Wisconsin’s Most Influential Asian American Leaders 2022

Yearly since our founding in 2015, we’ve got acknowledged Wisconsin’s most influential Black and Latino leaders, and we have been very proud in 2020 to additionally start to acknowledge Indigenous and Asian American leaders. These lists have turn into probably the most anticipated factor we do. Yearly, I’ve supposed these lists to spotlight the fantastic thing about the variety throughout our state. I need children right here in Wisconsin to see function fashions of people who find themselves succeeding, to know that it’s doable for folks of coloration to realize nice issues right here.

This week we shine a statewide highlight on the devoted leaders of Wisconsin’s Hmong, Chinese language-American, Japanese-American, Pacific Islander, South Asian, and different communities. These are richly numerous communities with roots that symbolize an enormous geographic space. The folks we spotlight this week are elected leaders, enterprise leaders and group leaders, doing tough, necessary work, typically within the face of discrimination and actually generations of oppression.

We’re additionally conscious that this record, like each different, will not be complete. There are, indubitably, greater than 35 influential Asian American leaders doing good work in Wisconsin. We hope you’ll tell us about folks in your group who we will embody on future lists. For now, although, we simply wish to introduce you to a couple of the folks doing the work, typically behind the scenes and with out the accolades, throughout Wisconsin.

You would possibly know a couple of of those names, however there’s a great probability that the majority of them might be new to you. I urge you to get to know them. Attain out to these residing and dealing in your communities. Study from them, community, create partnerships. And unfold the phrase — let others in your community know that we’ve got folks of all ethnicities residing and dealing throughout Wisconsin to make this state a great and affluent place for all.

Henry Sanders, Jr
CEO, 365 Media Basis
Writer, Madison365

Ae (Alex) Hanesakda is founder and proprietor of SapSap, a Lao-inspired restaurant in Mount Nice, close to Racine. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand, Hanesakda began a pop-up restaurant in a rented kitchen, which rapidly grew right into a full-fledged endeavor. SapSap, which implies “scrumptious, scrumptious,” began an initiative in 2021 known as PengPeng – peng means “to softly look after” – to feed hungry folks and veterans. In 2021, the restaurant distributed over $10,000 value of sizzling meals to these in want.

E Her Vang is managing director of the Community for Faculty Enchancment at Metropolis Yr Milwaukee. In that function, she leads Metropolis Yr’s efforts to determine and facilitate a community of faculties that may make the most of steady enchancment practices to enhance the on-track charges for eighth-grade college students at native websites. Previous to becoming a member of Metropolis Yr Milwaukee in 2019, she labored in group well being with the Milwaukee Consortium for Hmong Well being and Unbiased Care Well being Plan. She is vp of the board of Our Scholarship and served two years on the committee for Hmong Younger Professionals, amongst many different volunteer tasks. She earned a bachelor’s diploma in biology from UW-Madison and a grasp’s diploma in public well being from UW-Milwaukee. 

Yogesh Chawla represents Madison’s near-east aspect on the Dane County Board of Supervisors, a place to which he was first elected in 2018. Representing one of the vital progressive districts within the state, he sits on the Arts and Cultural Affairs Fee Government Committee, the Election Safety Overview Committee, the Atmosphere, Agriculture and Pure Assets Committee, and the Land Conservation Committee. Professionally, he’s director of the software program and knowledge engineering program at SEARCH, the Nationwide Consortium for Justice Info and Statistics. He holds a level in laptop science from Binghamton College.

