Executive Board
We are currently looking to expand our community and welcome new Board Members onto our team! Please contact us for more information on how you can become involved.
ACMA EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Dennis Michael is the recipient of numerous awards, commendations, and recognition for his community involvement and outreach efforts. For the past decade, he has hosted and produced many cultural events and festivals in San Diego namely the Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego, the San Diego Ramen Festival, the AMP Music Festival and many other large community events.
Dubbed "Korean Food Ambassador" by the media, Cathlyn is a multi award winning TV show host and producer of the first Korean TV cooking show in English on PBS called “Cathlyn’s Korean Kitchen" and Asian Voices, a cultural and educational television program featuring Asian and Pacific Islanders, community, art, culture and events in Southern California.
Born in Richmond, Kentucky to a Japanese mother and Cherokee Indian and Irish father, Ellen studied art at eastern Kentucky University, where she also worked as a library technician. In addition to 6 years of experience working as an advertising and graphic designer. Ellen has over 13 years of background as a commissions specialist and currently works for the Producers Group, an insurance brokerage in La Jolla.
A community activist with a passion for promoting Korean culture, Hyosoon co-founded a non profit organization called San Diego Pungmul Institute with her husband in 2009 to create awareness of Korean folk music in the United States while fostering and mentoring second generation Korean Americans teaching then about the importance of cultural roots and tradition.
Nanda Mehta is a giant for the South Asian community in San Diego. She is the founder and managing director of Ahaana, a South Asian organization based here. Her exuberant, charismatic personality comes through in all the events she has hosted in San Diego since 2013. Having been active in Indian organizations from the time she was 19, it was natural for Mehta to create Ahaana and launch “Yoni Ki Baat.”
Christine is the co-founder and owner of Makani Kai, a Polynesian dance group established in 1993 along with a group of professional Polynesian dancers. Beginning with regular performances at Sea World and throughout San Diego during the 90’s, today Makani Kai has become a thriving Polynesian entertainment troupe completed with live drumming and a live band “Moku Kani."
Born in Vancouver, Canada and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Cindy Tsai grew to become a board-certified Internal Medicine physician and medical director. Lying between cultures of East and West as much as mission in the medical fields, she has since found harmony between traditional medical approaches from both. In her goals of healing and growth, her approach is centered on the mind-body connection to heal, which is unique to each and every individual.
Joanne is an Air Force Officer and recently led their service wide efforts for AAPI Heritage Month while also serving as member of their Barrier Analysis Working Group. In this capacity, Joanne is involved in analyzing data, trends and barriers to identify and address issues impacting AANHPI personnel in the Air Force. Born and raised in the Philippines, Joanne is a staunch advocate for diversity and inclusion and promoting AANHPI heritage across various platforms.
Elliott H. Jung grew up in Los Angeles where he watched his immigrant parents trying to survive in a completely different culture. He found his life’s calling when he attended law school at Southwestern Law School in downtown Los Angeles, and is currently a partner with Hepburn, Hernandez, & Jung. He has since then worked with the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew, Senior United States District Court Judge for the Central District of California and the Federal Public Defender’s Office.
Irene Lee is excited to be involved with ACMA as she holds her Asian American identity close to heart. She currently works as Associate Project Manager at Novartis Oncology within the biotechnology industry after graduating from UC San Diego in Biochemistry. Irene also works with Spark Business Academy in teaching business and financial literacy to students K-12. Growing up, Irene embraced all kinds of art including training in Chinese folk dance, visual arts, and piano.
San Diego native Dr. Khoa D Truong, O.D. has been a member of the American Optometric Association, California Optometric Association, and San Diego Optometric Society for over fifteen years. He was a member of the President’s Lions Club and used his expertise to conduct free vision screenings and health fairs for the community of San Diego. He also has his own wellness talk show on Vietnamese Television (VNTV) that helps address different aspects of health and life with co-host Dana Vo.