-year-old Adora Svitak has 

already left an incredible legacy and 

strives to achieve more. She has already 

published three books, which include 

Flying Fingers, a book on learning for 

aspiring writers that alludes to her own 

growing love of language, and Dancing 

Fingers, co-written with her sister 

Adrianna. 

Svitak's exceptional chronology 

begins at age 3, when she started reading 

chapter books. By age 7, she wrote 

over 250,000 words in that year alone, 

which for comparison, is more than 

twice the number of words in Moby 

JACKIE HO 

“I would love to interview Malala Yousafzai… 

Her eloquence and passion for promoting education inspire me” 

Dick. She has numerous written essays, 

stories, poems and blogs. At 12, Svitak 

spoke at the famed TED Conference, 

proposing her “big idea” that the world 

needs to think more childishly, meaning 

that coming up with solutions to 

large problems should be bold, optimistic 

and creative. She later expanded 

this idea by exploring how creativity 

extends to classroom learning. At 13, 

she published her first novel-length 

book Yang in Disguise, a fictional work 

exploring heroic responsibility and expectations. 

For almost 10 years now, Svitak 

has promoted literacy to large audiences 

of students and adults both nationally 

and abroad. Now, she also has an 

online literary magazine called Write 

With Adora, which publishes poems, 

essays, short stories and creative nonfiction 

by other young writers. She 

lives in Redmond, Washington, where 

she is helping to organize a local TED 

conference. 

A voracious reader, Svitak has 

a plethora of favorite books, including 

Little Women, The Hobbit, Jane 

Eyre and The Chronicles of Narnia. A 

non-fiction book she recommends 

is Twilight of the Elites: America After 

Meritocracy, which inspired the speech 

she delivered to Yale and Columbia's 

School of Education students on merit 

and testing in education. 

“[The book] drastically changed 

my thinking about what we call 'merit' 

and how we use it to determine who 

gets the best schooling, best jobs, and 

best lives,” she said. 

Also confidently identifying as 

a feminist, Svitak prefers writing and 

reading strong female characters to 

counter the fairly passive roles women 

often have in children’s storybooks. 

Her feminist role models include Gloria 

Steinem, Elizabeth Warren, and 

writers such as J.K. Rowling. A history 

buff, she also looks up to leaders from 

the women’s suffrage movement, such 

as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan 

B. Anthony. 

“These women gave up so much 

societal ‘respectability’, and personal 

safety in the name of women's rights, 

so I'm grateful to them,” she said. 

12 | SPRING 2014 



Adora Svitak, 4th-Year Undergraduate at UC Berkeley 

Currently a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Development Studies with a minor in South Asian Studies, Adora Svitak made 

her name in 2010 after delivering the TED talk “What Adults Can Learn from Kids.” 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where 

you were when you started this journey, 

where did you think it was going to lead you? 

Adora Svitak: When I started presenting to 

students about literacy and leadership, I had 

no idea that it would bring me to the TED 

stage, and from there to conferences around 

the world. I imagined that, at best, I would 

encourage some peers to pick up a book 

and consider writing their own. I think that 

my story shows small dreams can have big 

impacts, sometimes larger than what we’re 

able to imagine at the inception of our projects 

or careers. 

AM: How do you define success and how do 


AS: It might sound cliché, but I really define 

success not as money, social status, or material 

attainment but rather introspection, growth, 

and some kind of positive impact in the world. 

What that looks like for each person will be 

different, but I hope that the work I’ve done so 

far has been “successful” as I understand it, and 


JOYCE SVITAK 

that I will continue to take on projects that 

allow me to empower others. 


AS: I have small worries and big worries; I’ll 

start with something small. I’m a senior in 

college, so after this summer I looked around 

and saw many of my peers (especially those 

in computer science and other engineering 

fields) receiving offer letters with six-figure 

salaries and lavish signing bonuses from bigname 

companies. Seeing so many friends and 

classmates on the precipice of lives of comfort 

and luxury, I occasionally struggle with the 

whole “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality 

— wondering, since my path as a social 

sciences major is much less clearly defined, if 

I’ll be able to keep up with friends as our lives 

(and spending habits) dovetail dramatically 

after college. One of the greatest things about 

college is that it’s a magical four years that 

act as kind of an equalizer, even if only in 

how we talk about our finances — no matter 

how much money your family has, most 

people describe themselves as “broke college 

students” — and I’m not looking forward to 

that changing. 

On a more macro scale, I worry about a 

backslide in the rights of marginalized groups 

in the U.S. due to the actions of the current 

administration. 2016 was the first year I 

could vote in a presidential election, and the 

outcome felt like a slap in the face to much 

of my idealism about what this country could 

be and where we were heading. I think it also 

functioned as a wakeup call that we have to be 

vigilant in the defense of progress. 



AS: Take my family out to dinner, buy 

an ungodly number of books, and start a 

foundation to focus on education reform 

research and broadening opportunities for 

independent teaching and learning (inspired 

by one of my favorite case studies: “The 

Independent Project,” a student-led semester 

at a New England high school). 

I would also donate a significant sum to two 

of my favorite departments at UC Berkeley, 

East Asian Languages and Cultures and 

South and Southeast Asian Studies, because of 

the boundless opportunities these departments 

have given me and the tremendous devotion 

of all the professors and lecturers I’ve 

encountered there. (Also, because Berkeley is 

always a little cash-strapped). 



question, who would you select and what is 

the question? 

AS: I would want to ask Mahatma Gandhi 

for his thoughts about the role of women in 

society. Recently, many present-day scholars 

have critiqued him for his controversial 

comments on sexuality and women, as well 

as actions he took to “test” his celibacy (and 

taking his celibacy vow unilaterally, without 

asking his wife for her input). I’m very 

interested in South Asian history and the 

development of nonviolent movements, and I 

think that it’s unfortunate that we rarely get to 

understand figures as celebrated as Gandhi in 

the fullness of their complex nuances. 

AM: What does ALIST Magazine mean to 

you? 

AS: Having a dedicated space for Asian- 

American media is incredibly important, 

especially in a time where racial discrimination 

is highly visible and Asian-Americans are 

emerging as more vocal members in a societal 

discourse around race and social justice. As 

a child, it was hard to find images of Asian- 

Americans who made me feel “cool” or proud 

of my Asian heritage; I’m glad that now, there 

are increasing numbers of Asian-Americans in 

media, and acting as content creators, so that 

the little girls and boys looking to media for 

role models and inspiration won’t have to go 

too far. 

You can find more about Adora on her website, 

adorasvitak.com and you can also follow her 

Twitter @Adorasv

Helen Wan’s ‘The Partner Track’ is no ‘Joy Luck Club’ 

And Thank Goodness for That 

BY DANA TER 

There’s a scene from The Partner 

Track when the protagonist is gossiping 

to her best friend over brunch in 

an Upper West Side café about the previous 

night’s escapade with a handsome 

co-worker. It is a quintessential representation 

of the life of a young, sophisticated 

career woman living in New York 

City circa 2013. 

So should it matter that the book’s 

protagonist Ingrid Yung is an Asian 

American woman? According to author 

Helen Wan, the answer is both 

yes and no. It should not matter because 

(surprise!) Asian Americans do 

normal things, and yet a story like this 

has not been told before. It is always a 

soul-searching trip to China, she said, 

or a setting in Chinatown where the 

character lives above a Chinese takeout 

place. 

Why not make Ingrid blonde then, a 

publisher had asked Wan. Since the story 

is about anyone, right? Wan refused, 

insisting that it would detract from the 

entire purpose of the book. “A huge 

misperception from people 

who have not read the book,” 

Wan explained, “is that it’s a 

rant against blatant racism.” 

Far from that, The Partner 

Track explores the subtleties 

and nuances that inherently 

comes with being the only 

Asian American female lawyer 

in a senior position at a prestigious 

Manhattan law firm. 

“A lot of people have been 

put in situations where conversations 

are exclusionary in 

nature,” Wan elaborated. This 

has sometimes been the case in 

her own experience at cocktail 

parties and expense lunches. 

“Once I was at a lunch where 

everyone was talking about a sailing club 

in Connecticut, and knowing nothing 

about sailing, I tried to steer the conversation 

in another direction.” 

Like her protagonist, Wan has often 

times found herself to be the only Asian 

American woman in a room. “In such a 

situation, there are two weapons that one 

needs in their arsenal,” Wan said. “A 

quick and ready sense of humor, and the 

ability to pick one’s battles wisely.” For 

instance, when asked where she’s from, 

Wan says “D.C.” When asked where 

she’s really from, she says “California,” 

and when questioned where her parents 

are from, she replies, “Sacramento.” She 

sees these instances as opportunities to 

“prick at people’s brains.” 

Like Ingrid’s family, Wan’s parents 

moved to the U.S. from Taiwan. All of 

this is important to Ingrid, but her race 

and family background do not solely define 

her. “My intention was to write the 

book as a page-turner, infusing elements 

of suspense and drama in order to depict 

JACKIE HO 

the reality of everyday life in a big city,” 

Wan said. 

The novel is as fast-paced as New 

York City itself, a place where young 

people are constantly juggling work and 

romance. Wan said that Ingrid’s love interest 

Murph was her favorite character 

to write. A ladies’ man, Murph is the 

perfect partner for Ingrid, yet also her 

foil. Wan’s own opinions towards dating 

are similar to Ingrid’s. “Successful career 

women tend to feel that they can only 

date someone on par with them or higher,” 

she said, “while men like Murph are 

entitled to date anyone.” 

Plot twists and office trysts makes 

The Partner Track seem like a movie, 

and in fact, Wan is considering adapting 

it into one. However, for every Lucy 

Liu or Sandra Oh, Wan said, “there are 

countless other Asian American actresses 

consigned to playing prostitutes or 

having to fake an accent.” Wan would 

love to see an up-and-coming Asian 

American actress play Ingrid, and she’s 

actually been receiving messages from 

aspiring actresses expressing interest in 

the role. 

Wan revealed that her next novel 

will deal with how race, gender and socio-economic 

class affect people’s decision-making 

process. She says she will 

never write a Joy Luck Club-style novel 

though she enjoys reading books with 

themes that deal explicitly with Asian 

heritage. 

“It is rare for anyone, especially a 

first-generation Asian American to pursue 

the idea of doing whatever they love 

to do,” Wan said. “There’s an expectation 

that your parents worked hard so 

you should find a ‘real’ job and writing 

is so unstable although this is changing 

with the millennial generation.” 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | | 21 37


Helen Wan, Author of 'The Partner Track' 

We interviewed Helen Wan in our Spring 2014 

Issue, and we spoke with her again for our 5th 

Anniversary Issue. The author, lawyer and 

speaker previously practiced law for 15 years 

in NYC, and she’s currently working on a new 

novel. 

HELEN WAN 



where did you think it was going to lead 

you? 

Helen Wan: Ha. Believe me, there has been 

NOTHING predictable about this journey. 

Back when “The Partner Track” was first 

published, I thought I’d celebrate with a book 

party at our favorite indie bookstore, spend a 

couple of weeks promoting the book, then go 

back to my normal corporate job with some 

fun memories about the time I wrote a novel. 

Instead, basically through grassroots power 

and buzz, especially in the Asian American 

community and other communities of color, 

my novel started getting handed around. 

“My friend gave me your book because it 

was the first authentic story they’d ever read 

about an Asian American in the corporate 

world,” people would tell me. Soon I was 

getting asked to speak at law firms, then law 

schools, then companies and conferences. I 

love engaging with audiences, learning how 

a story resonates for them and how cultural 

background influenced their own choices. I 

realized there was no way I could reasonably 

do all this while also learning to be a new 

mom (I had a newborn son at the time), 

writing a second book and holding down 

my full-time law. So one morning, after 

many anxious, sleepless nights, I walked into 

the office and explained that I was going 

to pursue my childhood dream of being 

an author. Everyone understood. In fact, 

everyone was very gracious and supportive, 

and I’m grateful for that. 

AM: How do you define success and how 

do you measure up to your own definition? 

HW: For a long, long time, I was busy 

chasing an externally imposed definition 

of success. I was a card-carrying member 

of Overachievers Anonymous. I was very, 

very good at following all the rules. I think 

there comes a time when you finally slam 

on the brakes, step off the hamster wheel 

a second, and ask, “Wait, where are all 

these bread crumbs leading me?” For a lot 

of perfectionistic, people-pleasing Asian 

Americans, who’ve been great at collecting 

gold stars all our lives, the question becomes, 

“Just because you CAN do something, does 

it necessarily mean you MUST?” I had to 

radically change my own personal definition 

of success. Essentially, I consider someone 

a successful person if they manage to live 

authentically, which is something I’ve learned 

to do much better now. 


HW: We’re living in challenging, stressful 

times. Like many other Americans, and 

citizens of the world, I worry that many basic 

rights and civil liberties and fundamental 

principles and privileges and institutions 

and foundations for safety and security that 

we love and took for granted for so long, 

are being systematically dismantled and 

destroyed. If there is a silver lining to all this, 

however, it appears to be that people in this 

country are finally starting to have some 

tough conversations that are long overdue 

— about race, socioeconomic class divides, 

gender and sex wars, particularly in the 

workplace, all themes that have fascinated me 

for years and are the drivers for my writing 

and other work. 



HW: I would take a reasonable fraction 

to seed a college savings account for our 

preschooler. With the rest, I would hunt 

down and fund talented, emerging Asian 

American artists who are making brilliant, 

inspiring, stereotype-busting, thoughtful art 

of all types. And I would support the many 

local, national, and global organizations 

doing excellent, measurable work to 

preserve and protect certain basic rights and 

principles that are currently being rolled back 

with alarming speed. 


history and have them truthfully answer 

one question, who would you select and 

what is the question? 

HW: It’s hard to pick just one person! How 

about a married couple? I would invite the 

Obamas over for dinner. I would ask them 

HOW to maintain such grace, poise, and 

dignity, how to continue to lead and inspire, 

persevere and create, and just generally let 

go of useless things and try to be productive, 

hopeful and engaged, in the face of 

prolonged general insanity. 

AM: What does ALIST Magazine mean 

to you? 

HW: ALIST is a celebration of the 

incredible diversity, talent, strength, and 

resilience of our community. I love that it 

highlights the many ways people utilize 

creativity every day to shatter stereotypes 

and break new ground for fellow Asian 

Americans. Happy anniversary, ALIST! 


SUMMER 2014 

Issue 6 

$3.99 

THE ENTREPRENEUR 

ISSUE 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | | 39I

IN THIS ISSUE 

SUMMER 2014 

3 

Closing the Confidence Gap 

4 

A Conversation with Ginny Gong 

5 

Leadership Styles and Types 

6 

Victor Lim, McDonalds 

8 

Seasonal Japanese Foods 

10 

Flavia Flores, P*DE*Q 

13 

Spotlight on NAAAP Leadership 

14 

Follow the ALISTer: Raj Sidhu 

15 

Diversity Discussion with GM 

19 


ISTOCK/GORKOS 

20 

Tim Hwang, FiscalNote 

22 

Jon Chang, PurpleWall 

24 


25 

Andrew Yang, Venture for America 

26 

ALIST European Vacation Spots By Month 

27 

ALIST Fall TV Shows 

28 

The Fung Brothers 

30 


31 

Kira Hooks 

32 

ALIST Summer Drinks 

ISTOCK/MONKEYBUSINESSIMAGES 


40 | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018 WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 1

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS: 

Andrew Yang, Venture for America 

BY PEARLE LUN 

JACKIE HO 

What is the best way for 20-somethings, 

just entering the professional world, to contribute 

to and enrich the economy? For Andrew 

Yang, founder and CEO of Venture for 

America (VFA), the answer lies in entrepreneurship. 

Each year, Venture for America recruits 

about a hundred recent graduates and places 

them in startups in under-resourced cities, 

like Detroit, New Orleans and Providence. 

The two-year fellowship program not only 

fills the talent gap in early-stage companies, 

but also provides its fellows with the mentorship 

and formative experiences to someday 

build their own businesses. It’s a win-win 

situation. 

A graduate of Brown University and 

Columbia Law School, Yang quit his job as 

a corporate attorney just five months in, after 

coming to the realization that the career 

path did not suit his passions or ambitions. 

He then founded his own dot-com, Stargiving, 

and though the company folded after two 

years, Yang recalls, “I’d learned more in that 

process than I had at any other point in my 

life. It was such a heady ride that I knew now 

what I wanted to do.” 

Far from being discouraged by that initial 

failure, Yang went on to launch several 

other start-ups and become CEO of Manhattan 

GMAT, which was acquired by the 

Washington Post/Kaplan in 2009. Looking 

back on his previous life as an attorney, 

39-year-old Yang quips that “the law firm immunized 

me to other kinds of work, because 

compared to that job there’s really nothing I 

can do that can compare in terms of the negativity 

of the experience.” 

Yang founded VFA in 2011 as a way to 

inspire young business leaders and to establish 

entrepreneurship as a viable and alternative 

career path. “There were a lot of smart 

people who weren’t quite sure what to do after 

college, just like me, so they were heading 

disproportionately toward professional services 

– that is, financial services, management 

consulting and law,” observes Yang. “A lot of 

them, also like me, had an interest in figuring 

out how to build a business, but the hard part 

was getting access to that type of experience. 

I thought that if we could help connect to the 

talent, to identify those that could use that 

talent, we’d be helping everyone: We’d help 

young people learn how businesses develop; 

we’d help small, early-stage companies expand; 

and it would be a boon to our economy 

and our ability to generate jobs over the 

long-term.” VFA’s ultimate goal is to create 

100,000 new jobs by 2025. 

Headlines are often laden with entrepreneurial 

success stories, such as Snapchat and 

Yo, but building a business is incredibly difficult 

and risky. For this reason, many young 

professionals may eschew entrepreneurship 

in favor of greater job security in more traditional 

industries. 

However, Yang argues that the market 

may already be saturated with investment 

bankers and lawyers, and by focusing bright, 

hardworking youths on wealth management 

rather than job creation, “we’re systematically 

overweighting certain things that at this 

point are an ineffective response to the way 

our economy looks, and we’re underweighting 

other things that our economy desperately 

needs.” VFA lends structure to the entrepreneurial 

process and mitigates some of 

the risk by guaranteeing its fellows a job in a 

startup – if one of its partner companies fails 

during the two years, VFA will find another 

position for that fellow. 

More importantly, VFA offers exposure 

and insight into the daily routine of entrepreneurship. 

“It humanizes the process when you 

literally can see the founder every day from 

where you’re sitting,” Yang says. “And often, 

over time, you start thinking, ‘I see what 

we’re doing and I believe I can do many of 

the things my founder is doing if I have the 

necessary experience and time and domain 

expertise.’ So you take what can be a very, very 

daunting process and you make it accessible.” 

