Georgette Imura established her own consulting business in 1995, capping a 28-year career with the California Legislature. Her firm, Liberty Consulting, specializes in government and community relations and coalition development. During her career with the California Legislature, Georgette was employed by leadership of both the Assembly and Senate. As senior staff to the Senate President Pro Tempore, she established and co-managed a community outreach office that developed and maintained a positive working relationship with a vast statewide network of opinion leaders and activists in California’s fast-growing, diverse Asian Pacific Islander community.

In addition to her work with APYLP, Georgette volunteers her time both locally and statewide. In 2003, she was appointed by the Assembly Speaker to serve on the CA Cultural and Historical Endowment Board. She also serves on the boards of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute, Asian Legal Services Outreach, and the Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership (CAPITAL). She chairs the Satendar Justice Coalition, a group that came together after the recent hate crime murder of a young South Asian man. Georgette also serves on community advisory boards for KVIE Channel 13 and for CA State University Sacramento.

Georgette is a founding board member of APYLP, and previously served as Chair of the Board, President, VP for Programs, and VP for Grants & Fundraising.

Armand Feliciano is the Associate Director of Medical and Regulatory Policy for the California Medical Association (CMA) . Armand works with managed care, health insurance policy, and regulatory issues for CMA. He previously lobbied and worked on regulatory issues for WellPoint/ Blue Cross of California. Prior to that he worked in state government as a Deputy Legislative Secretary for Governor Gray Davis, Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice, and worked for the California Senate and Assembly. He is a licensed attorney and graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and earned his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California, Riverside.

Ryan Kawamoto is a legislative assistant for Assemblymember Mike Feuer (Los Angeles – D). He is a former legislative assistant and field representative for Assemblymember Wilma Chan (Oakland – D). Additionally, he is a former Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow.

He graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with a major in political science and a minor in studio visual arts in 2002. He has been a mock legislature coordinator and an advisor coordinator for the annual Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Conference in Sacramento and also has been an advisor to college students at the Asian Pacific Leadership Conference in Santa Barbara co-sponsored by APYLP and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jeremy Nishihara is the Communications Manager for the Cupertino Union School District. Prior to joining the school district, he worked for the State Legislature for Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn and Assemblymember Sally Lieber. He attended U.C. Davis and graduated with a B.S. in Managerial Economics and a minor in Psychology. In addition to APYLP, he serves on the Board of Directors for the San Jose Taiko group and Asian American's for Community Involvement (AACI). Jeremy was also appointed to the Board of Education for the Oak Grove Elementary School District in 2006.

Cheryl Fong is the State Coordinator of the CooperativeAgencies Resources for Education (CARE) program and Consultant to the Ironwood Project college program for incarcerated students. She works for the State Chancellor's Office, California Community Colleges. Prior to her position with the Chancellor's Office, Cheryl worked at De Anza College, San Jose State University (as adjunct faculty in Asian American Studies), and the National Coalition of Asian Americans and Pacific Island Peoples for Human Services and Action.

Her professional and community activities include current membership on the Western Center on Law and Poverty Board of Directors and past Board membership with Asian and Pacific Americans in Higher Education (Vice President of Programs), Yu-Ai Kai (Japanese American Community Senior Services in San Jose), and San Jose Taiko, where she was also a performing member. She was a past co-chair of the Asian Pacific Legislative Staff Caucus.

Cheryl attended the University of the Pacific and received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in History and Ethnic Studies from San Jose State University. She serves as APYLP Vice President of Recruitment and Participation.

Joyce Iseri is an independent consultant with over three decades of experience in health and human service issues in the public and private sectors. Most recently, she served as chief deputy director of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, a state agency that provides health coverage to uninsured Californians. Prior to joining MRMIB in 2002, she was the Principal Consultant for health and human services for the Assembly Appropriations Committee under Chairs Carole Migden and Darrell Steinberg. Her other legislative experience includes nine years as a consultant with the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and two years as a consultant with the Assembly Office of Research.

