Our Team
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California is comprised of staff, attorneys, legal and policy advocates, researchers, leadership trainers, and more. Together with our advisory councils, board of directors, and vast network of pro-bono attorneys, we are dedicated to advocating for and supporting our community of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Connie Chung Joe, Esq.
Chief Executive Officer
Connie Chung Joe, JD, is the Chief Executive Officer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).
Prior to joining Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California in August 2020, Connie served as the Executive Director of the Korean American Family Services (KFAM) for 11 years. Under Connie’s leadership, KFAM nearly quadrupled its budget and staff, with culturally and linguistically responsive services to immigrant families, particularly those struggling with mental health, domestic/family violence, and acculturation stresses. Prior to joining KFAM, Connie was a public interest lawyer for seven years. She worked at the Housing Rights Center in Los Angeles representing clients in fair housing cases and the American Civil Liberties Union in Chicago working on immigrant’s rights, reproductive rights, post-9/11 racial profiling, police accountability and First Amendment cases. Connie received her BA in Spanish and International Relations from USC and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
Read more about her here.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 213-977-7500 x211
Aileen Louie
Chief of Staff
Aileen Louie is the Chief of Staff at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, working closely with program staff and a wide range of institutional partners to secure the resources necessary to support the organization’s work.
Aileen has over 20 years of nonprofit fundraising and management experience, gained primarily from her work at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. Over the course of her career she has held several positions within the organization. She was its first Development Director and has also served as the Vice President of Program Administration as well as the Leadership Development Strategy Director. After stepping away from the organization to focus on her family, she returned to resume her work in supporting its ongoing development. In addition to her work with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, she has also served on numerous non-profit boards including Search to Involve Pilipino Americans and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, where she was one of its founding sisters. Aileen is a graduate of UCLA where she was a student advocate for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 213-977-7500 x859
Clara Chiu-Torres
Vice President of Development
Clara Chiu-Torres, our Vice President of Development, will lead our efforts in identifying fundraising opportunities and securing essential resources to advance equity and justice for the AAPI community. She will also serve as a vital member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), actively shaping the strategic and operational trajectory of AJSOCAL.
Previously, Clara served as Chief Development Director at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), where she managed over $22 million in funding from various sources, amplifying the organization’s impact. Before LAFLA, she held key roles at AARP Foundation and played an instrumental role in major fundraising campaigns. She served as AJSOCAL’s Development Officer for 5 years from 2012 to 2017. In those short five years, she successfully spearheaded one of the organization’s largest fundraising campaigns, orchestrating the raising of $20 million for a $30 million match campaign. Clara’s expertise in fundraising, strategic leadership, and dedication to serving underserved communities make her an invaluable asset to our mission. We are confident that her leadership will drive meaningful change and further our collective goals.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 213-977-7500 x202
Cori Racela, Esq.
Vice President of Programs
Cori Racela is the Vice President of Programs at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. She joins us with a profound commitment to social justice and a remarkable background in advocating for the underserved.
Most recently, Cori served as Deputy Director at Western Center on Law & Poverty . In her senior leadership role, Cori led the impact litigation team (helping low-income Californians access to health, housing, public benefits, and access to justice), the Center’s initiative to center racial justice in the organization’s external and internal efforts, and policy advocacy efforts focused on Medi-Cal eligibility and due process rights. Throughout her career, Cori has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to fighting for the rights of marginalized communities. Before Western Center, her experience was anchored in Direct Services as an attorney at the National Health Law Program and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County. Cori’s contributions in numerous landmark cases and initiatives also led to her appointment as a commissioner on the Los Angeles County Community Prevention and Population Health Task Force. As our Vice President of Programs, Cori will be instrumental in shaping the future of our organization’s initiatives, leading our team of talented attorneys/staff, and collaborating with external partners to effect positive change in in our communities. We are confident that her strategic leadership will significantly contribute to our collective goal to live out our mission and values in meaningful and effective ways.
Email: [email protected]
Richard Crowe
Vice President of Finance
Richard Crowe is the Vice President of Finance at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. He has over 25 years of experience in the Accounting and Financial arenas. After graduating from Florida A & M University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting and Finance and passing the Certified Public Account examination, Richard began working for Chase Bank as a finance specialist evaluating complex loan transactions in overseas markets. After a multi-year stint at Chase, he then earned a Master’s in Finance from the prestigious University of Chicago. After the University of Chicago, Richard moved to Los Angeles and worked several years in finance in the entertainment space at both Twentieth Century Fox and The Post Group. Richard then joined Columbia College Hollywood in 2003 as Chief Financial and Operating Officer when the school’s enrollment was at an all-time low. Richard was instrumental in turning around the college and increasing its enrollment to record levels.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 213-977-7500 x221
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Christine Song | Treasurer & Chair, Finance Committee, Capital Group Phillip Lee, Esq. | Chair, Building Committee, Jamison Services, Inc.
