2013 Planning Committee
Click here for Team Task Detail
MARKETING AND OUTREACH
Tomoko Roudebush, Program Specialist for Asian, Pacific American Student Success (APASS), Laney College/Graduate Student at John F. Kennedy University (LEAD)
Erick Aragon, APASS Counselor, Laney College
Cynthia Taing, APASS Counselor, Laney College
Mai Nguyen, Student Organizations and Leadership Initiative Program Advisor, Sacramento State
Johnny Lai, Marketing Coordinator, Cal Poly Pomona
EXHIBIT, SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS
Lina Woo, Leadership Advisory at Conference for Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) (LEAD)
Corey Gin, Director of Leadership Education and Enrichment Program) , Cal State East Bay
Ketmani Kouanchao, Director, EOPS/CARE, Mt. San Jacinto College
Erica Saito, Professor at Pepperdine University and Research Assistant, Claremont McKenna College
SOCIAL
Newin Orante, Vice President of Student Services, DVC (LEAD)
Abe Ali, Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, Kern Community College District
Hyon Chu Yi-Baker, Director of MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center, San Jose State University
Carlos Gonzales, Educational Talent Search Counselor, UC Davis
Christina Taing, Educational Talent Search Advisor, UC Davis
PROGRAMS
Yvonne Wu-Craig, Grant Writer and Classified Senate President, Chabot College (LEAD)
Wyman Fong, APAHE Board President; Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, Chabot-Las Positas Community College District
Vanson Tsai, First Year Experience Coordinator/Math Instructor, Skyline College
Michelle Valle-Perez, Project Director, UC Berkeley
Belinda Vea, Policy Program Analyst, UCOP
OPERATIONS
Stacy Lee, Program Specialist, Mt. San Antonio College (CO LEAD)
Audrey Yamagata-Noji, APAHE Board Member; Vice President of Student Services, Mt. San Antonio College (CO LEAD)
Arnold Paguio, Program Coordinator for Leadership, Education, Action, Development, San Francisco State University
Noki Seekao, APAHE Board Member/ Director of Student Life, California College of the Arts
Biographies
Abe Ali, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources, Kern Community College District
Abe Ali has led Kern Community College District’s Human Resources operations for the past four years as Vice Chancellor of Human Resources. His 18 years of HR experience includes four years as Human Resources Manager and, later, Vice President, Chief Human Resources and Equal Employment Officer for a total of 10 years with Redwoods Community College District in Eureka, CA. Abe’s experience includes serving as lead management negotiator for faculty and classified organization collective bargaining, developing and managing personnel policies, and taking
the lead in organizing district-wide staff development and staff diversity programs.
Abe is Past President of the Chief Human Resources Officers Consortium for the California
Community Colleges and former co-chair of the Commission for Legislation and Advocacy for the Association of California Community College Administrators. He developed two statewide manuals that were distributed to all community college Human Resources/Equal Employment Offices. Abe was born in Tokyo Japan and raised in Honolulu Hawaii.
Erick Aragon, Counselor/Instructor, Laney College/Asian Pacific American Student Success Program
Erick is currently a Counselor and Instructor in the Asian Pacific Student Success Program at Laney College. He is a proud alumnus of the California Community College system graduating from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. Erick transferred to San Diego State University and received his Bachelors of Arts in History with an emphasis in Asian American Studies. Erick continued his education at Northern Illinois University where he received his Master’s in Science in Counseling, specializing in Clinical Mental Health and Career development. His graduate research work focused on analyzing and developing strategies to address mental health and career development issues among Asian Pacific Islander (API) youth.
Hyon Chu Yi-Baker, Director, MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center, San Jose State University
Hyon Chu Yi-Baker received her BA in American Cultural Studies at Western Washington University in 1994 and earned a MS degree from Colorado State University in Student Affairs in Higher Education in 1996. She has been the Director of MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center at San Jose State University since 2002. She is dedicated to enhancing and advocating for the academic and cultural empowerment of historically under-represented students. She supports pedagogy that focuses on the learning and teaching of cultural differences as it relates to enhancing the relationship between people across ethnic, gender, sexual, age, religious, and cultural lines. Mrs. Yi-Baker is a proud alum of LEAP LDPHE class of 2011. She lives in San Jose with her husband, daughter age 4, and son who just turned one.