The confidence to innovate and create can be 

seen in the many startups founded by VFA 

graduates, including TernPro, which helps 

small businesses create and edit video content 

at an affordable price, and Banza! Greek Pasta, 

a high-protein and gluten-free pasta alternative 

made of chickpeas. 

This summer Banza! hired its first VFA 

fellow to join the team, which is a testament 

to the spirit of community and mentorship 

VFA attempts to foster among its entrepreneurs. 

Yang, after the demise of Stargiving, 

sought to improve himself by finding mentors 

in other companies and using their experiences 

to guide his own. 

To aspiring entrepreneurs, whose shoes 

he once filled, Yang says, “The biggest piece of 

advice I give is not to put pressure on yourself 

to necessarily come up with an earth-changing 

idea or be the founder right away. Most 

people would benefit tremendously from 

joining a team with some people farther 

down the road than they are – that’s a great 

way to learn. My advice is find someone you 

can learn from and to tinker on the side with 

something you’re building or running. There’s 

a huge power to both being led and leading 

simultaneously, and they don’t necessarily 

need to be in the same organization.” Like 

most careers, entrepreneurship is a continual 

process of self-improvement and self-discovery, 

but it is made easier with the right support 

network. 

Yang was named a Champion of Change 

by the White House in 2012, as well as one of 

Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People 

in Business.” Early this year, he released his 

first book, Smart People Should Build Things, 

which is a critical reflection on the education 

system, flow of talent and culture of achievement 

in the U.S. 

At the heart of it all, Yang argues, “We 

need to encourage people that building things 

is hugely valuable, hugely rewarding and actually 

can be a career path.” 



Andrew Yang, Founder of Venture for America 

Andrew Yang: The big choice I made was leaving the law 

firm in 2000, when I started my first company. I thought 

that I could build interesting things alongside good people 

and have a career that I’d be proud of. I certainly didn’t 

foresee most of what has actually transpired in the past 17 

years. Much of the time, you just need to push in a general 

direction rather than plot out the whole path. 

AM: How do you define success and how do you measure 


AY: Success is pushing yourself to fulfill your highest 

potential in terms of performance and impact. Success is 

also personal; I wrote down a list of life’s goals in my 20s 

that included business goals but also things like owning a 

dog and family life. Looking at the list now, I’m glad to say 

I’ve now achieved most of them. 


AY: The world is changing so fast in terms of automation 

taking human jobs and opportunities. We are completely 

unprepared for what that means as a society. It has the 

potential to tear us apart if we don’t muster a sufficient 

response. Many Asians, like the ones reading this, are going 

to be well-suited to the new economy, but most people 

will not be. My new book, “The War on Normal People,” is 

about this. I’m very concerned. 

We interviewed Andrew Yang in our Summer 2014 Issue and 

caught up with him for our 5th Anniversary Issue. The founder 

of fellowship program Venture for America is looking forward 

to his new book, “The War on Normal People: The Truth about 

Disappearing Jobs in America and Why Universal Basic Income 

is Our Future.” 



to lead you? 

ANDREW YANG 



AY: Use it to fund good works, like Venture for America 

and Universal Basic Income and raise attention to the 

problems associated with automation. 




AY: I would ask Bruce Lee how he really died. 


AY: It’s great to have a publication and community 

celebrating Asian leadership and success. We have a ton to 

contribute and a lot worth celebrating. 


E ENTERTAINMENT 

THINGS ASIAN LIKE: 

YOUTUBE COMEDIANS 

THE FUNG BROTHERS 

BY DANA TER 

COURTESY OF THE FUNG BROTHERS 

What do comedy, hip-hop and tasty Taiwanese 

snacks have in common? According to 

the Fung Brothers David and Andrew, the 

answer is simple: everything. In 2011 the 

brothers, who were raised in Seattle by Chinese 

parents, moved to Los Angeles to produce 

short, funny YouTube videos exploring 

Asian American identity via food, music and 

cultural stereotypes. Since then, they have 

garnered quite a following, with their videos 

generating millions of views. 

“One of our goals is to keep Asian America 

Asian,” they said. The brothers admitted 

that although they are not Asian-American 

studies experts, they enjoy “sparking discussion 

and being thought-provoking.” 

While they wished to educate Asian 

Americans on their culture and heritage, 

they wanted to do it in such a way that was 

light-hearted and relatable. They naturally 

turned to comedy since it was an integral part 

of their growing up experience. 

“We watched a lot of Simpsons, Conan 

O’Brien, and David Letterman,” they said. “It 

was important for us to consume a higher level 

comedy from a young age.” 

In addition, the brothers explained that 

being involved in the Chinese church community 

ensured that “every potluck was a 

competition to see which parents made the 

best food.” 

The Fungs’ love for comedy, rap and food 

is most evident in their music video “Asians 

Eat Weird Things,” which has more than 

one million views to date. Chowing down on 

chicken feet, stinky tofu and pig intestines, 

the brothers rap about “putting down that 

bread” and boast that “I’ll probably win Fear 

Factor.” 

Despite being funny and light-hearted though, their rap is nevertheless a proclamation of 

Asian-American pride and it is especially encouraging for those who were teased for 

bringing kimchi or tofu to school for lunch. 

28 | SUMMER 2014 



The Fung Brothers: Show Hosts, Comedians and Musicians 

The Fung Brothers: We had no idea where it was going to 

lead, to be honest, just tried to work hard every day. It’s still 

that way, for better or worse. Once we get a bigger team, 

we’ll be less reactive to the environment, haha. 



TFB: We think success is just living how you want. 

Everyone has such different values, wants and needs, 

priorities. When we mean living how you want, that’s are 

you having the interactions you want? Meeting the people, 

you want? 


TFB: We worry about not living the life we want, haha. 

Just kidding (sort of ). We think a lot of it is just having 

access to the systems to create the art we want. 



TFB: Just scale up what we’re doing now. Things would 

move a lot quicker. 




TFB: Probably something that would make us some 

money. If you knew how the pyramids were built, you 

probably could sell that for a bunch. Then we’d take the 

money and scale up quickly, haha. 

We interviewed Andrew and David Fun in our Summer 2014 

Issue, and we decided to chat with them for our 5th Anniversary 

Issue. The duo have 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube, where 

they share travel, food and comedy videos. 

RAYMOND LAM 


TFB: It’s just important to have people who care about 

our niche world. Not that many people in America do, 

even sometimes Asian people, because we’ve been taught 

to stay out of media and any “big picture trends” and 

just focus on our nuclear family and community. Which 

is understandable, but it’s time to take a look at the big 

picture too, the movements that don’t “directly affect dayto-day 

life.” 



to lead you? 


HOLIDAY 2014/2015 

Issue 7 

$3.99 

THE 

PERSEVERANCE ISSUE 


IN THIS ISSUE 

HOLIDAY 2014/2015 

5 

Ambassador Gary Locke 

11 

Betty Lo, Nielsen 

15 

Blogger Spotlight: Anjali Shah 

16 

Singapore is Fashion Forward 

18 

Elizabeth Doyle, Doyle & Doyle 

20 

Conquering the Cold in Japan 

21 


22 

Hot App: Let's Fold by FiveThirty 

24 


25 

Author Ha Jin 

26 


27 

Laura Mam 

28 

ALIST Asian First to... 

29 

NAAAP 100 Awardees 

ANNA OMELCHENKO/ISTOCK 

JURGENFR/ISTOCK 



B 

BLOGGER 

SPOTLIGHT 

CONSCIOUS EATING 

with Anjali Shah 

BY JASMINE AKO 

ANJALI SHAH 

While everyone can agree that eating 

right is key to a healthy lifestyle, 

there’s a reason that “eat healthier” remains a 

top New Year’s resolution for many of us year 

after year. A simple Google search for healthy 

recipes generates thousands of websites and 

articles — just finding a place to start can be 

daunting despite our best intentions. 

Look no further than The Picky Eater, 

a healthy food blog started by Anjali Shah to 

cater to her husband, a fast-food lover who 

faced this very common struggle. Having 

grown up in the health-conscious, farmers 

market-populated city of San Francisco in 

a family that always ate healthily, Shah met 

her truly opposite food counterpart in her 

husband, whose eating habits commonly 

included french fries and ice cream. 

The Picky Eater is a passionate 

hobby for Shah, who works full-time as an 

engineering program manager for Google. 

“The blog was born out of this need to figure 

out a way to get my husband to eat healthier 

and get myself to start cooking,” she explains. 

“I turned it into my guinea pig for all of my 

recipes.” 

FOOD AND FAMILY 

While her upbringing was centered 

around a health-conscious approach to food 

— Shah cites an memory from her childhood 

where her father brought home one donut 

for dessert and cut it into small pieces for the 

entire family to share — food also played an 

integral part in her family life. 

“Food was something that always 

brought my family together,” she says. “We 

always ate dinner together, my parents always 

cooked together. It was a really familyoriented, 

collaborative thing, which is how I 

think about food.” 

Continuing the tradition of food and 

family, Shah began cooking as a newlywed 

and started her blog five years ago as a way 

of keeping track of the recipes that she and 

her husband, despite their disparate food 

preferences, both enjoyed. As more and more 

readers began finding her blog, trying her 

dishes and sharing positive feedback about 

her cooking, she discovered her hobby had 

greater potential. 

“I realized I could actually do more with 

it than what I was doing,” Shah says. “That’s 

when I really decided to turn it into an actual 

blog with photos and built up an audience.” 

GROWING THE BRAND 

By crafting clear and easy-to-follow 

health tips and recipes, incorporating plenty 

of photos and developing an array of crossethnic 

dishes that truly quash the notion that 

healthy food is boring — “light and gooey 

cinnamon rolls,” “sweet potato, poblano, and 

coconut curry soup” and “baked penne with 

roasted vegetables” are just a few examples — 

Shah began to grow a large and loyal reader 

base. 

Through a combination of learning 

from and modifying others’ recipes, exploring 

restaurants and browsing magazines, she 

continually adds to her list of recipes. 

“There are so many different recipes 

that you can make at home, and it just seems 

like the list is endless,” says Shah, who’s 

developed a large repertoire of dishes on 

her blog. “I’m constantly seeing things that 

inspire me online.” 

Over time, Shah began to receive 

more detailed questions from her readers, 

particularly regarding health-related issues. 

Although she had learned a lot about health 

through her own recipe development and 

postings on general wellness and health tips, 

Shah wanted to take the next step for herself 

and her blog. 

“I felt like I needed another degree 

to both be credible for my readers, and to 

give myself more knowledge as I was really 

building a brand around health and wellness 

for my blog,” says Shah, whose first degree 

was a BA in economics at UC Berkeley. She 

went on to receive a degree in health coaching 

in 2012 from the Institute of Integrated 

Nutrition and began a health coaching 

business alongside her blog. 

“I don’t take on many clients every 

month, [but] the few that I do coach has been 

very rewarding,” she shares. 

A SHARED CONNECTION 

Alongside the myriad other health and 

wellness websites that exist, Shah’s blog 

stands out because her readers personally 

connect with her story. 

“What inspired my blog is a really 

specific story that I think a lot of people can 

relate to,” she says. Other newlyweds, couples 

or family members with different eating 

habits can associate with Shah’s journey 

trying to navigate her husband’s tastes 

and preferences, all while learning how to 

navigate a balanced life. 

By continuing to focus on creating 

genuine content while tying in personal 

anecdotes — a recent health post focuses on 

her recent quest to find an organic, all-natural 

formula for her baby daughter — as opposed 

to explicitly finding ways to make her blog 

“big” or “successful,” Shah has created and 

cultivated something even more rewarding: a 

supportive community with shared interests. 

“Not only do I have a community of 

family and friends who support me with my 

blog, but I also have a community of readers, 

who I’ve never met in person, but it feels like 

I know them since they’ve been following me 

for awhile,” she says. 

Staying busy working full-time at 

Google and cooking up new recipes by night, 

Shah remains centered on her original values 

and approach. 

“I’m just focused on my voice, my 

content, sharing my knowledge with the 

world, and trying to staying true to who 

I am with that,” she says. “If you’re doing 

something that you’re passionate about, that 

is authentic, then the rest of it will come.” 

Read more and discover healthy recipes and tips 

at www.pickyeaterblog.com 

Anjali’s favorite recipes include the white bean 

and kale soup and red lentil dal. 



Anjali Shah, Food Writer, Board Certified Health Coach, 

Owner of The Picky Eater Blog 

I thought my blog would just remain as a recipe log for 

me and my husband to use; I never thought it would be 

anything more than that. Seven years later: I have been 

able to make an impact in thousands of people’s lives by 

teaching them how to eat healthier and that healthy food 

can be easy to make and can taste great! It has been an 

amazing evolution! 



AS: I think success has lots of definitions. I define success 

in two ways: personal happiness and contentment, and my 

ability to help others. I think of it along these lines: Have 

I been able to live up to my own standards of being a good 

partner/wife, mother, friend? Am I happy and content with 

where things are in my life? Have I been able to help others 

on a daily basis? Have I made an impact in other peoples’ 

lives to make their lives better? I think on all of these 

questions I’m doing well, but I still have a long way to go in 

terms of the impact I want to make in other peoples’ lives! 

ANJALI SHAH 

We interviewed Anjali Shah in our Holiday 2014/2015 Issue 

and decided to catch up with her for our 5th Anniversary Issue. 

Shah still maintains her blog The Picky Eater and recently 

welcomed her second child this past summer. 



to lead you? 

Anjali Shah: I honestly had no idea that seven years ago 

when I started my blog, I’d end up making an impact in so 

many people’s lives! When I started this journey, I literally 

had no idea how to cook or take food photos: I knew a lot 

about healthy food, but I had never really written before, 

and I certainly wasn’t experienced in coming up with my 

own recipes. I didn’t even know how to use a can opener, 

and I didn’t own a DSLR camera! I started my blog as a 

way to just keep track of the healthy recipes I made that 

my husband (who was a fast-food-only eater) enjoyed. 


AS: I worry about not having enough time to make the 

impact I want in my lifetime – there is so much I want to 

do with respect to helping others get healthier and I just 

hope that I’m able to accomplish my goals in this life! 



AS: I would probably use the majority of it to further 

causes I’m passionate about, like providing healthy, whole 

foods to all kids in schools across the country, removing 

food deserts in low-income areas, teaching people with 

limited resources how to cook, etc. I’d use a small portion 

of it for me and my family and put the rest towards helping 

people get healthier! 




AS: Great question! I think I’d probably pick someone 

like Buddha or Ghandi and ask them how they defined 

happiness and peace, or someone like Martin Luther King 

to find out what he did to keep persevering against all odds. 



IN THIS ISSUE 

SPRING 2015 

3 

Ai Ching Goh 

Co-Founder & CEO of Piktochart 

5 

ALIST Spring Seasonal Foods 

6 

ALIST Female Venture Capitalists 

7 

Tracy Chou, Pinterest Software Engineer 

8 

ALIST Spring Fashion Trends 

20 

ALIST Tech Toys 

21 

Amy Sheng, Co-Founder of CellScope 

23 

ALIST Female Diversity Leaders 

24 


25 

Dr. Wendy Suzuki, Professor of Neural Science 

and Psychology at NYU 

10 

ALIST Spring Vacations 

11 

Julia Hu, Founder & CEO of Lark Technologies 

13 

ALIST Female Scientists & Mathematicians 

15 

Padmasree Warrior, CTSO of Cisco 

19 

ALIST Business Trends 

28 

ALIST Crazy Foods 

29 

Dr. Grace Woo, Founder of Pixels.IO 

31 

ALIST Individuals to Follow 

32 


ISTOCK/DRAGONIMAGES ISTOCK/ANIL BOLUKBAS 



F 

FEATURE 

The Importance of 

STEM and STEAM 

with Padmasree Warrior 

BY CATHERINE LAW 

Padmasree Warrior, Cisco’s Chief Technology & Strategy Officer, is charged with aligning technology development and corporate strategy to enable Cisco 

to anticipate, shape, and lead major market transitions. She helps direct technology and operational innovation across the company and oversees strategic 

partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, the integration of new business models, the incubation of new technologies, and the cultivation of world-class 

technical talent. Warrior holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi and a 

Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. Mrs. Warrior was also gracious enough to provide some of her paintings and 

haikus for the article. 

JAMIE TANAKA 

Padmasree Warrior is very passionate 

about mentoring women, especially in 

technology. Mrs. Warrior would like to see 

more women succeed in the field. Does she 

think there is a shortage of women in STEM? 

She thinks that “science and technology is the 

foundation of everything we do in life” and 

that “science and engineering is an abstract 

and cold field (where there is) no emotional 

attraction (and) we need to change that.” 

Leading by example, when she gives 

talks to girls, she gives examples of how 

science works with cosmetics and clothing 

– how the digital world connects with the 

“Science and technology 

is the foundation of 

everything we do in life.” 

physical world. She also tells them there 

is a “blending of arts and an understanding 

how we communicate with words in addition 

to communicating with numbers and how 

these things come together.” Mrs. Warrior 

is also cautious that “we be careful when we 

emphasize STEM and not lose the connection 

with STEAM – (which is what) art and 

literature can bring to us as human beings.” 

What Mrs. Warrior means is that “reading a 

book has no technology, just human-induced 

ingenuity in how we can create things” and 

that we need to concentrate on both. 

She says you have to “give yourself 

permission to do what you like to do.” 

According to Mrs. Warrior, we need to 

reverse the stereotype - people in tech are 

“musicians, like art, and like to cook, but 

if they talk about it then it makes them a 

lesser technologist” so we need to break that 

stereotype. 

The low rates of women in the STEM 

field are not due to gender differences but to 

preferred careers and the lack of female role 

models and mentors – this is the time to be 

in this field. 

When Mrs. Warrior was younger 

in engineering school she found support 

from other women in the industry and with 

friends. She finds that it is “her responsibility 

to be available to help women” because when 

they “look at the tech industry sometimes 

you feel so alienated.” She wants women to 

know that it doesn’t have to be that way and 

that “you can be successful by being true to 

yourself”, which means you can have a family, 

be a great mom, be a great wife, be a great 

friend, be a partner to someone and not have 

to give that up for your career. For Mrs. 

Warrior “it is important for other women to 

have other women.” 

