Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

AIISF Board

Advisory Board

Staff

Buck Gee

Michael Hardeman

Anne A. Chen

Anne A. Chen is a third-generation Angel Island Immigration Station descendant.  Her maternal grandparents immigrated from Zhongshan, China and entered the United States through Angel Island.

Ms. Chen is founder and managing principal of Quantum Success, LLC, a business consulting firm in the greater Portland, Oregon area.  Previously, she was Senior Vice President of Marketing and New Business at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Vice President Business Development/CFO at Oregon3D.  She also has 10 years of experience at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment America where she worked with the PlayStation® Computer Entertainment System and PlayStation.com.  She earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a licensed CPA.

Her other nonprofit activities include working with pro bono clients, such as Dress for Success and their strategic plan, and fundraising the past 6 years for Doernbecher’s Children Hospital, which is affiliated with Oregon Health & Science University.  She currently serves as Secretary for Oswego Friends of Doernbecher and has also worked on the annual Heart of Doernbecher Auction, the largest fundraiser for the hospital.

John Cu

John Cu is a partner and chair of Hanson Bridgett's Diversity Committee. He is trial lawyer and litigator with over 20 jury trials to verdict. John's litigation practice involves commercial litigation and business risk management, including strategic planning, pre-litigation counsel, alternative dispute resolution, and trial. In the business litigation area, John handles matters involving contract disputes, financial market disputes, shareholder matters, unfair competition and fiduciary duty claims, and corporate and partnership dissolution actions, serving clients in the financial, retail and arts/entertainment industries, and environmental and toxic issues.

John has also served as general counsel to various emerging and start-up companies, ranging in industries from software, telecommunications, mobile service, e-commerce, and retail, to name a few. Prior to joining Hanson Bridgett, John served as a deputy district attorney for the County of Contra Costa, where he served as acting supervisor of the misdemeanor trial team for the Western Division of the County. John has a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and a B.A. from the University of British Columbia.

Henry Der

Heather Fong

Born and raised in San Francisco, Heather Fong served as Chief of Police in San Francisco from 2004 to 2009. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Francisco and a Master's degree in Social Work from San Francisco State University. She was sworn in as a Police Officer in 1977, and worked through the ranks of inspector, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, commander, deputy chief, assistant chief, acting chief and, permanent chief. She was the first woman to lead the San Francisco Police Department, and the first Asian American woman to head a major metropolitan city police force.

Heather Fong received a number of awards including the Women of Achievement Award from Legal Momentum; the Leadership, Courage and Commitment Award and also the Women Warrior Award from the Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition (PAAWBAC); Outstanding Public Service Award from the Asian Pacific American Community Center; and the Officer of the Year Award from the San Francisco Police Department

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Rodney Fong

Ming Hsu

Commissioner Hsu is a Consultant on international business.  She is a Senior Advisor to the NOL Group and a Director of the J.T. Tai & Co. Foundation and a Director of the Committee of 100.

Hsu is a former Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the US Senate in 1990.  She served in this capacity until January 2000.  As Commission, she held many meetings with China’s Ministry of Communications which culminated in the US-China Maritime Bilateral Agreement.  She represented US maritime interests in dealing with the European Union and delivered Keynote speeches in London, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.  She also played a crucial role in the passage and implementation of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998.

Prior to her service as FMC Commissioner, she was a Vice President of RCA Corp. (now GE) where she held a variety of positions in the areas of international marketing and planning.  She led the first delegation visit to Beijing in 1978 and has made over fifty business trips to China since then.

She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Maritime Medal of Freedom, the Eisenhower Award for Meritorious Service, the Woman of the Year Award, Asian American Professional Woman’s Association, Philbrook Award, and Woman’s Political Caucus and is listed in Who’s Who in American Politics and Who’s Who in America.

A naturalized American, Hsu was born in Beijing, China and has lived throughout Asia.  She is a Summa Cum Laude Graduate of George Washington University and member of Phi Beta Kappa.  At New York University, she was a Penfield Fellow for International Law.  Hsu is a recipient of the George Washington University Alumni Achievement Award and holds several honorary degrees.
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Lawrence B. Low

Lawrence B. Low is the Chief Legal Officer of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.  As the Chief Legal Officer, Larry is responsible for strategic planning and managing the firm’s global legal affairs, including matters relating to governance, litigation, contracts, insurance, ethics, risk management, human resources and compliance.  In addition to his responsibilities to the firm, Larry represents public and private emerging growth companies, and venture capital funds in a broad range of industries including, energy, semiconductors, internet, software and consumer products.  He has extensive experience in venture financings, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and advises companies and investors in cross border transactions involving Asia.  Larry is a frequent lecturer and has published numerous articles on corporate finance matters.  He also has leadership roles in numerous professional and civic organizations, and was appointed by President Clinton in 1995 as one of four U.S. representatives to serve on the panel of arbitrators of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.

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Katherine Toy

An educator by training, Katherine Toy’s passion for the Angel Island Immigration Station project comes from years of work with her students to discover their own immigrant and migrant stories, and from her own firm belief that “everyday people make history every day.” A fifth-generation Chinese American, Ms. Toy’s own ancestors traveled frequently between the United States and China in the early twentieth century, subjecting them to the interrogation faced by all Chinese during the era of exclusion. Ms. Toy has been involved with the work of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation for more than a decade, serving as the organization’s first Executive Director and now as a member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Toy holds a bachelor and a master’s degree from Stanford University where she now works to engage alumni in positions of volunteer leadership

Gerrye Wong

Michael McKechnie

Prior to joining the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Michael McKechnie served as Executive Director of the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society for 11 years.

Before working at San Francisco’s Botanical Garden Society, Mr. McKechnie had a long career developing programs that involve professionals and the public working together.  Trained as a City Planner with an interest in historic preservation and with an undergraduate degree in history, Mr. McKechnie has had considerable experience working with architects, engineers, educators, and designers to remake and interpret public places of historical significance.

Mr. McKechnie holds a BA from DePauw University, a Master of Regional Planning from Cornell University, and an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. Return to top

Grant Din

Grant Din is Director of Special Projects at AIISF, where he is working on the Immigrant Heritage Wall campaign, other resource development efforts and on research and educational projects. He has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, including 18 years at Asian Neighborhood Design in San Francisco in resource development and management positions.

An avid family history researcher and genealogist for over twenty years, Grant has traced his grandparents' and other relatives' lives including their stays at Angel Island. He loves to help others learn more about their family histories and always seeks to learn new ways to find information. He and fellow researchers are starting to develop a Chinese American Genealogical Society.

Grant serves on the boards of the Marcus Foster Education Fund and Mu Films, and is a former member of several other local and national boards. He has a B.A. from Yale University, an M.A. from Claremont Graduate University, and is a graduate of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. Grant and his family live in Oakland, and he enjoys helping with his children's schools and sports teams. To see some of his family research, visit www.tonaidin.net.

Julie Phuong

Julie Phuong has been with Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation since May 2008 where she works as the Administrative Coordinator.  Prior to joining AIISF staff she worked with the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco for 3 years working on administration, various cultural enrichment programs and leading tours in San Francisco Chinatown.