Corey Gin, Acting Director, Leadership and Employee Enrichment Program (LEEP), California State University East Bay
Corey Gin directs an organization responsible for leadership development, professional development, and personal enrichment for all employees at California State University East Bay. He has served in public education for close to 30 years in a variety of roles including teacher, instructional designer, and program director. Corey successfully completed the Leadership Development Program for Higher Education this past summer and looks forward to connecting with and supporting local, national, and international API higher education community members.
Ketmani Kouanchao, Director of EOPS/CARE Programs, Mt. San Jacinto College
Dr. Ketmani Kouanchao received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from California State University-Fullerton focusing on the journey of Lao American students in higher education. Born in Savannakhet, Laos, she grew up in Minneapolis and has over 15 years of experience in high education. She is an advisor to the Beta Delta Omega chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa and was the 2012 recipient of the Honor an Educator Scholarship from CSU-Fullerton, School of Education. You can follow her blog at http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/kouanchao-corner
Stacy Lee, Student Services Program Specialist for the International Student Program at Mt. San Antonio College
Stacy is currently the Student Services Program Specialist for the International Student Program at Mt. San Antonio College. She also serves as Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) staff for the annual Leadership Development Program for Higher Education (LDPHE). Through LEAP, she became involved with Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE). As a credentialed teacher, Stacy has experience in K-12 as an elementary school teacher and literacy teacher for adult education. She holds a Master of Arts in Education from Azusa Pacific University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Child and Adolescent Development from California State University, Fullerton.
Mai Nguyen, Leadership Initiative Program Advisor, California State University, Sacramento
Mai Nguyen is currently a graduate student working on her M.A. in Higher Education Leadership at California State University, Sacramento. She also works as a Program Advisor for the office of Student Organizations & Leadership at CSU-Sacramento, advising student clubs and oversees a leadership program called the Leadership Initiative. Mai seeks to provide students with opportunities for knowledge and growth in hopes of making a positive impact.
Newin Paul C. Orante, Vice President of Student Services, Diablo Valley College
In September 2012, Dr. Newin Paul C. Orante took position as the Vice President of Student Services at Diablo Valley College. Before DVC, he served for three years as the Dean of Student Services at Laney College, and for eight years as the Director of the EOPS Programs then later as the Dean of Student Development at Los Medanos College. In May 2012, he received his doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from San Francisco State University. For the last 18 years, Dr. Orante has demonstrated a strong commitment for educational equity and social justice work.
Arnold Paguio, Student Organization Coordinator, San Francisco State University
Arnold is in his 10th year working in Higher Education/Student Affairs. Before moving into his current position, Arnold worked in Residential Life at San Francisco State University, was the Coordinator of the Cross Cultural Center at San Diego State University, and was a Diversity Educator at Texas A&M University. Arnold has a BS in Computer Science from Texas A&M University and an MS in Policy Organization and Leadership Studies from Stanford University.
Tomoko Roudebush, APASS Program Specialist, Laney College
Tomoko currently operates the Asian, Pacific American Student Success (APASS) program at Laney College. She has served in several roles in the community including working with several high schools in Oakland teaching leadership, training hundreds of professionals on teen dating/domestic violence and running programs helping local youth succeed and graduate from high school. She also assisted in developing safety policies with the Oakland Unified School District to promote heatlhy relationships. Tomoko has also served in the Office of the President at Laney College in 2007 and was one the first staff involved in building the East Bay Career Advancement Academy, preparing students in the Peralta and Contra Costa Community College Districts for vocational training. From 2004-2006, Tomoko served as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Domestic Peace Corps) member in north central Washington developing literacy programs for grades K-5. As an undergraduate student in 2003, she also organized Chico State’s National Homelessness Awareness Week. Tomoko has a BA in History and International Relations and will be getting her MBA at John F. Kennedy University in June 2013.
Tomoko is very involved in the community where she served on the local board of directors for the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and as a mentor for OCA National’s Mentoring Asian American Professionals (MAAP) program.
Lorine Erika Saito, Adjunct faculty/student, Pepperdine Graduate School of Education & Psychology/Claremont Graduate University
Erika currently teaches at Pepperdine Graduate School of Education & Psychology in Human Development & English Language Learners. She is also pursuing her PhD in Education from Claremont Graduate University with an emphasis on Asian Pacific Americans in education. This is her first year participating in the APAHE Conference and is excited for the experience and learning opportunity.