As the Chief Technology & Strategy 

Officer (CTSO) of Cisco, what are her 

responsibilities? Mrs. Warrior actually 

has two roles. The first role is the Chief 

Technology Officer, which means her 

scope is to look at technology destruction, 

technology trends and transitions and come 

up with ways to position Cisco and how 

the company should address them. Some 

examples are cloud computing, application 

center infrastructure, and working with the 

product and services team to come up with 

the right architecture to move the company 

in a new direction. Her second role is the 

Chief Strategy Officer, which means she 

is responsible for the company’s business 

strategy, corporate planning, working with 

the CFO to come up with the company’s 

capital plan to look at business models as they 

shift, M&A, investments and eco systems 

stat, who they partner with to enable the 

customers to benefit from to integrating 

acquisitions that work and evolve. 

For 2015, Mrs. Warrior is working on 

“Give yourself permission to do 

what you like to do.” 

moving Cisco from being recognized as a 

networking company to becoming a leader in 

the IT space and to focus on the internet as 

an enabler. This is the digital future of Cisco, 

helping customers and businesses. 

With change coming to Cisco, what is 

the corporate culture like for the over 65,000 

employees? According to Mrs. Warrior, 

Cisco is “very customer centric “and believes 

in putting the customer first and accessing 

customer needs from the top to the bottom of 

the company. She also spends time listening 

to customer needs through her traveling and 

speaking, and listening to other CTO leaders. 

Cisco is also focused on market 

transitions and they would like to be ahead of 

the shifts in the market because tech trends 


Exercising Your Brain with Dr. Wendy Suzuki 


Dr. Wendy Suzuki has always had a love for science, and her recently released book, Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your 

Brain & Do Everything Better, is not just another boring science textbook. Instead, Suzuki takes the reader on a personal journey of growth with some 

science education thrown in. 

Dr. Wendy Suzuki has always had a 

love for science, and her recently 

released book, Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A 

Personal Program to Activate Your Brain & Do 

Everything Better, is not just another boring 

science textbook. Instead, Suzuki takes the 

reader on a personal journey of growth with 

some science education thrown in. 

As a professor of Neural Science and 

Psychology in the Center for Neural Science 

and New York University, her intent is to 

get the reader to “understand neuroscience 

through the story of her life,” the goal being 

“to educate the public about neuroscience.” 

But Suzuki isn’t just a nerdy scientist in a lab; 

she has a bright personality and talked with 

me for hours about her past, inspirations and 


ISTOCK/ABIDAL 

JACKIE HO 

writing her book. 

While majoring in Physiology and 

Human Anatomy at U.C. Berkeley years ago, 

Suzuki remembers her professor, Marian 

C. Diamond, elegantly removing a human 

brain from a hatbox — she was instantly 

hooked. Diamond not only started her on her 

illustrious career but was also a role model 

and inspiration. 

While studying abroad at the University 

of Bordeaux in France, she met a man named 

Francois — she was waiting for a piano tuner 

and he showed up — and had year of love 

and “wonderful experiences” in Paris. They 

both enjoyed music, and when she studied at 

his place, she would listen to his 1985 record 

of Yo-Yo Ma playing the Bach solo cello 

concerto over and over. Knowing how much 

she loved the record, Francois gave her a cello 

as a Christmas gift; appreciated the romantic 

gesture despite not knowing how to play the 

instrument. 

Suzuki’s parents were “not supportive 

of [the] relationship” and feared she would 

not return to finish her final year of school, 

but her love of science was calling, and she 

returned home for graduate school, earning a 

Ph.D. in Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego 

as well as a post-doctoral fellowship at the 

National Institute of Health. 

One thing Suzuki initially failed to 

pick up from her role model, Dr. Diamond, 

was a healthy work-life balance. She was 

only focused on her passion for research 

and professional success, which resulted 

in “a series of wake up calls.” For example, 

when Suzuki went white water rafting in 

Zimbabwe and was the only one struggling 

to keep up with the group, she realized how 

out of shape she was. 

Suzuki hit the gym for a year and lost 

weight, but she wanted to do more and 

joined an IntenSati class. Taught by Patricia 

Moreno, who is the creator, the fitness classes 

combine various aerobic exercises and positive 

affirmations. Suzuki was so hooked that she 

became an IntenSati instructor and even 

decided to bring exercise and neuroscience 

together in her classroom, which she found to 

be “a wonderful way to expand [her] teaching 

horizon.” 

In 2009, Suzuki taught a class entitled 

“Can Exercise Change Your Brain” while 

dressed in spandex. She combined a “physical 

exercise class with lectures on the effects of 

exercise on the brain,” and the class was also 

participating in her research as a group. The 



Wendy Suzuki, Professor of Neural Science and Psychology 

at New York University 

MATT SIMPLINS PHOTOGRAPHY 

We interviewed Wendy Suzuki in our Spring 2015 Issue, and 

we decided to follow up with her for our 5th Anniversary Issue. 

The author of “Healthy Brain Happy Life” is a professor of neural 

science and psychology at New York University. 



lead you? 

Wendy Suzuki: I thought it would lead me to the National 

Academy of Sciences and lots of activity as an academic. The 

latter is true, but all the public speaking, books, interviews 

podcasts have been a great and unexpected surprise! 



WS: I define success as being happy and fulfilled in my social, 

family, and professional life, and I can honestly say that I feel 

very successful. 


WS: I tend to worry about if I’m anticipating all the possible 

negative scenarios that might befall me until I remind myself 

to focus on the present and on doing what you love – that 

usually cures it. 



WS: I would save/invest part of it, spend part of it and give 

part of it away to charities and to friends/family that really 

need it. 




WS: I would go back and ask Eleanor Roosevelt what was her 

vision for women in the 21st century and did she think we 

would be able fulfill that dream. 


SUMMER 2015 

Issue 9 

$3.99 

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS 

ISSUE 


IN THIS ISSUE 

SUMMER 2015 

PG 3 

Amna Nawaz 

NBC Asian America 

PG 6 

Alan Lui 

Time Warner Cable 

PG 11 

Chika Tillman 

Chikalicious 

PG 13 

Ahyoung Stobar 

Joah Love 

PG 15 

Abe Ng 

Sushi Maki 

PG 16 

Mona Zhao & Lily Xu 

Dotfully 

PG 18 

Christina Ha 

Meow Parlour 

PG 21 

Jessica Shih 

HopeLine 

PG 23 

Hao Lam 

Best in Class 

PG 26 

Phillip Rhee 

Underdog Kids 

PG 28 

Marc Liu 

Picture Taipei 

ISTOCK/DRAGONIMAGES ISTOCK/THOMAS PERKINS 


WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 55 1

Christina Ha Lets the Cat Out of the Bag 

JENNIFER SUZUKAWA-TSENG 

After successfully opening two Macaron Parlour locations in Manhattan with her husband Simon, pastry chef Christina Ha focused her sights on creating 

New York’s very first cat cafe: Meow Parlour. The couple owns four cats — Mr. Socks, Pickle, Bobo and Poussey. A New Jersey native, Ha hopes to one 

day move back to the suburbs and own a high-end oven, her domestic take on a Ferrari. 

CHRISTINA HA 

Firsts can be daunting. Maintaining your 

first job. Experiencing your first love. 

Even simply standing first in line. And yet, 

they can be remarkably rewarding and extremely 

exciting. Christina Ha, working 

alongside her business partner Emilie Legrand, 

faced a first when they co-founded 

Meow Parlour, which opened this past December. 

Setting up shop in downtown Manhattan, 

Meow Parlour is a haven for cats and cat 

lovers. Cats freely roam and nap, while feline 

fans can indulge in some sweets and play with 

the cats. Just around the corner is Meow Parlour 

Patisserie, a brightly lit shop that sells 

cat-themed baked goods like cat-shaped 

macarons and cookies. 

While this concept is a first for New 

York City, cat cafes are popular in countries 

such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. 

“There really is a big community of cat lovers 

out there, and there’s never been a place 

to gather,” Ha explains. “A place to actually 

hang out with cats that aren’t your own.” 

Meow Parlour partners with KittyKind, 

a rescue group, meaning all of the cats meandering 

inside the cozy cafe are adoptable. In 

this sense, Meow Parlour has two objectives: 

to create a space to enjoy the company of cats 

and to have friendly felines adopted. 

FIRST THINGS FIRST 

Managing expectations is a pertinent 

consideration when charting new territory. 

“It’s hard to be a first, because people are going 

to be like, ‘This wasn’t what I expected,’” 

Ha says. In order to form a successful cat cafe, 


18 | SUMMER 2015 

careful planning from the beginning was vital. 

“What made it so challenging was knowing 

that we were setting a standard.” 

The novelty of the business played into 

the decision to open on a quiet street between 

the Lower East Side and Chinatown neighborhoods. 

“We knew that we didn’t have to 

be in a spot that was already a destination 

spot with a lot of foot traffic,” Ha says. “We 

could be wherever we wanted to be and people 

would come to us.” She understood that 

opening a destination could improve a neighborhood 

already on the verge of change. 

The ripple effects of this decision are 

apparent. Ha recalls, “After we opened, the 

other stores around us have come in and told 

us, ‘The neighborhood is changed because 

you opened. Our customer base has changed. 

The demographics are different because of 

you. You have saved our business.’” 

SOMETHING TANGIBLE 

In addition to being a first, there is a particular 

sense of satisfaction that arises from 

creating something tangible. Ha recognizes 

this sentiment. She explains how she felt 

that her generation “had gotten out of touch 

with working with our hands.” Ha maintains, 

“I was starting to worry about what it’s like 

when things aren’t tangible.” 

The first incarnation of this desire resulted 

in Macaron Parlour. After working in 

fashion PR, Ha took a job at a nonprofit and 

enrolled in baking classes at the Institute of 

Culinary Education. 

Growing up, Ha recalls frequently baking 

chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. 

A fond food memory of hers is when she and 

her sisters whipped up cupcakes with Michael 

Jackson’s face drawn on them to honor 

his passing. Needless to say, karaoke of his 

hits were involved as well. 

Ha also recounts taking culinary classes 

in France and how after the day was over, she 

and her classmates would admire the 2,000 

cookies sitting before their eyes. “We made 

it,” she says. “And it was that tangibility that 

I had been looking for.” 

Fast-forward to her days in the Macaron 

Parlour kitchen, where Ha regularly peered 

over the thousands of macarons that she and 

“What made it so 

challenging was knowing 

that we were setting a 

standard.” 

CHRISTA HAMILTON


Christina Ha, Co-Founder of Meow Parlour 

really understand the impact it would have on me until it started 

happening. 

AM: How do you define success and how do you measure up to 

your own definition? 

CH: Success is feeling good when you go to bed at night and 

when you wake up in the morning. Some days are more successful 

than others, but it’s all about getting up the next day and working 

towards that end goal. 


CH: When it comes to cats, you have to be their advocate. I worry 

that I might miss interpreting what they want or understanding 

their needs. I have to make decisions for them all the time to try 

to make them as comfortable as possible from their food and 

litter to when to go to the vet and how to work with them as 

individuals. 

MEOW PARLOUR 

We first interviewed Christina in our Summer 2015 Issue, and we 

decided to catch up with her for our 5th Anniversary Issue. The cofounder 

and head pastry chef of New York’s Macaron Parlour is also 

the co-founder of the city’s first cat café, Meow Parlour; Ha also serves 

as the acting president of local cat shelter KittyKind. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you were when you 

started this journey, where did you think it was going to lead 

you? 

Christina Ha: I thought we were going to help get some cats 

adopted and have fun while at it. I didn’t realize how much 

I would learn about cats and people over the course of three 

years. I didn’t think about how many lives we would change 

and families we would complete through Meow Parlour. It’s so 

big and so meaningful to me now that it’s funny that I didn’t 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do 

with the money? 

CH: Well, after all the practical stuff like paying off the car, I’d 

like to give my employees a raise and a bonus for everything they 

do. There is no measure of success without acknowledging the 

people who help you get there and they are amazing. Then we can 

move on with seeing what other great things we can do together. 

AM: If you could select one person from history and have them 

truthfully answer one question, who would you select and what 

is the question? 

CH: Oh boy, this is a tough one. When I can’t sleep at night, I 

like reading about historic figures or events, but I’ve never really 

thought about asking anyone a question. It would probably be 

about motive or what drives them, but there isn’t really anyone in 

particular that I am fixated on. I like to learn from the past and 

just look forward! 


CH: It’s incredible to know there are people you relate to that 

are doing great things and that wasn’t readily accessible for me 

growing up. ALIST changes that for this generation coming of 

age now (and those to come!) and it’s an honor to not only have 

been included in its pages, but to be revisited for this special 

edition! 


HOLIDAY 2015/2016 

Issue 10 

$3.99 

THE 

VISIONARY 

ISSUE 

Glenn Sugiyama, Managing Partner and Global 

Sports Practice Leader at DHR International 


IN THIS ISSUE 

HOLIDAY 2015 

PAGE 3 

John Wang, President of Asian American Business Development Center, 

and Founding Member of the Asian American Business Roundtable 

PAGE 7 

Bethany Lee, Founder of SolveSpark 

Yana Givorg, CEO of reConnect 

PAGE 11 


PAGE 12 

Jenny Santi, Philanthropy Advisor and Author 

PAGE 16 

Glenn Sugiyama, Managing Partner and Global Sports Practice Leader of DHR International 

PAGE 21 

Erman M. Baradi, Founder of The Rel/event, 

Business Manager of Emmy-nominated artist T.O.N.E.-z, Celebrity Interviewer and Freelance Script Reader 

PAGE 25 

Wedding in a Window 

PAGE 27 

Andy Suzuki of Andy Suzuki & The Method 

PAGE 30 

NAAAP 100 Honorees 

ISTOCK/PHOTOTECHNO ISTOCK/PHOTOTECHNO 


WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 59 1

F 

FEATURE 

Glenn Sugiyama: 

A Visionary in the Collegiate Arena 


Glenn Sugiyama serves as Managing Partner and Global Sports Practice Leader in the firm’s Chicago office. Described by Forbes magazine as “one 

of the most influential men in college athletics,” Glenn Sugiyama is credited with building one of the largest and most renowned sports practice groups 

in the world. For over ten years, he has been placing talent in professional sports organizations and for the top academic institutions in the United 

States and around the world, including senior sports executives and head coaches. Mr. Sugiyama is considered a human capital expert in the sports 

industry, and is frequently asked to share his opinions and insights in the media, and speak about his experiences internationally. At twenty-seven, Mr. 

Sugiyama became one of the youngest directors of a major US pro sports team when he was named to the board of directors of the former world champion 

Chicago Bulls. Prior to the Bulls, he was a Division I college basketball coach. Before joining DHR International, Sugiyama was vice president and 

account director for Leo Burnett USA, and a former director of North American business development at iLeo, Leo Burnett’s Marketing Services group. 

Sugiyama began his career as director of marketing, advertising, and sales for a regional restaurant company. He made the successful transition from 

marketing to finance and operations when he ran a nine unit / 700-employee chain as president and CEO. Since then, Sugiyama has served as EVP 

of a 5,000-employee service company and president of a real estate development company. In addition, he has served on the Advisory Council of the 

University of Illinois—College of Business and the Board of Directors of the Japanese American Service Committee. Recently, Sugiyama was named one 

of the “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” in the US. He is a graduate of Michigan State University. 

JEREMY WITTEVEEN 

SPORTS FROM THE BEGINNING OF 

TIME 

Glenn Sugiyama graduated from Michigan 

State University and received his Master’s 

degree from Eastern Michigan University, 

where he became assistant basketball 

coach at the age of twenty-seven. Sports 

was always in his life growing up. His passion 

for basketball linked him to each step of 

his career. According to Sugiyama, “when I 

was younger and had passion for basketball, 

that helped lead to the assistant basketball 

coaching opportunity. One thing really led 

to another in my career. If I hadn’t been a 

basketball coach, I would never have gotten 

involved with the Chicago Bulls. If I hadn’t 

been involved with the Bulls, I wouldn’t be 

leading a sports practice for a global executive 

search firm today. So pretty much things 

happen in life for a reason.” 

Not only did he play and coach basketball, 

Sugiyama also sat on the Board of 

Directors of the Chicago Bulls. As member 

16 60 | | HOLIDAY ANNIVERSARY 2015/2016 2017/2018 

of the Board, he says “my job was to assist 

the chairman in the overall operations of an 

NBA franchise that included the major areas 

of marketing, finance, and basketball operations.” 

If Sugiyama were to put together a sports 

dream team, who would be on the team, and 

who would be the coach? He did not have to 

think too hard on this, since he “was fortunate 

that my fantasy became reality in being 

involved with the Chicago Bulls during their 

championship run. We had one of the greatest 

players of all time (Michael Jordan), one 

of the greatest owners of all time (Jerry Reinsdorf), 

and one of the greatest coaches of all 

time (Phil Jackson).” His experience with the 

Chicago Bulls was “a better training ground 

for an aspiring sports leader.” 

Sugiyama has sat on the Japanese American 

Service Committee (JASC) Board of 

PAUL SAKUMA 

Directors for over two decades, where he 

also serves as Santa Claus at the annual Holiday 

Delight. The event is traditionally held 

on the second Saturday of November. This 

year, Sugiyama had a touching request. He 

asked one of the children what he wanted 

for Christmas and the child said “Peace on 

Earth.” “The response really struck me.” 

THE POPULARITY OF COLLEGIATE 

SPORT RECRUITING 

Sugiyama has been pursuing the college 

space in the last few years, because DHR’s 

“sports practice works with any sports-related 

entity, whether it is corporate sports, professional 

sports teams and leagues, or collegiate 

sports . . . Collegiate sports has received more 

public attention because of the many coaching 

and athletic director hires that we’ve 

completed for high profile programs.” 

From left to right: Jim Harbaugh (former Head Football Coach at Stanford University), Glenn Sugiyama, 

Bob Bowlsby (former Athletic Director at Stanford University)


Glenn Sugiyama, DHR International Managing Partner and 

Global Leader of the Sports Practice 

JEREMY WITTEVEEN 

Formerly a Division I college basketball coach, 

Glenn Sugiyama joined the board of directors 

of the Chicago Bulls at the impressive age of 

27. He has since built one of the largest sports 

practice groups in the world and now serves 

as managing partner and global leader at 

DHR International. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at 

where you were when you started this 

journey, where did you think it was going 

to lead you? 

Glenn Sugiyama: The one thing that I 

learned that worked for me is to always 

make the most of the job that you have. 

If you make the most of the job that you 

have, then it will lead you to other places. 

Thinking back, I would always just work 

at that one position, which was in front of 

me, and if an opportunity presents itself to 

me, then I would move on. I can definitely 

say that I never guessed it would wind 

up leading me to the position that I have 

right now. If I was not a college basketball 

coach, I would have never have been with 

the Chicago Bulls, and I would not have 

been the Managing Partner and Global 

Leader of the Sports Practice with DHL 

International. I was with The Chicago 

Bulls at the right time, which was the 

year after Michael Jordan was drafted. I 

am a good example of where there is a lot 

of luck that happens in your life and you 

have to be able to be fortunate enough 

to recognize the different breaks that you 

can get and then make the most of them 

in life. 

