Board of Directors

2023 Board of Directors

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President

Jamie Xiong-Vang, Attorney, McCormick Barstow LLP

Term began: 2019
Jamie is an attorney at the law firm of McCormick Barstow Sheppard Wayte & Carruth LLP and sits on her law firm's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She grew up in the Central Valley and graduated from Edison High School. She received her BA in Political Science from UCLA and earned her JD from Whittier College School of Law. Jamie's commitment to empowering and advancing API women in the Central Valley comes from her experience of being a young 18-year-old high school senior who was married with two young children and being told that she would never become an attorney. Not only did she become an attorney, she was the first person in her family to obtain a college and graduate degree. Since accomplishing her goal of becoming an attorney, Jamie has been selected for inclusion in the Northern California Super Lawyers list from 2016-2021, and recently received the Fresno County Bar Association's Pro Bono Services Section 2023 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award. She is committed to serving her community, and is steadfast in her belief to give back in every way she can to pay it forward in honor of those who have given generously to her. Her advice, as a wife and mother of four, is to travel often, and widely because, "there are too many extraordinary people to meet and too many beautiful places to experience in this world in the short time we have to live."

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Vice President

Millie Thao, Director, Physician Marketing & Communications, Community Health System

Term began: 2022

Millie holds a bachelors degree in Mass Communication and Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and Marketing from Fresno State. She has more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, specializing in physician relations, marketing and communications. Millie grew up in Fresno and is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Her parents owned a local Chinese restaurant and worked tirelessly to provide a better life for her and her siblings. While helping with the family business and studying on the restaurant's back table, Millie learned the most invaluable lessons of hard work and perseverance. She hopes to pass along the same strong family values that she inherited to her own two children.
 

Treasurer

Maybo Heu, Nurse Practitioner

Term began: 2021
Maybo is a Nurse Practitioner in the Central Valley and is honored to serve on the CCAPW Board of Directors as the Treasurer. She is a first-generation Hmong American woman who believes in empowering AAPI women through higher education. Maybo’s other community work includes working with local community-based organizations to advocate for health and wellness in the AAPI community. 

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Secretary

Gaonoucci Belle Vang, Student Success Project Coordinator, California State University, Fresno

Term began: 2022

Belle graduated from Fresno State with her BS in Marketing and her BA in Public Relations. She currently serves Fresno State as their Fresno State AANAPISI Initiative Student Success Project Coordinator and A Hopeful Encounter, Inc. as their Wizard of All. As a proud Fresno State alumna and Fresnan, Belle is driven to serve her SEAA communities in Fresno and strives to make positive changes in the Fresno community.    

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Ziang Her, Owner, Ziang Enterprises LLC

Term began: 2023
Born in Luang Prabang, Laos, Ziang emigrated from the refugee camps in Thailand after fleeing Laos to the United States with her family after the end of the Vietnam War and has made the Central Valley her home. She graduated with both a BS and a BA from Fresno State. As an artist and business owner, Ziang uses her experience to educate and empower artists and business owners with the necessary tools to succeed as an adjunct professor, a guest speaker and a consultant to small business through the California Hmong Chamber of Commerce, the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Fresno Arts Council. When not working, Ziang spends her spare time with Nick and Sally, her Mini-Rex Hotot rabbit, and tending to her growing collection of house plants. You can find her art online at ziangher.art. 

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Dr. Ahran Koo, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Art Education, California State University, Fresno
Term began: 2023
Ahran is an associate professor of art education at Fresno State. As a first-generation Korean immigrant artist and art educator, she promotes the efficacy of art to address cultural and social awareness. Locally and globally, she focuses on Asian art and culture, socially engaged and community art, and critical multiculturalism, encourages interdisciplinary collaboration through civic engagement, and advocates culturally responsive/sustaining pedagogy.

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Joanne Lai, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Term began: 2022

Joanne is a psychotherapist. She specializes in mind-body approaches in the areas of trauma, stress-related struggles, relationship challenges, and cultural issues. Her main passions are supporting women to find safety and comfort in their own bodies, reconnect to their authentic selves, and reclaim their voices.  As a Taiwanese and Chinese-Thai female immigrant growing up in Asian and Western countries, Joanne has a unique perspective in her work with the API community and with the clients she serves. Joanne is also a Gyrotonic® Movement Instructor at her private studio in Fresno. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new foods, traveling, being in nature, and spending time with her family and pets.