MaiKou Heu is principal of Johnston Elementary Faculty in Appleton. She and her household migrated to the USA when she was 2 years outdated and made Appleton their dwelling shortly after arriving in the USA. Her first hand experiences as a dual-language learner, at a time when the college system didn’t have the information and expertise to assist these studying English, result in her ardour for turning into an educator.  MaiKou graduated from the College of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a Bachelor Diploma in Training and Human Companies and a minor in Prison Justice. She additionally earned her Grasp Diploma in Faculty Counseling from the College of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a Grasp Diploma in Administration, Curriculum Improvement, and Particular Training/Pupil Companies from Nationwide-Louis College. MaiKou has had in depth expertise working outdoors of the general public schooling system offering particular person and household counseling providers, youth improvement, profession improvement in addition to instructing counseling-related graduate programs.   Within the fall of 2005, MaiKou start her service within the Appleton Space Faculty District as a Faculty Counselor at Highlands Elementary. MaiKou has additionally served the District because the Dean of College students at Lincoln Elementary, Summer time Faculty Coordinator at Foster Elementary, Affiliate Principal of Huntley Elementary, and AASD Faculty Counseling Program Assist. MaiKou was named Principal of Johnston Elementary Faculty starting with the 2018-2019 college 12 months.  

David Lee is the Chief Government Officer at Think about MKE, the place he works to harness the facility of our area’s arts group and tradition creators. David is a nationally and domestically acknowledged chief, together with “Notable Minority Executives” from The Milwaukee BizTimes, and brings almost 20 years of expertise in non-profit authorities relations, advocacy, and legislative affairs. He beforehand labored as founding government director of Feeding Wisconsin after a number of years working at Feeding America. He additionally serves on the Board of Administrators of Ex Fabula and Outpost Pure Meals. 

Dr. Soyeon Shim assumed her present place because the Dean of the Faculty of Human Ecology (SoHE) on the College of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012. She has led SoHE’s All Methods Ahead marketing campaign and exceeded its marketing campaign aim by 150% by elevating $72 million, together with 13 endowed chairs and professorships, a deanship, and 10 new graduate fellowship endowments. Dr. Shim’s scholarly analysis focuses on client decision-making and has received aggressive grants totaling greater than $1.5 million from federal businesses and personal foundations. Dr. Shim has acquired quite a few instructing, analysis, improvement, and management awards, each on the college and state/nationwide degree. She has authored or co-authored over 120 scholarly articles in refereed journals. Born and raised in Seoul, Dr. Shim obtained two levels (B.S. ‘81 and M.S. ’83) from the Faculty of Human Ecology at Yonsei College, adopted by a Ph.D. from the College of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1986. After a brief stint as an assistant professor at Colorado State College, she was recruited to the College of Arizona, the place she spent 22 years. In her earlier function because the director of the Norton Faculty of Household and Shopper Sciences on the UA, she led a $25 million capital marketing campaign to construct a brand new facility, McClelland Park. She additionally raised greater than $30 million to create an endowment fund and title the Faculty in honor of John and Doris Norton, and established a number of named facilities and institutes in partnership with personal sectors and particular person donors.

Joshua Kaul is Legal professional Basic for the State of Wisconsin, a place he was elected to in 2018, when he defeated incumbent Brad Schimel. He’s the son of Indian immigrant Raj Kaul and former Legal professional Basic Peg Lautenschlager. Raised in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, he graduated from Yale and went on to Stanford Regulation Faculty. Kaul clerked for Michael Boudin in the USA Court docket of Appeals for the First Circuit. From 2007 by 2010, he labored for the regulation agency Jenner & Block, and labored as a federal prosecutor within the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace in Baltimore by 2014. In 2014, Kaul moved again to Wisconsin and joined the regulation agency Perkins Coie’s Madison workplace.

That is the second of a five-part collection. Half One is here.

Adam Clausen serves because the Senior Chief of Life Middle Madison, a non-denominational, multi-cultural church. He co-founded a grassroots group organizing effort of service suppliers, the Southeast Group Community, that serves the southeast aspect of Madison, which collaborates with one in all Madison’s NRTs. He at present serves out of the Workplace of the Superintendent for MMSD, along with quite a lot of boards, committees, and councils that advocate for justice, youth engagement and empowerment, and group collaboration, together with the Basis Board for One Metropolis Faculties. 

