Our Leaders
Sue Ann Hong, PRESIDENT & CEO
Sue Ann Hong joined the Center for Asian Pacific American Women (CAPAW) May 2018 as the interim Executive Director. As of January 2020, she is the President & CEO. Her career was with State Farm Insurance Companies for over 28 years, including Data Processing, Diversity & Inclusion, Corporate Business & Technology Portfolio Management and P&C Auto Claims. She’s led up to 600 employees in multiple locations, managed 1000 contract employees and supported customers and State Farm agents in 23 states. She’s worked in various locations, including MI, IL, NY and GA.
She infuses the philosophy of building trusting relationships, collaborating and bringing people together to achieve common goals. A 2002 Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute (APAWLI) Fellow, she continues her journey as a Whole Person Leader in her belief it’s the journey versus the destination. Her goal is to support CAPAW’s vision to build Whole Person Leaders one person at a time. Sue Ann graduated from the University of Kansas with a BSB in Business Management and earned a MBA from Western Michigan University. She is also a certified Life Coach (CLC). She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
Board of Directors
Sandy Dang, Chair
Sandy Hoa Dang, Co-Founder & Principal of CoInnovate Consulting is a social entrepreneur, leadership trainer, and management consultant. For thirteen years, she was the Founder and Executive of Asian American LEAD, a nonprofit organization that empowered refugee children to move out of poverty through education. Ms. Dang was appointed by President Barrack Obama to serve as a board member of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) and then in 2014 the board selected her to serve as the Executive Director. Ms. Dang has received numerous awards for her outstanding public leadership, including being named Washingtonian of the Year in 2001. She also serves on the Community Advisory Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art. Ms. Dang earned a Bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Master’s degree from Harvard Kennedy School. She is fluent in Cantonese and Vietnamese.
Tuyet Duong, VICE-Chair
Tuyet Duong is currently a consultant providing strategy and project management services. Prior to this, Ms Duong led DGCI Corporation’s Asia Pacific division and built its million dollar operations in Brunei, Vietnam, and Thailand from the ground up. Her 16-year career experience spans justice and equity issues to emergency management policy to economic development and international business. Ms Duong’s decade-long government experience was marked with various recognitions, including the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer’s Inaugural Distinguished Award of Merit for her language access and disaster policy work in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the BP Oil Spill.
In the Obama Administration, she oversaw the business engagement team at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that garnered the “Best Government Partner” recognition from the Asian American Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship. As the first language rights fellow at the Office for Victims of Crime Office for Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, Ms Duong developed the first grant program for culturally specific organizations and coalitions; she also developed its first set of comprehensive equity recommendations.
The beginning of Ms Duong’s career focused on non-governmental organization advocacy and services. Ms Duong led immigration policy at Asians Advancing Justice DC and managed direct immigration legal assistance at BPSOS-Houston. There, she coordinated a historic disaster response operation to assist Hurricane Katrina evacuees. She is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Liberal Arts and a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. She is currently based in Seoul with her 3 boys, partner, and mother-in-law.
Leslie Moe-Kaiser
Leslie Moe-Kaiser is a brand and reputation management professional. For more than a decade, Leslie helped build and strengthen State Farm Insurance Company’s coalitions and relationships with national Asian Pacific American organizations. Building upon this experience - and combined with more than 25 years of business consulting and mentoring students and professionals – Leslie works with organizations and individuals in the areas of fundraising, business acumen, intercultural competency and professional growth. As a result, Leslie is an energetic spokesperson for Asian and Pacific Islander American communities. She is Immediate Past National President of OCA—Asian Pacific American Advocates. She is a 2003 APAWLI National Fellow. An entrepreneur at heart, Leslie founded Dynasty Pearls, a consultancy on the cultivation and appreciation of pearls.
