Our program is highly selective and each member of our cohort is selected based on their leadership abilities, public service, and community involvement. Program fellows are identified by leading elected officials, select nonprofit partner organizations, CAUSE Board Members, and CAUSE Alumni.

Benjamin Tran | 陈嘉华

Policy Strategist, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles

Benjamin Tran recently joined Advancing Justice – LA’s policy team as the Policy Strategist. He has taken the important role of leveraging Advancing Justice – LA’s community connections into equitable and justice-focused policy. He will work on local, state, and federal policies to advancing the civil rights and well-being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community alongside other marginalized communities.

Before joining Advancing Justice-LA, Benjamin Tran started as an intern with Assemblymember Ed Chau in 2014, where he learned how to do constituent casework and resource navigation. In 2018, Benjamin interned with the Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment placed, in the Office of State Treasurer John Chiang. Later that year, he became a Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow in the Office of Assemblymember Phil Ting. Through mentorship in the Assembly Fellowship, Benjamin gained a stronger understanding of the state legislative and budget process. In 2020, Benjamin became a lobbyist with the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) as their Policy Coordinator. In his capacity with CPEHN, Benjamin helped to organize legislative visits and provide support for CPEHN’s policy priorities for the goal of health equity.

Benjamin received his B.A in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine. Born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley, Benjamin has always had a strong connection to an API community. Benjamin is the child of a Vietnamese Teochew refugee and a Teochew immigrant parents.

DUKE CHOI

Program Manager, API Forward Movement

Duke Choi is a program manager at Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement/Special Service for Groups. Based in Los Angeles, Special Service for Groups (SSG) is a nonprofit health and human service organization dedicated to building and sustaining community-based programs that address the needs of vulnerable communities. Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement (APIFM) is an SSG division established in 2007 to ensure that Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) communities are represented in efforts to address local community health and environmental justice issues. SSG/APIFM’s family of programs address issues such as food access, nutrition education, tobacco prevention, COVID-19 outreach and education, and environmental justice.

For nearly three years, Duke has worked in his current role as a program manager working with teams and facilitating partnerships to reduce health disparities in API communities through direct services, education, and policy advocacy. He currently manages the Tobacco Prevention Program funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) to address tobacco use and secondhand smoke in outdoor areas. During his time at SSG/APIFM, Duke has developed and sustained deep community-based relationships throughout many communities in LA County using evidence-based strategies that include building and broadening a community coalition to accomplish the goal of reducing exposure to secondhand smoke in outdoor areas. Duke has conducted community outreach and engagement to identify community stakeholders and build partnerships to support the policy campaign. In addition, he works closely with school administrators, teachers, and other community-based organizations to coordinate meetings and events to inform the community on the dangers of tobacco and assist in the development of educational curricula regarding tobacco use. His role as a program manager also includes assisting in additional organizational programming by outreaching and mobilizing residents around community health and environmental justice issues such as air quality, food access, and safe parks.

Frederick Alain Docdocil

Mabuhay Branch & Business Development Coordinator, Mabuhay Credit Union (A Division of Nikkei Credit Union)

A Planning Commissioner for the City of Carson, Frederick Alain Docdocil is an active member of multiple organizations, including the Filipino Community of Carson (FCC), the UCI Filipino American Alumni Chapter, and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). A passionate community leader, Fred is the President of the Philippine Independence Day Foundation, Inc. (PIDF); a Founding Board Member and President Emeritus of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of SouthBay Los Angeles Area (FACC-SLAA); the Vice President of Kagay-anons of Southern California (KSC); the Treasurer of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO); an Executive Board Member for the Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce, Inc, (COFACC), and a Household Head & Speaker for Couples for Christ SoCal Chapter B-1 (CfC).

Professionally, Fred is the Mabuhay Branch and Business Development Coordinator for Mabuhay Credit Union, which is among the very first full-service Financial Institutions to specifically serve the FilAm and greater Community in Southern California and beyond with their financial services needs.

In addition to having been a proud recipient of the Top Outstanding Pilipino (TOP) award for Community Leadership, Fred has also been among the awardees for Outstanding Filipino Americans in the USA along with having been honored as FilAm of the Year by the Filipino Influential Leaders And Mentors (FILAM).

Personally, Fred is the oldest of Jose Emmanuel & Luz’ 6 children, has been married to his wife June Anne for the past 15 years, and they have 3 children together – Faith Anne (15 years old), Jedrick Alain (12 y.o.), and Franchesca Anne (4 y.o.).

HINA AHMAD

Program Manager, South Asian Network

Hina Ahmad serves as a Program Manager at SAN. After graduating from California State University, Fullerton with a double major in Political Science and Public Administration and a minor in Islamic Studies, she went on to work for the Orange County Registrar of Voters for the 2016 General Election. She later worked as a Field Representative for a California State Assemblymember covering the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, environmental and women's issues. Having previously worked as a Civil Rights Unit Advocate at SAN, she is very excited and honored to be back at an organization that truly supports the South Asian community to secure a more stable future. She is very passionate about advocating for the rights of immigrant populations and uplifting the voice of women within the South Asian community.