In addition, she has held managerial positions in the California Departments of Social Services and Corrections and served as Executive Director of a foster care provider association for seven years. She holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin and has done graduate work in economics at the University of Hawaii and UCLA. She has authored monographs on local government expenditures and the feminization of poverty. She joined APYLP in 1995, serving as Secretary since 1996.

Karen Yamamoto is A Retired Teacher. She Taught Grades K-3 In The Washington Unified School District In West Sacramento For 15 Years. Prior To Teaching, Karen Worked In The Assembly For Thirteen Years In The Offices Of Assembly Members Burt Margolin, Richard Alatorre, Floyd Mori And Maxine Waters. Karen Was A Past Chair and Member Of The Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission Of The California State Board Of Education. Karen Was Also A Past Member Of The California Subject Mater Projects Concurrence Committee Which Operates Through The Office Of The President, University Of California. Karen Has A B.A. In Liberal Studies And An M.A. In Early Childhood Education From California State University, Sacramento. Karen Has Served As Treasurer Of APYLP Since 1996 And Is One Of The Founding Board Members.

Dina Fong works as a conference planner for the California Department of Education where her responsibilities include coordinating conferences, contract negotiation and review, and handling onsite logistics at events.

Previously, she served as special assistant to Delaine Eastin during her tenure as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the California Department of Education. Her many responsibilities included organizing conferences and school visits, managing the Superintendent’s correspondence system, and preparing background materials for the Superintendent’s events. Prior to coming to the Department of Education, Dina was the scheduler for then Assemblymember Delaine Eastin in the State Capitol for four years.

A native Sacramentan, Dina graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Asian American Studies. She has served on the APYLP board since 1998 as vice president of programs. Prior to that, she has volunteered with the conference in various capacities.

In her spare time, Dina acts as an advisor and mentor for high school youth at her church. For several years, she has led a team to Mexico during spring break where they partner with a Mexican church to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the Mexican children.

Jody Fujii is chief of staff for Senator Michael Machado (Linden). With her whole life in front of her, she has yet to decide what she really wants to do when she grows up, but is intent on ensuring that whatever endeavor is chosen that a good party is always nearby. She attended the University of California at Santa Barbara many moons ago. To her parents’ dismay, she received her B.A. in Political Science with only a minor in Economics. Jody serves as the Chair of the Fundraising Committee.

Sophia Kwong is currently a consultant with the Assembly Education Committee. She was formerly the Legislative Director for Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) and a senior consultant for Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco). Prior to joining the State Assembly, she was a lobbyist for six years, advocating for Protection & Advocacy, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides legal and advocacy assistance to people with disabilities; AIDS Project Los Angeles, a non-profit organization that provides social and health services to people living with HIV/AIDS; and the U.C. Student Association, an association for the undergraduate and graduate student associations on the nine U.C. campuses.

Sophia graduated with a B.A. in Asian American Studies from U.C. Berkeley and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Southern California. She is a former APYLP President and Vice President of Recruitment and Participation.

Agnes Lee Agnes Lee is currently the director for the Senate Office of Research. She has served as Deputy Secretary for the California Health and Human Services Agency, where she provided oversight for the various health and human services programs in the state. Prior to joining the Senate Office of Research, Agnes focused on health care issues at the California Budget Project.

She has served as a staff consultant to the Assembly Budget Committee, focusing on the areas of human services, employment and mental health. She has also been a fiscal and policy analyst with the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, working on human services issues. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Sandra Michioku is a special assistant to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the chief lawyer for the State of California. She previously was director of public affairs for the California Department of Justice. She also has been a public policy consultant for the Assembly Insurance and Health Committees in the California Legislature. Exchanging the blistering hot Sacramento summers for the cold foggy hills of San Francisco, Sandy spent three years as executive director of the national Asian American Journalists Association, working to promote increased diversity in newsrooms and fair and accurate coverage of minorities by the news media. She was lured back to the Big Valley in 1999 by the challenging work in the California Department of Justice and serves as APYLP Vice President for Programs.

