Founders
Ping KhawFounder & Past PresidentPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Born in Malaysia, Ping immigrated to Portland in 1990. Her two decades of community outreach efforts include community art projects with disadvantaged youth, communities of color and immigrants that have gained her multiple awards. Her business endeavors include product export, strategic sales, fundraising management, and event production. In the 2010 U.S. Census, she served as the Oregon partnership co-team lead that assisted in hard-to-count operation. Since 2016, she has managed the CELs (Community Engagement Liaisons) program which pairs experienced liaisons to assist government agencies and private entities to effectively engage underserved populations and immigrants to integrate more effectively into local communities.
In 2014, Tracey Lam and Ping co-founded API Forward Foundation. In the past, she has served on the board for New Portlander Policy Commission, Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OCAPIA), Golden Leaf Education Foundation, state adviser for the US Civil Right Commission, Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and SW Washington (APACC), IRCO Works LLC, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), and Mass Mutual women advisory council.
Tracey LamFounder & Past SecretaryPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Tracey is a proud immigrant from Hong Kong, whose parents gave up everything to come to the U.S. in hopes of providing a better future for their children. Today, Tracey is an award-winning communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in journalism, public relations, program development, fundraising and equity work. She is the director of programs and communications at Partners in Diversity, a nonprofit that helps employers enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
Prior to Partners in Diversity, Tracey worked at the OHSU Center for Diversity and Inclusion, served as the communications manager at Make-A-Wish Oregon and executive producer of special projects at KATU-TV.In 2014, she co-founded API Forward with Ping Khaw. She served on the boards of the Public Relation Society of America Oregon Chapter and the Asian American Journalist Association. She also organizes a monthly book club.
Board of Directors
Ping KhawFounder & Past PresidentPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Tracey LamFounder & Past SecretaryPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Christian AnicietePresidentPronouns: He/Him/His
Christian AnicietePresidentPronouns: He/Him/His
Christian Aniciete is a story of firsts: first to build the social media program at Oregon’s largest university; first in his family to graduate with a business degree and give the commencement address; and first social media manager of one of the best airports in America. An accomplished marketing and communications professional, community leader, youth mentor and champion for social justice, Christian brings over a decade of experience in the private and public sectors. Born in Manila, Philippines, Christian emigrated to Hillsboro, Oregon at the age of 10 and was raised in a bi-cultural home. His leadership journey dates back to organizing canned food and voter registration drives, volunteering in the retirement center and working with local city council at a young age. A graduate of Portland State University’s business school, Christian’s deep involvement includes building PSU’s culturally responsive training program, leading organizations like Kaibigan – Filipino American Student Association, PSU’s Programming Board and student government.
For his contributions, Christian has been recognized with industry awards including the President’s Diversity Award, “Best In-House Marketing,” and Rising Star in Marketing. Currently, Christian does corporate marketing and communications with the Portland International Airport and the Port of Portland. In addition to his interests of traveling, reading, speaking at conferences, dining, listening to music, networking and spending time with his wife and family, Christian dances with local Michael Jackson Thriller flash mobs and serves as a volunteer for Lakad PDX, American Marketing Association, SEMpdx and Kaibigan alumni advisory board. Christian is passionate about API Forward’s mission because of his commitment to making a positive difference, breaking the bamboo ceiling and paving the way for the next generation of API leaders.
Alaina RobertsonSecretaryPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Alaina RobertsonSecretaryPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Alaina is a Vietnamese-American Pacific Northwest native raised in Issaquah, Washington. She is currently the Division President of Taylor Morrison Homes with 16 years of experience in real estate and new home construction. Throughout her life, she has had the opportunity to receive leadership training from various organizations such as the Junior Leagues of Portland and Seattle and through those experiences found a passion for supporting individuals and organizations which are committed to growing our future leaders.
Alaina received her Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Management from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communications at Washington State University and became a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, where she served as the Vice President of Standards and then the Chapter President. Following graduation in 2008, Alaina focused on student leadership development and mentorship as a Chapter Advisory Board member for the collegiate executive council members of Kappa Delta at WSU, Oregon State University, and the University of Washington. She was awarded the Advisor of the Year Award in 2021 for her work with the Sigma Iota Chapter of Kappa Delta at UW. Now that she is living full-time in the Portland area, Alaina is continuing her commitment to supporting student leadership growth now with a focus on the API community.
Yuhan KinderBoard MemberPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Yuhan KinderTreasurerPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Yuhan is born and raised in Taiwan. She came to the states after high school in late 1997 as an international student and later decided to start her career here in the US as an immigrant and to call America her new home. She started out in Tacoma, WA, ended her higher education at the city by the bay in California, and lived there till 2013 then moved to Portland, OR. The time she spent in Oregon is when she found her passion in social justice and workplace diversity and inclusion. While she worked for a fortune 50 company here in Portland, she found herself
involved in Employee Recourse Group a lot and later helped launch the Asian Pacific American group in its region as the last one onboard nationwide.