San San Lee | Chair, Audit Committee, Law Office of San San Lee, Inc. Olivia Samad, Esq. | Chair, Governance Committee, Southern California Edison Jack S. Yeh, Esq. | Co-Chair, Development Committee, Sidley Austin LLP
Gloria Chang Yip, CFA | Co-Chair, Development Committee, Managing Director, Head of Asian Wealth, JPMorgan Private Bank
Paul S. Chan, Esq. | Chair & Chair, Litigation Workgroup, Bird Marella Jade Leung, Esq. | Vice Chair, The Walt Disney Company Vincent M. Gonzales, Esq. | Secretary, Southern California Gas Company
Members at Large
Andrew Cheng, Esq. | Goodwin Procter LLP
Weihua Cheng |Bank of America
Camilla Eng | Fractional General Counsel
Mike Eng | California Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (CUIAB)
Peter Huh | Pacific American Fish Company, Inc.
Karen Huoth |TikTok Jennifer Ishiguro | StepStone Group
Jacqueline Jackson | Echo Global Logistics
Joon Kim | Comcast NBCUniversal Genevieve Cabanilla | Real Estate Investor
Joseph K. Kim, Esq. | O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Thomas Lee, Esq. | Capital Group
Tracy Pham | Red Boat Fish Sauce John K. Ly, Esq. | Liang Ly LLP
Ken Ren | Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
Fern Shaw | United Parcel Service Nita Song | IW Group, Inc. Vanna Tran | Nielsen
Don Widjaja |Southern California Gas Company
Staff Listing
Executive
Connie Chung Joe, Esq. | Chief Executive Officer
Aileen Louie | Chief of Staff
Clara Chiu-Torres | Vice President of Development
Cori Racela, Esq. | Vice President of Programs
Richard Crowe | Vice President of Finance
Christina Yang, Esq. | General Counsel & Pro Bono Dir.
Stewart Kwoh, Esq. | President Emeritus
Jennifer Clemens | Executive Assistant to CEO
Administration
Kimmy Lee | Senior HR Generalist
Suilma Rodriguez | Admin Specialist
Gloria Basilio | Cover Receptionist
Dan Suruki | Senior Facilities Manager
Richard Szeptycki | Facilities Maintenance Specialist
James Weng | IT Manager
Kevin Kim | Jr. System Administrator
Finance
Jeff Wu | Accounting Manager
Ivona Holland | Accounting Coordinator
Communications
Liza Ameen | Communications Director
Liana Liang | Communications Manager
Katrina Nguyen | Social Media Analyst
Sonia Hiew | Communications Associate
Institutional Giving
Christine Lee | Director of Institutional Giving
Brenda Nelson | Donor Database Administrator
Greg Song | Grant Writer
Development
Janelle Hu, Esq. | Director of Individual Giving
Georgia Archer | Donor Relations Manager
Michi Lew | Individual Giving Associate
Community Engagement
Alice Lee | Managing Dir. of Community Engagement
Chanfou Saelee | Community Engagement Navigator- English
Heidi Shen | Community Engagement Navigator- Chinese
Liang Du | Community Engagement Navigator- Chinese
William Tran | Community Engagement Navigator- Vietnamese
Esther Kim | Community Engagement Navigator- Korean
Pro Bono Work, Volunteers, & Internships
Christina Yang, Esq. | General Counsel & Pro Bono Dir.