AM: How do you define success and 

how do you measure up to your own 

definition? 

GS: I am successful for Glenn Sugiyama. 

I am happy with and where I am going. 

Success is determined as self-satisfaction 

and is probably an important piece to 

success: are you happy with yourself, are 

you happy with who you are and what 

you have done. I had an original goal 

of going to college, getting a job and 

raising a family and I was happy to do 

all of those things. I do not think you 

determine success by money, position or 

status -- it is what goes into it. It is who 

you are, what you have done and are you 

happy with your life. Success is making 

the most of your opportunities. Success for 

me is, being the first kid to go to college 

in my family. My dad was a product of 

the internment camps during World 

Word II. One of the things that makes 

you successful is that if you are satisfied, 

and if you look back at your life and you 

are satisfied at what you see, then you 

are a success. It is very hard to determine 

success when you are in the moment, but 

if you can look back and you say you like 

what you have accomplished and you like 

the place where life has lead you -- then I 

think that is your definition of success. 


GS: At the end of the day, I worry that 

we can never forget that we are just an 

individual in the entire world. You can 

control your life, the things that you do 

and how you live your life, but there are a 

lot of things that happen in this world that 

is in God’s hands that you do not have any 

control over. 

AM: If you won $20 million in the 

lottery, what would you do with the 

money? 

GS: I have to practice what I preach and 

one of the things, a big part of my life and 

my family’s life, is what I have always told 

my kids is that education is something 

you can always spend all of your money, 

as you cannot lose your education. It is 

the greatest gift a parent can give to their 

kids. Education should be everyone’s goal 

and we should be to make sure that we 

continue to be strong academically and to 

invest in our young people. 





GS: I would ask, Kennedy who shot you 

– this is something that I have always 

wondered about. I also would like to talk 

to people in history about where things 

have come and what they think about it. 

So, for instance what would it be like to 

talk to Henry Ford about the mode of 

travel that has become in this country. And 

to talk to Alexander Graham Bell about 

the internet and the fact that we have 

it. The internet has become our voice of 

communication. I would also want to go 

back to a shorter period of time to talk to 

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs when they were 

starting out and say is this what you had 

in mind? Did you see this coming? Or 

did something happen that exceeded your 

wildest expectations. I think that is very 

interesting to me. 


to you? 

GS: ALIST Magazine is one of the only 

national publications to represent and to 

communicate with our Asian Americans 

in this country. The magazine is a treasure 

for us to keep for Asian Americans to 

cherish and to use and to support. 


INTERNATIONAL 

Responsive. Agile. Expert. 

Get the global reach and highly-focused expertise you need— 

with the consultative partnership and creative agility you deserve. 

dhrinternational.com 

Recognizing DHR International 

Managing Partner Glenn Sugiyama 

for his leadership in our community 

and the executive search industry 


SPRING 2016 

Issue 11 

$3.99 

THE CAREER 

COMMITMENT 

ISSUE 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 63 | I

IN THIS ISSUE 

SPRING 2016 

PAGE 3 

Bangladesh Noted for Advances in Women Education and Economic Standing 

PAGE 7 

Andrew Ly, CEO of the Sugar Bowl Bakery 

PAGE 10 

Bo Thao-Urabe, Commissioner on the President's Commission 

on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 

PAGE 12, 14 

NAAAP Leadership Spotlight 

PAGE 18 

Video Games for Non-Gamers 

PAGE 20 

Asif Ali and Ally Maki of the TBS Show 'Wrecked' 

PAGE 24 

Ashley Park, Miss Asia USA 2016 

PAGE 26 

Michael Levy, NYC Headshot & Fashion Photographer and Actor 

VITCHANAN MONKEY BUSINESS IMAGES LTD 



Q&A: It's all Sugar & Spice with Andrew Ly 

of the Sugar Bowl Bakery 

Sugar Bowl Bakery was named by the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) as one of the “Fast 100 Asian 

American Businesses” – joining the country’s fastest-growing Asian American-owned companies, based on percentage revenue growth over the immediate 

past two years. USPAACC’s Fast 100 posted collective annual revenue of $2.7 Billion, with companies recording up to 350% growth rate. 

CAREER 

Sugar Bowl Bakery CEO Andrew Ly and his four brothers came to America as refugees from Vietnam in 1979 with the hopes of making a decent living in 

a new country. After five years of hard work, the brothers pooled together the family's entire savings to buy Sugar Bowl Bakery, a small neighborhood coffee 

shop in the San Francisco Bay area. Since then, Sugar Bowl Bakery has grown from a small store-front shop to a nationwide distributor of baked goods 

approaching $100 million in revenue and continues to operate the business as a family unit. Along the way, they've added some members of the family's 

second generation and plenty of outside employees. 

outside talents, has brought us to where we 

are now. Our main goal is to continue down 

our path to success. We just want to continue 

to make high-quality products at a great value 

for our customers at all levels. 

AM: Why do you think that persistence prevails? 

AL: Persistence prevails because we would not 

be where we are today if it wasn’t for our patience. 

It is important to always be persistent, 

consistent and patient. You’ve got to be decisive, 

have the ability to eliminate the bad 

suggestions and execute the good, regardless 

AL: Habit of hard work – there is no other 

way. 

• A habit of making things simple so that 

you can focus 

• People skills: No one can succeed alone 

• Having great character and developing 

long lasting integrity 

• Be tenacious and patient: Nothing can 

happen overnight 

AM: Earlier this year, you launched an initiative 

with the Hayward Adult School and 

Alameda Workforce program. Whose idea 

was this and what are the expected outcome? 

SUGAR BOWL BAKERY 

ALIST Magazine: Why did you choose to 

invest in Sugar Bowl Bakery back in 1984? 

Andrew Ly: Our family believed the USA 

was the land of opportunity long before we 

arrived. We heard so much about the freedom 

and capitalistic opportunity this nation 

had to offer, so we came here to work without 

fear. We were confident we could be what we 

wanted to be, and work in any area we wanted 

to, while not having to worry about the fruit 

of our hard work being taken away by force. 

AM: How did you and your brothers transform 

a coffee shop into a huge wholesale operation 

, and what is next? 

AL: Much of our success can be attributed to 

our family’s ability to remain loyal, live within 

our means and maintain modesty and patience 

with each other through the good times and 

the bad. However, our success would also not 

be what it is today without the help of some 

key management team members who were 

hired from outside. The combination of family 

leadership and dedication, coupled with 

“Much of our success can be attributed to our 

family's ability to remain loyal, live within our means 

and maintain modesty and patience with each other 

through the good times and the bad.” 

of egos. A good leader takes responsibility and 

tries to do the right thing while staying persistent 

with your overall goals. 

AM: In another article, it was said that you 

founded the “family business as accidental 

entrepreneurs.” Can you elaborate? 

AL: We never bought our original coffee 

shop with the intentions of become a national 

distributor of baked goods. We bought it in 

hopes to make a decent living in a new country 

full of opportunity. It just turned out the 

company has become a national and international 

bakery with almost $100 million in 

annual sales! 

AM: What are some key experiences and or 

skills that someone needs to be a successful 

entrepreneur? 

AL: The ideas came from our HR Manager, 

the Director of Operations and one of my 

nephews, Michael Ly, who worked collaboratively 

with the team to make this happen. 

SUGAR BOWL BAKERY 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | | 65 

7


Andrew Ly, CEO and Founder of Sugar Bowl Bakery 

ALIST interviewed Andrew Ly in our Spring 2016 Issue, and we decided to follow up with him for our 5th Anniversary Issue. A 

refugee from Vietnam, Ly serves as the CEO of Sugar Bowl Bakery, one of the largest family-owned and operated bakeries in Northern 

California. 

safety. That worries me a little because I do 

not know what to trust and what to ignore. 



where did you think it was going to lead 

you? 

Andrew Ly: At the time we started Sugar 

Bowl Bakery, we initially thought it was just 

to make a decent living for the family. We 

were thankful that we had something to do 

here that was completely ours and in our 

name. We came here very poor and were 

illiterate;, our intention at the time was just 

to have something to rebuild our life and 

restore our dream in living in this country. 

AM: How do you define success and how 

do you measure up to your own definition? 

AL: There is a saying, “success is a journey, 

not a destination.” I find it to be very true. 

My definition of success is when you are 

happy with what you do for a living and 

able financially to take great care of yourself, 


your family and can afford things that 

you need. You are able to take care of the 

people around you with respect and dignity. 

Also, having a good heart by giving to the 

organization of your choice. The non-stop 

process of the above, to me is a success. 

DREW KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY/SUGAR BOWL BAKERY 


AL: As I get older and wiser, I usually, if 

not always, try to do my very best every 

day on what I can and delegate the rest to 

the appropriate people in my organization. 

Then I go home without having anything 

to worry about. I am blessed to have a great 

family. My wife and my two sons are happy 

and live moderately; they take care of their 

health and are extremely disciplined. I do not 

have much to worry about: personal, family 

or business matter. As far as the world goes, 

I am amazed to see and hear the irrational 

noise from people who are in control of our 



AL: I would either reinvest it to modernize 

our company to build better products, 

create more jobs, and take better care of our 

people who work here. Or, I would create a 

foundation to raise more money to take care 

of those most vulnerable people; such as the 

underprivileged children, the disadvantaged 

women, the under-cared elderly or the 

veterans who have no home to return to. 





AL: I would select God to ask him this 

question: Why are there so many people who 

live their lives full of hatred and lack human 

understanding and ultimately just want to 

have power and vengeance nowadays? 


to you? 

AL: ALIST Magazine means a ton to me 

because it caters to the needs of people 

like myself. As an Asian American food 

professional, I am aligned with the culture of 

this magazine. The contents of the magazine 

are full of inspirational stories, and there are 

many people I heard the names but never 

had a chance to read their stories until I 

read them in ALIST. Furthermore, in spring 

2016, right after our story was published, 

the Commissioner on President Obama’s 

Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific 

Islanders’ office reached out to me to go 

to the White House discussing the issues 

that are affecting Asian Americans in this 

country. Due to a schedule conflict I could 

not go, but this is one of the things that is so 

meaningful to me.

E 

ENTERTAINMENT 

Q&A with Asif Ali and Ally Maki, 

Stars of new TBS Show 'Wrecked' 

The new TBS comedy “Wrecked” follows a group of people stranded on a deserted island. Asif Ali, who plays sports agent Pack, has performed improv and 

stand-up comedy for years as well as starring in shows such as “Modern Family” and “Marvel Agents of SHIELD.” Ally Maki, who plays hopeless romantic 

Jess, has had roles in “New Girl” and “Big Bang Theory.” Wrecked premiered on June 14th on TBS. 

TBS 

ALIST Magazine: Describe the show in 10 

words or less. 

Asif Ali: Wrecked is a very funny show about 

a plane full of people from all over the world 

that crashes on a mysterious island; they have 

to learn how to live with each other in order 

to survive. In this high stakes live-or-die 

predicament, it either brings out the best or 

worst in people, which in turns brings out the 

hilarity in the show. So kick back with your 

TV, functioning toilet and delivery pizza and 

enjoy watching people who have none of 

those make you laugh until you cry. 

Ali Maki: Wrecked is a comedy about a 

group of strangers that get stranded on an 

island and need to survive and create a new 

world for themselves without social media. 

Chaos ensues. 

ALIST: If you were to be truly “wrecked,’ 

what skills do you think we all need to 

survive on an island? 

AA: For me to really survive in that kind 

of vicious environment, the top three skills 

necessary would be: 

1. Laughing at the idea that someone like 

Bobby Jindal exists to make me forget I'm 

going to die alone on an Island. 2. Condoms 

to make me optimistic so I forget I'm going 

to die alone on an Island. 3. Steve Harvey's 

mustache to use as a life raft so I don't die 

alone on an Island. 

AM: Especially in this group, people skills 

are great — being able to make friends and 

make alliances and work together as a team 

to survive. I don’t have any survival skills but 

should probably to learn how to make a fire 

just in case. 

ALIST: What takeaways did you learn? 

AA: I think the real takeaway from 

“Wrecked” for our viewers will be laughter 

and an appreciation that their lives aren't as 

terrible as the group of misfits that keeps 

messing up any chance of survival they have. 

Also my body, my body, my body. Please 

contact me ladies. Please. I'm so alone. Find 

me on all social media @alicomedy. 

AM: We filmed in Puerto Rico and I live 

in LA where we are an energy-driven place. 

When I was in San Juan, I learned so much 

about the people and their culture — they 

were so wonderful. I learned a lot about 

the rest of the world and how it operates. I 

did learn some survival skills because I was 

eaten alive by mosquitos, to the point where 

I needed doctors. We were filming on the 

20 | SPRING 2016 



Ally Maki, Actress 

Ally Maki stars in the TBS show “Wrecked,” a comedy about survivors on a deserted island that will begin airing its third season in 2018. 

In support of diversity in the entertainment industry, the Japanese-American actress participated in the Diversity Speaks panel during the 

LA Film Festival this past June. 

people that looked like us on TV. Looking back, I never could have 

dreamed of the life I have now, still being able to do what I love and 

making a living out of it. It boggles my mind. I’m incredibly grateful. 

AM: How do you define success and how do you measure up to 


AM: Success should never be measured in comparison to others 

or defined by money or fame. There’s so many alluring factors that 

come with a career in the arts, but I find that at the end of the day, if 

you don’t 100 percent love what you’re doing, it will never fulfill you 

no matter how high up you get. I’m still that girl that would put on 

goofy shows in my parent’s living room, and I hope to never lose her. 

I really try not to let other people define my personal success. When 

I go into auditions, I only feel like a failure if I think I let myself 

down. If I knew I didn’t do the best that I could have or wasn’t true to 

myself. Everyone else’s opinion I try not to let affect me as heavily. 


AM: I actually worry a lot. I’ve always been an absolute perfectionist 

and am really tough on myself. Because I started out young, I think 

I’ve developed a thick skin, but sometimes that skin keeps all the bad 

thoughts inside. I also have a big shame thing which I constantly try 

and work on. 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with 

the money? 

AM: It’s always been a huge dream of mine to buy my parents houses 

and pay them off. From day one they were my greatest supporters, so 

to be able to show them how much I appreciate everything they’ve 

done for me would be awesome. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you were when you 

started this journey, where did you think it was going to lead you? 

Ally Maki: I started in the industry when I was relatively young and 

so I really had this amazing luxury of being completely driven by my 

passion. I just loved performing. I started out on stage doing musical 

theater and as a super shy youngster it was the one place where I felt 

I could truly express myself. It made me feel like I belonged, back in 

a time where representation really didn’t exist. We didn’t have those 

RICK BHATIA 


truthfully answer one question, who would you select and what is 

thequestion? 

AM: I would ask Malala where her strength and bravery comes from. 

She’s incredibly inspirational to me. 


AM: ALIST means community. It means celebrating and 

highlighting the achievements of Asian Americans. Every day that 

we move forward in creating representation across all industries, I 

find my 14-year-old self brimming with joy. We are doing this for 

the next generation who need to be encouraged that their dreams are 

valid and can be as big as they want. Nothing should hold them back. 


FALL 2016 

Issue 12 

$3.99 

THE COMMUNITY 

ISSUE 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 69 | I

IN THIS ISSUE 

FALL 2016 

PAGE 3 

Chien-Chi Huang, TEAM 

PAGE 7 

Rachel & Helen Lee, The Indie-Activists 

PAGE 12 

Tom Ferraro, PhD, The Japanese Power of Cute 

PAGE 16 

Hitoshi Tanaka, JINS 

PAGE 19 

Jamie Chung, Fall Cocktail 

PAGE 23 

Maya Thiagarajan, Beyond the Tiger Mom 

PAGE 27 

Elaine Chu, The Purgation 

PAGE 31 

KCON NY Photo Recap 

JACKF SHUBHASHISH5 



L 

LEADING OFF 

Asian Mental Health Means Something to 

Chien-Chi Huang 

As founder of the Asian Breast Cancer Project and current Executive Director of Asian Women for Health, Chien-Chi Huang is a 

passionate community advocate for mental health issues in the Asian American community. She is also a Founding Member and a 

Project Manager of Together Empowering Asian Minds (TEAM). TEAM is a peer-led, Massachusetts-based coalition formed in 2010 

to address urgent and unique mental health challenges faced by Asian American women and their loved ones. TEAM will leverage the 

powerful network of its local*, regional (East Coast Asian American Students Union) and national partners (National Asian American 

Pacific Islander Mental Health Association) to revolutionize how young Asian American women receive, process and use mental health 

information and services. 

*Lead partner Saheli and WGBH,Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston Asian American Film & Video Festival, the Breaking Silences Project, Asian American Commission, 

ASPIRE, NAPAWF Boston, QAPA, Genki Spark, Gund Kwok, Southeast Asian Coalition, Nepali Women’s Global Network, Families for Depression Awareness, AAWPI, 

NAMI, ATASK, Asian Boston Media Group, JB Line, Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research 

CHIEN-CHI HUANG 

ALIST Magazine: Why are Asian 

cultures behind on the discussion on 

mental health? 

Chien-Chi Huang: Shame and guilt 

are major factors that prevent Asian 

Americans from discussing mental 

health issues. Asian cultures emphasize 

the collective good and discourage airing 

dirty laundry that might disrupt the 

harmony in the family/community. 

It’s a combination of Asian pride (we are 

compelled to fit the “Model Minority” 

myth), erroneous health beliefs, and ignorance 

about mental health that result 

in misconceptions such as: 

• Depression is an excuse for people 

who are lazy with no motivation. 

• Only “crazy” people need to see 

shrinks. 

• People with gambling or addiction 

problems are weak, with no 

self-control or have moral defects. 

• Being gay is a phase or a fad; people 

will grow out of it. 

• People with bipolar disorder are 

dangerous to others and to themselves. 

• People with mental health issues 

are cursed or did something bad in 

their past life. 

AM: How did you get involved with 

the organization Together Empowering 

Asian Minds (TEAM)? 

CH: I’m one of the founding members 

of TEAM, which was formed in 2010 

to address the unique and unmet mental 

health needs of Asian Americans in 

Massachusetts. Ten years ago, when I 

was in treatment for breast cancer, I had 

a drug-induced manic episode. I still 

experience depression from time to time. 

Due to my lived experience, I have great 

empathy and compassion for those who 

may be going through the same thing. 

I am determined to find ways to give 

them hope and to lift their spirits! 

AM: How does this group benefit the 

community? 