Lisa Imhoff is affiliate dean for variety and inclusion on the College of Wisconsin Faculty of Pharmacy. She can also be a licensed therapist and social employee offering providers by Evolve Wellness and Consulting. Previous to taking over the D&I function on the Faculty of Pharmacy in 2019, she was a psychological well being clinician and substance abuse providers coordinator on the college and spent 10 years as an evaluator and therapist at UW Well being. She earned a bachelor’s diploma in journalism and girls’s research at UW-Madison, in addition to a grasp’s diploma in social work.

Maneesh Arora is founder and CEO of Elephas, a Madison-based firm that’s growing an imaging platform know-how to evaluate how stay tumor fragments reply to most cancers therapies. Previous to founding Elephas in 2020, Maneesh was CEO of Farcast Biosciences, a venture-backed most cancers diagnostics firm centered on enhancing remedy outcomes for most cancers sufferers. Earlier than becoming a member of Farcast, Maneesh served as Chief Working Officer of Actual Sciences Company for ten years the place he helped lead the expansion of the corporate from 3 staff to over 3,000 on the finish of his tenure there. Actual Sciences’ focus is the early detection and prevention of colon most cancers. Actual’s lead product, Cologuard, was developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and is now extensively obtainable within the US as a front-line screening methodology for colorectal most cancers, reimbursed by each Medicare and all main insurers. Previous to becoming a member of Actual, Maneesh labored for Third Wave Applied sciences, Inc., a molecular diagnostics firm, from 2003 till its acquisition by Hologic, Inc. in July 2008. Throughout his time at Third Wave, he was chargeable for enterprise technique and business operations earlier than being promoted to Chief Monetary Officer in January 2006. Maneesh earned a BA in economics from the College of Chicago and an MBA from the Kellogg Faculty of Administration at Northwestern College.

Crystal Potts is the Director of State Relations for the College of Wisconsin-Madison. In her function, she serves because the point-of-contact for state authorities relations, together with the governor’s workplace, state legislature, and state businesses. She additionally assists within the creation and implementation of a statewide advocacy effort on behalf of the college. Crystal beforehand served because the chief of employees to Wisconsin State Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Inexperienced). On this capability, she additionally supported the legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee because the senate employees lead on tax and native authorities points. She additionally served because the analysis assistant and employees clerk to the Committee on Methods & Means within the State Meeting early in her profession on the Wisconsin State Capitol. Initially from the Twin Cities, Crystal is a proud graduate of UW-Madison with a BA in political science and Chinese language. She lives in Fitchburg along with her husband, two sons, canine, and two cats.

Kabby Hong is an English instructor at Verona Excessive Faculty, and was named Wisconsin’s Trainer of the Yr for 2022. With over 20 years instructing expertise, he has given a number of displays for The New York Instances on argumentative writing. He has acquired awards from Stanford College and the College of Chicago for his effectiveness as a instructor. Over the previous two years, he has used his platform as a distinguished educator to talk out in regards to the sharp improve in hate crimes in opposition to Asian People. The sone of Korean immigrants and born in Los Angeles, he acquired his bachelor’s diploma in journal journalism from the College of Missouri – Columbia and went on to get a grasp’s diploma in secondary schooling from the College of Colorado – Boulder.

Tina Chang is the Chair and CEO of SysLogic, Inc, serving shoppers for over 26 years within the areas of Know-how Technique & Digital Transformation, Info Administration & Enterprise Intelligence, Cybersecurity/Enterprise Threat and Software program Improvement. SysLogic is devoted to driving shoppers’ progress by leveraging modern know-how and sound enterprise processes. Throughout SysLogic’s 26 years, she has leveraged the corporate to spin off two know-how start-ups (SysSpark, LLC, and Cyberspect, LLC). Tina serves on the boards of a number of non-profit and group organizations together with: Alverno Faculty, Kids’s – Wisconsin, Metropolitan Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, Midwest Cybersecurity Alliance, Milwaukee Public Faculties Basis, Wisconsin Coverage Discussion board, Train for America, Waukesha County Enterprise Alliance, and the YMCA-Metro Milwaukee. Tina beforehand served in board management positions at Ascension-WI, United Performing Arts Fund and United Approach of Larger Milwaukee and Waukesha.

