Our People

Lily Wang is the Deputy Director at the Asian Law Caucus. Previously, she was the Deputy Campaigns Director at United for Respect, where she led a national Wall Street accountability campaign that resulted in a $20 million hardship fund for laid off former Toys ‘R’ Us workers and catalyzed the introduction of groundbreaking federal legislation to regulate private equity’s predatory practices.

Lily is an experienced campaigner, strategist and organizer with 20 years of experience in community and labor organizations, and spent more than a decade developing policy, corporate accountability and organizing campaigns grounded in transformative organizing principles, scaled engagement and grassroots leadership of immigrants, communities of color and low-wage workers. She began her movement journey in Oakland’s Chinatown, where she organized with low-wage women workers and youth.

Aisa Villarosa (she/her) is Manager of the Asian American Leaders Table at the Asian Law Caucus.

Previously, as Director of Youth Organizing and Programs at Stop AAPI Hate, she led coalition building, educational equity initiatives, and healing justice infrastructure support to social justice groups and campus activists. As a civil rights advocate, narrative strategist, and artist, she has uplifted Ethnic Studies and other liberatory frameworks for over two decades.

A licensed attorney in Michigan (‘11) and California (‘15), her legal expertise includes juvenile justice, immigration, housing, mental health, and civil rights law, as well as analyzing the harms of surveillance and policing on Black and Brown communities. As Senior Director of External Affairs at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Aisa implemented a coalition-based guaranteed income program for Bay Area artists. She also served as Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Insight Center in Oakland, California, where she took on racial wealth inequality and the criminalization of debt.

A former Skadden Public Interest Legal Fellow, Aisa has roots as a youth and community organizer, forging local-to-national collaborations on policy campaigns, legal clinics, and voter outreach. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Wayne State University.

Gabriela Villareal is the Policy Director at the Asian Law Caucus (ALC). She is responsible for the oversight and direction of ALC's policy priorities on local, state, and federal issues impacting low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Gabriela has guided successful campaigns to enact state legislation in California, New York, Texas, and Washington. As an immigrant rights advocate, she spent nearly a decade working on legislative and administrative reforms at the federal and local levels. She was raised in California, after immigrating with her family from the Philippines.

Megan Vees is a Litigation Staff Attorney at the Asian Law Caucus. Her work focuses on advocating for the rights of immigrant communities and communities of color subjected to injustices in the criminal legal system. Prior to joining ALC, Megan worked as a staff attorney on Public Counsel’s Consumer Rights & Economic Justice Project, where she had a special focus on bail and other forms of criminal debt. Megan began her legal career clerking for U.S. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal in the Central District of California, followed by a fellowship at The Bail Project. While in law school, she participated in the Criminal Justice Policy Program’s bail reform project and the International Human Rights Clinic. Prior to law school, Megan worked at the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, where she informed detained children of their rights in deportation proceedings. She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru and worked for a refugee rights organization in Cameroon. Megan holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.

Nicole Gon Ochi (she/her) is Managing Director of Programs at Asian Law Caucus. Nicole has nearly 15 years of movement lawyering experience. Previously, she was Deputy Managing Attorney for the Education Equity team at Public Advocates, where she supported grassroots organizations across California on racial justice and education justice cases and campaigns. Prior to that, Nicole served as Supervising Attorney of the Impact Litigation Team at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, where she litigated workers' rights, education rights, housing justice, and immigrants' rights cases and managed multi-strategy legal campaigns.

Nicole graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in Asian Studies and summa cum laude from Loyola Law School. She clerked for Judge Harry Pregerson on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and started her career in movement lawyering as a Skadden Fellow. Nicole resides in Los Angeles with her partner, 2 spirited daughters, and ornery shelter dog.