CH: TEAM is important to all Asians 

because mental health impacts us ALL, 

regardless of one’s ethnicity, country of 

origin, gender, creed, educational and/ 

or socio-economic status. Although 

there is an AAPI national campaign on 

suicide prevention, HIV/AIDS and anti-bullying, 

there is no public awareness 

campaign focusing on mental health. 

We believe by engaging, educating and 

empowering key stakeholders, TEAM 

can transform how Asian American 

women and their loved ones perceive, 

process, and receive mental health services. 

We envision a world where Asian 

Americans with mental illnesses can 

speak freely, share openly and experience 

acceptance and support without shame 

and judgment. 

The website just launched: www.teamasianminds.org 

Currently, the website is focused on generating 

public awareness about mental 

health issues that are unique to Asian 

Americans, particularly female college 

students. The ultimate goal for the 

website is for it to be a one-stop portal 

for resource sharing and information 

exchange. In our next phase, we hope to 

create an online community for peers, 

host webinars and trainings, provide a 

geo-locator to connect to providers, and 

to continue to curate additional multilingual 

resources. 

AM: Your website seems to concentrate 

on female mental health. 

CH: Female college students are a 

vulnerable and underserved population 

in the mental health field. They are 

particularly subjected to intense cultural 

pressures on top of racial and gender 

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | | 713


Chien-Chi Huang, Ready to Serve, Empower and Advocate on 

Behalf of Cancer Survivors 

CHIEN-CHI HUANG 

Chien-Chi Huang started the Asian Breast Cancer Project in 2010 

after receiving her own breast cancer diagnosis. The organization has 

since grown into Asian Women for Health, and Executive Director 

Huang continues to expand cancer prevention education in the 

community. 

ALIST Magazine: Looking back at where you were when you 

started this journey, where did you think it was going to lead 

you? 

Chien-Chi Huang: When I started Asian Women for Health 

(AWFH), I just wanted to help other Asian American women 

to get the information and support they need to lead a happy, 

healthy life. I strive to make AWFH an incubator for creating a 

pipeline of Asian female leaders as peer health educators, wellness 

coaches and community advocates. 

AM: How do you define success, and how do you measure up to 


CH: I define success as knowing that what you do makes 

a difference in other's life. I am blessed to have plenty of 

opportunities of witnessing our impact in our program 

participants or even our volunteers' lives. 


CH: I worry about the rise of nationalism and racism and how 

that divides our country and makes the world a terrible place to 

live for our children and their children. 

AM: If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do 

with the money? 

CH: I would invest in social impact companies and make 

wonderful memories with my loved ones. 


truthfully answer one question, who would you select and what 

is the question? 

CH: I would ask Sir Richard Branson: "How do you develop 

great leaders that inspire others to lead?" 


CH: ALIST is an important publication that sheds lights on 

issues concerning Asian Americans with insights from Asian 

American leaders. 


HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

ALIST MAGAZINE 

A-POSELENOV 



JOEY CHAN

Open Call for 

Article Submissions 

Looking for Volunteers 

Who are Interested in Being: 

Editors 

Copy Editors 

Writers 

Graphic Artists 

Photographers 

Sales 

Marketing 

Research 

Admin 

For more information, please email Catherine@alist-magazine.com 

QUINTANILLA 


ALIST Magazine Self-Reflection 

by Catherine Law 

AsiAn AmericAn leAdership 

WINTER 2013 

SPRING 2013 

the 

2012 care.com's 

winners 

DOMINATING THE 

SHEILA MARCELO 

SERVICE INDUSTRY 

WITH A $100 

SUMMER 2014 

Issue 6 

$3.99 

MILLION BET 

SPRING 2015 

yul 

Issue 8 

$3.99 

kwon THE 

revealed 

HOLIDAY 2013/2014 

SPRING 2014 

 

Youngest In 

the VC Game 

ErnESTInE FU and 

BrIan Wong arE 

TakIng STarTUpS 

By STorm 

Hines Ward 

Athlete, Activist, Sportscaster, Son 

HOLIDAY 

The renaissance FEMALE 

2014/2015 

man on facing fears, career, LEADERS 

Issue 7 

$3.99 

SUMMER 2015 

THE and leadership 

ISSUE 

disruptors 

 

Issue 9 

$3.99 

Autumn 2012 | Alist-mAgAzine.com 

SHEILA MARCELO • ANN LEE • ALICE HUANG • VIVIAN WONG • EVERYDAY HEROES 

HOLIDAY 2015/2016 

 

Issue 10 

THE 

ISSUE 

$3.99 

THE 

 

DAVID HENRY HWANG • APA HERITAGE MONTH • SOPHIA TONG • DONALD FAN 

THE 

ISSUE 

 


FALL 2016 

ISSUE 

Issue 12 

$3.99 VISIONARY THE ENTREPRENEUR 


THE WOMEN IN STEM ISSUE 

ANNIVERSARY ISSUE ISSUE 

2017/2018 


ISSUE 14 

THE COMMUNITY 

PADMASREE WARRIOR, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY & STRATEGY OFFICER OF CISCO 

ISSUE FOLLOW THE YOUR DREAMS 

PERSEVERANCE ISSUE 

ISSUE 

SPRING 2016 

Issue 11 

$3.99 

THE CAREER 

COMMITMENT 

THE ISSUE ANNIVERSARY 

ISSUE 

 

 

Glenn Sugiyama, Managing Partner and Global 

Sports Practice Leader at DHR International 

We launched ALIST Magazine back in 

2012 with just a handful of passionate 

volunteers and now we are still standing 

strong celebrating our 5th year in 

publication. Our revolving doors have 

given many of our team members a 

great start in their careers and many are 

successful. The most important part of this 

magazine is the tremendous support that 

we have from the National Association of 

Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). 

They have given us the freedom to 

creatively evolve into ALIST Magazine. 

In this particular issue, I began my own 

journey as the Executive Editor of ALIST 

Magazine. I was behind the scenes up to 

now and driving the direction of each issue 

has been and still is a work of passion and 

pure dedication. My family and friends, 

 

 




still to this day, cannot fathom why I do 

this for free and for the past 5 years! They 

ask ‘why do all this hard work for people 

who may not read the magazine?’ To me 

the answer is rather simple, I just love 

what I do and because I want to do it. 

My frustrations with interviews and the 

production is ultimately my motivation. 

There is a clear and defined goal of putting 

out an issue within the deadline and 

knowing that this is exactly what I wanted 

and was not afraid to spend all of my time 

and energy to releasing the magazine to 

our readers. 

Celebrating our 5th year is a huge 

milestone for us. This has translated into 

14 issues produced 3 times a year with 

over thousands of hours of volunteered 

time – so a lot of blood, sweat and tears 

have gone into each issue. 

There are many meanings to the number 5 

and here are some of them: 

1. There are 5 blessings in China 

(wealth, happiness, longevity, luck, 

prosperity) 

2. In Chinese astrology, there are 5 

elements (metal, wood, water, fire, 

earth) 

3. 5 main grains in China (rice, two 

kinds of millet, wheat, beans) 

4. 5 flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, 

salty) 

5. It is the number of the human being 

where it symbolizes the four limbs 

and the head 

6. There are 5 senses (sight, sound, taste, 

smell, touch) 

7. There are 5 vowels 

8. A starfish has 5 arms 

9. An earthworm has 5 hearts 

10. 10) there are 5 players on a basketball 

team 

11. In a quintet there are 5 musicians 

12. 5 Olympic Rings for the 5 Continents 

(Blue Ring: Europe, Yellow Ring: 

Asian, Black Ring: Africa, Green 

Ring: Oceania, Red Ring: America) 

13. There are 5 books of the Torah 

14. 5 pillars of Islam 

15. We celebrate with ‘High Fives’ 

16. 5 Great Lakes (Lake Erie, Lake 

Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake 

Ontario, Lake Superior) 

We are all busy with our daily lives and 

keeping up with the newest technology 

that we forget to take a moment to selfreflect. 

Many take time in the morning 

before they begin their days to journal 

and write their thoughts, dreams, rants, 

distractions, things that just come up so 

that they are cleared and free to think 

for the rest of the day. At ALIST, our 

articles give you the introspection of the 

lives of CEOs, leaders, actors/actress, 

directors, filmmakers, authors, musicians 

and many others. We provide a glimpse 

into their lives, hoping that you can make 

a connection with their story. 

We consciously think about each issue 

and it continues to be a journey of routine 

with hiccups here and there – as in life 

there are always bumps in the road. With 

these bumps, we cannot lose our sense of 

balance and what is important. 

With all of these amazing issues, we 

realize what we are doing great and should 

and will be doing more in 2018 and 

beyond. Each writer and each individual 

that we interview has given us a different 

view point about their own personal 

journey in life with their own strengths 

and weaknesses. 

Reflecting about the past should help the 

present and the future. I encourage all of 

you to continue this journey with my staff 

and I by giving a bit of yourself by reading 

each issue and spreading the word about 

ALIST Magazine, so that this can be our 

future legacy of the new generation of 

leaders! 


C 

CAREER 

Working Hard and Playing Hard 

with Joyce Tang 

an auditorium full of boys, so I’m particularly passionate about 

attracting more girls into STEM. It saddens me to see our schools 

cutting budgets for music and the arts. A very good friend of 

mine is a talented music teacher, and yet her job offers no benefits 

and her hours are being cut. As a nation, we need to invest more 

into the younger generations, so we can continue to be the leader 

on the world stage. I do whatever I can, by donating to school 

programs and sponsoring the San Diego Mayor’s Cup where high 

school students compete in a hacking competition. 

AM: You are the Founder and Chief Customer Happiness 

Officer of AgilisIT. Why did you name your company AgilisIT, 

and what do you do as the Chief Customer Happiness Officer? 

JT: Our name came from the Latin word agilis, which means 

being agile. I love that it describes who we are so well – as our 

clients’ technology advisors, we’re constantly navigating the 

"As our clients' technology advisors, 

we're constantly navigating the fastchanging 

landscape of technology 

and guiding our clients through the 

curves." 

Joyce Tang is the founder and Chief Customer Happiness Officer of 

AgilisIT, which offers technology consulting and services in the biotech 

and healthcare industries. Tang sat down with ALIST to discuss her 

experiences in the field as well as her love for dogs. 

ALIST Magazine: You graduated from UCLA with a degree in 

Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering; what are 

your thoughts on STEAM/STEM? 

Joyce Tang: I’m a huge supporter of STEAM/STEM. While 

both my education and career are related to technology, I love 

art and design. I was in both AP Calculus and AP Art in high 

school and I loved how they tap into different areas of my brain. 

In my college engineering classes, I was often the only girl in 

JOYCE TANG 

fast-changing landscape of technology and guiding our clients 

through the curves. 

AM: With security breaches and identity theft, how can a 

company and an individual protect themselves online? 

JT: That’s a great question. A lot of the breaches can be prevented 

if we are just a bit more careful before disclosing information 

online. Nowadays we put so much of our personal information on 

social media; there are a lot of goodies that cybercriminals can use 

against you. “What’s your high school mascot” is a very common 

security question to reset passwords, and guess what, you may 

have listed your high school on Facebook. 

AM: You work with health and science companies; why not 

expand to other industries? 

JT: Yes, we’re very knowledgeable with the unique technical and 

regulatory needs of health and science companies, and our clients 


love that we have the domain expertise. Largely through word of 

mouth, many companies in other industries also found us. They 

appreciate the level of care we put into leveraging technology 

towards their success. We’re their Sherpas as they climb the 

Everest of their industry, not only do we provide guidance, we 

do the heavy lifting too! What makes us most proud is that 

many clients have become so successful that they have sold their 

companies: there have been more than $1.2 billion (yes, with a B) 

dollars of acquisition among them. 

AM: Recently you won the Sam’s Club American Small 

Business Champions Award; what sacrifices did you make to 

help your business to become successful? 

JT: Long working hours would certainly be the first thing that 

comes to mind. There’s a lot of talk about work/life balance 

and being unplugged. It’s good to avoid burnouts, but for an 

entrepreneur to squeeze him/herself into that mold, it actually 

creates more stress. I started my company when I was in my 

late 20s. Then when I turned 30, I thought I had to follow that 

preaching so I tried to stay unplugged on my days off. Those who 

are in sales will cringe at this: A prospect had an end-of-fiscal 

year budget of $60k he wanted to spend at the last minute, and 

because he couldn’t reach me, I lost that business. So now I do it 

my way. If I’m going camping on my day off, I would enjoy every 

moment but I’ll also be reachable. I won’t suppress thoughts of 

business; I would in fact relax my mind because the best ideas 

often come to me that way. I think that’s sustainable work/life 

balance for entrepreneurs. 

AM: What does SCORE mean to you? Why should other 

startups use it? 

JT: As the oldest child, I was the first in my immigrant family 

to go to college, to become a homeowner in the U.S. and then 

a business owner. Of those three firsts, starting a business is 

the most complex, so a year or two into my business, I wanted 

"I won't suppress thoughts of 

business; I would in fact relax my mind 

because the best ideas often come to 

me that way." 

to better myself and I found SCORE. My relationship with 

SCORE mentors evolved just like a date: We first emailed, then 

we met at a café, then at my office, now I’m a part of their CEO 

Forum where CEO’s meet monthly in a small group setting to 

openly discuss business issues. Startups and established businesses 

can really benefit from the advice of mentors who have founded, 

managed and/or sold companies worth hundreds of millions. 

"When we see our peers who seem 

to have it together, we start to doubt 

ourselves. The truth is, they may have 

been faking it, so we should not be 

discouraged by their façade." 

AM: Are women are still minorities in technology? If so, how 

can we change this? 

JT: While statistics show that women now take up almost 50 

percent of their medical school graduating class, technology still 

seems to be that next frontier. We can help by creating a nonintimidating 

environment where they feel comfortable to try and 

fail. If they know that they’re not alone and there are people who 

are rooting for their success, they will be more empowered to stay. 

AM: You co-founded Woof ’s Life --please tell us why you 

started this and how involved you are? 

JT: Woof ’s Life is a grassroot effort started by volunteers working 

in the evenings. I love to root for the underdogs. I myself may 

have been one – being in a career where I’m the triple minority. 

I don’t understand why mixed-breed dogs don’t get the love their 

pure-bred cousins do. I want to do something to change that, and 

I think the best way is to celebrate them thus educating the public 

about adoption. A good friend of mine is a brilliant designer, and 

it’s amazing how she is able to transform my vision into reality. 

AM: What advice would you give to a women entrepreneur 

starting out today? 

JT: I was invited to speak at a women entrepreneur event recently 

where I gave the same parting advice – believe in yourself. I have 

to admit, I have to remind myself of that sometimes. Perhaps as 

part of our evolution, we tend to judge ourselves more harshly. 

When we see our peers who seem to have it together, we start to 

doubt ourselves. The truth is, they may have been faking it, so we 

should not be discouraged by their façade. 

AM: What is a splurge/gift to yourself when you decide to go 

crazy? 

JT: My parents set great examples of living within your means. 

When we first immigrated to the U.S., it was very challenging 

for my parents to find jobs because their work experiences 

were underappreciated by U.S. employers looking for college 

credentials. So I learned to be frugal as a teenager and haven’t 

changed much since. I always say I’m a sucker for all things on 

wheels. The biggest splurge I’ve ever made was a Tesla that I had 

bought myself as birthday present. 


WHEN WE SAY FULL SERVICE, WE MEAN IT! 

With more than 1,100 attorneys working in offices from Los Angeles to New York 

and Seattle to Miami, our clients know firsthand the meaning and value of full 

service. From the moment we step into the office each day, our purpose is to fulfill 

our clients’ needs and provide results that exceed their expectations. 

Peter J. Woo 

Partner, Los Angeles, CA 

Peter.Woo@lewisbrisbois.com | 213.599.7898 

Peter Woo is a partner in the Los Angeles office of 

Lewis Brisbois whose practice is focused on 

complex civil litigation. Specifically, Mr. Woo has 

experience in labor and employment matters, 

including defending employers and management 

involving state and federal claims of discrimination, 

harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and 

wage and hour matters. Mr. Woo also provides 

preventative counseling to employers on hiring 

practices, terminations, workplace investigations, 

and crafting employee policies in an effort to assist 

in reducing the risk of litigation. 

LewisBrisbois.com 


Growing Up Asian American with Gracie Kim 

This March, fiction author Gracie Kim just published her first children’s novel (ages 9-12), “Please Love Umma,” a coming-of-age story of a 

Korean American girl. Here, Kim talks with ALIST about her inspirations, Korean heritage and activism. 

SHELLY PERRY PHOTOGRAPHY 

ALIST Magazine: Your book “Please Love 

Umma” was released in earlier this year. Tell 

us about it. 

Gracie Kim: Before I started writing “Please 

Love Umma,” I knew I wanted to capture a 

part of the uniqueness of growing up as an 

Asian American child in Los Angeles and 

explore real-life struggles that other children 

could relate to or were curious about. I really 

wanted to delve into deep, philosophical 

topics for children. My experiences with 

prejudice, death, violence, racism and religion 

at a young age led me to seek out Asian 

American literary works for children with 

such themes as well as characters I could 

fully identify with, but I couldn’t find any. 

This story was also written as an ode to my 

mother. I wanted to empower her by giving 

her a voice and some semblance of justice 

and dignity. I felt like she was always left out 

and suffered silently through the duration 

of my childhood and her 20-plus years of 

marriage to my father. Hopefully it is a story 

that will resonate in the hearts of young 

readers. 

AM: How much of this book was based on 

your own real-life experiences? 

GK: Almost all of it was loosely based on 

real-life experiences. I did change some 

major details for the sake of the story. For 

example, Umma dies in the book, but my 

mother is still alive and well, whereas my 

father (Abba) has passed on. 

AM: You come from a family of writers. 

Was it important that you were a writer? 

GK: I was never really given the chance to 

ponder about becoming a writer because I’ve 

been writing my entire life, ever since I could 

hold a pencil. It started with short stories and 

transitioned to journals and then novels. My 

father never pushed me to pursue writing as 

a career, but because I revered him so much, 

I grew up wanting to be an author just like 

him. 

AM: Was writing your first children’s novel 

easy? Why or why not? 

GK: It was easy in the sense that I didn’t 

have to brainstorm on the content. The 

experiences the character goes through in the 

story are similar to the ones I had growing 

up. It was just a matter of putting everything 

down on paper in a manner suitable and 

enjoyable for children. It actually took 

longer to finish than some of my completed 

manuscripts for young adult and adult 

readers. 

AM: “Please Love Umma” is now available 

in some public libraries; what was the 

process for this? 

