About

AALEAD's overarching goal is to increase the opportunities and ability of low-income Asian American children to move out of poverty and become successful, self-sufficient adults. AALEAD firmly believes that education is the key to meeting this goal. However, AALEAD understands that children need additional family, school, and personal supports, not just academic assistance, to succeed. Consequently, AALEAD uses a five pronged approach to youth development, offering each child after school intervention in a safe space, mentoring, family support and educational advocacy.

Staff

DC Staff

Rosetta Lai, Executive Director. Rosetta spent twenty years in the corporate sector in organizational development with global corporations, such as Motorola, NCS/Pearson and SRA/IBM. Prior to joining the corporate world, Rosetta spent eight years in education, where she was Dean of Women at Lake Forest Academy in Chicago, and Academic Dean at St. Mary’s Academy in South Bend, IN. Throughout her adult life, Rosetta has been active in Asian American non-profit organizations. She served as the President of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), Chicago Chapter in the 1980s and was the National President of the Organization of Chinese American Women (OCAW) from 2003 - 2008. Rosetta received a B.A. in History from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN and a Master's in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame.

Kendra Lee, Director of Programs. Kendra completed her MBA from Yale School of Management, with a concentration in non-profit management. Prior to her MBA, Kendra was involved with youth and education in a variety of settings as a teacher, volunteer, and mentor. Some of her experiences include teaching at Kwangju Foreign School in South Korea and working with youth as a volunteer in Ecuador and Guatemala. She also worked as a Project Editor at Pearson Prentice Hall and as a Summer Associate with United Way International. Kendra completed a B.S. in Education from Boston University and a Master of Education (Ed.M) from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is proficient in Korean and Spanish, and enjoys learning new languages.

Rick Chen, Manager of Development and Communications. Rick Chen joins AALEAD from the legal sector, having received his law degree from the Indiana University School of Law and worked several years as Case Manager for a prominent legal solutions firm based in D.C. Having grown up in the Midwest and raised by immigrant Taiwanese parents, he understands many issues related to Asian cultural identity. Rick was a participant of the Overseas Compatriot Youth Formosa Study Tour to Taiwan, whose primary goal was to acquaint young people of Taiwanese and Chinese descent living in other parts of the world with its culture and language. Rick also spent one year prior to his legal studies teaching English to children in Taiwan. He is proficient in Mandarin Chinese, some Taiwanese, and a little French. He enjoys playing badminton and following the film and music scene.

Anita Kattakuzhy, After-School Programs Senior Manager. Anita graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in Elementary Education and continued teaching during her Peace Corps service in Guyana, South America as a Community Health Educator. While in Guyana, she helped to establish Youth for Change, an annual camp for secondary students promoting leadership, healthy lifestyles, and education. Following this, she attended the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London for a Master's program in Social Anthropology - Migration and Diaspora Studies. Her master's dissertation, titled "Perilous Models - Analysis of the Asian American Experience," explored the Model Minority Myth and its effects on Asian American voice. She is active of the South Asian Malayali community in Maryland and belongs to the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Church of Westminister/Baltimore, MD.

Danilo Francisco, Elemenatary and Secondary School Program Coordinator. Danilo Francisco comes to AALEAD with seven years of first-hand experience working with at-risk Asian youth. In Manila, Philippines, Danny served as the Executive Chairman, overall coordinator, and research & community developer in a large community-based organization known as Bukang Liwayway that implements community development, spiritual development, education sponsorship, leadership training, financial progress, and public health initiatives for approximately 1000 of some of the Philippines’ poorest of the poor. Additionally, Danny has initiated a number of projects among vulnerable populations such as values formation training in the Manila city jail, a multi-purpose cooperative in the largest slum community in Manila, and a relocation project to resettle 100 homeless families. His sincere care for at-risk youth also comes from nine years of collective experience as an elementary school chaplain and as a pastor. He completed his M.A. at the University of the Philippines’ College of Social Work and Community Development. Danny is happily married and loves playing basketball and hanging out with youth from the community.

Alexander Vallejo, Operations and IT Coordinator. Alex studied Jazz Performance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and Comparative Literature at West Chester University in West Chester, PA. He is active in promoting radical perspectives on mental health through local organizing, facilitating workshops, and self-publishing literature. Alex is also a musician firmly rooted in the do-it-yourself tradition. Over the past few years, he has traversed the country in rickety cars, rented vans, and the occasional airplane, playing shows in basements, dorm rooms, art galleries, bars, and bookstores. He hopes to perform overseas in the near future.

