AIISF Board of Directors
A native of San Francisco, Darlene is the Executive Director of GlobalSF. Appointed by the late San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, she is tasked with stimulating economic growth and job creation through trade and investment between China and San Francisco. Previously, Darlene was the Vice President of Public Affairs at East West Bank after serving as Vice President of Public Relations for United Commercial Bank. Darlene was Chief Deputy Communications Director for Mayor Gavin Newsom before joining Pacific Gas & Electric Company to become their Corporate Communications Manager.
Darlene has enjoyed a successful and diverse professional life. Before her wins as a political consultant on a number of campaigns, she spent over a decade living in Hong Kong, working for and with international firms such as Mitsui & Co. and Helm AG.
Appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Darlene served the City as Small Business Commissioner from 2008 – 2010. She is Founding Board member of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Project, Board member of the Asian Pacific American Democratic Club, Advisory Board member of Community Youth Center, past Board member of the Chinese Culture Center Foundation and the Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition.
Win Chang is currently the Western Regional Public Sector State and Local Solutions Engineering Director at Oracle. She began her career as a software engineer, developing financial application solutions. She first joined as a technical support manager before working as an Applications Sales Consulting Manager, where she managed a global Sales Consulting team. Win was employed by Siebel Systems and Hyperion before joining LogicalApps as the Customer Experience Vice President. During her tenure, she grew the consulting services portfolio by 200%. In 2008, Oracle acquired LogicalApps. Since that time, she has held several roles including Key Account Director, Customer Success Director, Cloud Accelerator Director, and Cloud Customer Experience Director.
Win was the recipient of the Oracle CEO’s Cup Award for account management excellence in 2011, 2013, and 2014. For the last 12 years, she has served as the community leader for the OWL Headquarter community, focused on giving back to the community, professional development, and empowering women to lead beyond. She is also the founder and chairperson for the Oracle Professional Asian Leadership (OPAL) Employee Resource Group. Lastly, she is a mentor for Women Unlimited Inc., an organization focused on mentoring, education, and networking.
Win was born in China, grew up in Miami, Florida, and now lives in Redwood Shores, California, with her husband Mike Chang and children, Nicholas, Madison, Michael. She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, and gardening.
Stephanie Isaacson has been with Pacific Gas and Electric Company since 2002 in various public affairs, community engagement, and customer care roles, including several years leading the company’s engagement with communities on environmental issues in the communities of Hinkley, Topock, and at the power plant and former manufactured gas plant remediation sites in San Francisco and throughout northern and central California. Stephanie currently leads the company’s annual $25 million philanthropy programs, volunteerism, and coworker engagement programs. She is also the Executive Director of The PG&E Corporation Foundation, an independent non-profit.
Stephanie serves on several non-profit boards of directors and advisory groups, including the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and Foundation Boards, Oakland Promise Corporate Circle Partnership, Conference Board Corporate Citizenship Strategy Council, and Northern California Grantmakers Corporate Contributions Roundtable. She grew up in San Francisco and still lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner and son.
Natalie Huen is a third-generation Angel Island Immigration Station descendant. Her maternal grandparents immigrated from Zhongshan, China and entered the United States through Angel Island. As a professionally trained dancer, Natalie is the first recipient of the Asian Pacific Islander Heroes of San Mateo County Award for over 18 years of volunteer dance choreography, contribution, and service to Bethlehem A.D.
Her career in consulting as a trainer spans corporate, education institutions, coaching and personal development industry, and start up adventures includes work for: Lotus/IBM Notes, Tony Robbins’ Mastery University, Stanford Cancer Institute, and a Bay Area Augmented Reality start-up company. In 2018, she joined the Apple Media Products division at Apple and furthered her education as a high-ticket closer.
These opportunities would never have formulated had her grandfather never taken the courageous water journey as a paper son and every day she remembers with gratitude and appreciation the adventurous spirit of her grandparents and the sacrifices they made to ensure a better future for their family. Natalie continues to honor her grandparents’ legacy by continuing her family’s deep roots within Angel Island and following the work of her cousin Anne Chen’s nine-year involvement on the board.
Thomas Tolentino is an executive leader, consultant, and project manager who has worked in management for over 15 years. He is currently the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation.
As a leader, he has analyzed potential opportunities and worked through complex technical and business challenges to create value through innovation, efficiency, and technology planning. Thomas has been involved in multiple industries and worked for organizations such as The New York Academy of Sciences, Aton Pharma inc, and Time Inc. He has helped companies at various stages of growth from startups to established environments.
Tom is a first-generation Filipino American. His parents met at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. In 1964 his mother came to New York for her medical residency, with his father following the next year. They remained in the U.S. for job opportunities, not just for themselves but for their children.
