Abhijay Prakash is President of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG). In this role, he is responsible for driving the Studio’s strategic and long-range planning, while also overseeing the business operations of UFEG including finance, business development and administrative functions. Prakash acts as point to manage day-to-day operations working closely with all functional leads and corporate partners.

He previously served as Chief Operating Officer for DreamWorks Animation. Abhijay oversaw the animation studio’s strategic planning and primary business operations including finance, business development, technology, and administrative functions. In addition to his responsibilities as COO, he also worked closely with other Universal leaders on release planning, franchise management, and brand development.

Prior to DreamWorks Animation, Abhijaywas Chief Operating Officer for Focus Features as part of its reset management team where he oversaw all aspects of finance, strategy, business affairs, physical production, distribution and operations. Prior to that role he served as Executive Vice President, Film Strategy and Operations for Universal Pictures. In his time at Universal, Focus and Dreamworks he has made key contributions in the development of the studio’s strategic slate, use of analytics and negotiated a range of deals including production, financing and distribution arrangements.

Prior to his tenure at Universal, Abhijayserved as a Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in its Media and Entertainment division. He has also held positions at IGN Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment, the precursor company to Lionsgate; and previously worked as a public policy researcher.

Abhijay is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Princeton University in addition to holding a Master’s Degree in Film from Northwestern University. Abhijay lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer and their three children.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment in the last year was helping oversee DreamWorks animation’s continued integration with Universal including working with new Dreamworks Chairman Margie Cohn on the most recent leadership transition. This work culminated with the successful $520M WWBO global release of the first film with Universal – "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World."

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I am a proud Indian-American and son of immigrants. Certainly the values passed on by my parents – working hard, finding ways to make a meaningful contribution, treating people with respect – have all played a critical role in any success I have had. And beyond that of course growing up in a household full of Indian music and films – even when I tried to avoid them - undoubtedly had an impact on me. Growing up in suburban Massachusetts I distinctly recall getting together with other Indian families and people bonding together over the love of a film, a song or a song in a film (it is Indian cinema after all!). Those experiences stayed with me and informed my interest in making a career in film and entertainment.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

I have greatly benefited from having patrons and mentors in my career. At Universal, Jeff Shell and Donna Langley have provided instrumental guidance and mentorship. And being able to go “up the mountain” to occasionally seek the sage counsel of Ron Meyer is of immeasurable value. Outside of those at the office I certainly also rely on the clarity and support of my “home” cabinet chaired by my wife Jen and my Dad.

Adele Lim is a screenwriter for TV drama series and film. Most recently she wrote the screenplay adaptation of “Crazy Rich Asians” (Warner Bros.) A Malaysian native of Chinese descent, she came to the States at 19 and graduated from Emerson College, Boston.

She has written and produced multiple primetime TV dramas, including “One Tree Hill,” “Private Practice” and “Lethal Weapon.” She also mentors writers through CAPE’s New Writers Fellowship and is a judge for the WGA’s Writers Access Project. Adele has been named amongst Elle’s Women in Hollywood Power List and Variety’s Women’s Impact Report. Currently she is writing a screenplay for Disney Feature Animation.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest achievement in this past year is definitely being a part of “Crazy Rich Asians.” I have been a TV writer for 16 years, but it never really occurred to me during my career how odd it was that I never got to write for characters who sounded or looked or had the same experiences I had growing up until I got to write this movie. The most heartwarming and touching part of the journey is feeling the support form the community that rallied around us.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Being a Chinese-Malaysian immigrant who grew up on American TV. I feel like my race and culture are baked into who I am. And the biggest difference has been having that identity embraced in the TV shows and movies that I’m part of now, and that wasn’t always been the case. This has been an amazing change because we need to share those stories.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

To be honest, when I started out, there were not a female writers of color. At least not on the staffs that I was on. But I managed to find those people in my 16 years as a TV writer. And we have formed a really tight and incredibly supportive community giving each other the support that we might not otherwise have been given. You need people who believe in your vision and can share your experiences. Even sharing a sense of who you are is everything.

Aileen Lee is founder and Managing Partner at Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage focused fund that backs founders re-imagining life and work through technology, what they call “life 2.0”. Cowboy Ventures works with a wide range of startups from modern SaaS companies like Guild Education and Lightstep to new digital native brands like Brandless and Dollar Shave Club.

