September 5th - End of Summer Mixer | NAACF - National Asian American Community Foundation

Nithin Jilla, Founding Board Member

Executive Director, Dreams for Schools

Nithin has an interest in technology, education and enjoys working collectively with leaders to bring about positive impact. He aspires to build models and systems that are sustainable and empower the next generation of youth to become leaders in their local community. He is a passionate educator and social entrepreneur who champions educating and empowering the next generation of innovators. He serves as the Executive Director of Dreams for Schools, whose mission is to make STEM approachable and accessible for all. Empowering Students & Cultivating Curiosity by providing the right tools and experience, Dreams for Schools helps kids program the future training them to be STEM literate with hard and soft skills needed to become the critical thinkers, creative leaders and technologists of tomorrow.

In addition, Nithin is also a community leader and serves as a member on several non-profit and advisory boards which include Harbor Day School in Corona Del Mar, UC Irvine Young Alumni Council, and OC Grantmakers. Nithin obtained his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine.

Johanna Kim, Founding Board Member

Managing Partner, Kerymen LLC

Johanna Lee Kim started her career as a real estate attorney out of UCLA Law School and transitioned into an entrepreneur, business owner, and investor. The five companies she has started have had numerous successful exits to private equity. She is currently the founder and managing director of Kerymen, LLC, a company specializing in commercial real estate and investing in opportunistic and alternative investments in Southern California.

Her philanthropic focus has been on addressing issues of racial inequity, fostering youth, and promoting women’s issues. She has served on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim and the Orange County board of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice. She is currently serving on the Newport Beach Library Foundation Board and is a founding advisory board member of the NAACF.

Joanna Kong, Founding Board Member

Director of Programs, The Sun Family Foundation

Joanna Kong is the Director of Programs for the Sun Family Foundation, a private nonprofit organization that supports education for disadvantaged youth and other charitable endeavors.

Prior to this role, she worked as a corporate attorney at various law firms, including Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. As a lawyer, she specialized in counseling business owners from formation through various stages of corporate growth, including exits. Joanna received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine.

Susan Lew, Founding Board Member

Officer, Hsu Hwa Chao Foundation

Susan Lew, MS, is an Officer of the Hsu Hwa Chao Foundation, which has a 25-year history in Orange County philanthropy. She is also a public health professional, health and science writer, musician, and community activist. Her writing has appeared in Brown Medicine Magazine, the Journal of RiskResearch, and the publications of many for-profit and non-profit healthcare organizations. Susan has a BA from Brown University and a MS from Harvard School of Public Health, where she specialized in social determinants of health, behavior change, and health communication. She served on the board of Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles from 2010-2018 and has been a singer in Pacific Chorale since 2010. Susan currently serves on the board of Planned Parenthood Community Action Fund of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, and was a member of the planning committees for the Orange County Women’s March 2018 and 2019.

Dr. Linda Vo, Founding Board Member

Dr. Linda Trinh Vo is a professor and former chair of the Dept of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego and was a UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow and UC Irvine Chancellor’s Fellow. She was an equity advisor for the UCI School of Humanities focusing on equal opportunity and equity practices in hiring, mentoring, and retention. Dr. Vo is the author of Mobilizing an Asian American Community, co-author of Vietnamese in Orange County, and co-editor of Keywords for Asian American Studies; Labor Versus Empire: Race, Gender, and Migration; Asian American Women: The “Frontiers” Reader; and Contemporary Asian American Communities: Intersections and Divergences. She also co-authored the report, Transforming Orange County: Assets and Needs of Asian Americans & Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. She was president of the national Association for Asian American Studies and series editor for the Asian American History and Culture series at Temple University Press. She is director of Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project and an ambassador for the UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive at UCI. She served on advisory boards for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-OC; Orange County Asian & Pacific Islander Community Alliance; Project MotiVATe; Viet Film Fest; Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association, and South Coast Repertory. She received the Public Image Award from Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA and from her campus was given the Pedagogical Innovation: Civic Engagement Teaching Award and the Community Service Award. She was also selected as “Most Influential” by the Orange County Register; 20 Women To Watch” in OC Metro Business Magazine; and “25 to Watch” in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine.

Ruchi Warrier, Founding Board Member

Founder and President at Strategy & Seva

Ruchi is a social impact strategist and facilitator, providing customized services in designing, leading, and facilitating innovative approaches to creating and delivering meaningful impact. She works with leaders, teams, and organizations to explore culture, processes and practices that address systemic barriers to a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) world.

Ruchi has over 15 years of experience in organizational development, strategy, international development and operations management spanning business, non-profit, and public organizations in education, health, pharma, advocacy, and philanthropy. Significant experience working in international and multicultural settings, and experience living and working abroad in Asia and Africa.

Relevant expertise in: strategic planning and evaluation, coaching, organizational development, leadership development, building high-performance teams, performance management, strategic philanthropy, multi-sector initiatives, program design, implementation planning, curriculum and toolkit development, global health, economic development.

Ginger Sun, Founding Board Member

Ginger Sun is an active community leader who currently serves on the Advisory Board of the National Asian American Community Foundation. In the past, Ginger has also served on the Advisory Board and Inaugural Gala Committee of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Orange County, the Parent Association Boards of St Mary’s School and Sage Hill School. She and her husband, Arthur Ong, are active supporters of the Wooden Floor, a dance-based, youth development not-for-profit that is transforming the lives of young people in low-income communities.

Ginger was born in Hong Kong and moved to the United States at the age of 3 but retains a strong Chinese cultural identity. She has always believed in being a liaison between newer immigrants and community institutions. In expressing why she stays so active in the community, Ginger states “It took me a long time to realize how important it is for Asian Americans to have a stronger voice in our society. I want to give back to our community and make sure future generations know they have a voice and can make a difference.

September 5th – End of Summer Mixer