Elena is inhouse counsel with a Fortune 500 company in Hartford, Connecticut, where she works on complex technology and data deals and corporate real estate matters. Previously, Elena was corporate counsel with a leading consumer goods company based in Westchester, NY, focusing on M&A transactions, domestic and international reorganizations, and IT deals. She is a graduate of NYU School of Law and Wellesley College. Elena’s areas of professional expertise range from drafting and negotiating contracts involving cloud services, data licensing, AI modeling, innovation, SaaS and software licensing to handling data center deals and outsourcing arrangements. She is passionate about her volunteer and pro bono legal work.
Elena held various leadership positions with the American Corporate Counsel Association (ACC), the largest global network of inhouse counsel. She is currently serving as Vice Chair (Chair-Elect) of the ACC Network Leadership Council. Additionally, Elena is an active member of the leadership team of the ACC Women-in-the-House Network. She was a recipient of the prestigious Jonathan Silber Outstanding ACC Member of the Year award.
Elena frequently writes and speaks on panels about creating and managing networks, career development, challenges faced by women as inhouse counsel, mentorship, sponsorship, D&I, self-marketing, and social justice. Elena was born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine. She speaks English, Ukrainian, Russian, and Spanish.
Paurvi Bhatt is a global healthcare executive known for creating strategies that optimize the deployment of public, private, and philanthropic capital that expands outcomes through partnerships that deliver more equitable care in communities around the world. As a second-generation Indian immigrant and family caregiver, Paurvi focuses on culturally responsive solutions in the care economy by integrating community-led voices, solutions, and organizations in the referral pathway that brings care into the home. She's known for creating unique solutions that bring together nonprofits, government, and companies to pilot, pivot, and scale care. As a board director/advisor on several private company, foundation, and nonprofit boards, Paurvi combines her lived experience with her seasoned focus on outcomes and deep knowledge of financing. She is trained in health systems and economics with a B.A. in Neuroscience from Northwestern University, an M.P.H from Yale University, and a Ph.D. (ABD) from Johns Hopkins University.
Paurvi is an active spokesperson, author, podcast guest, and presenter on issues ranging from women's leadership, Asian American and immigrant issues, health systems and economics, philanthropy, HIV and women’s health, and the role of women as working daughters and family caregivers.
Paurvi joined the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Board of Directors to help ensure that every generation of Asian American immigrants have their stories and history captured and enshrined so our contributions to American progress are accurately and sensitively celebrated.
Madhuri Jha is a clinical social work and public health executive whose experience spans research, training, and direct clinical practice focused on health and behavioral health systems, trauma and resiliency, mental health epidemiology and community capacity building. As the daughter of South Asian immigrants, Madhuri is devoted to championing health equity for populations least reached by systems of care, honoring the legacy of many of her own ancestors who lived with physical and mental illness and could not get help.
Most recently, Madhuri was the Vice President of Science, Equity, and Integration at public health organization ETR. She has also served as the Director of the Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity at the Morehouse School of Medicine, where she led national programs advancing access to mental health policies and services for historically underreached populations. Notably, she provided scientific and policy leadership on embedding equity into 9-8-8, the nation’s first crisis emergency response system.
Currently, Madhuri is the Principal and Founder of Thriving for All LLC, offering technical expertise at the intersection of clinical services, research, and policy-making to advance stigma reduction and access to mental health care for all. She is a subject matter expert on multiple legislative task forces; a state and federal advisor; a Board Director; and a professor of mental health policy at New York University. In 2022, she was recognized as a 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health by National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF).
Madhuri holds master’s degrees in both Public Health (MPH) and Social Work (MSW) from New York University. She is a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Affairs from George Washington University.
Richard Lui has been an MSNBC dayside anchor since September 2010. He has anchored some of the network’s major breaking stories, including the 2011 debt-ceiling debate, the Arab Spring, and the deficit supercommittee failure.
Before joining MSNBC, Lui spent five years at CNN Worldwide, most recently with CNN Headline News as the solo anchor of the 10 a.m. hour of “Morning Express.” He led the network’s morning political reporting throughout the 2008 presidential election. Lui occasionally is a guest on political talk shows The Bill Press Show and The Stephanie Miller Show.
In addition to his political and journalism work, Lui spent 15 years in business working in consulting, manufacturing, food and beverage, and environmental industries. During the late 1990s, Lui worked with several new technology businesses in Northern California. Most recently he cofounded the first bank-centric payment system for which he holds a patent. He also worked for firms including Citibank, and Mercer Management Consulting in New York.
Lui has spent 25 years in community service in Africa, Asia, and the United States, volunteering for organizations like the United States Capitol Historical Society, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, and APIA Vote.
Lui attended UC Berkeley majoring in the political economy of industrial society, later graduating with a BA in rhetoric. He received his MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and is enrolled at Stanford University in its program in International Security.
Salvador Mendoza is responsible for developing short- and long-term strategies in the workforce, leadership development, community partnerships, and NBCUniversal’s Employee Resource Groups, focusing on enhancing the company’s diverse and inclusive environment. In addition, he is responsible for building and maintaining partnerships with local, regional, and national diverse organizations.