Sallie Lin is the Community Advocacy Manager at the Asian Law Caucus. Her previous positions include Community Advocate for the Housing Rights Program, and roles at Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Southern California and the Asian American Justice Center in Washington, D.C. Sallie’s international experience involves working for the U.N. in China and as a volunteer teacher for migrant children in Beijing. She is deeply committed to learning about and understanding the complexities of human experiences, drawing inspiration from the stories of those she advocates for. Sallie holds a Master of Laws degree in International Relations from Peking University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles

Genesis is a Paralegal at the Asian Law Caucus. Genesis comes with over seven years of experience in supporting attorneys. Prior to joining ALC, Genesis was part of a non-profit law office in Oakland, CA where she collaborated with attorneys in immigration affirmative and removal defense cases. Genesis' passion in immigrant rights stems from her personal experience.

Genesis graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor's degree in Children and Family Studies. In her free time, she enjoys discovering new places to explore with her two children and family.

Matt (he/they/she) is a paralegal at the Asian Law Caucus. Passionate about an intersectional approach in his work, Matt works across programs, providing legal and administrative support to attorneys and other staff.

Originally from Southern California, Matt graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley with his bachelor’s degree in English Literature. In his spare time, Matt enjoys writing poetry and criticism about literature, music, and other art forms.

Tatiana is a Paralegal who works across Asian Law Caucus programs providing legal and administrative support. Prior to ALC, she worked for a law office in Oakland Chinatown, supporting a small legal team and providing Cantonese interpretation to the community.

Since the age of 11, she was involved and supported by local nonprofits, such as Girls Inc and the Achieve Program. Tatiana roots her work in giving back to the people as a way of saying thank you to the community that raised her.

Carl Takei is the Community Safety Program Director at the Asian Law Caucus. Previously, he was a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where he co-led the national organization’s shift toward divesting from police and reinvesting in communities, and fought abuses at the intersections of criminal legal and immigration enforcement systems. He led the ACLU’s successful advocacy work to terminate the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Criminal Alien Requirement” contracts with private prisons, culminating in that agency’s 2016 decision to phase out all of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ private prison contracts.

Carl is also a longtime co-chair of Tsuru for Solidarity, working with other Japanese American advocates and allies to end detention sites and support directly impacted communities. Carl is a graduate of Boston College Law School, and began his legal career as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

Devon Matsumoto (he/him) is the Senior Program Coordinator in the Community Safety Program at Asian Law Caucus. Previously he worked at Fresh Lifelines for Youth as the Leadership and Middle School Program Coordinator working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. Devon draws from his own family's history of displacement, incarceration, and advocacy to guide his work.

Devon has also been an organizer in San Jose Nikkei Resisters, which works to educate, mobilize, and unite the San Jose Japanese American community around social justice issues. Devon is a graduate of Seattle University’s School of Social Work.

Nicole (she/her) is a Community Advocate in the Asian Law Caucus' Community Safety Program. Previously, she conducted research on the politics of defunding police and has worked as a community organizer advocating for education justice in Massachusetts.

Nicole was born and raised in greater Boston. She earned a BS from Tufts University in Biopsychology and minored in Sociology.

In her free time, she enjoys reviewing books, hiking, and going to concerts.

Tatiana is a Community Advocate in the Asian Law Caucus' Community Safety Program. Prior to ALC, Tatiana worked as a client advocate at a non-profit law firm solely representing and advocating for the needs of survivors of human trafficking.

Tatiana is a fluent Spanish speaker, she was born and raised in the Bay Area. She earned a BA in Sociology and a BA in Latin American and Latinx Studies from UC Santa Cruz.

Bora is the Managing Attorney of the Asian Law Caucus's Community Safety Program. Before joining ALC, Bora was the Managing Attorney at Justice At Last, another non-profit organization, where she developed and coordinated delivery of comprehensive trauma-informed legal services to survivors of human trafficking. In this role, she expanded survivors' access to crime victim rights' representation, criminal record clearance, and immigration relief. Previously, Bora also practiced law as a Staff Attorney for Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach's Anti-Human Trafficking Project.

Additionally, Bora graduated from the George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C., where she developed a passion for social justice through internships at the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the D.C. Office of Human Rights. In her free time, Bora enjoys spending time in nature, wine tasting, and completing crochet projects.