Mai Yang Krenzke is a program supervisor at Oshkosh Company, a job she was promoted to 2 and a half years in the past after greater than 4 years as a senior principal engineer within the firm’s high quality and steady enchancment space and one other eight years in numerous roles quickly ascending the company ladder. She has additionally been an actual property investor as co-owner of Prime Properties for greater than 5 years. She has volunteered as a Steady Enchancment Coach with Poverty Outcomes Enchancment Community Crew and a instructor with Junior Achievement. She earned a level in finance from UW-Oshkosh in 2005.

Emily Tau, a Chinese language American skilled in Milwaukee, is advertising and communications officer on the Metropolis of Milwaukee’s Well being Division, managing public data, media relations and group relations for the state’s largest public well being division. She stepped into that function within the spring of 2021, within the midst of the pandemic, as the newest chapter in a profession in strategic communications that goes again over 10 years. Most lately, she spent greater than 4 years doing communications for VISIT Milwaukee and a number of other different years working for advertising businesses. She earned a level in public relations and theatre arts from Marquette College in 2010.

Ron Kuramoto has served as Government Director of Peace Studying Middle of Milwaukee since June 2021. For 4 a long time, he has served in quite a few nonprofit organizations in each the Southern California and higher Milwaukee areas. Within the higher Milwaukee space, Ron has served as Nationwide Senior Vice President of Public Allies, Inc., as Director/Facilitator of the Future Milwaukee Group Management Applications of Marquette College, as a Founding Board Director of the Wisconsin Nonprofits Affiliation, as a Board Director of Management Wisconsin, First Stage, Life Navigators, IndependenceFirst, and as a member of the Rotary Membership of Milwaukee.  Ron additionally at present serves as President of the Japanese American Residents League (JACL) – Wisconsin Chapter in addition to an Government Committee member of the Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition of Wisconsin.

Peter Tan is chief design officer at Strang, Inc and an architect with greater than 30 years of expertise designing award-winning business, civic and concrete design initiatives. He grew up in Malaysia and earned bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in structure from Cornell College. He joined Smith Blackburn Shauffer Architects in 1987 and relocated to Madison in 1991, becoming a member of Strang in 1993. Through the years, he has volunteered with the Boy Scouts and West Madison Senior Coalition and served on the Madison City Design Fee, the board of Madison Area Financial Partnership and Advisory Council of Higher Home.

Mayhoua Moua is the Government Director of Southeast Asian Academic Improvement of Wisconsin, Inc (SAED). The group reaches out to Southeast Asian refugees within the Milwaukee space and helps them adapt to life in the USA. The group additionally assists refugees find entry to well being care, schooling, and employment. Moua was born in Laos through the aftermath of the Vietnam Warfare. Her dad and uncle labored for the USA to rescue prisoners of struggle in Vietnam, so when communism got here into the nation in 1975 the household needed to flee. The household fled to Thailand, lived there for a 12 months within the refugee camps, and got here to the USA in 1976 when she was 7 years outdated. As a toddler, she helped her mother and father adapt to the USA by getting an schooling and being their translator. She grew up within the Twin Cities, bought married in her late teenagers, then moved to Appleton earlier than settling in Milwaukee in 1991. At Milwaukee, she began working for the Lao Household Group, Inc. as a housing specialist. Then, she labored as an employment specialist serving to Southeast Asians be part of the workforce. In 1993, Moua helped set up HAWA, Hmong American Girls’s Affiliation, Inc. 

Yasir Kamal started as an American Household company proprietor in 2009, working his manner as much as vp of inclusive excellence, the place he and his group lead efforts to develop and assist the corporate’s technique to advance variety, fairness and inclusion.. He’s a Licensed Range Government and Accredited Small Enterprise Marketing consultant. He’s a board member of the D214 Charity Committee, which helps remedy of childhood most cancers, and Incapacity:IN Wisconsin.