Sal is considered an expert in diversity & inclusion and holds several leadership positions in many Advisory Boards, including the American Red Cross, the Center for Asian Pacific American Women, and the National Hispanic Corporate Council.
Born in Honduras and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mendoza’s adjustment to a new culture and environment created an incredibly formative experience that shaped his passion for diversity & Inclusion. Sal received a B.S. from Chicago State University and M.S. from Governors State University.
Sameen builds relationships and inspires change through philanthropy. She is a relentless advocate for women’s rights and social justice, working with Muslim women in her community for more than 25 years.
At the Proteus Fund, she serves as the officer for partnerships with the RISE Together Fund, a national donor group working to build community power, change the narrative and advocate for the rights of Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities. A graduate of the University of Florida and Nova Southeastern University, Sameen is an esteemed nonprofit leader and strategist.
AIISF Staff
Ed joined the AIISF team in November 2019. He has over 29 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He previously served on staff at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) for nearly 16 years, most recently as APIAHF’s Executive Vice President. He has also served as Director of Education at Saint Louis Effort for AIDS and as Community Co-Chair of Missouri's Statewide HIV/STD Prevention Community Planning Group. As an associate at Aplomb Consulting, he helped to staff media relations for amFAR’s National AIDS Update Conference and the San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade.
During his time at APIAHF, he oversaw multi-million dollar national programs, functioned as chief strategy officer, served as key liaison to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded national racial equity collaborative, and helped secure over $32 million in funding. He co-developed the 9-month Health Rising Leadership Institute which has trained more than 50 Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to become stronger leaders and storytellers. He has also provided trainings and consulting to hundreds of organizations across the country across a variety of nonprofit leadership and program management topics.
Ed received a B.A. in Biology and Psychology from Washington University. He was also a Nelson Mandela Scholarship recipient in the M.S.W. program at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. He is a certified professional leadership coach. In 2019, Ed was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Equity. He was also recognized as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Fellow. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Museums Association.
Russell is a museum professional with 20 years of experience working for cultural organizations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Before joining AIISF in November 2018, he worked for the USC Pacific Asia Museum, Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Paley Center for Media, Madame Tussauds Hollywood, Orlando Science Center, and the Orange County Regional History Center.
As a curator and creative director, Russell has developed exhibits for AIISF, including Voices of Resilience; Tastes of Home; Lighting the Darkness; and Taken from their Families. He also served on the Angel Island Immigration Museum’s curatorial team as lead researcher. Outside of Angel Island, Russell has curated shows for the Global Museum—Show & Tell: Ordinary Objects, Revealing Stories; Other Worlds: The Art of Storytelling; and developed permanent exhibits for the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum—African Americans in the Military; and Land of Promise, Life of Duty: Asian Americans in the Military.
Russell holds an A.S. in Film Production, B.A. in Anthropology, and M.A. in Museum Studies (curatorship and exhibit design emphasis). For his undergraduate, he received the Outstanding Academic Achievement and Engagement in Anthropology award for his graduating class. Russell was also honored with the Graduate Award for Distinguished Achievement in Museum Studies.
Danielle joined AIISF in May 2022. She comes to the organization with a strong background in public history, education, and museum interpretation. While her roots are in the Bay Area, she spent the last ten years in New York City earning her MA in American Studies from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and working at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Additionally, she has worked with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the Institute for Language Education in Transcultural Context (ILETC) & the Center for Integrated Language Communities (CILC) at CUNY, the University Archives at University of Redlands, and the Lincoln Memorial Shrine and Heritage Room. Danielle is interested in advancing the use of storytelling and history to inspire empathy for (im)migrants past and present. She holds a BA in American History from University of Redlands.
Gabriel joined AIISF in January 2024. Graduating with distinction from the University of British Columbia with a BA in History and a minor in Asian Studies. Returning to the Bay Area where he was born and raised he hopes to connect others with the stories of the island.
Before joining AIISF in January 2024, he worked for the Wing Luke Museum; the Children's Creativity Museum; the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association; El Museo de la Inmigracion; the Exploratorium; and the Lawrence Hall of Science. He served to further public interest in history, the arts and science learning while at these different institutions.
He is the author of Gabriel Lee's Historical Cookery Book, a collection of historic recipes sourced from around British Columbia.
Passionate about transnational, intercultural, and intergenerational storytelling, Emma began working at AIISF in December 2024. While Emma was born and raised in the South Bay, her family’s experiences in North America began in 1800s Canada. Exploring their history catalyzed her love for learning about diasporic narratives more broadly, as well as her belief that stories can inspire empathy across borders and time.
Previously, Emma worked for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, where she researched for the National Folklife Network, supported grant programs, and created and archived media. She also interned for The 1947 Partition Archive and Montalvo Arts Center. Emma holds an MA in Folklore (knowledge and practices which, shared interpersonally, build communities) and the title Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies with a minor in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.