Prior to Cowboy, Aileen was a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for over a decade, was founding CEO of digital media company RMG Networks and worked at Gap Inc in operating roles. She has degrees from MIT and Harvard Business School, is the happy mom of 3 and wife to a startup founder, and is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and co-founder of the non-profit All Raise.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Co-founding All Raise, a new non-profit to accelerate the success for women in the venture ecosystem.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Growing up as a first generation Chinese immigrant has had a huge impact on my life. It has positively impacted my values, work ethic, empathy for others who have come from humble beginnings, and my appreciation for food!

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My parents and grandparents have been my biggest supporters and inspiration. My parents each came to the U.S. with very little and sacrificed much to land my sister and I in a safe town with a great public school and a fantastic community. We didn't have tiger parents who pushed us to achieve - but they did urge us to do something constructive with the privileges to which we were born.

Albert Cheng has led the traditional entertainment industry’s evolution into the digital age with several industry firsts, including streaming TV shows before Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. As Chief Product Officer at Disney ABC Television Group, Albert was the first to onboard broadcast TV shows for download on iTunes in 2005; led ABC to become the first network to stream full ad-supported episodes online in 2006; was the first to offer mobile on demand with Sprint in 2007; launched the first ad-supported video app on the inaugural launch of the Apple iPad in 2010; and was the first to offer live streaming of local TV stations in 2013.

Today, he is a leader in the technology industry’s efforts to enter the content business as Co-Head of Television and Chief Operating Officer of Amazon Studios, where he’s made it a formal business priority to hire diverse voices both in front of and behind the camera. Known for being a powerfully collaborative, insightful, and well-respected partner, Albert continues to shepherd entertainment’s evolution into new formats and models.

Alex & Maia Shibutani are two-time Olympic medalist Ice Dancers. They have won fourteen consecutive medals in Ice Dance at the U.S. National Championships including two Senior National Championship titles. They are the first Ice Dancers of Asian-descent to win a Grand Prix; the first Ice Dancers of Asian-descent to win an ISU Championship and World Championship medals; the first figure skaters of Asian-descent to win medals at the Olympic Games in Ice Dance; and the first sibling ice dance team to win an Olympic medal since 1992.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Following the Olympic Games, we are most proud of the variety of work we have been able to accomplish. In addition to performing in the U.S. and Asia, we began work on creative and business projects in both fashion and entertainment. Simultaneously, we have continued to prioritize our self-imposed responsibility of using our platform as athletes with a global following. It is meaningful to us to support causes that we believe in by speaking directly with people from all generations and backgrounds. Over the last two years, we have served as U.S. Sports Envoys in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Being able to connect with students of varying ages and share the values and ideals we have learned throughout our career continues to be very fulfilling.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

As we progressed through our careers, we gained an understanding early on that our ethnicity set us apart. That and the fact that we were a sibling team made us completely unique. While we were aware of outside perceptions and stereotypes, we always chose to focus more on ourselves. This mindset allowed us to break barriers - we were inspired to be more creative and to work harder.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

From the very beginning, our parents provided us with unconditional love and support. They have always encouraged us to pursue our passions and chase our dreams knowing that we would be successful if we were happy and loved what we were doing. Throughout our skating career, our strong bond as siblings has been one of the biggest reasons for our success. We continue to push and support each other in order to accomplish both our mutual and individual dreams. We’re fortunate to have worked with some amazing coaches who have helped shape us as athletes and artists. We’re also grateful for the support that we’ve received throughout our career from our fans and the Olympic community who have cheered us on in some of the highest pressure situations we have faced.

Alex Chung is currently the founder and CEO of GIPHY, the people who bring you all the GIFs. Before founding GIPHY he was a Hacker in Residence at Betaworks and directed media technology for companies such as MTV, Viacom, Comcast, managed research for Paul Allen’s R&D lab, and started his career as a hardware engineer at Intel. He’s a serial entrepreneur whose past projects include The Fridge (a private social network acquired by Google) and several others backed by investors such as YCombinator, Mitch Kapor, Google, Intel, Yahoo, and others. Alex was named on Business Insider’s Top 25 most influential technologists in New York, Fast Company’s most creative people in business, Ad Age’s 50 most creative people of 2016, and has degrees in philosophy, computer engineering, and graphic design.

Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Her breakout Netflix special “Baby Cobra” premiered Mother’s Day weekend 2016 to critical acclaim. Since then she has thrown out the first pitch at a Giants game and appeared on Ellen. In 2017, she became the very first artist to sell out 8 shows at the SF Masonic Theater. Ali is voicing the co-lead and executive producing the upcoming Netflix animation show, “Tuca and Bertie” alongside Tiffany Haddish. This summer Ali is starring in the Netflix movie, “Always Be My Maybe,” that she co-wrote with her long time friend and creative collaborator, Randall Park. Her debut book for Random House will come out in 2019.