Sae Yang is fairness and inclusion coordinator for the Neenah Joint Faculty District, a job she assumed in 2021 after six years as an educator within the Appleton Space Faculty District. Whereas at Appleton, she served as adviser to Appleton West’s Hmong Membership and on the state’s English Language Arts Educational Requirements Committee. She earned a grasp’s diploma in academic management and administration from UW-Oshkosh in 2020 and her bachelor’s from the identical college in 2014. 

Goodson Vue is affiliate director of the College of Wisconsin PEOPLE program, which has enrolled greater than 1,000 college students on scholarships to UW-Madison. Vue, who’s Hmong, coordinates the Faculty Scholar program, supporting college students by their time on the college. He was promoted to this function after eight years as assistant director and 4 years as an adviser. He holds a bachelor’s diploma in sociology and grasp’s diploma in communications from UW-Whitewater.

Yoshihiro Kawaoka is a virologist within the Division of Pathobiological Sciences within the College of Wisconsin Faculty of Veterinary Drugs, and one of many world’s main authorities on influenza and Ebola viruses. Born in Kobe, Japan, he additionally holds a professorship on the College of Tokyo. Following the West African Ebola virus epidemic of 2014, Kawaoka started improvement of an Ebola vaccine. He has been honored with quite a few awards and recognitions, together with the Robert Koch Prize, Japan’s Medal of Honor, Membership in the USA Nationwide Academy of Sciences, Well-liked Mechanics Breakthrough Award, Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology, Japan Academy Prize and Sir Michael Stoker Prize.

Kevin J. Miyazaki is a graphic designer, photographer, and educator based mostly in Milwaukee. Born and raised in Milwaukee, he traces his heritage to Japan and Hawaii. His work has been printed in a number of nationally circulated magazines. Miyazaki started his profession as a employees photographer at The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1997 and 1998 he turned the picture editor at Cincinnati Journal. He has been an everyday contributor to Milwaukee Journal for the reason that early 2000s. Different publication credit embody Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, Nationwide Geographic Traveler, GQ, The New York Instances, Meals & Wine, and quite a few others. Miyazaki’s artwork pictures have been featured in galleries everywhere in the United States, together with Seattle, San Francisco, New Jersey, and New York Metropolis. He has additionally acquired a number of honors for his work, together with being a recipient of the Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowship, and being hosted as an artist in residence on the Middle for Pictures at Woodstock. He attended Drake College in Des Moines, Iowa, the place he earned his bachelor’s diploma in 1990.

Angela Jenkins is an achieved DEI chief and strategist with expertise constructing sustainable and progressive packages centered on aligning fairness and enterprise priorities. She is at present a Know-how Venture Supervisor at American Household Insurance coverage with oversight on the recruitment and placement of prime tech expertise into the Information Science and Analytics Lab. Angela has labored with group, nonprofit organizations, and enormous firms throughout numerous industries and sectors similar to know-how and pharmacology analysis and improvement. Angela is a proud College of Washington Husky with variety and inclusion certifications from Cornell College and the Institute for Range. She holds numerous management positions on a number of non-profits similar to The River Meals Pantry, The Periods At McPike Park, and Collaboration for Good. She is a commissioner on Metropolis of Madison’s Zoning Board of Attraction and is a member of the AAPI Coalition of Wisconsin, a statewide group that amplifies AAPI voices and leads advocacy initiatives that stand in opposition to hate and racism. 

Bryan Cayabyab is human assets director at meals and beverage producer JBS USA in Inexperienced Bay, the place he manages the human assets wants for a employees of greater than 1,200 staff. He’s labored his manner as much as that place since he joined the corporate as a coaching and improvement supervisor in 2014. Cayabyab started his profession in nursing, volunteering on the Dagupan Physician’s Veterans Memorial Hospital within the Philippines and dealing in reminiscence care at Tender Rose House Care in San Francisco, earlier than transitioning to human assets there in 2013. He holds a grasp’s diploma in industrial and organizational psychology from Springfield Faculty.