Alex is currently working toward a BA in Literature at American University.

Raj Chinta, Staff Accountant. Shilender Raj Chinta completed his education in Pune, India with a Master's degree. His educational background includes Accounting and Computer Science. He joined AALEAD with eight years of first-hand experience working with non-profit organizations both in India and in the U.S. While working in India, he served in the field of accountancy for a non-profit organization called Seventh-day Adventist Organization, which includes schools, churches and hospitals. Its world headquarters is located in Silver Spring, MD. He is happy to be with the AALEAD and enjoys his work with his wonderful colleagues

Sue Chen, DC Family Strengthening Program Manager. Prior to joining AALEAD, Sue worked with non-profit organizations in Michigan and Maryland for over 17 years to serve families at risk of child abuse/neglect. She received her B.A. in Educational Psychology from Fu-Jen University in Taiwan, and her M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Sue was a registered social worker in Michigan, and is a certified “Parent as Teacher” educator in Maryland. Years ago, she worked as a part-time counselor at a youth substance abuse residential treatment program in Michigan. Besides extensive experiences and training from employment, Sue has devoted time to a variety of volunteer work such as being a crisis-line counselor for YWCA Sexual Assault Division in Michigan. She enjoys music, traveling, and relies on spiritual support for peace in dealing with life’s ups and downs.

Lan Thomas, Office Manager. Prior to joining AALead, Lan worked for the State of Florida, Department of Children & Families in the Office of Inspector General for four years. She received her Masters and Bachelors of Art degree in International Relations, with a concentration in Urban & Regional Development and Asian Studies, from Florida State University. Lan hopes to use her degrees and background to increase humanitarian aid efforts for underprivileged children & families in the United States and around the world. She is proficient in Vietnamese and hopes to speak Mandarin in the near future.

Maryland Staff

Yamir Perez, Mentoring Program Manager for MD and DC. Yamir was a teacher at Nicholas Orem Middle School in Prince George's County for two years. He received his B.A. in Spanish from the University of Maryland, College Park and is currently working towards a Masters degree in Counseling at Bowie State University.

Jonathan Henry, MD Middle School Program Coordinator. Jonathan graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. in Political Science, a B.A. in English and a minor in Chinese Language and History. Following graduation he lived and studied Mandarin Chinese in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China for two years. During this time, Jonathan taught ESL courses at The Huzhou Vocational and Technical College and traveled extensively throughout China and Southeast Asia. His interest in the Asian American immigrant community stems both from his time abroad and his active participation in international student associations and organizations while in college. While not at AALEAD events, Jonathan enjoys playing soccer and baseball, hiking and mountain biking the trails in Northern Virginia. He also plans to enroll in a Masters program in the near future.

AmeriCorps Vista Volunteers

Don H. Kim, MD High School Academic Program Coordinator. Don recieved his B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, College Park. After graduation, he spent the next two years in Seoul, South Korea where he taught English, co-founded an English academy and recieved multiple awards for teaching excellence. Don enjoys meeting new people, traveling, and playing music.

Board

The AALEAD Board of Directors is a dynamic, diverse group of professionals, parents, and students. To keep itself accountable to AALEAD’s clients, the Board of Directors is mandated by its own charter to include parents and students from its target population.

Board Chair Hansel Pham is an attorney specializing in international dispute resolution at White & Case LLP. Prior to joining AALEAD, he volunteered as a big brother and after-school mentor to recent Southeast Asian refugees in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Hansel graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. degree in Economics and East Asian Studies and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Teresa L. Lee is an Associate Vice President in the Payment and Health Care Delivery Department of the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Teresa is an AALEAD mentor and has in the past served on the boards of Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Washington, DC, the APABA Women’s Forum and the APABA Educational Fund. She has a B.A. in Rhetoric and Economics from the University of California-Berkeley, a J.D. from George Washington University, and a M.P.H. from Harvard University.