Aseem Mehta is a Staff Attorney in the Immigrant Rights Program. His work focuses on supporting incarcerated immigrants and seeking repair for individuals harmed by the state’s violence. Aseem previously advocated alongside immigrant communities against detention and deportation in New York and South Texas as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow. Before joining Advancing Justice – ALC, Aseem clerked for the Hon. Richard A. Paez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Hon. Edward M. Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Aseem received his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was a member of the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic. He was awarded the P.D. Soros Fellowship, Reinhardt Fellowship, and Stephen J. Massey Prize in recognition of his excellence in and commitment to lawyering in the public interest.

Lee Ann is a staff attorney in the Asian Law Caucus' Immigrant Rights Program. Her work focuses on providing direct legal services to immigrants who are detained and facing deportation. Lee Ann previously worked alongside currently and formerly detained individuals to end their prolonged detentions and to hold private detention operators accountable for their abusive practices as a Justice Catalyst Fellow.

Lee Ann is a graduate of Berkeley Law and received her Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.

So Young is a staff attorney in the Asian Law Caucus' Immigrant Rights Program. She provides direct legal services to immigrants who are detained and facing deportation. So Young first joined the Asian Law Caucus in 2013 to organize undocumented API youth and rejoined in 2019 as a Bridge Fellow. In law school, she interned with the Immigration Defense Unit of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and at a private public interest firm in its deportation defense practice. So Young received her law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law.

Trevor is a staff attorney in the Asian Law Caucus' Immigrant Rights Program. He represents detained immigrants before the Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and federal district courts. He also works alongside detained organizers and community partners to uplift the demands of detained and incarcerated people, with the ultimate goal of abolishing immigration detention. Trevor believes that immigration detention is violent, dangerous, inhumane and unnecessary, and envisions a world where all are free to move as needed and remain with their communities.

Trevor holds a BA in Government (with Honors) from Georgetown University, and a JD from Berkeley Law, where he was a Supervising Editor of the California Law Review.

Caroline Marks is a Staff Attorney in the National Security and Civil Rights Program at Asian Law Caucus. Caroline’s work focuses on, among other things, state legislative and administrative advocacy challenging surveillance and counterterrorism programs and narratives that harm Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities and other communities of color.

Before coming to ALC, Caroline worked on litigation and advocacy with the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU Law, to hold the United States responsible for its extraordinary rendition program—whereby the U.S. kidnapped and transferred individuals to black sites and proxy governments for their subsequent torture and secret detention. Specifically, Caroline participated significantly in litigation before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the case Mohamed et al. v. United States.

Caroline graduated from NYU School of Law and holds a BA in International Relations from Brown University. During her time at Brown, Caroline spent a semester Amman, Jordan learning the Levantine dialect and expanding her knowledge of modern standard Arabic.

Kanwalroop (Roop) Kaur Singh is a Staff Attorney in the National Security and Civil Rights Program at Asian Law Caucus. Previously, Kanwalroop served as Deputy County Counsel for the County of Santa Clara, where she advised county law enforcement agencies on legal compliance issues and represented the County of Santa Clara in civil litigation, conservatorship, and mental health matters. Prior to joining the County, she was a Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section at the California Department of Justice, as part of the Attorney General’s Honors Program. As Deputy Attorney General, she investigated law enforcement agencies regarding unconstitutional policing practices and defended the State of California’s civil rights laws against challenges in federal court. She also advised the State of California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans and wrote portions of the Task Force’s 2022 Interim Report, which was presented to the California State Legislature.

Prior to attending law school, Kanwalroop worked as a radio reporter with KALW Public Radio, where she produced award winning radio documentaries about farmer suicide, agriculture, immigration from Punjab to California, and the California Sikh community. Her academic writing and creative writing has been published in the Asian American Writer's Workshop, Kweli Journal, Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory, and the UCLA Law Review. She received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, specializing in Public Interest Law and Policy and Critical Race Studies, and her B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.