Christina Taing, Program Counselor, University of California, Davis Educational Talent Search
Christina Taing began her higher educational career at California State University, San Bernardino as a double major student in Biology and Psychology. Once she completed her bachelors degree, she continued her academic endeavors at San Francisco State University, completing her Master’s in Counseling with a specialization in school and emphasis in college counseling. As a graduate student, she interned at James Denman Middle School, Woodside Learning Center (San Francisco Juvenile Hall) and San Francisco State University, Department of Athletics. After completing her masters degree, she began her professional career at University of California, Davis working for one of the TRIO programs as an Educational Talent Search Program Counselor. She enjoys working with with students and finds her job very rewarding because she is able to assist low income, first generation college students in preparing them for their educational careers.
Cynthia Taing, Counselor, Laney College/ APASS Program
Cynthia Taing was born and raised in Southern California. She moved up to San Francisco in 2009 to attend San Francisco State University for her Master’s in Counseling. During her years in graduate school, she interned at Berkeley City College with the EOPS program and UC Berkeley with the SLAS/EOP program as an Academic Counselor. She also worked at SFSU Graduate Studies as a Graduate Advisor and SFSU Department of Athletics as an Athletic Advisor. After completing her degree, she began working as a counselor with the Asian Pacific America Student Success (APASS) Learning Community at Laney College. Cynthia enjoys working and counseling community college students be successful in their career and academics goal.
Michelle Valle-Perez, Project/Policy Analyst, University of California, Berkeley
Michelle is the Project/Policy Analyst for the Division of Student Affairs Business Operations. New to the University of California system, she works closely with units in Student Life and Admissions & Enrollment on creating and developing shared services programs and projects. Previously, she conducted research and analysis for a national health advocacy and policy organization, and worked closely with researchers and practitioners at community health centers serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. Michelle received a Master’s degree in Asian Studies from University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Chinese Studies from University of the Pacific.
Belinda Vea, Policy and Program Analyst, University of California, Office of the President
Dr. Belinda Vea is a Policy and Program Analyst for the University of California Office of the President, Student Affairs. Her primary areas of focus are on campus life issues including student mental health, student wellness, alcohol and drug abuse and prevention, sexual assault and harassment, and campus violence. As a Policy and Program Analyst for one of the largest public higher education systems in the country, she works extensively with ten UC campuses to provide services that promote general wellbeing for students.
Dr. Vea received her doctorate degree in 2008 in higher education and public policy from Claremont Graduate University, School of Educational Studies. She obtained her B.A. and M.A. form Arizona State University in Interdisciplinary Humanities focusing on Filipina/o-American Literature. She has consulted on issues related to higher education policies and programs that assist diverse populations in higher education, and their access to, retention in, and success through higher education.
Lina Woo Ethics Specialist US Dept of Agriculture
Lina works for the US Department of Agriculture as an Ethics Specialist. She also serves as a Sr. Advisor to the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC promoting paid internships for APAs interested in public service. Lina’s prior work includes establishing the UC Center Sacramento as a permanent entity providing UC students with internships at the State Capitol and legislative offices as well as serving as student recruiter and employment recruiter for the University of California, Office of the President and Berkeley campus. She founded APASA-UCB, the APA staff and faculty association on the Berkeley campus.
Yvonne Wu Craig, Grant Developer/Writer, Chabot College
Yvonne has currently served as the Grant Developer/Writer at Chabot College for the past five years and has nine years of grant writing and program evaluation experience in the P-20 system. She is also the President of the Chabot Classified Senate having started her term in July 2011. Her love and respect for the power of education began when was sixteen and volunteered to work with special needs children. Since then, she has worked and volunteered in Bay Area elementary schools, making the transition to higher education six years ago. Yvonne holds a Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature with a Minor in Education and a Master’s degree in Education from UC Berkeley. Her Master’s Thesis was titled ” Asian Immigrant Families and the School Lunch Environment.” She has also made a presentation at the Association of Community College Trustees’ National Conference and was named Chabot College’s Striving Black Brother’s Coalition’s Mentor of the Year.