In January 2019, Alysa Liu became the youngest winner of the US National Figure Skating Championship in US history at age 13, among both women and men. In 2018 during the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy in August 2018, she became the youngest female skater in history to have landed a triple Axel in an international competition.

Andrew Chen is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital fund, where he invests in early stage consumer startups. Previously, Andrew led Rider Growth at Uber, focusing on acquisition, new user experience, churn, and notifications/email. During his time there, the company grew several hundred percent, today reaching more than 100M active riders globally.

Andrew has been writing for years — now nearly a thousand essays, focused on user growth, metrics, and network effects. One of the more recognizable topics was popularizing “growth hacking” for the wider tech audience, and he is excited to be working on his first book as well. Andrew’s work has been cited at Wired, WSJ, and New York Times. He has been an advisor/investor for tech startups for many years — including AngelList, Barkbox, Boba Guys, Dropbox, Front, Gusto, Product Hunt, Workato and others. Andrew studied Applied Mathematics at the University of Washington, where he graduated at the age of 19.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

The last year has been a big moment of transition for me. I turned the page on rocketship ride at Uber, where I saw a company grow across all dimensions very quickly -- adding thousands of employees, entering hundreds of new markets, and adding millions of riders and drivers to the platform. I'm super proud of the work that myself and the team did to build one of the most iconic tech companies in decades. At the same time, I'm excited to start a new adventure, where I've joined Andreessen Horowitz as an investor in early stage startups. It's my dream job, and something I've wanted to do since I was an undergrad -- to work with the best entrepreneurs and to help them build their companies.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I was born in Taiwan and my family moved when I was 5 -- and having the experience of growing up Taiwanese means that in every situation growing up, in work and in life, you know there are multiple ways to do things: The "American way" and the Chinese way. This has given me the ability to be open-minded and think creatively about people, industries, and the world, and ultimately led me to seek out the tech startup community, which shares those values. I've read that 55% of billion-dollar startups are founded by immigrants, even though they are a small sliver of the population -- to quote Lin-Manuel Miranda - "immigrants, we get the job done!"

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My mentors who have made the biggest lasting impacts on my journey met me when I was young and have helped me over years and years. One of my closest mentors, for the last 20 years, is Bill Gossman. I met him as an intern -- I was a teenager! - and he was a venture capitalist. He taught me how to do everything from email intros to how to ask for advice to man-y other small, tactical skills that have served me well for years. The other mentor I have to mention is my dad. He taught me to be a nerd -- to enjoy long, silent weekends of coding, to take things apart and put them together again. These fundamental values and skills that I still use every day -- thanks Dad!

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur and author who is running for President as a Democrat in 2020. He has worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as a founder or executive for almost twenty years. In 2011 he founded Venture for America, a national entrepreneurship fellowship that created almost 3,000 jobs in Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and other cities throughout the country. In his book The War on Normal People, Andrew explains the mounting crisis of the automation of labor and makes the case for the Freedom Dividend, a Universal Basic Income of $1,000 a month for every American as well as other policies to progress to the next stage of capitalism. He was named a Presidential Ambassador of Entrepreneurship by the White House under the Obama administration and a Champion of Change for his work with Venture for America. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I decided to run for president to address the fundamental technological and economic shifts that have left a majority of Americans struggling to pay their bills and plan for the future. I knew it was going to be very difficult, as I’m a political outsider without a vast following to fund a campaign. Despite these challenges, I’ve qualified for the first round of Democratic primary debates, where I’ll be able to make my case to the American people. I’m both proud and humbled to be the messenger for these solutions. It will be the first time in history that an Asian American candidate has been on the Democratic primary debate stage.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My parents are immigrants from Taiwan, and I grew up in Schenectady, New York, in a community that was predominantly white. This country is the only home I’ve ever known, and I love it fiercely. However, my ethnic identity was always apparent to my neighbors and classmates growing up. These two identities - being an American, and being of Asian descent and raised by immigrants - has made me feel like both an insider and outsider at the same time. It taught me to respect different sides of an issue while looking for similarities between the two viewpoints. I’ve always sought to find compromise in all of my work, and it’s why my campaign is drawing support from all sides of the political spectrum.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My wife, Evelyn, has been with me through this journey, and she provides me with the strength I need every day. She’s there for me when I need support, and she’s the first person I talk with when I need advice. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her. My parents, as well, have been supportive throughout my life. They made many sacrifices to provide a better life for me and my brother. Even when I made decisions that didn’t necessarily seem to make sense to them, like leaving my law firm job after 5 months, they always made sure I knew that they believed in me. My brother has been one of my best friends, and I rely on him heavily for advice from someone who has known me my whole life. And, finally, my children, who give me the most compelling reason to fight to make this world a better place.