Deanna Kitamura is a Managing Attorney with the Asian Law Caucus' Voting Rights Program. Her work focuses on protecting the vote and expanding access to the polls for AAPI voters. Before joining ALC, Deanna was a Senior Staff Attorney at Partnership for Working Families where she provided legal support to grassroot organizations. For nearly a decade before that, Deanna worked at Advancing Justice-Los Angeles – first as the Statewide Redistricting Manager and later as Senior Staff Attorney and Voting Rights Project Director. She has filed lawsuits resulting in cities converting from at-large to district elections and has co-authored various reports, including Voices of Democracy: The State of Language Access in California’s November 2016 Elections. Deanna has worked on legislation involving California’s automatic voter registration process, the administration of vote centers, and language access improvements for voters. She has served on several local and state election-related committees and is a member of the California Secretary of State’s Language Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Deanna has dedicated her legal career to working on social justice issues. In addition to the nonprofits listed above, she has worked at Western Center on Law & Poverty, the National Consumer Law Center, and California Rural Legal Assistance. She began her career working on employment discrimination cases at a civil rights litigation firm. Deanna graduated from Pomona College and UCLA School of Law.

Sietse Goffard is the Senior Program Coordinator on the Voting Rights team at the Asian Law Caucus. His work focuses on fair redistricting and voter empowerment. Sietse previously worked on affordable housing and Section 8 rental assistance programs for the City of Boston. He also spent several years at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) leading projects to tackle racial discrimination in housing and lending. His research and articles have been published by the Brookings Institution, Cato Institute, US-China Perception Monitor, and National Bureau of Economic Research. In addition, Sietse is an avid public transportation enthusiast and served on the advisory council of Washington D.C.’s transit system to advocate for more equitable metro and bus coverage.

Sietse completed his graduate studies at Harvard Kennedy School and at Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, where he served as class president and co-led a citizenship mentoring program for elderly Asian immigrants.

Aashika (she/her) is a Community Advocate in the Voting Rights Program at Advancing Justice - ALC.

Prior to ALC, she worked as a Voting Rights & Policy Fellow with the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, an organization that advocates for the rights of immigrants and refugees. Additionally, Aashika participated in democracy-based internship programs at Common Cause and the Center for American Progress.

She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science: Public Policy from the University of California, San Diego.

Aashika was raised in Southern California - during her free time she enjoys playing tennis and trying new food spots.

Noah Kim is a research assistant on the Voting Rights team at the Asian Law Caucus. Noah is a recent graduate of Pomona College where he double-majored in Politics and English. Prior to the ALC, he worked for the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, processing public input data and delineating map submissions on the data management team. As an aspiring attorney, Noah hopes to give back to the AAPI and underserved communities both in and after law school. In his free time, he can be found writing music, volunteering at church, or landscaping his new aquatic snail tank.

Eileen has helped lead voting rights strategy at the Asian Law Caucus since 2020. She has worked for over 25 years as a community organizer, campaign director and non-profit executive, serving primarily low-income, immigrant and LGBTQ communities of color. Her professional experience includes working as a voting rights staff attorney for the Advancement Project and Advancing Justice LA and serving as executive director for several years at API Equality-LA. She is originally from Somers, New York, is Chinese American and speaks Mandarin and Spanish. She earned a JD from Loyola Law School (2013) and a BA from Columbia University (1993).

Kim is a staff attorney for the Asian Law Caucus' National Democracy Initiative. Kim works with community organizations and nonprofits on voting rights and civic engagement. She has experience investigating, litigating, and advocating against violations of voting rights and election laws. She earned her J.D from the University of Wisconsin, where she interned at the Wisconsin Innocence Project. She received her B.A from the University of Michigan.

Kim grew up in a multilingual and limited-English-speaking household, and is passionate about the intersections of language and disability access, and racial justice.

Kim lives in Chicago, Illinois. She serves on the board of directors for the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), the professionals board for CARPLS legal aid, and the board for the Chinese American Bar Association of Greater Chicago.

Christopher Lapinig (he/him/siya) is a Senior Staff Attorney with Asian Law Caucus's National Democracy Initiative. A queer, gay Filipino American and proud son of immigrants from the Philippines, Chris brings experience spanning voting rights, immigrant justice, and civil rights advocacy. He previously served as Legal Counsel at Campaign Legal Center, where he successfully litigated multiple voting rights cases, as a Deputy Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Section of the California Department of Justice, and as a Skadden Fellow at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, where he spearheaded initiatives supporting Filipino victims of human trafficking and led Advancing Justice-LA's response to the Muslim ban. He clerked for Judge Denny Chin of the Second Circuit and was the first Filipino American clerk to Judge Lorna G. Schofield of the Southern District of New York, the first federal Article III judge of Filipino descent in United States history.