Joan Yoshitomi
Joan Yoshitomi served on the cabinet of the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction as the Special Assistant for Family and Community Engagement and State Coordinator of the 21 st Century Community Learning Centers a 12-million-dollar grant program. Prior to working for the state, in the late 1990’s she managed the agenda and the executive staff of King County Executive Gary Locke. Earlier in her career she was a legislative liaison to the Washington State Legislature for the Seattle School District. Prior to that she managed two federal grants for the Renton School District.
She retired in 2006 after more than 26 years in the public sector in various roles within city, county, and state government. She is currently a consultant on local political campaigns in King County and Washington State. She is Vice President on the board of a social service agency in Seattle; as well as a board member of the International Examiner, a non-profit newspaper for the Asian Pacific American community.
Tony Waller
Tony has been Senior Director of Corporate Affairs Constituent Relations for Walmart since December 2006, overseeing Walmart’s national external efforts in diverse and multicultural communities. Tony also serves as Chair of the NAACP ACT-SO Advisory Council and as a trustee of the Ron Brown Scholars Program. Tony’s numerous awards include the 2014 Save-A-Student Award by the Equal Education Opportunity Group; the 2012 Merge Award by the Merge Summit for his commitment to inspiring, uplifting and empowering others; and the 2002 and 2010 Donald H. McGannon Award, the highest distinction given by the National Urban League to a corporate individual in recognition of community efforts.
Donna Fujimoto Cole
Donna Fujimoto Cole founded Cole Chemical in 1980 at the age of 27 as a divorced mother of a four-year old daughter with $5,000 from savings. Since then, Cole Chemical’s business has exceeded $15 million in chemical, fuel and synthetic lubricant sales with chemical supply chain management solutions to a wide range of customers and industries. In 2016 Ms. Cole was one of Houston Chronicle’s Distinguished Women of Houston and the Houston Business Journal’s Women in Energy Lifetime Achievement Award, and Cole Chemical won the United States Government Small Business Development Minority Owned Business of the Year Award. Ms. Cole currently serves as Trustee of the Rockwell Foundation, Boards of The US Japan Council, National Veterans Network, Chado Urasenke Tankokai Houston, Advisory Board of Rice University’s Chao Center for Asian Studies, and The Advisory Board of the Women’s Home and International Supply Management.
Eva Chung
Eva is an HR professional with 25 years of HR experience and success in providing strategic human resources direction to drive positive change. She is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer for Library Systems and Services. Her previous roles include HR leadership positions in both the profit and non-profit sectors which include Sodexo, Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children, and State Farm Insurance. Eva holds an MS in Organization Development and Strategic Human Resources from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Business Administration from Eastern Nazarene University. Eva grew up in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and currently resides in Columbia, MD.
Martha Lee
Martha Lee has been intrinsically involved in leadership development throughout her 35-year career, supporting emerging and seasoned leaders in finding and following their passions. For the past 12 years, Martha has been the founding executive director of the Kellogg Fellows Leadership alliance (KFLA), a diverse network of 1600 leaders from 53 countries selected by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation over the span of 30 years because they all had a passion to make a difference. Martha founded and held the position of APAWLI President & CEO. She also serves as a program officer and manager for the Denver Community Foundation, program director for the National Hispana Leadership Institute, project manager for the Mile High United Way, and executive director of the Asian American Foundation of Colorado.
Salvador Mendoza
Salvador Mendoza serves as Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at NBCUniversal. Mendoza is responsible for the development of short and long-term strategies in the areas of workforce, leadership development, community partnerships and NBCUniversal’s Employee Resource Groups, with a focus 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 the field of diversity & inclusion and holds several leadership positions in many Advisory Boards, among them, the American Red Cross, the Center for Asian Pacific American Women and the National Hispanic Corporate Council.
Theresa Royster
Theresa Royster spent 34 years with State Farm Insurance in critical leadership and executive roles. Over 29 years was in dynamic markets on the east coast leading field operations, sales, profit, and growth. She has experience in recruiting, solving complex problems, navigating through all business cycles, and driving business solutions. Theresa has also spent 4 years in Talent Management and Succession planning, developing and coaching leaders for key executive roles and navigating careers. She has great experience in innovation and strategy.