Andy Park, Asad Ayaz, and Trinh Tran were critical to the success of Marvel’s worldwide phenomena “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”

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Andy – As the Director of Visual Development at Marvel Studios, Andy Park has led the department that designs the characters and the look and feel of many of the films that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe including “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” “Captain Marvel,” and several upcoming titles.

Some notable characters that Andy has designed through the years are Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Gamora, Nebula, Mantis, Iron Man Mark 33 and Mark 16, Thor (Thor: Ragnarok), Hela, Ant-Man, Wasp, T-Chaka, and most recently, Captain Marvel.

The Visual Development department is a unique creation in the film industry. Close to 10 years ago, the leadership of Marvel Studios consisting of President Kevin Feige, Co-President Louis D’Esposito, and Executive Vice-President Victoria Alonso foresaw the benefit of having a dedicated in-house group of artists to lead the visual creation of their connected universe. That idea of a connected universe has changed the entire film industry. Many have attempted to follow suit but only Marvel Studios has created an unprecedented run of over 20 successful films lasting over 10 years that has earned close to $20 billion at the global box office.

As Director of Visual Development, Andy leads a team of artists in designing the characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Besides character designs, keyframe illustrations are created, which are pivotal story moments with the purpose to inspire the whole production throughout the movie making process. Andy works closely with the directors, the leadership of Marvel Studios, the producers, and with all the heads of the other departments including: the costume designer, production designer, visual effects supervisor, and everyone in between to help realize the visual vision of the film. They are all story tellers that have inspired popular culture throughout the world. These are stories of characters that are larger than life, but that people can also identify with, that inspire us to strive to be better, and that we inevitably grow to love. It has been an absolute honor for Andy to have been a part of the leadership of this historically game-changing company.

Prior to his almost decade journey at Marvel Studios, Andy worked as a leading concept artist on the Sony Playstation award-winning video game franchise, “God of War.” And prior to that he fulfilled his childhood dream to be a comic book artist and for a decade illustrated such comic book titles as “Tomb Raider,” “Excalibur,” and “Uncanny X-Men.”

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Asad – As President of Marketing for The Walt Disney Studios, Asad Ayaz oversees all aspects of film marketing – encompassing strategy, creative, media, digital, research, special events, promotions, international marketing, publicity and synergy – for all titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm, as well as Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Family, Fox 2000, and Blue Sky Studios following The Walt Disney Company’s 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

A 15-year Disney veteran, Asad has developed and led marketing campaigns for some of the most successful films in history, including Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”; Marvel Studios’ “The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Black Panther,” and the recent billion dollar grossing “Captain Marvel.” Additional campaigns Asad has spearheaded include Disney’s live-action hits “Cinderella,” “Maleficent,” “The Jungle Book,” and the global phenomenon “Beauty and the Beast,” as well as Disney Animation’s “Ralph Breaks The Internet,” and “Pixar’s Incredibles 2.” He has led the campaigns for 10 out of the top 11 domestic box office debuts of all time, including five opening weekends over $200 million, as well as the biggest worldwide debut of all time for :Avengers: Infinity War,” which earned more than $640 million in its first five days.

Asad earned his bachelor’s degree from Bennington College and holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California.

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Trinh – Trinh Tran is an Executive in Production and Development at Marvel Studios. She was an Executive Producer on both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” and previously served as an Associate Producer on “Captain America: Civil War.” Prior to her work as a producer, Trinh also worked on many Marvel featured films, including “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “The Avengers,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” and “Captain America: Civil War.”