Alexis Takahashi is the Community Partnerships Manager for the National Democracy Initiative. In her professional capacity, Alexis has worked as a restorative justice facilitator, nonprofit program manager, and youth development professional. Her previous positions include managing restorative justice programs in Brownsville, Brooklyn and youth organizing programs in Los Angeles, California. Alexis is also passionate about grassroots organizing and has served as a co-Chair of the Policing, Prisons, Detention Work Group at Tsuru for Solidarity and a co-founder of the activist collective Free Radicals. She holds a B.A. in neuroscience from Pomona College.

Amalia Macias-Laventure (they/elle) is a Community Advocate in the Asian Law Caucus' Housing Rights Program. They are born and raised in the Bay Area, and have been a part of housing justice movements for the past 8 years. They earned their B.A. and M.A. in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State, which shaped their understanding of anti-displacement, settler-colonialism, and land reform, both locally and internationally.

In their spare time, they enjoy organizing with their neighbors, community bonding through mutual aid, and spending time with their dog, Loba.

Faustina (they/she) is a Community Advocate in the Asian Law Caucus' Housing Rights Program.

They are born and raised in Oakland, and have deeply rooted love for the Bay Area, its people, and its cultures. Faustina is committed to supporting working-class communities and communities of color in their fights against gentrification and displacement, because those are the communities that raised them. Previously, Faustina worked at La Cocina, a nonprofit supporting women of color and immigrant chefs with their food businesses. They graduated from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies and a B.S. in Public Health and hope to continue implementing the lessons they learned from Ethnic Studies into their way of life.

In their free time, you can find them preserving Vietnamese and Cantonese recipes from their family, taking care of their plants and cat named Saturn, and re-watching comfort Asian dramas from their childhood for the hundredth time.

Julie Lemmer is a senior staff attorney in the Asian Law Caucus' Housing Rights Program. Before joining ALC, Julie was a staff attorney at Legal Assistance to the Elderly where she defended senior and/or disabled tenants against eviction. Before LAE, Julie was a staff attorney at Home Base, a nonprofit dedicated to building community capacity to prevent and end homelessness. And before that, Julie spent many years as a litigation attorney in private practice. Julie earned her J.D. from Florida State University College of Law and a B.A. from Kenyon College. Before law school, Julie spent two years living, studying, and teaching in China, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria.

Dustin is a staff attorney in the Asian Law Caucus' Housing Rights Program. Prior to ALC, he was a housing staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, staff attorney at PRC as a public benefits attorney, and senior housing attorney with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel. In law school, Dustin interned for the Honorable Maria-Elena James at the Northern District Court and participated in the Williams Institute Moot Court Competition & the ABA National Labor & Employment Mock Trial competition where his team placed 3rd nationally.

Dustin's introduction into the legal professional was via JusticeCorps, an AmeriCorps program that places undergraduate interns in legal self-help centers throughout California. It was through that experience Dustin dedicated his career to empowering others and improving access to justice, especially for the LGBTQIA+ & POC communities. Dustin earned his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2014 with an emphasis on pro bono & litigation & B.A. from San Francisco State University in 2010 in Criminal Justice. Dustin is heavily involved with BALIF, the nation's oldest and largest LGBTQ+ bar association. Dustin's roommate/chinchilla is Kitty.

Shelby Nacino is Program Director for the Asian Law Caucus' Housing Rights Program. Prior to joining ALC, Shelby was a supervising attorney at Legal Assistance to the Elderly where she represented San Francisco seniors facing eviction. While in law school, she interned at the East Bay Community Law Center and the Legal Aid Society's Harlem Community Law Offices. Shelby is committed to fighting against the displacement of low-income communities and communities of color.

