Current Board Members

Kim-Khanh Van graduated from the University of Dayton- School of Law with extensive legal experiences working at the Criminal Law Clinic and interning at an Immigration Law Firm. She currently is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and a few other legal associations. Ms. Van enjoys volunteering her time as a pro bono attorney for the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project (NWIRP) and King County Bar Association. She was recognized for her pro bono work with DACA issues by the AILA WA chapter in 2013.

Leslie Lum a Professor at Bellevue College, has extensive industry experience including strategic planning at a Fortune 100 now part of Citigroup, investment banking with a global bank and general management of a retail start-up. Leslie authored the textbook Personal Investing and coauthored Business Consulting in a Multicultural America. She has a MBA from Columbia University, a MSW and BFA from the University of British Columbia, and holds the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation. She has been on the board of International Examiner for the past year and on the Advisory Board of the UW Foster Consulting and Business Development Center for over 20 years where she developed expertise with minority business enterprises. She has published poetry, short stories and her play Geomancer was read at the Vancouver Asian Canadian Theater.

Stanley Tsao has many years of community outreach experience working with The Connections Group team. Stanley has managed outreach programs for numerous government initiatives and providing better government access to minority and immigrant communities. He has worked closely with a broad range of community groups, government agencies and non-profitorganizations. He also manages Connections’ production projects from direct mails to media productions. Previously, Stanley had served as a board member with Young Professional International Network at World Affairs Council and as the board chair at Safe Futures YouthCenter in West Seattle. Tsao has an undergraduate degree in economics and political science from Simon Fraser University in Canada.

I’m a UW student interested in building connections between the South Asian diaspora and the larger Asian American diaspora in the United States. Passionate about women’s rights, animals, and protecting the environment, I’m excited to be a first year board member with APACE!

Mari Kim grew up in Toronto, Canada, and identifies as a nonprofit fundraiser in the Community Centric Fundraising tradition. She focuses on fundraising because it helps build equity through access to resources and related opportunities. She is a graduate of Brandeis University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Candler School of Theology, and Emory University (PhD). She was an academic with a passion for education and advocacy before moving into fundraising. She now serves as the Corporate and Foundations Relations Officer for Northwest Harvest.

Sandy Namgung is a Korean American advocate who is committed to fighting for justice in all its forms. She has a history of canvassing to protect abortion and reproductive rights, meeting with legislators to advocate for bills that end animal cruelty, and volunteering with APIAVote and When We All Vote to protect the votes of people of color. Because she believes democracy only works when every American is heard and fairly represented, Sandy is passionate about increasing civic engagement among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington and currently serves as the Deputy Director of Allyship for Asians@Amazon. Sandy enjoys running, reading nonfiction, writing about Asian American experiences, and living a vegan and cruelty-free lifestyle.

Derek is a new APACEvotes board member! He works as the Policy and Advocacy Manager at InterIm CDA. There, he works at the intersection of housing justice, transportation justice, environmental justice, community planning, and racial plus immigrant justice. He has a Masters in Social Work from the UW, as well as a history of working in organizer roles in Asian American civic engagement organizations such as APACEvotes. He has volunteered at the Seattle Human Rights Commission, Solid Ground, United Way, and LIHI. In his free time, Derek enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, beer, coffee, and cooking.