GK: The libraries that did catalog my book 

were all done by walk-ins or through filling 

out a form online. I visited the children’s 

librarian in-person at countless libraries 

and donated my book to those who were 

interested in having it available for their 

readers. The Malaga Cove Public Library in 

"My experiences with prejudice, death, violence, 

racism and religion at a young age led me to seek 

out Asian American literary works for children with 

themes as well as characters I could fully identify 

with, but I couldn't find any." 

California was the first to catalog my book. 

The first library I did a walk-in was the same 

library I frequented as a child, and I was 

crushed because they were not as inviting 

and friendly as I remembered them to be. To 

give them some credit, it is understandable 

since they had never heard of me or my book. 


The walk-in at the Palos Verdes Public 

Library in California was the most 

memorable because the children’s librarian 

there, Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, 

who’s also the president of the Asian/ 

Pacific American Librarians Association, 

was really gracious, warm, and utterly kind 

to me. I can’t imagine any child meeting her 

at the library and leaving without a love for 

literature. 

AM: What does being Korean mean to you? 

GK: Being Korean means so many things 

to me, and I also believe that being Korean- 

American adds another element and has 

a different connotation. The meaning of 

being Korean or Korean-American has also 

evolved over time. Currently, being Korean- 

American means that I have a responsibility 

to my community to be cognizant of my 

actions so that we continue to improve 

and progress. For me personally, this stems 

from the oppression in Korea with gender 

equality being the lowest in all OECD 

countries, Korea being known as the mecca 

for plastic surgery, Korea’s pedagogy system 

where children are put under excruciatingly 

intense academic pressures starting from a 

very young age and end up as runaways, the 

high number of Korean women who are 

trapped in sexual exploitation, and Korea 

having prospered so quickly in such a short 

span of time but always in fear of basically 

going back to what it was before. We reap 

so many benefits from a flourishing nation, 

but we also see the ugliness rear its head 

through the growing pains of the country. 

Despite the great accomplishments Koreans 

have achieved in the past few decades, Korea 

is still ranked in the top three nations with 

the highest suicide rates in the world. I really 

do love my mother country, and having been 

born in the U.S., I feel more empowered 

not only as a Korean, but also as a Korean- 

American to contribute in influencing both 

societies simultaneously. This doesn’t mean 

go out and change everyone. It means start 

by looking within yourself and what you’re 

doing to represent your side of humanity and 

the values that God expects us to uphold. 

AM: Have you visited Korea? 

GK: I have visited Korea many times. I’ve 

lived there multiple times throughout my 

life as well: almost a year during my middle 

school years and then another few years in 

my late twenties to early thirties. One of the 

best parts of my experience of living abroad 

in Korea is that I met my husband there. He 

was born and raised in New York but was out 

in Asia finishing a short program related to 

his thesis while getting his masters at MIT. I 

was out there doing non-profit work fighting 

sex trafficking. We met through a mutual 

friend unexpectedly. 

AM: What advice would you give to an upand- 

coming writer today that you wish you 

had known? 

GK: Not all readers write, but writers must 

read constantly, so it’s imperative that you 

figure out what you like to read. Don’t waste 

time reading what you don’t enjoy. I read a 

lot of books I didn’t enjoy when I was young 

and this made me go through a period 

where reading was agonizing. Secondly, 

write what you would want to read and share 

with others. It took me many incomplete 

manuscripts to come to that realization. 

When I was in my mid-20s, I would start 

working on stories that I thought the reader 

would like versus what I wanted to explore 

and share with them. I was never able to 

finish them. I think it’s important to take 

your audience into consideration, but it can 

also stifle the creative process if you’re only 

looking to please. The writer Toni Morrison, 

once said: “If there’s a book you really want 

to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then 

you must write it.” I think this a good mantra 

to write by. 

AM: Do you have a favorite author? 

GK: Since “Please Love Umma” is a 

children’s novel, I’ll name my favorite 

children’s authors. I had quite an obsession 

with the works of Kate DiCamillo and 

Eleanor Estes as a child. Many of their 

stories touch upon philosophical topics 

relating to death, prejudice, forgiveness, 

friendship, racism, judgment, and religion. 

I am moved and fulfilled by studying the 

depths of humanity. 

AM: What was the last book you read? 

GK: The last book I read was “Everything, 

Everything” by Nicola Yoon. 

AM: If you had to write your own 

biography, what would you title it and why? 

GK: If I had to write my own biography, 

I would title it: “Life of a Gyopo Girl.” 

“Gyopo” refers to Koreans who were born or 

live outside of Korea. 

AM: You are also an activist with a 

nonprofit fighting against sex trafficking 

in the Korean community; why is this 

important to you? 

GK: This is very important to me as a 

Korean American because of the enormity 

of the situation in Korean society. I believe 

that I have a responsibility to serve the 

community with humility, acknowledging 

that we are all broken people who are in need 

of love, and also respecting others without 

judging different backgrounds, religions, 

family dynamics, educational levels, careers, 

skin colors and interests. 

In 2009, I lost a very close childhood friend 

who was exploited and trafficked by her own 

aunt and eventually ended up losing her life 

in the industry at the age of 24. This incident 

prompted me to start working out in the field 

fighting the pandemic of sex trafficking for 

many years in Asia and South America. In 

2014, I decided to start my own organization, 

Light in the Night, in my hometown of 

Koreatown, Los Angeles. Today, we conduct 

regular outreach to locations of sexual 

"Today, we conduct regular outreach to locations 

of sexual exploitation and trafficking in the Korean 

community." 

exploitation and trafficking in the Korean 

community. We build relationships with the 

owners, pimps, drivers, and workers, and 

we’ve been involved in shutting down and 

transforming many locations through the 

grace of God. We also speak at conferences 

and instill education to the younger 

generations for prevention. Last year, my 

team of volunteers and I went to Asia where 

we partnered with other organizations in 

fighting child sex trafficking in Cambodia. 

AM: What is your next project? 

GK: On the artistic side, I am working on 

a film that will hopefully be a contribution 

to Asian American artistry when it comes 

to fruition in about a year or so. I’m also 

working on my second children’s book for 

the same age group (9-12) as “Please Love 

Umma.” I can’t reveal the title yet, but the 

premise is set around two Korean-Americans 

and their friendship. On the non-artistic 

side, I will be starting my own consulting 

company this November, Light Consultancy, 

which will offer certification and training 

programs for HR departments and 

corporations struggling with issues related to 

the sex industry here in the U.S. and while 

traveling abroad. 


Matthew Salesses was a writer for ALIST Magazine and we are asking 

our ALIST family to make a donation. 

For Matt and His Family 

Matthew Salesses is a cherished writer, teacher, and friend in the Asian American and 

larger literary community. Matt Salesses’s wife Cathreen was unexpectedly diagnosed with 

Stage 4 stomach cancer, and for the past year, has been battling cancer through long term 

hospitalization. The funds will go to his family medical expenses and is a loving gesture of our 

solidarity and care during this time. Your vital contribution will support Matt’s family. We hope 

you can join us in supporting Matt and his family during this time. 

Please visit 

https://www.youcaring.com/mattandcathreensalesses-802414 

for more information. 


Essential Dining Etiquette Rules 

List 

It is rude to talk on your phone or text while in 

the company of others, so turn off your cell phone 

before sitting down. 

Never talk when you have food in your mouth. 

Even if someone asks you a question, wait until 

you swallow before answering. 

Taste your food before you add salt, pepper, or 

other seasoning. This may be insulting to the chef, 

host or hostess. 

Compliment the hostess if you like the food, but do 

not voice your opinion if you do not. 

Use your utensils for eating, not gesturing. 

Keep your elbows off the table and rest the hand 

in your lap. 

Eat slowly and pace yourself to finish at the same 

approximate time as the host or hostess. 

Do not cut all your food before you begin eating. 

You should cut one or two bites at a time. 

Avoid burping or making other rude sounds at 

the table. 

Never blow on your food. If it is hot, wait a few 

minutes for it to cool off. Also, scoop your soup 

away from you. 

Some foods are meant to be eaten with your fingers. 

Follow the lead of the host or hostess. 

If you are drinking from a stemmed glass, hold it 

by the stem. 

Break your bread into bite-sized pieces and butter 

only one bite at a time. 

If you spill something at a restaurant, signal one 

of the servers to help. If you spill something at a 

private dinner party in someone’s home, pick it 

up and blot the spill. Offer to have it professionally 

cleaned if necessary. 

When you finish eating, leave your utensils on 

your plate or in your bowl. 

Never use a toothpick or dental floss at the table. 

You may reapply your lipstick, but do not freshen 

the rest of your makeup at the table. 

Try at least one or two bites of everything on 

your plate, unless you are allergic to it. 

RADIOBLURS 


Phototgraphy 

By Jackie Ho 

Events 

Portraits 

Food 


ohho-design.com/other/photography 

ohhodesign@gmail.com 

New York City

An Interview with Novelist Weike Wang 

BY MICHAEL MALINER 

Weike Wang’s debut novel “Chemistry,” published by Knopf, has received accolades from the likes of The Washington Post, The New York Times 

and Kirkus, as well as the literary community at large. 

“Chemistry” is about a Chinese chemist who, while working on her PhD in the United States, comes to terms with not wanting to spend her 

life as research scientist — while struggling to reconcile Chinese and American cultural norms around gender, academics, careers, identity and 

relationships. 

Wang and writer Michael Maliner caught up via email to discuss her book as well as her experiences as an Asian woman who immigrated to the 

U.S. 

to America. You need sponsorship/work, and so we did it the 

standard but very long way. 

MM: Do you remember realizing that you stood out because 

you looked different than most Americans, or because you 

spoke a different language? 

WW: I was fluent in English when I came to the States, so 

language was never a problem. I do, however, remember learning 

English in Australia. It was hard. But over time, I just started 

to understand the language. Looking back at those pictures, I 

see now that I was the only Asian person in my class. But then, 

I didn’t realize. No one made fun of me, we were all elementary 

school kids. In Canada, I was made fun of for my Aussie accent, 

so I dropped it. Then in the U.S., I became more aware of my 

race just because that’s what happens when you get older. You get 

more self conspicuous/people get meaner, etc. 

"In the U.S., I became more aware 

of my race just because that's what 

happens when you get older." 

SAAVEDRA PHOTOGRAPHY 

Michael Maliner: Like the nameless protagonist in 

“Chemistry,” you are the only child of Chinese immigrants. Do 

you remember coming to America? 

Weike Wang: Of course, I came here when I was 12. But I had 

learned English beforehand. I left China when I was 5, lived for 

5 years in Australia, then 2 years in Canada, before coming to 

the States. This is fairly standard. Very few families come direct 

MM: Were you among few Asians in primarily white schools? 

WW: Yes. I went to school in some very rural places. Literally 

everyone was blonde, and I suspected something was in the 

water. I am not sure if kids in grade school really recognize this 

too much. We were all similar in that we were all kids with kid 

tendency. But kids are mean. In grade school, a lot of them are 

pushing boundaries. I remember a few kids would ask me if X was 

true in China. 

X could have been: 

• Eat dog. 

• Eat shit. 

• Crawl on the ground and eat shit/dog. 

• Walk backwards. 


Everyone was a nerd/geek/whatever the word is now. Everyone 

did the equivalent of seven APs (required). Suddenly it wasn’t 

such a bad thing to be smart. No one teased you for being smart. 

To be honest, I don’t know why being smart is such a bad thing 

— if being smart means that you can think and read, then perhaps 

everyone should learn how to think and read. 

MM: Like your protagonist, you studied chemistry as an 

undergraduate at Harvard, where you went on to receive your 

PhD in public health. Did you feel that science was expected of 

you as a profession? 

WW: Quite a bit. But not what you think. Maybe you think 

because I had an Asian upbringing, this was expected. That’s 

partly true but don’t forget that I also did it to myself. I was 

GOOD at math and science. Sometimes things are expected 

of you when you turn out to be good at something and that 

something is a bit more valued in society. 

MM: Has the model minority stereotype affected you as a 

Chinese woman growing up in America? 

WW: Well, I think Chinese women probably have it the worst. 

We are the model minority, the emotionless robot, the quiet lotus 

leaf. I don’t think the angry Asian woman is a thing. So I suppose 

being the model minority in America meant that I was often seen 

as quiet. I did my job, I didn’t speak up. And if I didn’t speak up 

then that must mean that I didn’t have much to say. 

To answer your question, it was another reason I started writing. 

MM: What made you stand out the most? 

WW: I was smart. I think some people start to get insecure when 

you are much smarter than them, and when you ask questions, 

MM: One of the most touching passages in the book is when 

the protagonist explains that “[a] new fear I have is that I am 

losing my Chinese-ness. It is just flaking off me like dead skin. 

And below that skin is my American-ness.” Is this a fear you 

and she share? 

WW: I don’t speak Chinese that much anymore. When I lived 

at home, I spoke it every day for hours. Now I speak it for 20 

"To be honest, I don't know why being smart is such a bad thing – if being 

smart means that you can think and read, then perhaps everyone should learn 

how to think and read." 

that somehow bothers them. When I first came to America, I 

realized that Americans don’t value intellect. The most popular 

kids are the dumbest kids. Girls tend to act dumber to get 

attention from boys. Isn’t that sad? I thought it was sad. 

MM: Did this change once you reached high school? 

WW: I went to a math and science high school. It was a “testin.” 

We didn’t have sports. You can imagine what that was like. 

minutes every other week when I call my parents. It’s gotten to 

the point where I am considering joining Chinese clubs just so I 

can talk to some people. The fear I have is that eventually when 

my parents pass, I will forget everything. Not just language but 

food, humor, and along with this, cultural sentiments. This is 

inevitable. The rootlessness that I would feel when I’m older scares 

the crap out of me. 


Saying Happy New Year in 

Different Asian Languages List 

Armenian: Շնորհավոր Նոր Տարի 

Lao: ສະບາຍດີປີໃຫມ່ 

Azerbaijani: Yeni iliniz mübarək 

Malayalam: പുതുവത്സരാശംസകൾ 

Bengali: শুভ নব বর্ষ 

Marathi: नवीन वर्षाच्या शुभेच्छा 

Chinese Simplified: 新年快乐 

Mongolian: Шинэ жилийн мэнд хүргэе 

Chinese Traditional: 新年快樂 

Myanmar (Burmese): ပျော်ရွှင်ဖွယ်နှ စ်သစ် 

Georgian: გილოცავთ ახალ წელს 

Nepali: नयाँ बर्षको शुभकामना 

Gujarati: સાલ મુબારક\ 

Sinhala: සුභ නව වසරක් 

Hindi: हैप्पी न्यू ईयर 

Tajik: Соли Нав Муборак 

Hmong: Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab 

Tamil: புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள் 

Japanese: 明けましておめでとうございます 

Telugu: నూతన సంవత్సర శుభాకాంక్షలు 

Kannada: ಹೊಸ ವರ್ಷದ ಶುಭಾಶಯ 

Thai: สวัสดีปีใหม่ 

Kazakh: Жаңа жыл құтты болсын 

وہ کرابم لاس این Urdu: 

Khmer: រីករាយឆ្នាំថ្មី 

Uzbek: Yangi yilingiz bilan 

Korean: 새해 복 많이 받으세요 

Vietnamese: Chúc mừng năm mới 

LISA MUENZ 


Where Did Your Favorite Drink 

Come From? 

Air Mata Kucing, Malaysia 

Baileys Original Irish Cream, Ireland 

Bubble Tea, Taiwan 

Caipirinha, Brazil 

Cendol, Indonesia 

Champagne, France 

Chocolate Milkshake, United States 

Cider, England 

Coca-Cola, United States 

Coffee, Ethiopia 

Eggnog, England 

Es Kelapa Muda, Indonesia 

Fanta, Germany 

Gatorade, United States 

Gin And Tonic, England 

Guinness, Ireland 

Hot Chocolate With Marshmallows, United 

States 

Irish Car Bomb, United States 

Kool-Aid, United States 

Lemonade, Egypt 

Mango Lassi, India 

Martini, United States 

Mojito, Cuba 

Orange Juice, United States 

Pastis, France 

Pina Colada, Puerto Rico 

Raki, Turkey 

Raksi, Nepal 

Red Bull, Austria 

Sake, Japan 

Sangria, Spanish 

Scotch Whisky, Scotland 

Sex On The Beach, United States 

Shikuwasa Juice, Japan 

Sujeonggwa, Korea 

Tequila, Mexico 

Thai Iced Tea, Thailand 

Yakult, Japan 

Yerba Mate, South America 

MARTA ORTIZ 


S 

SPOTLIGHT 

SPOTLIGHT 

Elizabeth Yang, NAAAP National President 

In addition to being NAAAP National President, Elizabeth Yang, a certified mediator, runs her own law practice with multiple locations 

in California. We spoke with Yang about her work and inspirations. 

ALIST Magazine: How do you see your 

role in changing the world? 

Elizabeth Yang: I see my role as setting 

an example for the Asian American 

community, to inspire future leaders to 

step up and take action. I want to show the 

world that anything is possible, that there is 

no ceiling (glass or bamboo), that as long as 

you believe in yourself and believe that the 

sky is the limit, then it really is. 

AM: What is your passion? 

EY: I love giving back and supporting the 

community. Volunteer work is a huge 

passion of mine, and I will never stop 

supporting nonprofit organizations. I always 

tell people: "The getting is in the giving." In 

addition to NAAAP, I serve the Southern 

RAYMOND IP 

California Chinese Lawyers Association 

(SCCLA), the Asian Youth Center (AYC), 

the Mt. SAC Foundation, City Club's 

Board of Governors and the Pasadena 

Tournament of Roses. 

AM: What are some things that you can't 

leave the house without? 

EY: The two things I can't leave the house 

without include my phone and my At-A- 

Glance weekly planner. Yes, I'm old school, 

and even though I share a Google calendar 

with my work staff, I still like writing my todo 

items down and checking them off each 

day as I complete them. 

AM: Name three people you admire and 

why. 

EY: Condoleezza Rice, Judy Chu and 

Lady Gaga. Not only is Condoleezza 

Rice female and 9% Asian, but she is 

ambitious, determined and perseveres. She 

stands for what she believes in, advocates 

for female empowerment and gives back 

to the community through nonprofit 

organizations. Judy Chu is similar and has 

risen from city-level leadership all the way 

to the U.S. Congress. She is an inspiration 

for Asian American women everywhere, 

and I admire her consistency, her strength 

and her voice. Last but not least, I admire 

Lady Gaga for showing the community that 

each of us is unique, we have nothing to be 

ashamed of because we are all flawed in our 

own perfect way and we can be whoever we 

want to be in life. 

AM: Who has been the biggest influence 

on your life? What lessons did that person 

teach you? 