Shelby received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to joining the Asian Law Caucus' Workers’ Rights team, Ammad worked as a civil rights advocate serving members of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities on a broad range of issues, including employment discrimination/unemployment insurance benefits, religious accommodation issues, law enforcement harassment and anti-Muslim bullying in schools. Through previous roles, Ammad also has experience from his time in New York (and Canada) on immigration matters, including refugee, asylum, and DACA issues. A native of Kashmir, Ammad works with Americans for Kashmir to engage political stakeholders in finding a permanent internationally mediated solution to the Indian-occupation of Kashmir. In his spare time, Ammad plays in cricket/soccer leagues and often finds that most of his planned hikes are far beyond his lung capacity.

Mei Mei is a Community Advocate with the Asian Law Caucus' Workers’ Rights Program where she supports the legal counseling clinic and works on “Know Your Rights” trainings and materials.

She was born in Kaiping, Guangdong and grew up in Bakersfield as the child of low-wage immigrant workers. Her experience living as a first generation immigrant household is one of Mei Mei's reasons for her commitment to social justice. Another reason is her desire to survive in a world headed towards climate disaster. In her free time, she maintains her morning pages streak and studies peoples' movements against U.S. imperialism.

Andie is the Development Manager at the Asian Law Caucus. Previously, Andie fundraised for Oakland public school students with the Oakland Public Education Fund and did development work for KAN-WIN, a Chicagoland-based organization offering services targeted to API survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She has a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University where she also minored in Asian American Studies. She spent eight years competing in speech and debate for which she researched issues including Asian American gender politics and the history of reproductive rights in the US.

Andie is 2nd generation Chinese-American and can speak conversational Mandarin. She spends her free time roller skating, doting on her cat, Choo Choo, and thrifting.

Since 1994, Audee Kochiyama-Holman has worked at the Asian Law Caucus as the Director of Alumni Relations focusing on individual giving, event planning (in-person and virtual), direct mail and other fundraising activities.

She has been a Board Member of EastSide Arts Alliance in Oakland since 2000, which is a community-based arts organization dedicated to advocating for progressive, systemic social change. Currently, Audee is also the Co-Director of the Yuri Kochiyama Archives Project. She has been a social justice activist since the 1960's and has worked for nonprofit organizations in New York and Bay Area throughout her career (including the New York Public Library, the Population Council, the Institute for Food and Development Policy. and the National Center for the Early Childhood Workforce). In 2004, she co-edited "Passing It On," a memoir written by her mother Yuri Kochiyama, which was published by UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press. Audee received her Master's Degree in Social Research from Hunter College in New York.

Darin (he/him) is the Development Associate at Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus. He is a 4th-generation Chinese American from Calexico, California. Prior to joining ALC, he interned at the National Coalition for Asian-Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), where he focused on coalition engagement with AAPI community-based organizations across the US. Additionally, he held internship positions with Karis Consulting Group specializing in political fundraising, the US Department of Agriculture handling operations and database management, and worked under Michigan State Senator Stephanie Chang providing social services case management. He holds a BSW degree from the University of Michigan and a MSW degree from UC Berkeley.

In his free time, Darin regularly volunteers at food pantries in SF Chinatown and Japantown and with foster youth at Seen52. When he's not drinking protein shakes, you can find him at the gym powerlifting or bouldering.

Darlene is the Grant Writer and Content Specialist for the Asian Law Caucus. She comes to the organization after 23 years in public service. Darlene's passion for advocacy work began early and has been a constant in her life and career. She has worked in many capacities in the nonprofit sector including development, administration, and marketing. Organizations she has served include: Special Olympics, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, Buckelew Programs, UCSF, and most recently, Not One More Vet. She also teaches Anthropology (remotely) at a community college in Montana and is a published fiction novelist.

Darlene was born in the Central Valley of California but largely raised in Michigan. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Grand Valley State University and her Master of Arts in Anthropology from Western Michigan University.

Katie is the Director of Institutional Partnerships for the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to joining ALC, she was the Grants Director at Compass Family Services, where she led the strategy and execution of grant processes. She also supported the agency's diversity, equity, and inclusion work and was an active member of the working group to address the needs of undocumented families.

