2022 Advisory Board & Board of Directors

2022 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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2022 Board of Directors

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 for her primary practice area of Immigration Law. Her advice, as a wife and mother of four is to travel a lot because, "there are too many extraordinary people to meet and too many beautiful places to see in this world in the short time we have to live."
 

Vice President

Millie Thao, Manager, Physician Marketing & Communications, Community Health Partners

Term began: 2022

Millie earned a degree from Fresno State's MCJ Department with an emphasis in Public Relations and Marketing and has more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, specializing in physician relations and marketing 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.

Joanne Lai, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Term began: 2022

Joanne is a psychotherapist working at a private practice in Fresno. She specializes in trauma therapy and cultural dysphoria among Asians. As a Taiwanese and Chinese-Thai female immigrant who grew up in Thailand and was educated in the US and UK systems, Joanne has a unique perspective in her work with the API community and with the clients she serves. Her main passions are supporting women to find safety and comfort in their own bodies, reclaim their space, and express their voices. Joanne considers herself a lifetime student. She is currently in the Gyrotonic® Method teacher training program and participates in ongoing advanced trainings in trauma therapy. 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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Joydee Padua, Owner and Director, Halau Hula I Ka La (Hula Studio) and Halau Hula I Ka La Cultural Foundation

Term began: 2021

Joydee is a Philippine-born, mother of four, who bridges cultures through artistry and education. As the owner and Director of Hālau Hula I Ka Lā - Hula Studio, she perpetuates the values that are paramount to Pacific Islanders, primarily those of the Hawaiian people.

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

Term began: 2021

Kimiko is a Hmong American woman with more than 20 years of experience in the social services field. Her professional path reflects a lifelong journey to address social and health inequities while serving vulnerable individuals and communities. Both her paternal and maternal grandmothers taught her that women possess the power of resilience, tenacity and intelligence to overcome obstacles in life. Kimiko strongly believes in mentoring the next generation of Asian American women through professional development and support. 

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Dr. Vicky Xiong-Lor, Lecturer at Kremen School of Education, 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, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Kreman School of Education & Human Development, California State University, Fresno

Term began: 2021

Varaxy is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership at Fresno State. She also serves as coordinator for the Higher Education Administration and Leadership (HEAL) graduate program 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. She appreciates the collectivism within her Khmer community as well as the ways we show love for each other through food and nourishment.