Edward D. Dagang is the Director, Admissions & Outreach at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine for over 15 years and former U.C. Davis Health Professions Advisor for the Health Sciences Advising Office. He has worked with pre-health profession students for over 20 years. He is committed to supporting students in their professional development and is a U.C. Davis graduate majoring in Biological Sciences. In addition to his work with students, he is an Old Sacramento Pacific Rim Street Festival Planning Committee member and an Honorary Board member for the Filipino-American Youth Leadership Project (FAYLP).

Dominic DiMare was raised in and around a thriving California-based family produce company and learned from the ground up every aspect of the family enterprise. From picking tomatoes, loading rail cars and trucks to developing overseas business opportunities Dominic has been involved in nearly every facet of business. It is no wonder his experience lead him to the halls of the capitol where he learned to use his background to help educate legislators, advocate for the industry and eventually represent more than 16,000 business members before the Legislature and Administration. Most recently serving as the Vice-President of Governmental Affairs for the CalChamber, Dominic’s lobbying and management skills allowed him to lead coalitions of diverse business interests that worked on a variety of issues, including the general business response to the statewide energy crisis, outsourcing, taxation, workers’ compensation, telecommunications, financial privacy and, most recently, California’s new policies on climate change.

Prior work experience includes Legislative Director for Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, (D- Atwater) where Dominic was responsible for managing the Assemblyman’s legislative agenda; Consultant to the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, where he was the lead for policy analysis and drafting and resolving disputes between interested parties; and Lobbyist for the Agricultural Council of California, an association that represents agricultural cooperatives. Dominic also has experience working for FTK, Holland a fruit and vegetable import company located outside of Rotterdam, Holland.

Dominic earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Public Communications from American University in Washington D.C. and a Juris Doctorate from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific.

Alex Franco is director of state government affairs for Verizon Communications. He has been involved in California politics for over 14 years. He started as an unpaid intern and now lobbies a variety of communications issues on behalf of Verizon before the California Legislature in Sacrament and the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. He serves on the APYLP Board of Directors.

Daniel H. Kim is state government relations manager for Pacific Gas & Electric. He earlier served as principal consultant to the Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee. He serves on the APYLP Board of Directors.

Karen S. Kim Kim is a law student at University of California, Davis, and former press secretary to Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer. Before that, she worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times' community news division, covering city hall government and politics.

She graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, with a major in print journalism and a minor in English literature. Karen's friends have described her as a shopaholic, sleepaholic, movieaholic politico who wants to one day change the world. She is a veteran volunteer with APYLP and has served as an advisor for both the college and high school conferences.

Anita Kung

Dave Low is the Assistant Director, Governmental Relations for the California School Employees Association (CSEA) where he has worked since 1981. Dave is responsible for legislative and political issues for CSEA, which represents over 200,000 classified employees in California's public schools, community colleges and peace officers in the California State Universities. Dave is a graduate of UC Berkeley.

Andy Nakahata is a Vice President in the Municipal Bond Department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. In this role, Andy works as an investment banker to states, counties, cities, not-for-profit organizations and corporations throughout the Western United States. Andy is a generalist in Goldman Sachs' San Francisco office and has worked with a variety of the firm's largest clients, including the State of California, Orange County, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Northern California Power Authority, Denver International Airport, Sacramento County Department of Airports, Stanford University and Shell Oil Company. Andy works with these clients to structure and sell tax-exempt bond issues in order to borrow funds to pay for capital projects. Andy joined Goldman Sachs in 1994. Andy serves as a member of the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, Technical Advisory Committee and the San Francisco Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee.