Nathan Vuong | Volunteer Coordinator
Demographic Research Project
June Lim| Project Director
Yannan Li | Senior Research Analyst
Steven Zhang | Senior Research Analyst
Impact Litigation
Paul Estuar, Esq. | Director of Litigation
Yufei Wang, Esq. | Racial Justice Fellow
Brian Hu | Legal Adovcate
Policy & Health Access Program
Nikki Dominguez | Policy Director
Faith Lee | Sacramento Legislative Director
Benjamin Tran | Policy Strategist
Jeffrey DeGuia | Policy Advocate – LA
Lan Le | Policy Advocate – Sacramento
Mairelise Robinson | Policy Manager
Li Xu | Senior Program Coordinator – Health Access Program
Zenny Dong | Health Programs Navigator
Asian Language Legal Intake Program
John Kim, Esq. | Managing Dir. of Client Services
Bonnie Fong, Esq. | ALLIP Program Director
Sylvia Shing | Legal Advocate – Cantonese
Sophaleena Gershoff | Legal Advocate – English
Riya Mehta | Legal Advocate – Hindi
Crystal Siphan | Legal Advocate – Khmer
Jimmy Kim | Legal Advocate – Korean
Serin Woo | Legal Advocate – Korean
Zoey Meng | Legal Advocate – Mandarin
Alice Li | Legal Advocate – Mandarin
Jeanette Sayno | Legal Advocate – Tagalog
Katrina Banzuela | Legal Advocate – Tagalog
Jack Pakawat | Legal Advocate – Thai
Quynh Pham | Legal Advocate – Vietnamese
Domestic Violence & Family Law (Survivor And Family Empowerment- SAFE)
Katrina Espina, Esq. | SAFE Program Director
Lucya Kim, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Barbara Le, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Jae Jin Lee | Legal Advocate
Ariana De Los Reyes | Legal Advocate
Christine McMillan | Program Specialist
Home Preservation Program
Catherine Hwang, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Nida Siddiqui, Esq. |Staff Attorney
Thu Ha | Legal Advocate
Nysan Ly | Legal Advocate
Ryan Keng | Legal Advocate
Valentina Chan | Legal Advocate
Drew Quesada| Legal Advocate
Toby Van Der Veer | Program Specialist
Immigration
Sheela Sood, Esq. | Director of Immigration Services
Sabrina Kwun, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Dickran Sevlian, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Christina Tsao, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Citizenship
Christine Chen, Esq. | Citizenship Project Director
Mark Yoshida, Esq. | Senior Staff Attorney
I-Hsuan Lin, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Seda Norodom, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Melissa Juan | Legal Advocate
Giff Goldman | Network Manager
Rachel Ho | Legal Advocate Coordinator
Jordan Trinh | Program Specialist
Orange County Regional Office
Andrew Ji, Esq. | Managing Dir. of Orange County
Ellean Meas | Office Manager
Joseph Navales, Esq. | Citizenship/Immgration Managing Attorney
Evan Hu, Esq. | Staff Attorney
Julie Phan | Legal Advocate
Sabrena Tran | Legal Advocate Coordinator
Affiliates & Associated Groups
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California is part of a national affiliation of five civil rights nonprofit organizations that joined together under one name in 2013. The other member organizations are:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (formerly Asian American Justice Center) is a national organization that advances the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and builds and promotes a fair and equitable society for all through public education, policy analysis and research, policy advocacy, litigation and community capacity and coalition building.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta (formerly Asian American Legal Advocacy Center or AALAC) is the first non-profit law center dedicated to Asian immigrants and refugees in the Southeast.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago (formerly Asian American Institute) is the leading pan-Asian organization in the Midwest dedicated to empowering the Asian American community through advocacy, research, education, leadership development and coalition-building.
Our mission is to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities. www.advancingjustice.org
OC Community Advisory Councils
In 2016, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California launched an additional leadership group in Orange County — the Orange County Community Advisory Council (OC CAC), whose main focus is to build a strong coalition of AAPI community leaders and groups in order to raise the visibility and voice of the AAPI community in Orange County. The OC CAC is comprised of key leaders from the OC AAPI and nonprofit organizations, law schools and universities, the judiciary and local Asian bar associations.
Co-Chairs
Mary Anne Foo | M.P.H., OCAPICA
Dr. Linda Trinh Vo | University of California, Irvine
Members
Ellen Ahn | J.D., M.S.W., Korean Community Services
Hussam Ayloush | MBA, Council on American-Islamic Relations – LA
Katie Brazer | CHIRLA
Jury Candelario | APAIT
Ellen Chen | ENO
Susie Park Dickman, Esq. | Chapman Law School
The Honorable Judge Halim Dhanidina | The LA County Superior Court
Nathaniel F. Epstein, Esq.
Leigh Ferrin, Esq. | Public Law Center
Caroline Hahn, Esq. | Law Office of Caroline Hahn
Miguel Hernandez | OC Congregation Community Organization
T. Linh Ho, Esq. | Superior Court of CA
Cecilia Hong, Esq. | Magarian & DiMercurio
Ken Inouye | CPA, Japanese American Citizens League
Isabel Kang | Korean Resource Center
Alexander C. Kim | MBA., Three Kings Public Affairs
Janine Kim, Esq. | Dale E Fowler School of Law
Jeannie Kim, Esq. | OC Asian American Bar Association
Lisa Kim, Esq. | California Department of Justice
Jennifer Lee Koh | Western State College of Law
Susan Lew
Annie Lai, Esq. | University of California, Irvine
Zhihai Li | We Irvine & The Chinese American Mutual Association
Michelle Miu, Esq. | The Myers Law Group
Becky Nguyen | Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation
Christine Nguyen | Esq.,Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California
Tricia Nguyen | M.P.H., Southland Integrated Services, Inc
Dr. Eliza Noh | California State University, Fullerton
Jane Ka’ala Pang | Pacific Islander Health Partnership
Ho-El Park, Esq. | Korean American Chamber of Commerce of OC
Vattana Peong, M.P.H. | The Cambodian Family Community Center
Cheryl Kang Prout, Esq. | Orange County Korean American Bar Association
Shakeel Syed | Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development
Sr. Thuy Tran | CSJ., St. Joseph Hospital
Nate Watanabe, Esq. | Orange County Asian American Bar Association
Jacob Wu | Orange County Chinese Chamber of Commerce
Justice Giving Circle
Co-Chairs
Stewart Kwoh | President Emeritus
Hon. Mike Eng | CA Unemployment Insurance Appears Board Member and State Assemblymember (Retired)
Gloria Chang Yip | Asian Wealth, JPMorgan Private Bank
Pro Bono Advisory Council
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California’s Pro Bono Advisory Council is complementary to the Board of Directors and other Advisory Councils. Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California relies on the Pro Bono Advisory Council specifically for guidance in the development of its pro bono programs, turning to these members first as a resource in assisting with pro bono matters and issues. The Pro Bono Advisory Council also helps raise vital funds and resources needed to support and expand Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California’s pro bono programs. Members include attorneys from major national and international law firms, as well as in-house counsel at Fortune 100 companies.