Dr. Nhi Lê is an accelerator catalyst at Wisconsin Alumni Analysis Basis. Born in Vietnam and raised in Georgia, she earned a PhD in materials science from UW-Madison with a analysis deal with stem cell engineering and biomanufacturing. She can also be a deep tech investor at Paeonia Capital, based mostly in Singapore, and founding accomplice of the enterprise agency Mariton Companions. She has her title on six patents.

Dr. Jay Balachandran is a doctor with Ascension Medical Group in Brookfield, specializing in crucial care, pulmonary drugs and sleep drugs. He graduated from the College of Wisconsin Faculty of Drugs and Public Well being in 2003. He accomplished his residency in Inside Drugs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, throughout which era he was named Chief Resident. He has accomplished fellowship coaching in Pulmonary and Crucial Care Drugs at Harvard Medical Faculty and fellowship coaching in Sleep Drugs on the College of Chicago Medical Middle. He’s the Chair for Hospital Specialty Drugs at Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s and is one in all Milwaukee’s Prime Medical doctors in Pulmonary/ Crucial Care Drugs and Sleep Drugs. He’s additionally a Village of Wh
itefish Bay Trustee and a member of the Whitefish Bay Public Library Board.

Sarah Chitharanjan Jacobs is variety, fairness and inclusion supervisor at UnityPoint Well being-Meriter, the place she manages DEI efforts for the group’s 3,200 staff, about 13 % of whom determine as folks of coloration. Earlier than becoming a member of Meriter in December of 2020, she labored in viewers providers, fundraising and membership for Wisconsin Public Tv and Wisconsin Public Radio for greater than 10 years. She can also be a strategic guide for The E-book Deal, a family-owned, mission-driven bookstore. A Stevens Level native of Indian and Polish heritage, she earned a level in communication arts and Spanish from UW-Madison in 2006 and a certification as a Skilled Co-Energetic Coach in 2018.

Sachin Chheda is a accomplice at Nation Consulting and a communications, authorities relations, advocacy and nonprofit administration skilled. He’s a incessantly utilized supply for political and enterprise reporters, and was named a “Behind the Scenes Energy Participant” by Gannett Media and one of many nation’s 500 prime “Influencers” by Campaigns & Elections journal. He at present serves as director of the Honest Elections Venture, as campaigns advisor to the Financial Safety Venture, as a strategic communications advisor to the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, and as senior advisor to Group Shares of Larger Milwaukee. Sachin additionally oversaw profitable campaigns for Wisconsin Supreme Court docket Justices Rebecca Dallet and Jill Karofsky, Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, and then-Superintendent Tony Evers, in addition to dozens of native judges, aldermen, college board members and others. He beforehand served as a guide to SEIU, as director of the Wisconsin Honest Commerce Coalition and Wisconsin Stem Cell Now, as deputy director for the Nationwide Coalition to Abolish the Demise Penalty, and as Outreach Director for the movie As Goes Janesville, amongst many different shoppers. Previous to coming to Nation Consulting in 2006, Sachin spent 5 years as an aide to Governor Jim Doyle.  Sachin is energetic in nonprofit management, having served two phrases as Chair of the Board of Administrators for NARAL Professional-Alternative America. He at present serves as a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Board of Administrators, and as Wisconsin State Director for South Asians for America. He beforehand served as an officer of the Wisconsin Coalition of Asian Indian Organizations and is Chairman Emeritus of the Democratic Occasion of Milwaukee County. Sachin attended each the College of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and UW-Madison.

Jilly Gokalgandhi  at present works with the American Household Insurance coverage Institute on the Fairness in Training group, specializing in early childhood schooling, literacy, and highschool commencement and was elected to the Milwaukee Public Faculties Board of Administrators in April 2021. She attended public colleges after which graduated from Marquette College the place she studied Worldwide Relations, Spanish, and Economics. She began her profession at Make use of Milwaukee as a youth workforce improvement coverage analyst. From there, she was the Group Faculties Coordinator through the United Approach for Bradley Know-how and Commerce Excessive Faculty, which led her to Rockwell Automation’s group relations division the place she is entrusted with Ladies in STEM programming. She served because the Curator of the Milwaukee International Shapers, a youth affiliate of the World Financial Discussion board, and has been concerned with the Metropolis Yr Affiliate Board, STEM Ahead Board, and Acts Housing Board committees. Director Gokalgandhi is the primary South Asian lady to serve on the Milwaukee Board of Faculty Administrators.