Katie has a BA in anthropology from Yale and a PhD in sociology with a graduate concentration in Asian American studies from UC Irvine. Her dissertation research focused on the intersections of race, immigration, politics, and citizenship.

Paul Ocampo started at the Asian Law Caucus as the Development Coordinator and is currently the Development Director. He remains committed to the work of social justice. In 2006, he assisted Maxine Hong Kingston in editing an anthology of writings by veterans titled Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace. While attending graduate school in Arizona, he co-wrote a petition responding to SB 1070 and other anti-immigrant legislation and demanding universities in Arizona maintain the classroom as safe spaces for all students. He also codirected a reading titled Out of Silence that featured Afghan women’s poems and essays found on the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. He comes to the Asian Law Caucus with a broad experience in education and the non-profit sector.

Paul was born in the Philippines and came to the U.S. at the age of eleven. He earned a B.A. in English at U.C. Berkeley, an M.A. in Asian American Studies at UCLA, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Arizona State University.

Sarah Lau is the Events Manager at the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to this role, Sarah had the pleasure of supporting the organization as a consultant, volunteer, and, many years ago, intern.

Most recently, Sarah provided consulting services in fundraising events, recruiting and operations to San Francisco Bay Area and China-based non-profits and companies.

Previously, while based in Beijing, Sarah was Director of Strategy & Operations at a start-up consulting firm and Product Development & Operations Associate at a luxury travel company.

Sarah was raised in San Francisco and holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Mount Holyoke College.

Lauren Nguyen is a Communications Associate at the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to joining ALC, she led digital strategy at Restoring Justice, a criminal defense organization, and focused on social media and advocacy at the ACLU of Texas. Lauren has also served as an PIVOT Election Fellow for Rise AAPI and volunteered as an ESL teacher in her hometown of Houston. She loves cheering for the Astros and hanging with her dog Eddie.

Nashwah has been part of mobilizing grassroots movements on issues including racial justice and civil rights. Prior to joining the Asian Law Caucus, she was on Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, conducting digital organizing and fundraising on their digital team. Previously, she was also a Communications Associate at Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) in Washington, DC, where she led social media initiatives to promote programs and events to get more AAPIs into elected office. She was also at Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as their Communications Coordinator, where she registered Bay Area community members to vote.

She holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, as well as a Masters of Public Diplomacy.

Niketa Kumar is the communications director at Asian Law Caucus, focused on integrating strategic communications throughout ALC's campaigns for economic security, immigrant justice, and a multiracial democracy with our clients and community partners.

Previously, she served as director of communications at the Water Foundation, a California-based public foundation focused on water advocacy and policy. Before joining the Water Foundation, Niketa served as a vice president at BerlinRosen Public Affairs where she led comprehensive communications programs for national and local campaigns. Niketa also served as deputy press secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama Administration. She received a BA in International Affairs from George Washington University.

Nina Phillips is a communications professional with a background in journalism and mission-driven storytelling. She hails from Adelaide, Australia, and serves as a communications associate at the Asian Law Caucus. Most recently, Nina led the marketing and communications efforts at HIP Housing, a Bay Area-based affordable housing nonprofit. Prior to her move to the US, Nina worked in Australia as a journalist and brand ambassador across commercial radio, podcasting, print and short-form video.

Nina is dedicated to shedding light on key societal issues and advocating for change with a trauma-informed approach. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of South Australia. In her down time, Nina enjoys hosting dinner parties and making art. Her latest obsession is linocut printmaking!

Zoha Raza serves as a Communications Associate at the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to this position, she led and managed communications work statewide for CAIR, coordinated youth leadership programs, and aided different social justice efforts around the Bay Area and beyond.

She has been published by a number of different news outlets including San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Spotlight. She also volunteered as a NextGen Councilmember for ABC7, where she shared insight from local communities to contribute to story development.

Zoha graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in Communications. Outside of work, Zoha enjoys writing, playing basketball, and trying new food spots.

Beck Chow is an executive assistant at the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to joining ALC, Beck was involved in several collectives targeted at dismantling carceral practices towards undocumented community members. Beck is passionate about about supporting the legacy Asian American-led community building and strong coalition building.