Co- Chairs
Jonathan Shih, Esq. | Latham & Watkins LLPSteven K. Yoda, Esq. | Walzer Melcher & Yoda LLP
Members At Large
Kevin Tsai, Esq. | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Charles Laconico, Esq. | Amazon Web Services
Alicia Shen, Esq. | Amazon Web Services
Wendy Yu, Esq. | Amazon Web Services
Nalee Xiong, Esq.| Ballard & Spahr LLP
Stephanie Chau, Esq. | Womble Bond Dickinson
Helen Hwang, Esq. | Covington & Burling LLP
Jackson Pai, Esq. | Crowell & Moring LLP
Mariam Sawar, Esq. | Crowell & Moring LLP
Tiffany Sung, Esq. | Foley & Lardner LLP
Minnie Che, Esq. | Gibson Dunn LLP
Jia Jia Huang, Esq. | Goodwin
Wendy Qiu, Esq. | Holland & Knight LLP
Karen Kim, Esq. | Lewis Roca
Ed Tsui, Esq. | Littler Mendelson P.C.
Sophia Chang, Esq. | Loeb & Loeb
David Song, Esq. | Nixon Peabody LLP
Peng Shao, Esq. | R23 Law Jennifer N. Le, Esq. | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Avni Mehta, Esq. | Sidley Austin LLP Winston P. Hsiao, Esq. | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates
Michael Delune, Esq. | SMBC MANUBANK Judy Wang, Esq. | Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Julianna Mather, Esq. | The Walt Disney Company
Aileen Ng, Esq. | Troutman Pepper
Claire Yan, Esq. | UCLA Health
Steve Chiu, Esq. | Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP Jennifer M. Chang, Esq. | Mayer Brown LLP Irene Azcarraga, Esq. | McDermott Will & Emery LLPMark Chen, Esq. | Validity Finance
Anuj Dixit, Esq. | WilmerHale
Champions of Justice
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) is launching, Champions for Justice (Champions), an advisory group of high-profile opinion leaders from the worlds of arts, entertainment, culture and media. Members maintain an ongoing relationship with AJSOCAL and serve as ambassadors. By using their influence to champion the AAPI community, members of this group enhance the work of the organization by amplifying issues and points of view that are crucial to the pursuit of equity and social justice.
Our Champions
Community Legal Advocates
John Kim
Sophaleena Gershoff
Community Legal Advocate
Thu Ha
Legal Advocate
Homelessness Prevention
Quynh Pham
Community Legal Advocate
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
Crystal Siphan
Community Legal Advocate
ខ្មែរ (Khmer)
Jimmy Kim
Community Legal Advocate
한국어 (Korean)
Zoey Meng
Community Legal Advocate
普通话 (Mandarin)
Sylvia Shing
Community Legal Advocate
廣東話 (Cantonese)
Serin Woo
Community Legal Advocate
한국어 (Korean)
Jeanette Sayno
Community Legal Advocate
Tagalog (Filipino)
Riya Mehta
Community Legal Advocate
हिन्दी (Hindi)
Jack Pakawat
Community Legal Advocate
ภาษาไทย (Thai)
Anti-Hate Trainers
Christina Yang
General Counsel & Pro Bono Director
Nathan Vuong
Volunteer Operations Analyst
Jae Jin Lee
Legal Advocate
Rachel Ho
Legal Advocate Coordinator
Michi Lew
Individual Giving Assocaite
Florence Lin
Community Relations Manager at Asian Youth Center
Heidi Lau
Stop Hate Program Coordinator at Asian Youth Center
Zenny Dong
Health Programs Navigator