Meet Our Leadership – Teach AAPI

Our operating board are founding members who lead the work of TeachAAPI through the connection of mission, communication and celebration. Our collective goal is to strengthen identity and self-advocacy for future generations of AAPI children while developing allyship with all children. This group of co-founders work together to ensure TeachAAPI has an enduring impact through our programs and partnerships.

Ann Kono

Co-Founder, Executive Board

Ann Kono, a finance industry executive with 20+ years of experience in scaling enterprises and complex infrastructure design. Formerly at Ares Management, she now serves on public/private boards. With a decade of non-profit leadership, Ann will help drive meaningful change at TeachAAPI to enhance AAPI pride, identity, and resources for future generations.

Renee Yang

Co-Founder, Executive Board

Renee Yang, with 20+ years of CPG Strategy and Marketing expertise, brings a consumer-first mindset, simplifying complexity to drive results. Passionate about CSR, she led Neutrogena’s efforts in skin cancer reduction, sustainability, and social equity. A parent and advocate for TeachAAPI, Renee aims to educate new generations about AAPI experiences in a leading non-profit organization.

Ellen Chen

Founding Board Member, Board Member of Mendocino Farms, Investor/Advisor

Ellen, founder of Mendocino Farms, now supports female & minority founders. With 20+ years in food brands, she offers a big business perspective with an entrepreneur’s passion. Recognized by Nation’s Restaurant News, she serves on boards, advises startups, and is a Teach AAPI & AAPI LA board member.

Gloria Chang Yip

Founding Board Member

Gloria Chang Yip is an Executive Director at JP Morgan Private Bank with 20 years of experience in senior management roles. She specializes in liquidity events, strategic sales, and IPOs for founders and entrepreneurs. She holds a CFA and MBA from The Wharton School, is a founding board member of TeachAAPI, and is passionate about Asian community investment. Fluent in 5 languages, Gloria enjoys travel, food, and the arts.

Carol Koh Evans

CFO, Executive Board

Carol Koh Evans, CFO of HopSkipDrive, has 20+ years of finance experience in tech, ecommerce, and digital media. Formerly CFO of Baby2Baby, she supports female founders and underrepresented entrepreneurs. With expertise in CPG, nonprofits, Carol will help TeachAAPI manage budgets, fundraising, and operations to promote AAPI history education in U.S. schools.

Jeanne Yang

Founding Board Member

Jeanne Yang has been one of the world’s top fashion stylists for 20+ years. She began her career as the Managing Editor and Associate Publisher at Detour Magazine. Since focusing her career on freelance fashion styling many years ago, Yang has amassed an incredible roster of clientele. She currently works with A-list talent including Christian Bale, Robert Downey Jr., Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Jamie Dornan, Kumail Nanjiani, Anthony Mackie, Colin Farrell, and more. She has contributed to top publications such as GQ, InStyle, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Vogue and continues to consult for major fashion and cosmetic companies on their national advertising campaigns. In her new role at Anonymous Content, Jeanne is managing directors and actors, developing and producing TV and films and as she continues to consult with major brands and style her top clients.

Serena Ling Minikes

Founding Board Member

Serena grew up in San Francisco, earned an Economics degree from UC Berkeley and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Serena spent 20 years imagining, creating and growing products and brands. From nurturing multiple categories within the Neutrogena global portfolio to taking Honest Beauty from idea to shelf, Serena has defined her career by helping brands achieve seemingly impossible goals by thinking, planning and acting strategically. Serena has three young children at the Willows Community School. Bringing tiny humans into this world reshuffled her priorities and deepened a sense of responsibility for future generations. When she’s not working with TeachAAPI, or a client, Serena serves as a Trustee on the board of the Willows.

Maya Dharwarkar

Founding Board Member

Maya Dharwarkar is a Los Angeles native, graduate of Marlborough School, UCLA, and Harvard Law School, and current Brentwood School parent. She is a seasoned litigator, providing litigation, risk management services and litigation counseling to the Wonderful Company LLC and affiliates. Maya is the past President of Brentwood School’s Parents Association (Lower School, 2020-2021), Current Brentwood School Parents Association Executive Board Member (2019- present), and current member of Marlborough School’s Alumnae Board (2021-present). Maya is passionate about bringing an anti-racism and DEI lens to every table and igniting ideas and aspirations into tangible change. She is excited to work with TeachAAPI to broader AAPI representation in school curricula and inspire AAPI children and their families to advocate for themselves and others.

Diana Ra-Lee

Advisory Board Member

Diana Ra-Lee is the founder and creative director/partner of dRA clothing, a namesake clothing brand created in 2013. Hailed by Bloomberg as one of the “top 9 brands making Los Angeles the next fashion capital”, dRA is carried in over 200 shops both nationally and internationally. She co-founded MAM – Modern Artisan Marketplace in 2017, a design focused pop-up marketplace created to support the global movement toward shopping small and local. She is an active member of Gold House, (gold rush fashion rushee) a leading Asian Pacific changemaker community. Diana is the president of the Parent Association at St. James school where her 2 kids, Sophie (10) and Jake (8) currently attend.