EY: My mother has been the biggest 

influence in my life. As a single mom and a 

traditional tiger mom, she not only instilled 

discipline in me but she also taught me how 

to utilize love, patience and communication 

in my everyday life. If I would do something 

wrong as a child, she would spend hours 

talking to me late into the night until 

I understand her thought process and 

reasoning rather than utilizing anger to yell 

at me. She taught me what it meant to be 

hard-working, organized and devoted. 

AM: What traditions have been passed 

down in your family? 

EY: The tightness and closeness of family 

has definitely been passed down over the 

generations. My grandmother was a firm 

believer in this and brought the entire family 

together every Thanksgiving, Christmas, 

New Year, birthdays, etc. Even to this day, 

we have 20-30 people gather together for 

the holidays to celebrate together and we 

make sure our travel plans don't conflict 

with the holidays. 

AM: How has diversity changed in the last 

ten years? 

EY: Diversity has changed for the better in 

the last 10 years, but we still have a lot of 

room for improvement. Asia has replaced 

Latin America (including Mexico) as the 

biggest source of new immigrants to the 

U.S.; women's role in the labor force and 

leadership positions has grown drastically; 

and the U.S. Census Bureau projects that 

non-Hispanic whites will in the near future 

no longer be the majority of the population. 

The U.S. is indeed a melting pot and 

continues to be more culturally diverse with 

every passing day. 

AM: What are you reading lately? 

EY: Some of the books I've been reading 

lately include: "High-Hanging Fruit" by 

Mark Rampolla, "Are You Getting It?" by 

John Hanley, "The Cheat Code" by Brian 

Wong and "Relentless" by Tim S. Grover. 


S 

SPOTLIGHT 

SPOTLIGHT 

Rose Olea, NAAAP Chicago Chapter President 

Co-founder and COO of the Asian American Community Exchange (AACE) Rose Olea also serves as the President of NAAAP-Chicago, 

of which she is the longest-running president of the chapter. In recognition of her numerous contributions to the community, Olea received 

the Filipino American Hall of Fame Award in 2017. 

ROSE OLEA 

ALIST Magazine: How do you see your 

role in changing the world? 

Rose Olea: As Chapter President, I 

don’t see this role in helping change the 

world. Instead, I see this role to inspire 

future leaders to take risks and change 

the world. I am passionate about finding 

opportunities for potential leaders to 

stretch their limits and try new ideas 

within the safety of NAAAP. The chapter 

has benefited greatly in programs, 

sponsorships, and membership because 

of my willingness to give individuals a 

platform to see their ideas come to life. 

AM: What is your passion? 

RO: My passion is working in the 

Asian American community. I’ve had 

the pleasure of working in the Chinese 

community, South Asian community, the 

Korean community, and of course the 

Filipino community not only through 

NAAAP, but also through my fulltime 

job. I love addressing challenges 

and fixing problems to better our 

communities. I’ve had the pleasure of 

working on fundraising and development, 

technology and process improvement 

projects to name a few. 

AM: What are some things that you 

can't leave the house without? 

RO: Number one is my smartphone. It is 

amazing how dependent we all are with 

our phones. I also can’t leave without 

bringing a small notebook. Despite all 

the technology available, sometimes I 

will jot down my thoughts, ideas, and 

even lists to keep me on track of all that 

needs to be accomplished. 

AM: Name three people you admire 

and why. 

RO: The first two are my grandmothers. 

They were the matriarchs of the family 

and the main reasons we got together 

for dinners, holidays, and birthdays. The 

other people I admire are single mothers. 

As a single mother myself, I personally 

know what it is like to have to balance 

work and family. I had it easier than 

others because I had a very good support 

network (my family) to help me; not all 

single mothers are that lucky, and yet 

they persevere and succeed. 

AM: How has diversity changed in the 

last 10 years? 

RO: Ten years ago, if you asked what 

diversity represents, you almost always 

thought of ethnic diversity – African, 

Latino, and Asian. Now, diversity has 

broadened to include LGBTQ, veterans, 

Muslims, people with disabilities, parents, 

etc. I feel the momentum has shifted 

from trying to appreciate diversity to now 

being inclusive. We do not diminish the 

importance of what makes people unique, 

but instead accept it and figure out how it 

makes your organization stronger. 

AM: What are you reading lately? 

RO: I’m actually writing more than 

reading of late. It’s one of my hobbies, 

and when I allow myself a little 

downtime I will jot down my thoughts 

and experiences in story form in the 

notebook I can’t live without! 



Are You Watching These TV 

Shows? 

9JKL, CBS 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC 

Alex, Inc., ABC 

Andi Mack, Disney 

Brown Nation, Netflix 

Champions, NBC 

Chicago Med, NBC 

Designated Survivor, ABC 

Elementary, CBS 

Fresh Off the Boat, ABC 

Ghosted, Fox 

Hawaii Five-0, CBS 

Into the Badlands, Netflix 

Lifeline, YouTube Red 

Master of None, Netflix 

Quantico, ABC 

Reverie, NBC 

Rise, NBC 

Runaways, Hulu 

S.W.A.T., CBS 

Star Trek: Discovery, CBS 

The Crossing, ABC 

The Gifted, Fox 

The Good Doctor, CBS 

The Mindy Project, Hulu 

The Resident, Fox 

White Famous, Showtime 

Wisdom of the Crowd, CBS 

Marvel’s Inhumans, ABC 


MOODBOARD

Acting for Life with Kalista Tazlin 

Producer, writer and actress Kalista Tazlin premiered her directorial debut “In the Cards” at the 2016 Third Eye Film Festival. Huffington 

Post called the three-minute short “rapid-paced fun” and “a fine example of filmmaking for a new era”; here, Tazlin chats with ALIST 

about her previous acting roles as well as her next project. 

LISA HANCOCK 

ALIST Magazine: You started acting 

when you were young — if you were not 

acting, what would you be doing now? 

Kalista Tazlin: I think I would be finding 

my way into acting if I weren’t acting now. 

Part of the challenge of carving a career in 

acting is to stay in acting, to never give up 

even when the chips are down. Anything I 

do would be to support this career. Even if 

it means choosing an equally “impossible” 

career to do so — like trying to write the 

Great American Novel. 

AM: How did you become one of the 

faces of Comcast Xfinity Asia? What do 

you do for this role? 

KT: I applied for the role and I was over 

the moon when I got it. Then I researched 

the company further, and when I read 

that Comcast is the “largest broadcasting 

and cable television monopoly in the 

world,” the pressure was on. I wanted to 

make sure that I was razor-sharp during 

the shoot. At one point, the people from 

Comcast wanted a certain smirky smile I 

made. The director said, pointing at my 

face smirky-smiling on the screen from 

a previous take, “They want this smile. 

Can you do it again?” I was amazed by the 

specificity. 

AM: You act, produce and write — a 

triple threat. Which one has been the 

hardest? 

KT: Producing. Oh my, producing. I 

had to cultivate skills I originally do not 

entirely possess. I did not go to a film 

school nor have I worked properly on 

the production side. Everything I did, I 

taught myself through books and mistakes 

made. In this line of work you almost have 

to welcome mistakes and be so adept in 

bouncing back to go forward. The key 

thing is to keep going and keep a positive 

and fun atmosphere – that’s the most 

important. 

Acting and writing comes much more 

naturally for me. 

I was the happiest when I got a lead role 

in a play called “Hearts Afire” by Darcy 

Sternberg for the New York International 

Fringe Festival, but it was also the most 

challenging. I was playing a girl called 

Ming who cannot speak in English. I 

had to speak English with an accent and 

making sure that I do not naturally add 

the correct preposition when doing those 

long monologues in broken English. 

At a glance, this character cannot be 

further from who I am. I remembered the 

audition process was arduous. It was very 

challenging, deliciously challenging. 

There is no glory equal to auditioning 

and being cast. An actor’s glory is much 

different from a filmmaker’s or a theater 

producer’s glory. 

Writing is my first love, acting is my true 

love and producing is a necessity. 

AM: How was your directorial debut in 

the film “In The Cards”? Did it meet 

your expectation? 

KT: A thrill ride always meets my 

expectation. This is the most experimental 

little film I probably will ever do. The 

entire process was a succession of last 

minute decisions for me: making a genre 

parody out of an originally serious script, 

changing the music last minute. The song 

is aptly called ‘”Point of No Return” — 

"In this line of work you almost have to welcome 

mistakes and be so adept in bouncing back 

to go forward." 

with every major change in decisions, I 

just had to trust it and have fun. We all 

had a great laugh, and in the end that’s all 

that matters. 

AM: Why did you make “In The Cards”? 


Do you believe in Tarot cards? 

KT: I love joining filmmaking 

competitions. The first film I made 

was for the 72-hour-shootout for Asian 

American Film Lab where we had to 

make a film on a theme given to us in 

72 hours. The constraints given by these 

competitions, in this one, time and theme, 

are such a challenge to the creative mind 

and I relish these challenges. My first 

film then got into the Asian American 

International Film Festival and was aired 

on television. When I found out about 

Interpretations competition to make 

a three-minute film with four lines of 

dialogue written by Tony Award-winning 

playwright David Henry Hwang, I had to 

join. 

As for Tarot cards, no, I do not believe in 

them. I am intrigued by them, though;, I 

think there are interesting stories that can 

be told in connection to them. 

AM: You starred in the Equity Showcase 

preview of “Romeo and Juliet” in New 

York City. What is your favourite 

Shakespeare play? 

KT: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” 

This play puts my soul in the sky! 

AM: How was it playing Juliet 

reimagined? 

KT: Every second as Juliet was 

exhilarating. It definitely was no easy feat, 

and especially with the direction. The 

famous balcony scene became a bathtub 

scene, and the rest of the scene were done 

with Juliet sitting back to back to Romeo. 

It was an utterly different space-time 

continuum. Consequently, I had to really 

listen to Romeo’s inner life, when it’s 

difficult to even get a peripheral view, 

let alone see him and have proper eye 

contact. I think that it’s a different level 

of intimacy that is required. Not the most 

conventional. 

An acting teacher once said that every 

actress should play Juliet once in their life 

because it is, for a young actress, the role 

of roles. The challenge for me was how to 

create a Juliet who is relevant to women 

today. 

AM: Tell us about “Snap” and working 

with Yi Liu? 

KT: “Snap” is a supernatural comedy 

about a photographer, Kenny, who 

fiounds out that his camera takes the souls 

of the people whose photos were taken 

by it. I play Kenny’s unattainable object 

of affection, or obsession rather — who 

seems to be the perfect victim of Kenny’s 

misfortune. 

Yi Liu is marvellously divine. Not every 

day you find such an incredible talent that 

is coupled with incredible modesty. Yi Liu 

always has something very specific that 

he wants to achieve that he always has a 

creatively liberating way to achieve it. He 

is one of those people that if you want to 

see for a burst of positive but calm energy 

when you have the longest day on set. 

AM: What is your second directorial 

project “Life Imitates” about? 

KT: “Life Imitates” is about a girl who 

explains the happenings of her life 

through art. Every episode speaks about 

a work of art while concurrently telling 

her story. I am definitely experimenting 

with a different narrative structure, 

putting an emphasis on a more on finding 

a new way to tell a story. Most of this 

is an homage to all sorts of art that I 

am quite obsessed about, whether it’s 

culinary art, a choreography, a couture 

gown, a painting or Les Grandes Eaux 

Musicales du Château de Versailles. We 

are surrounded by art. To me, this writing 

project is a celebration of the fact that we 

are all blissfully trapped in the symbiotic 

relationship between life and art. Contrary 

to the darker world of “Otherkin,” “Life 

Imitates” is peppered with bright colours 

and things that glitter. 

AM: Where is home for you? 

KT: Geographically speaking, home 

can be New York, Paris or Jakarta — or 

whichever little corner of the earth I am 

occupying at present. Home is transient 

and ever-changing. Home is the worlds 

I am creating, home is in the skin of the 

characters I embody, home is looking at 

a painting I’d marvelled at when I was 

12, home is Face Timing my parents in 

Jakarta, home is being enveloped in my 

boyfriends’ arms at night. In summary, 

home is myself and my constant strife 

to become a better artist and most 

importantly, a better person, day after day. 

AM: What is the last thing you bingewatched? 

KT: “Yes, Minister” and “Yes, Prime 

Minister.” My favorite show in the entire 

world forever and ever. It’s appalling 

how obsessed I am with this show. Paul 

Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek 

Fowlds — my heroes. I loved it when I 

was 16 and I love it just the same now. 

Jolly-good British TV, can’t go wrong 

with that. 

AM: Which director would you like to 

"In summary, home is myself and my 

constant strife to become a better artist and most 

importantly, a better person, day after day." 

work with and why? 

KT: In my wildest dream: Christopher 

Nolan! I’m contenting myself with the 

fact that we share an alma mater for now. 

For theater, I’d love to work with Daniel 

Talbott, man with talent beyond measure 

but who was also a total darling when I 

met him. Also, David Nathan Perlow, I’ve 

seen him work magical wonders. 

AM: What advice would you give the 

next generation of Asian American 

actors? 

KT: Keep on telling stories you want 

to tell. Don’t wait too long and don’t 

give yourself excuses. Believe in yourself 

because no one else will if you don’t set a 

precedent. Oh, and never, ever give up. 


WE WORK BETTER 

TOGETHER IN 

MAKING THE 

WORLD A BETTER 

PLACE FOR ALL. 

• Quality of service 

• Positive work environment 

• Mission-driven identity 

• Growth 

THEY ARE THE FOUR PILLARS OF OUR D&I APPROACH. 

AIR is one of the world’s largest behavioral and social science research and evaluation organizations. We 

use the best science available to bring the most effective ideas and approaches to enhancing everyday 

life. For us, making the world a better place is not wishful thinking. It is the goal that drives us. 

With Diversity as a priority, we can achieve our mission. The diversity of our 1,700+ employees is the 

engine in our search for innovative answers to any challenge. 

We offer exciting career opportunities to new and experienced Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. holders. 

To learn about our jobs and our D&I approach 

visit www.air.org 

AIR is an EEO/AA/ADA employer. Minorities, women, individuals 

with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply 


Asian Beauty Products To Try List 

AH Much Real My Cushion Blusher 

from Korea 

Erborian Cleansing Micellar Water 

from Korea 

Mizon Skin Recovery Night Repair 

Seruming Ampoule from Korea 

AmorePacific Color Control Cushion 

Compact, Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ 

from Korea 

Anti-Aging Jade Therapy and Argan 

Anti-Wrinkle Treatment Set from 

China 

Banila Co It Radiant CC Melting 

Foundation from Korea 

Banila Co. Clean It Zero Purity for 

Sensitive Skin for Men from Korea 

Blithe Patting Splash Mask from 

Korea 

Clio Waterproof Pen Liner from Korea 

CNP Laboratory 2-Step Propolis 

Energy Ampoule Mask for Men from 

Korea 

Cosrx Advanced Snail Mucin Power 

Essence from Korea 

Cosrx AHA/BHA Clarifying 

Treatment Toner for Men from Korea 

Cure Natural Aqua Gel from Japan 

Etude House Face Blur SPF33/PA++ 

35g from Korea 

Holika Holika Naked Face Foundation 

& Illuminating Powder, SPF 26 PA+ 

from Korea 

Innisfree It’s Real Squeeze Mask from 

Korea 

IOPE Air Cushion Sunblock XP (SPF 

50/PA+++) from Korea 

IPKN Man Fresh Aftershave from 

Korea 

Kiho Watanab UKA Nail 7:15 from 

Japan 

Kiss Me Heroine Volume and Curl 

Mascara from Japan 

Kokostar Hair Therapy from Korea 

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX from 

Korea 

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPR 

42 PA+++ from Korea 

Naruko Nacissus DNA Repairing 

Night Gelly from Japan 

Neogen Bio-Peel from Korea 

Peripera Peri’s Tint Marker from 

Korea 

Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush 

from Japan 

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler from 

Japan 

Skin Food’s Black Sugar Mask Wash 

Off from Korea 

Skinfood Egg White Pore Foam from 

Korea 

T.E.N Cremor 02 Bubble Energizing 

Mask from Korea 

The Faceshop Lovely Me: Ex Design 

My Eyebrow from Korea 

Whal Myung Skin Elixir from Korea 

Dr. Jart+ Dermaclear Micro Milk Peel 

from Korea 


Mizon All In One Snail Repair 

Cream for Men from Korea 

THANAKORNSRA

Turning Inspiration into Music with Alfa 

Filipino-American singer-songwriter just released her third full-length album “Spark & Fury” (Pacific Records) this summer. 

The folk/pop music artist chats with ALIST about her new music and what instrument she’s thinking of adding to her 

extensive repertoire. 

I have so many instruments I’d like 

to learn, and my interests are always 

changing. Currently, I’m curious about 

the mandolin. 

ALIST Magazine: Your new album 

“Spark & Fury” was released in June; 

was this a very personal journey? 

Alfa: I’d say so. Every album I’ve made 

has been a snapshot of where I was in 

life, so this album is similar — it takes 

from experiences I had during my time 

in a new city: LA. 

ALFA 

these on this album? What instrument 

would you like to learn to play and 

why? 

A: I did! That was a lot of fun, although 

the song where I played kazoo didn’t 

make the album — I plan to release 

it as a single one day. I’m proud that 

AM: Why the title, “Spark & Fury”? 

A: After six years of living in LA, 

focusing time and energy on this 

creative endeavor of being a singersongwriter, 

I started to recognize some 

patterns in my creative process. There 

was always the Spark — the moment of 

inspiration that grabbed me — and then 

the Fury — the difficult, panic-stricken 

process of trying to turn that inspiration 

into something that could be presented 

to the world. 

AM: Did you design the cover? 

A: My husband, Rob Bieselin, designed 

the cover. We took a trip to the 

LACMA Museum and I was in love 

with the Art Nouveau exhibit, so I 

told him we should take cues from that 

I feel especially close to “Spark & Fury” 

because for the first time I felt like I’d 

grown enough as a songwriter and a 

musician to be able to express myself as 

genuinely as I could. 

This album took two years to complete 

between writing, recording and 

production, and I grew a lot in that 

time, so it accompanied a lot of learning 

experiences for me. 

AM: You play many instruments: 

guitar, ukulele, violin, piano and the 

occasional kazoo. Do you play all of 

"Every album I've made has been a snapshot of 

where I was in life." 

I was able to lay down the foundation 

instruments for every single song on 

the record. In my last album, we’d 

gotten a bunch of amazing Nashville 

musicians to play and I added on parts 

afterward, but this time around it was 

really importantly for me to be the 

main musical voice in each song — it 

just made the album that much more 

personal. 

movement for the album art. I really 

love the way it turned out and it was 

meaningful to have him be part of it. 