Howard Zuo | 左龙

Owner, Thriving Turtle

Howard is an advocate self discovery and soothing when it comes to mental health and openness to challenging established norms in the name of growth.

Howard has a jack-of-all trade’s professional experience; working in technical sales, quality engineering in Aerospace/Defense, IT in consumer electronics and furniture, and now owning a business named Thriving Turtle, focusing on Emotional Intelligence for AAPI.

Thriving Turtle was started as a coaching business aimed to support individuals going through their own relationship struggles. Howard got his start as a humble moderator in the Facebook group “Subtle Asian Relationships”. During that period, Howard received feedback that the perspectives he brought to the table were valuable in growing and healing members, and was the inspiration to start working with individuals in a coaching capacity 1:1. Since then, the business has expanded to include topics such as identity, culture, and more.

Howard’s attended Georgia Tech for a degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, gardening, fixing things till they break, and bird watching.

Jason Agpaoa

Board Member, Asian Cultural Experience (ACE)

Born and raised in Salinas, Ca, Jason Galinato Agpaoa is a museum enthusiast with working experience at the National Steinbeck Center (Salinas, Ca), The Tech Interactive (formerly The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Ca), and the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, Ca). Jason is a board member for Asian Cultural Experience (ACE), board member for Filipino Community of Salinas Valley, and general member for Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), Monterey Bay Chapter. Inspired by his experiences as a student in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, his dream is to practice and implement an Ethnic Studies Museum Education program at the future site of the Salinas Chinatown Museum and Cultural Center.

JUSTIN FONG

General Counsel, AmWest Funding Corp.

Justin Fong is currently the General Counsel for AmWest Funding Corp. Outside of his work, Justin serves on the Board for the Orange County Asian American Bar Association (OCAABA), co-chairing the Community Service and Stop Asian Hate committees, and on the Costa Mesa Housing & Public Service Grant Committee.

Justin received his BA from the University of California, San Diego, and JD/MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. When he has free time, Justin enjoys spending it with his wife and their pets.

NICOLE WILLIAMS

Account Director, Exact Tax, Inc.

Nicole currently serves as the Account Director for Exact Tax, Inc., and is Board Treasurer for Asian and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California. As a Southern California native, she received her undergrad degree in business economics from U.C. Irvine (Zot! Zot! Zot!). She has 10 years of operations and over 15 years of non profit experience. She has lead and organized multiple teams while attending Johns Hopkins University, where she received her Master's of Business Administration and Financial Management certificate.

Previously, she project managed process improvement, implementation, and change management efforts during her six year tenure at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in addition to providing major gift agreement strategy that closed over $250 Million in philanthropic giving. Her proudest moment at Caltech was launching their first employee resource group, Asian Pacific Americans at Caltech (APACT), serving the APA community on campus.

In her spare time, she loves to travel, spend time with family, cook, but most importantly, eat.

Raeena Suhail Lari

Health Advisory Commissioner, County of Santa Clara

Raeena Lari is an economist who received her M.B.A. from University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College. She was born in Oxford, England and moved to Karachi, Pakistan as a young child. After attending college in the US, she returned to Pakistan to work at the largest investment bank in the country at the time, and then in 1995, migrated to the US.

Raeena is Commissioner on the County of Santa Clara Health Advisory Commission, providing recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors, and serves on Ad hoc Committees for Chronic Diseases and Infectious Diseases.

She initiated a campaign for the County Board of Supervisors Commendation recognizing Lyme Disease Awareness in Santa Clara County, and advocated with US Senate and Congress members to support the TICK Act that funds research for the diagnosis and cure of Lyme.

She has volunteered at educational institutions from elementary to college levels. She is a member of the Family Leadership Council at Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, where she supports the college’s mission to develop engaged, socially responsible, citizens of the world, and advances the college’s racial justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity priorities.

Serapia Hyunmin Kim

Central Area Representative, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Born in South Korea, Serapia is a 1.5-generation Korean American raised in the San Fernando Valley. She works as the Central Area Representative for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, where she serves as a liaison between constituents, organizations, and city services. In 2022, she is focusing on implementing the city's Green New Deal, called pLAn, on a neighborhood level. Prior to joining the city government, she was a Field Representative for California Assembly Member Miguel Santiago and graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Political Economy. When she is not working, Serapia serves as the Vice President of Korean American Democratic Committee where she co-manages their social media communication. On weekends she attends and volunteers at her home parish, St. Joseph Korean Catholic Center. To relax, she likes to journal and take care of her dozen houseplants. She lives in a neighborhood she represents, Miracle Mile, with her cat and roommate Lulu.