KoKo Huang is a third-year law student at Seattle University. As ASPIRE's first Director of Development, she spearheaded fundraising efforts that included ASPIRE's inaugural fundraiser. After graduating from Bowdoin College with a double major in Asian Studies and Government and Legal Studies in 2000, she was employed in Boston and New York as a Paralegal. In her free time, she has devoted her energies to various community service efforts, including mentoring Posse Foundation scholars, co-chairing Bowdoin's Volunteer Programs, and helping disadvantaged youths gain access to college.

Grace Niwa is Founder and CEO of Niwa Public Relations. An expert in industry and government affairs, fundraising, community relations, and events marketing for the Asian Market. Grace currently oversees PR activities for Anheuser-Busch, Inc, Asia Society, Asian Chefs Association, White House Asian American Pacific Islanders President's Advisory Commission among others. Most recently, Grace was a consultant for the Asia Society on their historic first collaboration with the NBA for the NBA China Games. A classically trained pianist, Grace went to New York City in 1991 to attend the Juilliard School where she received her Master’s degree and gave her debut at Carnegie Hall in 1996. In 1998, she founded Korean American for Global Action (KAFGA) with Mercy Corps International and raised over $100,000 for the children of North Korea. Grace was also honored by WNBC-TV during the Asian American Heritage Month Festival in 1998 for her philanthropic work in the arts. Grace is very active serving on boards for numerous Asian American committees.

Lisa Shah is an Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Wellesley College. She is focused on encouraging young alumnae to learn about philanthropy and the importance of giving back to the community. Prior to working at Wellesley, she worked at the Asia Society in New York as a development professional specializing in event and membership fundraising. Lisa graduated from Wellesley College in 2002 with a degree in Economics. Currently, Lisa is an active volunteer for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), Newark Academy, and Wellesley College. Lisa is also passionate about photography and continues to exhibit her work at www.lisashah.com.

John Sims is a graduate of Miami University and Harvard Business School, class of 1975. Mr. Sims is the Executive Relations Manager of Bentley College and formerly served as the Assistant Dean of Bentley McCallum Graduate School of Business. He is currently Director of the Harvard Business School Association of Boston, American Association of University Women and National Society of Hispanic MBAs.

Hang Tran is a sophomore at Boston College, class of 2008. She has been actively involved with ASPIRE since its founding in 2001 and is a graduate of Boston Latin School. Currently, Ms. Tran is majoring in education with a focus on teaching immigrant populations.

Rosa Wu is a Product Manager at Google Enterprise through the acquisition of Postini, a message security and compliance service. Previously, she was an Associate at Weston Presidio, a private equity firm investing $3.3 billion across a wide range of industries in companies such as JetBlue, Fender Guitar, and The Boston Herald. She received her A.B. in Government from Harvard University in 2003. During college, Rosa served as Vice President of Harvard Student Agencies, a $5 million student-run corporation with 750 employees and 10 agencies, including the Let’s Go travel guides. She served as President of ASPIRE from 2004-2005 and currently serves on the Advisory Board for YNPN SF Bay Area.

Director Emeritus

Nellie Hsu, founder of ASPIRE, recently received her MBA from Harvard Business School and now works at Clorox as an Associate Marketing Manager. Prior to that, she was a Brand Planner for Arnold Worldwide on the anti-smoking “Truth” campaign, Ocean Spray, Oral-B, and Citizens Bank. Having graduated from Duke University in 1998 with a major in Comparative Area Studies and a minor in Japanese, she spent a year in Taipei as a Government Analyst before moving on to Kaiser Associates in Washington, D.C. as an Associate Consultant. She founded ASPIRE in 2001.