AM: How is this album different than 

your last album, “World Go Blue”? 

A: I think I’ve grown up a lot since 

that album, and you can hear it in some 

of the musical choices I make, both 

lyrically and musically. One thing I 


want to do with every release is to create 

a body of singles — where every song 

has something catchy and memorable to 

offer. I think I got closer to that goal on 

“Spark & Fury.” 

AM: When was the last time you were 

back in the Philippines? What do you 

miss the most? 

A: My last trip was in 2016 to promote 

the “Blue” single. I stayed in the Metro 

Manila area, which is another world 

altogether. I haven’t been back to 

Mindanao since 2015. I just miss the 

openness of everyone. Filipinos are real 

island people — they’re laid-back and 

warm, and they love to laugh, eat, and 

gather. I also miss the fruits. Coconuts, 

mangoes, jackfruit: anytime you want, 

straight from the tree. It doesn’t get 

better than that. 

AM: How is your music received in the 

Philippines as opposed to in the U.S.? 

A: Honestly, I am not sure. I know that 

to play more house concerts. Why? 

A: It’s true — I’ve been trying to get the 

word out to people, letting them know 

"I've always been a people-person, so the idea of 

getting to interact with an audience in such a unique 

way is interesting to me." 

that I’m looking to play house concerts. 

Most people get a little confused and 

have no idea what that entails. I think 

the concept is so simple that it’s hard 

to wrap your head around it: a singer/ 

songwriter coming to your home and 

playing the most intimate of concerts 

for you. That’s it. I love the idea because 

it gets to the heart of what being a 

performer and songwriter is all about 

— having the opportunity to express 

oneself in an honest, unfiltered way, and 

also getting to tell the stories behind the 

songs. I’ve always been a people-person, 

so the idea of getting to interact with 

an audience in such a unique way is 

interesting to me. 

AM: Was music always your calling? 

Why? 

A: I’d say so. I didn’t want it to be, to 

be honest. I studied something else in 

husband, my family, close friends. 

That’s all I really need for a mental 

reset. Of course, I also love venturing to 

far-off places. My recent adventure was 

to Scandinavia for my honeymoon. 

AM: Do you find that being a female 

musician is harder in this industry? 

A: Yep. I see it in a lot of places. 

Whether it’s the expectation of looking 

a certain way, or friends of mine who 

have had producers drop them once 

they realized they wouldn’t sleep with 

them, there are all sorts of challenges 

for females trying to make it in music. 

Sometimes it’s even other females that 

make it hard — in the college world, 

for example, a lot of student activities 

committees skew female, and they 

sometimes prefer to book male acts over 

female ones. I try not to focus on that, 

though, and just do what I can. As long 

as I’m true to my work, the other stuff 

doesn’t matter. 

AM: If you could travel anywhere to 

play your music, where would you go 

and why? 

A: Australia. I’ve always had a love for 

that country, and it’s been on my bucket 

list for as long as I can remember. They 

seem like they would enjoy my tunes. 

"Whether it's the expectation of looking a certain way, or friends of mine 

who have had producers drop them once they realized they wouldn't sleep with 

them, there are all sorts of challenges for females trying to make it in music." 

it’s reached more ears over there, given 

that the market is smaller and we had a 

distributor for a couple of singles. As a 

whole, I think Filipinos still love their 

organic musical performances whereas 

in the U.S. those markets aren’t as big 

as they used to be. That’s just the way 

it goes — styles shift and listeners come 

and go, but in both markets I’ve found 

there are people who really connect with 

my songs. 

AM: You’ve recently said that you want 


college and when I was a kid I swore 

I’d never do music, mostly because 

everyone in my family played music and 

I thought that made it mundane. But 

somewhere around high school I think I 

started to get the inkling that this was a 

compulsion I wasn’t going to get rid of 

anytime soon. 

AM: What do you do when you have 

free time/vacation? 

A: The biggest thing I love to do is 

spend time with people I love — my 

AM: What advice would you give the 

next generation of musicians? 

A: Don’t forget that you are making art. 

The way the music industry is evolving 

puts more pressure on songwriters to 

focus on their social media and publicity 

platforms. That’s all well and good, but 

if you aren’t happy with what you’re 

creating, all the promotion in the world 

is hollow.

12-Step Korean Skin Care 

Regimen 

Step 1 

Cleansing One: remove your makeup using a cleansing 

oil or a cleansing water. For dry skin, you can use an 

oil cleanser, if you have oily skin you can use a water 

cleanser 

Step 2 

Cleansing Two: use a facial cleanser that will take away 

the first cleanser along with any impurities such as oil, 

makeup and dirt 

Step 3 

Exfoliation: allowing better absorption of skin care 

products, it is important to exfoliate. Exfoliation will 

remove old skin which creates a barrier between the new 

skin and topical skin care solutions 

Step 4 

Toning: this is the final part of the cleansing process, as 

it removes deep seated dirt and refreshes the skin 

Step 5 

Essesence: an essence is a toner with an emulsion-like 

texture that will keep your skin moist and soft 

Step 6 

Eye Care: this will keep the eye area hydrated while 

treating it at the same time 

Step 7 

Treatment One: this will address different skin concerns 

so you may need at least one or two targeted skin care 

treatments. For example, you can use brightening for 

areas with hyper pigmentation 

Step 8 

Treatment Two: the next treatment will be for another 

skin concern. For example, you can use a regenerating 

serum that will take care of tired and unhealthy-looking 

skin 

Step 9 

Moisturization: a moisturizer will help seal in the 

previous skin care products and prevent it from 

evaporating before they enter the pores 

Step 10 

Sheet Mask: use a sheet mask to fortify your skin 

further as they contain generous amount of serum 

Step 11 

Night Cream: this should be a moisturizer that has a 

richer texture and consistency 

Step 12 

Sleeping Pack: as the final step, a sleeping pack is used 

to prevent every single thing you have just put on their 

face from evaporating and it also delivers overnight 

hydration to the skin. 

DRAGONIMAGES 


asian american leadership 

do more on 

alist-magazine.com 

www.alist-magazine.com 

subscribe. get behind the scenes. read more. 

see more. interact. share your opinion. 

make connections. AUGUST make 23-25 your 2018 voice heard. 

100 | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018 

twitter.com/alist_magazine 

www.alist-magazine.com 

facebook.com/asianleaders

NAAAP 100 Award Honorees and NAAAP 

Inspire Recipient 

100 

100 

BERNIE WONG 

Bernie Wong 

The National Association of Asian American 

Professionals (NAAAP) is pleased to announce 

Bernarda “Bernie” Wong, a philanthropist 

and career social worker, as the recipient of its 

NAAAP 100 Award, Presented by General 

Motors. NAAAP’s highest honor is given 

annually to the most influential leaders who 

have made significant contributions to their 

profession and to the Asian community. 

Ms. Wong, better known as “Bernie,” was 

the first President of the Chinese American 

Service League (CASL), which she founded 

with several friends. Under Wong’s leadership, 

CASL grew from a one-person shop in 

1979 with an annual budget of $30,000 to 

a 500-person, $13 million operation serving 

some 17,000 members of Chicago’s Chinese 

community with job training, senior care, 

daycare, family counseling, and education 

services. Born and raised in Hong Kong, 

Wong’s humble, early life and difficult 

experiences set the stage for her mission-driven 

approach to serving others with dignity and 

respect. At eighteen, Wong left Hong Kong 

for Sioux City, Iowa, where she earned a B.A. 

in Sociology from Briar Cliff College and later 

a Masters in Social Work from Washington 

University in St. Louis. 

In addition to her work at CASL, Wong is 

active in other community roles. She chaired 

the Chicago Mayor’s Advisory Council on 

Asian Affairs and was the first Asian appointed 

to the boards of the United Way of Chicago 

and the Chicago Public Library. She also served 

on the Governor’s Asian Advisory Council, the 

Leadership of Greater Chicago Board, and the 

Chicago Commission on Human Relations. 

Currently, Bernie serves on the National Asian 

Pacific Center on Aging Board, the Council 

for the Illinois Department on Aging, the 

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee 

Rights Board, and the Obama Foundation 

Inclusion Council. Wong is also a founder of 

Chinese Immigrant Service Agencies Network 

International. 

Through her work for the community, Ms. 

Wong has received several accolades for 

her achievements. Her awards include the 

Distinguished Alumni Award from both of 

her alma maters, the Jane Addams Making 

History Award for Distinction in Social 

Service, the Association of Fundraising 

Professionals’ Outstanding Community Leader 

Award for the Chicago Chapter, the YWCA 

Outstanding Leaders – Racial Justice Award, 

the Distinguished Community Leader award 

from Mayor Richard Daley, and "Champion 

of Change" award from President Obama. In 

September 2016, the city dedicated a street 

outside of CASL as Honorary Bernarda 

“Bernie” Wong Way, and she retired with 

CASL cofounder Esther Wong at the end of 

2016. 

100 

Li-Young Lee 



Li-Young Lee, one of the most renowned 

American poets at the turn of the 21st century, 

as the recipient of its NAAAP 100 Award, 

Presented by General Motors. NAAAP’s 

highest honor is presented annually to the most 

influential leaders who have made significant 

contributions to their profession and the Asian 

community. 

Li-Young Lee is one of the most celebrated 

Asian American writers. He is the author 

of four critically-acclaimed works of poetry, 

which include Rose (1986; Delmore Schwartz 

Memorial Award), The City in Which I Love 

You (1991; Lamont Poetry Selection), Book of 

My Nights (2001; William Carlos Williams 

Award), Behind My Eyes (2008), and a 

chapbook The Word From His Song (2016). 

Lee also received an American Book Award 

from the Before Columbus Foundation for his 

memoir The Winged Seed: A Remembrance 

(1995). A collection of twelve interviews 

with Lee at various stages of his artistic 

development, Breaking the Alabaster Jar: 

Conversations with Li-Young Lee (2006) is the 

first edited, published collection of interviews 

with an Asian American poet. His collection of 

poems, The Undressing, is forthcoming in 2018. 

Lee’s honors include the Whiting Award, 

Lannan Literary Award, the PEN Oakland/ 

Josephine Miles Award, the I.B. Lavan Award, 

and three Pushcart Prizes. He has received 

fellowships from the Academy of American 

LI-YOUNG LEE 


Poets, The Lannan Foundation, and the John 

Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 

He also has received grants from the Illinois 

Arts Council, the Commonwealth of 

Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Council on the 

Arts, and the National Endowment of the Arts. 

His honorary doctorate of letters is from SUNY 

at Brockport. 

Born on August 19, 1957 in Jakarta, Indonesia, 

Lee’s maternal great grandfather was China’s 

first Republican President and his father was 

physician to Communist leader Mao Tse- 

Tung. After the People’s Republic of China 

was established in 1949, Lee’s parents escaped 

to Indonesia, then wandered through Asia as 

political refugees, finally settling in the U.S. 

in 1964. Mr. Lee grew up in Pennsylvania, 

where he met his wife Donna when they were 

in the fifth grade, and they currently reside in 

Pittsburgh. They have two sons, Rainer and 

Richard. 

LINDA YU 

Linda Yu 



Linda Yu, a trailblazing and award-winning 

broadcaster with more than 40 years in 

journalism, as the recipient of its NAAAP 

100 Award, Presented by General Motors. 

NAAAP’s highest honor is presented annually 

to the most influential leaders who have made 

significant contributions to their profession and 

to the Asian community. 

Ms Yu began her journalism career in 1974 

when she served as a writer for ABC station, 

KABC-TV, and then as a writer and producer 

for KTLA-TV, both in Los Angeles. In 1975, 

she worked as a reporter for ABC affiliate 

KATU-TV in Portland, Ore. and later as a 

reporter and back-up anchor at ABC's KGO- 

TV in San Francisco. In 1979, Ms Yu moved 

to Chicago and became the city's first Asian 

102 | ANNIVERSARY 2017/2018 

American broadcast network journalist when 

she started working as a reporter and weekend 

co-anchor at NBC's WMAQ-TV. Ms Yu 

joined WLS-TV ABC7 Chicago in 1984 as 

a reporter and news anchor for the station's 

newly created 4 p.m. news hour, then added an 

11 a.m. news hour. Both programs maintained 

top status throughout her career until her 

retirement in December 2016. 

Ms. Yu has an impressive lineup of 

achievements during her lifetime. She was 

inducted into the prestigious “Silver Circle” of 

legendary Chicago broadcasters, was a winner 

of six local Emmy awards, wrote a book, 

“Lessons I Learned in America,” to help career 

women succeed, was named as one of Today 

Chicago Women Magazine’s “100 Women 

to Watch,” and was honored with a National 

Gold Medal from the National Conference of 

Community and Justice. 

Yu served for more than 30 years as the 

Advisory Board Chairperson for the Chinese 

American Service League. She is also a cofounder 

of the Chicago Chapter of the Asian- 

American Journalists Association and an active 

supporter of local charities, including Common 

Threads, the Juvenile Protective Association, 

and the March of Dimes. Yu graduated from 

the University of Southern California with a 

Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. 

NANXI LU 

Nanxi Lu 


Professionals (NAAAP) is pleased to 

announce Nanxi Liu, a 27-year-old self-made 

entrepreneur, as the recipient of its NAAAP 

Inspire Award, Presented by General Motors. 

NAAAP’s Inspire Award is presented annually 

to a promising leader, usually early in his or her 

career, who has already made a tremendous, 

arguably revolutionary impact in his or her field 

or on society. 

Liu is the CEO and co-founder of Enplug, 

a leading digital signage software company 

with headquarters in Los Angeles and offices 

in London, Sao Paulo, and Tokyo. Small 

businesses to Fortune 500 companies use 

Enplug’s software to manage and distribute 

interactive content on digital displays in offices, 

hotels, malls, and stadiums. Since its founding 

in 2012, Enplug quickly became the world’s 

most popular open software for managing 

content on digital displays and has investors 

such as the Co-Founder of Oaktree Capital 

and the former CEO of Yahoo. The company 

has received several accolades, including 

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 30 Startups to 

Watch in 2013 and the founders receiving Inc. 

Magazine’s 30 under 30 list for 2015. While 

in college, Liu founded Nanoly Bioscience, 

a still-thriving, award-winning biotech that 

develops polymers to eliminate refrigeration 

for vaccines. Liu also serves on the Board of 

Advisors for Covington Capital Management, 

which oversees $2 billion. Her work has 

earned her Fortune’s Most Promising Women 

Entrepreneurs in 2015 and Forbes 30 under 30 

in 2016. 

Outside of business. Liu serves as the chairman 

of the Tiger Scholarship Foundation and 

advises Rise To Run, which encourages 

progressive young women to run for public 

office. She has also served on advisory boards 

for United Nations Women, UNICEF Chinese 

Children’s Initiative, and the Lady Gaga 

Foundation. Liu won an Emmy as a producer 

of the Amazon TV show “The Bay” and is also 

a composer, pilot, certified marksman, and 

recently played at the 2017 World Series of 

Poker. Liu lived the first five years of her life 

in rural China and grew up in Colorado. Her 

family struggled, living in subsidized housing, 

with Liu depending on free lunch at school. 

When she convinced her parents to spend 

their savings on a $100 piano at a garage sale, 

she made the most of it by becoming a concert 

pianist, featured live on NBC, and winning 

prizes. Her success in music and pageants, 

including as Miss Oakland, paid for degrees at 

the University of California, Berkeley, where 

she studied business, political economy, and 

engineering.

BRING YOUR PERSPECTIVE 

TO A PLACE WHERE 

MATTERS. 

Come to a place where your inherent culture, values and 

patriotism strengthen our ability to crack the toughest 

challenges imaginable. The CIA offers rewarding careers 

for a diverse group of men and women who – like 

you – possess extraordinary integrity, exceptional 

talents and intellectual curiosity. 

Join us and utilize your individuality to 

make America stronger and safer. 

THE WORK OF A NATION. 

THE CENTER OF INTELLIGENCE. 

For additional information and to apply, visit: 

cia.gov/careers 

Applicants must have US citizenship and the ability to successfully complete medical WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM examinations and security | 103 

procedures, including a polygraph interview. An equal opportunity employer and a drug-free workforce.

Which Entrepeneur Said It? 

1. If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it. 

2. People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. 

3. Believe you can and you’re halfway there. 

4. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up. 

5. You’re never a loser until you quit trying. 

6. It always seems impossible until its done. 

7. A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit. 

8. I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a 

champion. 

9. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the aeroplane takes off against the 

wind, not with it. 

10. Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. 

11. Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul. 

12. It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. 

13. Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. 

14. You build on failure… You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space. 

15. Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. 

16. I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying. 

NOBIGGIE 

Answers: 

1. Elon Musk, Tesla Motors & SpaceX Founder, 2. Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, 3. Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United 

States, 4. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, 5. Mike Ditka, former American football player, 6. Nelson Mandela, former president of 

South Africa, 7. Richard Bach, American writer, 8. Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight boxing champion, 9. Henry Ford, founder of Ford 

Motor Company, 10. Farrah Gray, American businessman and author, 11. Douglas MacArthur, former American five-star general, 12. Albert 

Einstein, physicist and developer of the theory of relativity, 13. John D. Rockefeller, American businessman, 14. Johnny Cash, American 

singer-songwriter, 15. F. Scott Fitzgerald, American author, 16. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO 


ALIST 

DIGITAL AD RATES & SPECS 

2017 - 2018 ANNIVERSARY PRICING 

_SINGLE ISSUE ________ 2 ISSUES 3 ISSUES 

SPREAD $750 $550/2 issues $475/3 issues 

FULL PAGE AD $500 $435/2 issues $375/3 issues 

HALF PAGE AD $375 $350/2 issues $300/3 issues 

INSIDE COVER $550 $475/2 issues $400/3 issues 

INSIDE BACK COVER $525 $450/2 issues $387.50/3 issues 

BACK COVER $625 $500/2 issues $425/3 issues 

SPECIFICATIONS: All images must be 300 dpi in TIFF format 

SPREAD: 17” x 10.875 with a .125” bleed all around 

FULL PAGE: 8.5” x 10.875” with a bleed of .125” 

HORIZONTAL HALF PAGE: 8.5” x 5.4375” with a .125” bleed all around 

VERTICAL HALF PAGE: 4.25” x 10.875” with a .125” bleed all round 

Digital/cross promotion: our website is able to accommodate a range of advertisements. 

Contact us to discuss the details of your advertising strategy. 

ALIST advertisers can also take advantage of marketing to the NAAAP network of 26 chapters 

across the United States and Canada. 

For more information or questions please email Editor@alist-magazine.com 

PATRICK BOELENS

ALIST_Anniversary2017_Final (2)

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?