Amita Ramesh

Advisory Board Member

Amita is a Los Angeles native and alumna of Chadwick School, UCLA and Georgetown Law School. Amita is a current parent at Curtis School (6th and 3rd grade) and Brentwood Sunshine Preschool. After leaving the practice of corporate law, Amita has focused on enriching her community and her childrens’ school communities. Amita has served in volunteer leadership roles at her childrens’ schools and is currently serving a second year on the Curtis Parents Association Executive Committee. Amita has conceptualized, organized and led cultural celebrations for Diwali at her childrens’ schools for years and has a passion for sharing cultural traditions with her friends and her childrens’ friends. Outside of school, Amita serves as an ambassador for the “Power of Words” by Thale Blanc, a fashion brand focused on raising awareness around mental health issues. She has also sat on the Independent School Alliance Advisory Committee and Event planning committee. Amita is excited to join Teach AAPI in raising awareness of AAPI education as part of every child’s education and to share her rich cultural experiences as well as learn about other AAPI cultural traditions and histories.

Calvin Cheng

Founding Board Member

Calvin Cheng has practiced corporate law for 15+ years with law firms in Beijing, Palo Alto and Los Angeles. He is currently a partner and chair of the corporate department at TroyGould, where he advises on venture financings, M&A and public offerings. He has previously served on the board of the Weingart-East Los Angeles YMCA. Prior to law, Calvin served as an organizer with the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, Local 2 in San Francisco. He is honored to have served the multi-racial, multi-lingual, predominantly immigrant and LGBTQ+ friendly communities of the SF Bay Area where he was born and raised. He cherishes his past experiences organizing people from diverse backgrounds to take concerted action for a common cause (including a few labor strikes), and to have used his Chinese language capabilities to do so. Calvin is the proud parent of a daughter who attended Harvard Westlake and Westridge School for Girls, and a son who currently attends Harvard Westlake.

Brooke Thatawat

Advisory Board Member

Brooke Thatawat has been in the Film & Television Industry as a Costume Supervisor and Costume Designer for over 25 years. She has two young children at The Buckley School and this has led to her involvement in AAPI causes and activism. She is determined to make our schools and community a better place for Asian children compared to her personal experience as a student in Los Angeles. She is also a founder of DINE-1-1, a non-profit born out of the pandemic focused on helping front line workers and restaurant industries. Her newest venture is in the works and she hopes to launch her online business for the film/tv costume industry this year.

Diana Ra-Lee

Advisory Board Member

Katie Chin

Advisory Board Member

Celebrity Chef Katie Chin is an Award-winning cookbook author, caterer (Wok Star Catering) and blogger. Katie has been featured in many publications such as USA Today, O Magazine, Cooking Light, Bon Appetit, Elle, Real Simple, The Wall Street Journal, HuffPost and Epicurious. Her numerous appearances on national television include Live with Kelly & Ryan, The Real, The Today Show, Hallmark Channel, Cooking Channel, Cutthroat Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay, ABC’s Localish, Supermarket Stakeout and as a guest judge on Food Network’s Iron Chef America. In 2013, Katie was a featured chef at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House under the Obama administration. Her fifth cookbook “Katie Chin’s Global Family Cookbook” was released in June 2021. She is a fierce advocate of promoting #AAPI interests by serving as Co-Chair of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s #AAPILA Task Force. She is also passionate about her philanthropic endeavors by serving as the Culinary Ambassador to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation and as SW Regional Ambassador to Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. Katie’s One Woman Show “Holy Shitake: A Wok Star is Born” is currently in development at Theater Mu, an AAPI Theater based in her hometown of Mpls. In her spare time, Katie throws karaoke dinner parties and performs in the band she formed with her hubby during the Pandemic, “Never Too Late.” Katie’s 14 year-old twins attend Calabasas High School. Katie and her daughter Becca’s Facebook livestreaming show “Cooking with Katie and Becca” (featured on ABC, New York Live and Today in LA) airs every Sunday at 5pm PST.

Jennifer Yen

Advisory Board Member

As a mother and an entrepreneur, Yen is passionate about supporting women, children, education and mentorship. She is on the Leadership team of Visionary Women, on the host committee of Rise of the Female entrepreneur, host for Children Action Network, Curtis Celebrates Chair, Judge for Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and a member of YPO Hollywood. Yen also gives back to the beauty industry yearly. Donating to Look Good Feel Better and Dress For Success with her brands. International Women’s Day is an important day for YENSA, as the brand regularly partners with Dress for Success, a charity that inspires women to seek economic independence.

Victoria Yu

Advisory Board Member

Victoria is passionate about educating young children and celebrating her Asian heritage with her friends and community. As a former international student in the US and UK, she is excited to share her perspective to foster the development of future generations of the AAPI community. She was born and raised in Hong Kong, attended boarding school at Phillips Academy Andover and obtained a BA in English Literature from Cornell University. She also has a law degree from The University of Cambridge and an MBA from The Wharton School. In Hong Kong, she was a lawyer at Baker and McKenzie, specializing in dispute resolution. She oversaw a wide variety of contentious matters, encompassing complex commercial, property and criminal litigation; criminal and regulatory investigations; company and customs matters; and commercial arbitration. After moving to the US, she pivoted into fashion ecommerce at Revolve Clothing. At Revolve, she led the international team on logistics, business development and customer experience. She also handled external partnerships, budget management and business analysis. Victoria has a 4 year old daughter at Brentwood Presbyterian Church Preschool. Victoria is passionately committed to bringing activities and celebrations that highlight AAPI culture and heritage to preschoolers. To date, she has organized school-wide celebrations of Lunar New Year and Holi, and added to the school’s AAPI library resources. She looks forward to adding events featuring holidays and traditions from other Asian cultures, and expanding and adapting TAP offerings to a wider preschool audience.