In 1995, Julia Moe founded and designed an arts education program sponsored by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, serving middle and high school students in the DC Schools. The program featured studio art classes taught by professional artists in the fundamentals of drawing and painting. Over seventy youth worked with public artists and landscape architects to create public artworks that reflected their local culture, neighborhood history and natural resources. In 2005, she launched an annual scholarship program that sends five DC youth to attend an international film festival, MountainFilm in Telluride, Colorado. Students have a chance to interview film makers, broaden their understanding of the filmmaking process, and view films focusing on culture, environment and change.

Ban Tran is an Assistant Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch’s global Private Client Group. Mr. Tran has two decades of professional experience in the international banking and financial services industry, specializing in trade finance and international private banking covering both Europe and Asia. He serves on the Boards of the Vietnamese Association for Computing, Engineering Technology and Science, and Devotion to Children, a local nonprofit. Mr. Tran graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics and International Relations, and earned his MBA in International Finance from George Washington University.

Buu-Linh Tran is an Outsourcing Manager with Raffa & Associates, working with nonprofits on accounting system transitions, budgeting concepts, efficient year-end audit processes, and successful implementation of business procedures. Prior to joining Raffa, Buu-Linh worked with an international outsourcing organization, where she led a global team on the implementation of financial software products. Buu-Linh graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS in Accounting, and received a Master of Science in Information Systems Technology from George Washington University; she is registered in Maryland as a Certified Public Accountant.

Heidi Ha is a Managing Director with ICOR Partners, LLC focusing on strategic planning, IT and operational turnaround for public and private clients. Previously as a member of Booz Allen and Hamilton's Strategic Transformation Group, she led the development of the firm’s business transformation services, and managed pre- and post-merger integration, outsourcing transitions and privatization engagements. Heidi has also held management and executive positions with Capital One Financial Corporation, Intelsat, LCC International and Teligent. Heidi holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, England and an MBA from the Darden School of Business Administration, University of Virginia.

Jimmy Lynn Board member and Co-Chair of the Development Committee, Jimmy Lynn is the Vice President, Diversity Partnerships and Strategic Relationships for AOL's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. From 1995 - 2006, Lynn and his team were responsible for developing and managing the Sports content relationships for AOL, including NFL, NBA, NASCAR, MLB, WNBA, NHL, NFL Players Association, HBO Sports, Sports Illustrated, Turner Sports, etc. Lynn, who graduated from American University with a B.A. in Communications and MBA in Marketing, is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Georgetown University.

Smita Dutta is a Principal at IBM Global Services in Bethesda, MD, leading projects that integrate acquisitions into IBM. She has nearly 10 years of consulting and project management experience through her work at IBM and previously UBS, AG in Switzerland. Prior to attending business school, she was a researcher and project manager at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Ms. Dutta graduated from the University of Dallas cum laude with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a B.A. in History, and has an M.A. in History of Science from the Johns Hopkins University and received her M.B.A. from Yale University's School of Management. Prior to joining AALead, Ms. Dutta has been very active with the Girl Scouts of the National Capital Area including having been a Junior Girl Scout troop leader for many years.

Huynh-Nhu (Mimi) Le is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at George Washington University. She is also currently a licensed clinical psychologist in the Washington DC area. Prior to joining as a board member, Mimi was a member of AALEAD's Evaluation Advisory Committee. She provides training on various psychological issues in working with AA families to AALEAD staff. Mimi received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Clinical and Community Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her B.A. in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Roopal Saran is the Director of Client Services at KaBOOM!, a nonprofit with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. She works with KaBOOM! Funding Partners to develop one-day service projects for their employees that result in beautiful new playgrounds being built for children in low-income communities. Roopal has served on the Board of AEF, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association Education Fund, working to raise funds to provide stipends for law students interested in summer internships in the nonprofit sector. Roopal has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Illinois. She is also a mother to three children.

M. Ria Shah Ria is the Finance Officer at the Grameen Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to enable the poor, especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty through microfinance and technology. Ria leads the budgeting process, manages the SBLC program, facilitates building infrastructure for offices overseas and is responsible for all financial reporting and analyses. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, Ria lived in England for four years where she instructed advanced accounting and finance courses for an MBA program. She also spent four years at Arthur Andersen, providing financial and business consulting and auditing services to companies in a variety of industries. At Andersen, she provided guidance regarding federal regulatory compliance, risk assessment, business process reengineering and accounting and reporting of financial transactions. She holds an MS in Accountancy and a BS in Accounting and Finance from Trinity University.