Sumit Rana is senior vp at Epic, the place he has labored for almost 24 years. One of many minds behind MyChart, the corporate’s signature product, he started as a software program developer in 1998 after graduating from the Delhi Faculty of Engineering in India. He has served on the Board of Trustees at Madison Nation Day Faculty.

Nishant Upadhyay is director of knowledge and analytics at UW Credit score Union, the place he began in June 2021 after almost 14 years at American Household Insurance coverage, the place he most lately served as vp for data and knowledge administration. He earned an undergraduate diploma from St Xavier’s Faculty in Mumbai and an MBA from Bhavnagar College, additionally in India, in 1997.

Karen Hung is CEO and founding father of Silver Rock Consulting, which she launched in 2014 the place she works with main establishments and types to speed up technique and alignment by a proprietary co-creation mannequin. Previous to founding Silver Rock Consulting, Karen held officer and government roles with Lands’ Finish, GE, Ann Taylor, Citigroup and a privately held healthcare firm. She has a background with Fortune 100 enterprises and has held Chief Advertising and marketing, Technique and Innovation Officer roles. In a client-advisory capability, she held interim C-Suite roles with MetLife and led specialised initiatives, together with the rollout of a advertising transformation roadmap for AbbVie’s US Industrial Enterprise Unit and training innovation groups at Johnson Controls. With a deal with enterprise and enterprise transformation, Karen’s experience spans a number of industries, together with monetary providers, retail, prescription drugs and CPG. Leveraging her experience in enterprise improvement and transformational management, Karen has been constantly acknowledged for her management and imaginative and prescient in reaching group success in start-up and turn-around conditions. Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts diploma in Psychology from Washington College and an MBA from the Harvard Enterprise Faculty. Karen serves on the Boards of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Rotary Membership of Milwaukee.  She is an adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management on the College of Wisconsin – Lubar Faculty of Enterprise, and is the founder and chair of Intersect, an innovation symposium.  Karen additionally serves because the President of the Harvard Enterprise Faculty Membership of Wisconsin and is a member of Milwaukee Girls Inc.

Sachin Shivaram is chief government officer of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, a century-old, family-owned producer in Manitowoc, Wis. Sachin has spent his total profession within the metals trade, holding roles in gross sales and technique. Sachin grew up in Milwaukee. He and his spouse, Lipi, lived and labored in Mexico for a number of years, additionally spending time in Brazil, Texas, Mississippi, Illinois and Michigan earlier than lastly shifting again dwelling to Wisconsin in 2016. Sachin and his household stay in De Pere, simply throughout the river from St. Norbert. He volunteers on the board of administrators of IndUS of Fox Valley, Inc., a cultural group devoted to spreading native consciousness of Indian tradition. He additionally serves on the Council of Trustees of UW-Inexperienced Bay. He’s fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and the South Indian language of Kannada.

Shayna Hetzel is a group builder centered on collective motion for higher social influence – with 15+ years of expertise in schooling, fairness, and social justice. She at present leads groups at American Household Insurance coverage which might be centered on social innovation and group collaboration to shut fairness gaps in schooling and for our youth by investments, strategic partnerships, and group packages. Earlier than becoming a member of American Household Insurance coverage, Shayna labored for the Wisconsin State Price range Workplace on schooling coverage and authorities operations, and for the College of Wisconsin – Madison on group constructing, capital mission administration, and stakeholder communications. Shayna holds a Bachelor’s diploma and a Masters of Public Affairs each from the College of Wisconsin – Madison.

Who’d we miss? If you understand anybody who ought to be on our subsequent record of Asian American leaders, electronic mail them to news@madison365.org!