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Andy - In the last year, my proudest accomplishment was leading the team and designing the title character of Marvel Studios’ first solo female led film, "Captain Marvel." The character marks a historic moment in the studios’ history and introduces one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every film has it’s challenges and bringing a brand new character to the world is never a given recipe for success. She was a relatively unknown superhero to the mass public. But the film has proven to be a success beyond our own expectations and has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. But even more than the financial success, I am so proud to be part of a film that has made so many women and girls (& men) feel empowered and proud to be who they are unapologetic and with nothing to prove to others except to themselves. My daughter (and son) are growing up at a time where there is such a strong female superhero role model to look up to. I was a part of making that happen. That’s what I’m most proud of.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Andy - I am Korean-American and proud. I didn’t necessarily grow up with that kind of thinking. It wasn’t until I got older that I was no longer embarrassed by my background. I found strength in my heritage and my personal family’s history, especially my parents as the 1st generation to come to America to find a better life for their children. I discovered a strength that they had that is hard for me to imagine. They sacrificed for me and my siblings. What was once a source of embarrassment became a source of pride. With that newfound pride I’ve taken what my parents have ingrained in me and have held onto a work ethic that requires nothing less than 100%. I’ve never been satisfied with where I was at, but instead, dreamed of the possibilities that life could offer. When obstacles seemed almost overbearing I would rely on my passion and work ethic to find a way to overcome it. I dreamed big and I worked hard not necessarily having the assured confidence that I could achieve it, but rather that I would do everything necessary to make it possible. I focused on myself rather than just the results. And good things followed… throughout my career. It started with my parents, my Korean parents.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Andy - There are 3 big supporters throughout my art career journey: 1) my parents, 2) my siblings, and 3) my wife. I’ve had the best support system that has allowed me to give my all to everything that I do. Throughout my career I have focused on making myself the best artist and person I could be. I didn’t necessarily know the path I would be taking job-wise, but I always strove to get better all the time. I’ll always be a student, hungry to learn, never satisfied, but also able to take pride in my accomplishments, and to be able to occasionally smell the roses too. I work hard, but I’m having fun. I don’t want to ever take anything I have for granted. Life is short and I recognize the people that have helped me get to where I am. Without them this would all be meaningless.

Native Southern Californian, Annie Lee graduated from UCLA in 2002 with a degree in Economics. Shortly after receiving her bachelor’s degree, Annie went on to work at Disney in consumer products for three years. She then began to work at UMG North America Finance for one year until she eventually became a vital and main component to the Interscope team. Today, as CFO, she oversees the record label’s finance functions as well as other operational duties.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Becoming CFO.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I am proud of my ethnic background and I think it has allowed me to have a more open mind, in my business and personal relationships.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

First and foremost, I have always had the undying support of my family and friends. Knowing that I can count on that strong foundation has allowed me to really focus on achieving professional success. I have also been very lucky to have several great mentors in the business that help guide me through tough decisions and have helped me gain self-confidence. Lastly, the amount of support I feel from the Interscope team is overwhelming and really drives me to want to be at my best.

Archit Bhargava, Dennis Hwang, and Diana Hu are innovative leaders at Niantic Labs, the company that launched the worldwide phenomenon Pokémon GO and the upcoming Harry Potter: Wizards United.

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Archit – Archit Bhargava is the Director of Worldwide Product Marketing at Niantic. He has led the marketing strategy, product launches and user growth for all Niantic products including “Ingress,” “Field Trip,” “Pokémon GO” and the upcoming “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.” He led the worldwide launch of “Pokémon GO” which has surpassed 1 Billion global downloads and broken several app launch & engagement records. Archit was the first marketing hire at Niantic when he joined Niantic Labs at Google in 2011 to manage the marketing strategy and tactical execution for Niantic Labs & products. Prior to business school, Archit was Associate Vice President at Convonix, Inc. – a Publicis-Acquired Digital Marketing Startup – and founded and ran its Search and Social Media Marketing divisions. Archit has an MBA in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the University of California, Berkeley-Haas and a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology from the University of Mumbai.

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Dennis – Dennis Hwang is VP of Visual and Interaction Design at Niantic, Inc., which builds real-world AR experiences that foster fun exploration, discovery, and social interaction. Dennis led the development of UX and art for innovative location-based mobile apps such as “Ingress” and “Pokémon GO.” Dennis is known for creating festive versions of the Google logo to celebrate holidays and special occasions. As the original Google Doodler, he designed hundreds of doodles spanning almost 10 years. He also helped start Doodle4Google, an art competition for students run in many countries, offering students the chance to show their artwork on the Google homepage and earn scholarships. Dennis studied Studio Art and Computer Science at Stanford University.

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Diana – Diana Hu is the Director of Engineering and Head of the Augmented Reality Platform at Niantic Inc., creator of AR games like “Pokemon Go,” “Ingress,” and “Harry Potter Wizards Unite.” Diana leads the engineering team, building core technology that enables developers to create shared AR experiences thatseamlessly blend the real with the digital. Previously, she was the Co-Founder and CTO of Escher Reality, a startup that was acquired by Niantic. In the past, she served as the first data scientist for cloud television at Intel and Verizon Labs and eventually built the data science team that brought research projects into products. She holds seven patents in computer vision and machine learning and has a BS and MS in Electrical Computer Engineering with computer vision and machine learning focus from Carnegie Mellon University.

Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is a surgeon, writer, and public health leader. He is CEO of the non-profit-seeking health care venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase to deliver better outcomes, satisfaction, and cost efficiency in care. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Atul is a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and is the founding executive director and chairman of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and chairman of Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally.

Atul has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1998 and has written four New York Times bestsellers: “Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto,” and “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.” He is the winner of two National Magazine Awards, AcademyHealth’s Impact Award for highest research impact on healthcare, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the Lewis Thomas Award for writing about science.

Nora Lum, known by her stage name Awkwafina, is an actress, comedian, and rapper who co-starred in two critically-acclaimed blockbusters in 2018: “Ocean’s 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” She hosted the October 6, 2018 episode of Saturday Night Live, and will star in the upcoming drama “The Farewell.” Awkwafina rose to prominence with self-produced underground comedic rap videos on YouTube. She later joined the cast of MTV’s “Girl Code,” played opposite Seth Rogen in “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” and hosted her own go90 original late night talk show, “TAWK,” which was nominated for Webby and Streamy Awards.

Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev are Co-Founders of Robinhood Markets Inc., a financial services company that allows individuals to invest in public companies and exchange-traded funds listed on U.S. stock exchanges without paying a commission or maintaining a minimum balance. Robinhood has millions of users, is valued at over $5.6 billion, and plans to IPO later this year.

Bela Bajaria and Lisa Nishimura are pioneering executives at Netflix.

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Bela Bajaria was recently tapped to lead Netflix’s international non-English TV originals. In her previous role as Vice President of Content at Netflix, Bela oversaw select scripted and unscripted series at Netflix, including the recent hits “YOU” and “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” Her team also oversaw the recent popular co-licensed series “Bodyguard” (BBC) and “Star Trek: Discovery” (CBS All Access) among others. Bajaria joined Netflix in November 2016 after serving as President of Universal Television, where she shepherded creative programming including the Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” as well as hit primetime broadcast series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Mindy Project,” “Bates Motel,” “Grimm” and “Chicago Fire.” She was previously the President of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society and served on the boards of Women in Film and the executive board of the Television Academy; she currently serves on the board of Los Angeles’ Saban Community Clinic..

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Lisa Nishimura joined Netflix in 2007, back when it was still in the DVD-by-mail business–and long before streaming was a foregone conclusion. She has been a critical leader in its growth to 109 million subscribers worldwide, making it the world’s dominant streaming platform. Lisa oversees two ostensibly disparate categories–documentaries and comedies–which she blends through the belief that both are “truly social commentators of the day” (THR, 2018). She was a primary force behind documentary features like the Oscar-nominated “The Square” (2013), “Virunga” (2014), “What Happened, Miss Simone?” (2015), “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (2015) and “13th” (2016), as well as this season’s Oscar-shortlisted “Chasing Coral,” “Icarus,” “One of Us and Strong Island”; documentary shorts like the Oscar-winning “White Helmets” (2016) and this season’s Oscar-shortlisted “Heroin(e) and Ram Dass,”” Going Home”; documentary series like the Emmy-winning “Making a Murderer” (2015); and stand-up comedy specials like the Emmy-winning “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping” (2016). A former medical school aspirant, Lisa got her start working for Chris Blackwell at Island Records.

Ben Silbermann, Co-Founder & CEO of Pinterest, had an ambitious start with aspirations to become a physician as per his family’s professional tradition. He was admitted into the prestigious Research Science Institute, a competitive research program for high school seniors. Continuing with his streak of academic success, he attended Yale and graduated in 2003 with a degree in Political Science. 

Ben’s career took off when he moved to Silicon Valley and held a position with Google. However, the beginning of his unabashed success was not until he left Google to develop his own start up. After many attempts, Pinterest was born in 2010 and is now one of the top social networking sites with over 250 million active users. The company went public in April 2019 with a valuation over $10 billion surging Ben’s personal net worth to $1.6 billion.

Betty Liu is the Executive Vice Chairman for NYSE Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE). She leverages her substantial experience working with thought leaders, entrepreneurs and C-level executives to oversee the NYSE marketing strategy, including its content platform, customer-centric messaging, brand, digital and events consistent with Intercontinental Exchange’s growth strategy.

Prior to joining the NYSE in 2018, Betty was an award-winning business journalist. She most recently anchored the Bloomberg Television “Daybreak Asia” program. She also co-created and anchored “In the Loop” for 8 years on Bloomberg. Prior to the NYSE acquisition, Betty served as founder and CEO of Radiate. Radiate’s content of empowering leaders with expert advice continues to scale through NYSE’s platforms today.