By sharing her story, and her own struggle as an international student in a foreign country and later being a new immigrant, she was hoping to inspire other employees to share and understand different cultures. After she left the company and working for herself in the real estate industry now, she had the opportunity to continue her passion through API Forward hoping to inspire more young API members with leadership skills to bring more diversity into senior leadership at workplaces. If she is not trying out new restaurants or traveling, you may find her debating social justice issues on social media.
David PanTreasurerPronouns: He/Him/His
David PanBoard Member/Past TreasurerPronouns: He/Him/His
David Pan is a marketing and communication specialist by day, and a health and fitness nut and TV series junky by night. He is originally from Taiwan and has a background in multiple industries including education, hospitality, and for-profit and non-profit marketing. He is currently working as the Marketing and Brand Manager of Succession Resource Group.
David received his MA in Communications in 2014 from Wichita State University, and moved to Portland, Oregon and currently resides in Milwaukie. For him, giving back to the community and the world is important. He has participated in hunger awareness initiatives and supports LGBTQ human rights. He joined API Forward to make a difference in the Asian and Pacific Islander community. He believes education and advocacy are essential to improving one’s current status, and serves to create opportunities for the community to continue to grow and prosper.
Carrissa HsiehBoard MemberPronouns: She/Hers/They/Them
Carrissa HsiehBoard MemberPronouns: She/Hers/They/Them
Carrissa is a queer, first-generation Taiwanese-American born and raised in the East Bay Area of California. Her parents (and uncles and aunties) immigrated from Taiwan to Northern California in the 1980s where they owned and ran their family Chinese restaurant, The Dragon Palace. While attending UCLA as an undergraduate student, Carrissa found her passion for cultivating meaningful relationships and community. She went on to teach at a Hawaii public elementary school, where 74% of the student population experienced economic hardship and 97% were students of color. She moved to Portland in 2013 where she continued to teach and direct summer camps.
Carrissa now works as an HR Manager for a language learning startup and continues to build relationships in the workplace and in her community. She serves as a disciplinary committee member and match official coach for the Pacific Northwest Rugby Referee Society, volunteer camp counselor for Providence’s Camp Erin for bereaving children, and mentor for undergraduate students through UCLA’s career center. She enjoys going on adventures in her 1984 Volkswagen camper van with her wonderful partner, taking her dog to the dog park, and singing karaoke. Carrissa is humbled to be a part of the API Forward board and hopes to help build more accessible leadership and development pathways for Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Vicki NgBoard MemberPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Vicki NgBoard MemberPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Vicki Ng is a proud Canadian aka “Canasian”. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Vicki owes everything to her single mom who immigrated during the Vietnam War. As a holistic HR leader, Vicki is passionate about driving and cultivating equitable environments. She currently is the Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at Portland General Electric (PGE) where she leads recruiting for Oregon’s largest electrical utility, a company at the forefront of the clean energy transition. Prior to PGE, Vicki worked at adidas leading global early career talent acquisition and programs, and co-founded adidas’ first Asian employee resource group.
One of the main reasons she joined API Forward is to help others build confidence and break the “bamboo ceiling”. In 2017, Vicki co-founded a local food blog foodbellypdx with her sister where they document their foodie adventures in Portland and beyond. Vicki has lived in Dublin, Shanghai and Nuremberg and would love to live abroad again in the future. She speaks very broken Cantonese, Mandarin and German, and currently lives in Portland with her daughter and husband.
AnnieKris DiegoBoard MemberPronouns: She/Her/Hers
AnnieKris DiegoBoard MemberPronouns: She/Her/Hers
Born in Bauang La Union, Philippines, AnnieKris Diego immigrated to Portland, Oregon at the age of 4 with her mother. She spent her early years immersed in dance. As a high school student, she became involved in her local community by establishing an after school dance team program for Kellogg Middle School. There she became a dance coach who created a fun and safe place for the youth in her community. In addition, she volunteered at The Children’s Museum and Portland Impact as a youth mentor. Her leadership roles continued as she became a college student at Portland State University. She helped lead organizations like Kaibigan – Filipino American Student Association, the Vietnamese Student Association, and Steps of Rhythm.
She’s the first in her family to graduate with a Bachelor degree in Human Resource Management at PSU. After college, she worked for the bank and insurance industry, where she developed an expertise in sales, finance/accounting, and underwriting. Currently, she manages her household with two wonderful children as a stay at home mother and serves as a volunteer for the Centennial School District. Her goal in life is to inspire others to give back in any way they can, not because they have to, but because they want to. She hopes to share her knowledge and experiences to help improve the quality of life for the future generation.
Subcommittees
Communications: David Pan, Christian Aniciete
Forward Leadership Program: Tracey Lam
Fundraising: Ping Khaw, Yuhan Kinder, AK Diego