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Dr. Dana Riley, Manager of Clinical Services/Child Psychologist, EPU Children's Center

Term began: 2021

Dana is a Child Psychologist who specializes in Infant Mental Health for children 0 to 5 years old. She describes herself as a hapa (multiracial) Japanese-Portuguese, cisgender woman from Hawaii. Her favorite thing about her culture is the food, particularly malasadas (Portuguese donuts) and andagi (Okinawa donuts) – both fried dough, both have no hole!

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Audrey Tan, Physical Therapist
Term began: 2023

Audrey is the owner of Body Ease Physical Therapy and Yoga, and has been helping people improve their health and wellness for more than 20 years. She is a licensed physical therapist, specializing in Fascial Counterstrain, and a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. Audrey is a first-generation Chinese-American, who has a strong desire to support and empower others through education, wellness, collaboration and community building. She credits both her mother and grandmother for setting examples of resilient Asian women business owners, as well as instilling in her the belief that through education and hard work, anything is possible.

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Crystal Togo Ansay, Broker/Owner, Diamond Realtors
Term began: 2023

Born and raised in Clovis, California, Crystal is the oldest daughter of 3 girls and is Japanese American. Crystal is a 2nd generation Realtor and the broker/owner of DIAMOND REALTORS®, a local real estate company. She runs her brokerage, actively helps buyers and sellers, manages/trains all her agents and if that isn't enough, manages all her personal rentals too. Crystal has been very active in AREAA (Asian Real Estate Association of America) since 2010, she's been on the local board for over 13 years and is one of founding members. Holding the position of President, Vice President, past President/advisor, secretary, and membership director. She is currently sitting on the AREAA National board as VP of Member Services and just finished her term as National A-List chair. Crystal also sits on two committees at her church, United Japanese Christian Church. The women’s league and the Healthy Church Initiative task force where she can share her talents and insights with her church community. Crystal is engulfed in her community and had donated hundreds of hours volunteering her time to numerous organizations. Crystal has her master's in teaching specializing in curriculum and instruction allowing her to take complex real estate transactions and break it down for her clients to understand. Crystals passion for real estate is obvious and is reflected in her going above and beyond to exceed all her client’s expectations. She made the AREAA A-list (Top Real Estate agents in the country) 4 years in a row. She is the wife to her college sweetheart and the mother to a passionate 7-year-old girl and energetic 3-year-old boy!     

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Dr. Vicky Xiong-Lor, Lecturer at Kremen School of Education & Human Development, California Sate University, Fresno
Term began: 2022

Vicky has a passion for preserving languages for future generations. Her work in Hmong language reclamation has been instrumental in developing Hmong language, literacy, culture, and history standards and Hmong-centric ethnic studies curriculum for Hmong teachers nationwide. Vicky is also a member of the National Hmong Educator Coalition and serves as a Hmong language consultant and Hmong-centric ethnic studies curriculum leader where she works with teachers across the nation in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California under the non-profit organization, MN Zej Zog. Alongside teaching full-time as a World Language teacher at Clovis High School and Buchanan High School in the Clovis Unified School District, she is a Hmong language consultant for three charter schools in Minnesota. In addition, Vicky prepares future Hmong teachers to teach in the dual language immersion programs and high school world language classrooms in the Central Valley in the Hmong Bilingual Authorization Program (Hmong BAP) at Fresno State. 

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Dr. Varaxy Yi Borromeo, ssociate Professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at Kreman School of Education & Human Development, California State University, Fresno

Term began: 2021

Varaxy Yi is an associate professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at Fresno State (beginning fall 2023). She also serves as the Director of the Research Center and is a core faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. As a first-generation Khmer American graduate and faculty, Varaxy is committed to advancing knowledge to serve racially minoritized communities, specifically Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students. She appreciates the collectivism within her Khmer community and how we show love for each other through food and nourishment. 

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2023 Advisory Board

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Misty Her, Deputy Superintendent, Fresno Unified School District

Term began: 2021

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Lisa Lee-Herrick, Media Specialist, Fresno Arts Council, Inc.

Term began: 2021

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Dr. Gena Lew-Gong, Lecturer, Asian American Studies at California State University, Fresno 

Term began: 2021

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Ya-Shu Liang, Program Director, Fresno Clinical PsychD Program, Alliant International University

Term began: 2023

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Past Board Members

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Joydee Padua, Owner and Director, Halau Hula I Ka La (Hula Studio) and Halau Hula I Ka La Cultural Foundation

Term: 2021-2022

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Dr. Kimiko Vang, Deputy Director of Employment & Training Branch, Merced County Human Services Agency

Term: 2021-2022