Before joining Bloomberg Television, Betty was an anchor for CNBC Asia based in Hong Kong. Prior to that, she was the Atlanta bureau chief for the Financial Times. Earlier in her career, Liu was the Taiwan bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires and a Hong Kong-based regional correspondent for the newswire. In 1997, she received a Dow Jones Newswires Award for her coverage of the Asian financial crisis. Liu is also author of the career guide, Work Smarts: What CEOs Say You Need to Know to Get Ahead.

Betty earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment in the last 12 months has been building Radiate and now finding a new home for our company. This platform that we got to build really helped inspire and educate a new generation of first time managers and it’s so great to see that the New York Stock Exchange is able to take that to the next level and make it available to everyone.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Having a Chinese background, going back to Hong Kong and working there twice in my career, going back to China and studying abroad there, has given me a greater appreciation for diverse communities. It’s given me a greater appreciation for how to adapt to different cultures and how to learn more about my own culture. And I think I bring that into my leadership and into my career throughout my life.

BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band that has taken the world by storm. BTS has received many awards and honors, including 15 Melon Music Awards, 15 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 14 Golden Disc Awards, 12 Seoul Music Awards, 10 Gaon Chart Music Awards, 4 Korean Music Awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards (first Korean group), and one American Music Award (first Korean group).

BTS made their debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with the track “DNA” from the EP Love Yourself: Her. Another track from the EP, the remix version of “Mic Drop,” peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks are certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, a first for any Korean group. Their third album, Love Yourself: Tear, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 making them the first and only Korean act to achieve this. On November 9, 2018, Love Yourself: Answer became the first Korean album certified Gold and the single “MIC Drop” became the first track by a Korean group certified Platinum in the United States. BTS has sold over 10 million albums and were the most retweeted celebrities in the world for 2017 and 2018.

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon are co-founders of trendsetting boutique Opening Ceremony, a multi-brand boutique in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Japan and London named after the Olympics tradition symbolizing a coming together of cultures. Carol and Humberto met as students at the University of California in Berkeley and launched Opening Ceremony in 2002, which introduced a rotating collaboration roster of multi-national brands that “visit” the stores each year. They were also first to introduce Americans to brands like Acne and Topshop. In 2011, Carol and Humberto were installed as creative directors at Kenzo, the Parisian label founded by Japanese Kenzo Takada in the 1970s.

Chantal Nong, Katie Soo, and Walter Hamada’s pioneering work at Warner Bros. continues to strengthen Warner Bros.’ position as one of the leading entertainment companies in the world.

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Chantal Nong oversees creative development and production of DC feature films for the Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Previously at Warner Bros., she served as Vice President for Feature Development and Production, and her films included “Crazy Rich Asians,: and “The Meg,” as well as “The Intern,” “Godzilla,” and “300: Rise of an Empire.” Before joining Warner Bros., Chantal worked as a Vice President of Development at Légende Films, which produced “La Vie En Rose.” She earned a BA in Economics and International Studies at Yale University and then attended the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

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As Senior Vice President of Marketing, Katie Soo is responsible for overseeing marketing across the Warner Bros. Digital Networks (WBDN) portfolio to develop initiatives that promote the division and strengthen the relationship with consumers. Katie plays a key role in enhancing brand awareness and exploring opportunities that help innovate the way consumers experience content through WBDN’s wide portfolio of assets, which includes DC Universe, a DC-branded digital service. Prior to this role, Katie was the Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Fullscreen Media, Head of Social at Hulu, and Head of Social at Dollar Shave Club. Katie is still actively involved in startups, serving both as an advisor and founder to a handful of companies and has been recognized for her work in both creative storytelling and digital products.

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As President of Warner Bros.’ DC-Based Films, Walter Hamada oversees production of the DC Extended Universe and other DC-based films. Prior to his current appointment, Walter was a highly-successful senior executive and producer at New Line Cinema, where he shepherded hit films such as The “Conjuring” (2013), “Annabelle” (2014), “The Conjuring 2” (2016), “Lights Out” (2016), “It” (2017), and “Shazam!” (2019).

Chieh Huang is Co-Founder and CEO of Boxed.com, a company that is disrupting the wholesale shopping club experience by enabling you to shop for bulk-sized items online or via mobile app and have them delivered directly to your door. Forbes Magazine has named Boxed one of the next “billion dollar startups.” Started in Chieh’s garage 5 years ago, Boxed now has hundreds of employees in facilities all over the United States. Since the garage, the company has sold hundreds of millions of dollars of products and has raised over a quarter billion dollars in funding to date.