Cameron (she/her) is the Executive Assistant, Special Projects at the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to joining the team full-time, Cameron worked as the Development Intern at ALC during the summer of 2019. In this position, she assisted with fundraising, alumni outreach, and ALC’s housing rights clinic. She also volunteered at the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, where she helped low-income families complete their applications for subsidized housing. During her junior year, Cameron interned for the Office of Senator Tammy Duckworth (D – IL) in Washington, D.C.

Cameron graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Human Geography. As an undergrad, Cameron focused her studies on developing an intersectional understanding of structures of racial and economic inequality. As an Ambassador for Dartmouth’s Office of Pluralism and Leadership, she facilitated workshops for various student organizations to address issues of social identity, power, and oppression. She also researched Justice Alito’s judicial philosophy under the Presidential Scholars program.

Fay is the Director of Finance for the Asian Law Caucus. In 2007, Fay is a graduate of San Francisco State University majoring in Finance and International Business. While in school, Fay was a Finance Tutor for 1 year in SF State University and a part-time afternoon teacher for 5 years in a private elementary school. Prior to joining the Asian Law Caucus, Fay was an Outreach Coordinator in San Francisco Elections Department for 1 year.

In 2001, Fay migrated from Canton, China to the United States. She is fluent in conversation in Cantonese and Mandarin and writing in Chinese.

Isabell graduated from Accounting and Hospitality Management from San Francisco State University, and has been working in the Hospitality industry for more than 15 years. She has worked for many different departments besides the Accounting Department in hotels to learn and understand other department operations. Isabell has two boys who love outdoor activities. Her passion is her family. Her favorite quote is 'Where there's a will, there's a way.'

Ellie is the Intake & Referral Coordinator at Asian Law Caucus. Her personal experience as a low-income immigrant facing language barriers has given her a deep understanding of the challenges underserved communities encounter, driving her commitment to social justice and advocacy.

Raised in China, Ellie is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. She holds a BA in Economics and a Minor in Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Samira Shifteh (she/her) serves as the Finance Assistant at Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. Samira brings with her over ten years of non-profit finance and administrative experience to her role. Beyond this work, she has been involved with movements to end gender- and state-based violence since 2003, primarily working at the intersections of immigrant rights, economic justice, and feminist internationalism. Originally from the city of Los Angeles, as part of a family of immigrants from Iran, she speaks conversational Persian. In her free time, she enjoys practicing creative photography, spending time outdoors, and being a beloved auntie and cat lady.

Sue Williams Kim is the Legal Operations Manager at the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to joining ALC, she was the Client Advocate Program Manager at a nonprofit law firm serving the legal needs of human trafficking survivors. There she developed and implemented an interdisciplinary program designed to support survivors with trauma-informed, client-centered, and human-rights based case management services. Her prior work also includes experience providing support to sexual assault survivors, including in her capacity as a volunteer and then Director of Recruitment and Training at San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR).

Sue was raised in San Francisco and received her Masters in Women and Gender Studies from San Francisco State University.

Bhuvaneswari Ramiya is the Human Resources Associate at Asian Law Caucus. She has earned her degree in Human Resource Management from Lucas College School of Business at San Jose State University. Prior to joining ALC, she worked as a HR Assistant in the Human Resource Shared Services department at Lawrence Berkeley Lab.

Originally from India, Bhuvaneswari is multi-lingual and speaks up to 3 languages. She is a strong advocate to help people hindered by a language barrier. In her free time, she likes to read and try new recipes to cook/bake!

Susan Yun is the Human Resources Manager at the Asian Law Caucus. Susan has more than nine years of experience in People Operations, Recruitment, and Total Rewards. She has worked in various industry sectors scaling and developing their HR functions. She is an experienced administrator that is aligned with shaping HR policy and implementation. Most recently she was an Independent HR Consultant assisting emerging companies with creating their Compensation, Benefits, and Employee Engagement strategies.

Susan is also a strong champion of building company culture. As an HR Professional, she strives to cultivate a robust, diverse, and inclusive working environment for all. She graduated from UCLA with BA in European History and is an avid reader, writer, and cook.