In addition, Andy serves on the Board and as Treasurer of Enterprise for High School Students. Enterprise is a San Francisco based non-profit organization founded in 1969 to assist San Francisco high school students with the school-to-work transition. Enterprise provides a variety of services which allow youth to develop job skills, find jobs, and explore career interests.

Andy has a B.A. in History from Wesleyan University and a Master's Degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Organization and Management.

Dan Nguyen-Tan, an APYLP alumnus, is co-founder of Golden Capital Network. He was elected at-large to the Chico City Council with the highest votes in 2000 and served as the City’s Finance Chair. He has taught public finance at Chico State as a faculty instructor. He also co-founded Youth Nexus, a youth philanthropy board, served as former President of the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butte County and former Board member of Northern California Regional Land Trust. He also formerly served as acting VP of Finance and Administration for Teach For America, the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools. He received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School and his undergraduate degree from Whitman College.

Curtis Notsinneh is a 1998 APYLP alumnus and has volunteered for the program in various capacities since 2000. He manages state governmental relations and political activities in California as a deputy director for the Drug Policy Alliance, a national non-profit harm reduction and public health organization headquartered in New York City. He previously served six years as a legislative aide to Assembly Member Jackie Goldberg of Los Angeles, staffing issues concerning public safety, corrections, civil rights and education.

Curtis graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in political science and a minor in Asian American studies. He is fourth-generation Japanese-American and an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation of Northwest New Mexico.

Susan Sun is the District Director for Assemblyman Mark Leno's San Francisco office. Originally from New York, Susan has had a plethora of jobs ranging from the Walt Disney Company, planning a children's waterfront park, not getting fired by Donald Trump, building a state-of-the-art movie studio, working for a labor union and empowering communities of color to vote. Susan has a Master’s in Urban Planning and BA in Political Science & Sociology from Columbia University and is a graduate of the Coro Fellows program. Susan and her husband, Phil Ting, are currently experiencing a profound lack of sleep thanks to their baby daughter, Isabella.

Keith Umemoto is the Executive Officer of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. Prior to this position, Keith served as Assistant Secretary for the California Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency, where he managed the public policy unit of the Agency under the first Asian American to serve as a Gubernatorial cabinet member, Secretary Lon Hatamiya.

Keith previously worked in the State Capitol as a committee consultant to the State Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Budget Committee, as well as Legislative Director for State Senator Alfred Alquist. Keith is Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus of the Democratic National Committee. He has a Masters in Social Welfare from U.C.L.A. and a B.A. in Asian American Studies from U.C. Berkeley. He is a founding Board Member of the APYLP.

Jacqueline Wong is the Foster Youth Services Program Consultant for the California Department of Education, where she provides technical assistance and support services statewide in overseeing this grant-funded program designed to provide educational and school-based support services to children in foster care.

She possesses a Master of Social Work degree and a Pupil Personnel Services credential. She is former Coordinator for the Oakland Unified School District's Student, Family and Community Services Department helping to develop the district's Foster Youth Program, Refugee Student Assistance Program, Migrant Education Program, various Coordination of Services Programs and Crisis Response protocols. She prides herself as a school-based social worker committed to comprehensive collaborations with a youth development focus.

As a former legislative aide to former California State Assembly member Mike Honda, she has expertise in legislative advocacy in the areas health and human services, mental health, employment and training, community economic development, and domestic violence. She is also an active community volunteer dedicating her time and resources to a number of youth advocacy and outreach organizations including Young Women United for Oakland, the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Project; and Banteay Srei (Citadel of Women).

Elaine Yamaguchi is an analyst for the Governmental Affairs unit of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest retirement system in the nation. Prior to her service at CalPERS, Elaine was Director of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, which funds educational projects about the Japanese American experience before, during and after WWII. She also worked for nearly 8 years in the California State Legislature, lobbied for the UC Students, served as Managing Director of the Center for Asian American Media(formerly NAATA), registered voters. A graduate of UC Davis, Elaine is a long-time Nikkei and Asian/Pacific community activist.