Chieh’s personal honors include being named to “Bloomberg 50”, Bloomberg Businessweek’s 50 people to watch in 2018, to National Retail Federation’s list of People Shaping Retail’s Future, as one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and Goldman Sachs’ list of “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine included Chieh on their list of “The 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs.” You can read more about Chieh’s story in People Magazine’s profile of him for their “American Dream” series, tracking his growth from humble beginnings to running a fast-growing online retailer. You can also catch more of him at TED.com delivering a talk about his lifelong battle against micromanagers.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

In my last year my proudest accomplishment is just keeping the wheels on the wagon… With everything going on, with family, a growing business, and more and more … being out there in the public sphere… it’s put a lot of pressure on me time wise. So being able to balance everything is definitely something I’ve been very proud of this past year.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

We’ve had access to a lot of great Asian American talent because, since there are not a lot of Asian American retail CEOs, they see one and they’re like ‘I’d like to work for that guy.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Other entrepreneurs who have done it before. An unofficial mentor of mine has been David Liu of XO group who talks some sense into me every time I see him. He’s not shy about dispensing advice.

The 2018 Winter Olympics cemented Chloe Kim as the female face of both snowboarding and action sports. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal and scoring a 98.25 on her third and final run, Chloe became the youngest woman in history to win an Olympic snowboarding Gold medal.

Prior to the Olympics, Chloe medaled at every event she entered in the 2017-18 season, starting with Gold medals at the New Zealand World Cup, Copper Grand Prix and Dew Tour, where she officially clinched her spot on the 2018 Olympic team. In January 2018, Chloe won Silver Medals at the Mammoth and Snowmass Grand Prix’s and, in the last competition prior to the Olympics, her fourth career Gold medal at the X Games, making her the first athlete to earn four X Games Gold medals before her 18th birthday. Chloe kicked off the 2016-17 season winning Gold medals at the Copper Grand Prix and LAAX Open, pushing her consecutive event win streak to eight. She went on to win Bronze at X Games and the first World Cup Crystal Globe of her career. Chloe finished the season defending her Gold medal at the Burton US Open. During the 2015-16 season, Chloe won six Gold and two Silver medals. Chloe season highlights included defending her X Games Gold medal, becoming the first X Games athlete to win two Gold medals before the age of 16. Chloe continued to break new ground in women’s snowboarding, becoming the first woman to land back-to-back 1080s and score a perfect 100.

Chloe made history during the 2014-15 season when she became the youngest competitor (at 14 years old) to win a winter X Games Gold medal. 2013-14 was Chloe’s breakout season. The year began with a Bronze medal at the Dew Tour and continued with Chloe grabbing Silver at X Games. She finished the season with another Silver at the Burton US Open – all at the age of 13.

Chloe has had just as much success off of the mountain as she has had on it, being featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017, TIME’s 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016 and 2017, and espnW’s 2015 IMPACT25 list. In addition, Chloe has been nominated for an ESPY, Kids Choice Sports Award, and two Laureus World Sports Awards.

Chloe qualified to make the 2014 Olympic Halfpipe team, but due to her age and IOC rules, was unable to compete, setting up her debut on the Olympics stage in Korea in 2018 where she took home a gold medal. Chloe’s first tracks on a snowboard were at the age of four and she began competing when she was six. Chloe, whose parents emigrated from Korea, now lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Chrissy Teigen is a model, TV personality, and digital superstar. She discovered a passion for modeling at a young age, beginning as a swimsuit model and eventually collaborating with major labels all around the world. The model has since become a highly sought-after television personality, hosting the 2013 reality show Model Employee. Two years later, Chrissy became a commentator on “Lip Sync Battle” and a co-host on the daytime talk show “FabLife.” In 2016, Chrissy released a cookbook, “Cravings,” which instantly became a New York Times bestseller, heralding back to her childhood dream of being a chef. She released a second cookbook in September 2018 titled “Cravings: Hungry for More.” Chrissy is also universally adored for her sharp, timely, and culturally-astute presence on Twitter by her more than 11 million followers and was named by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people of 2019.

Constance Wu is an award-winning actress who most recently starred in Warner Bros.’ 2018 blockbuster “Crazy Rich Asians,” for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical. Perhaps best known for playing the matriarch through ABC’s beloved comedy, “Fresh Off The Boat,” Wu has also been a consistently vocal advocate for women, calling out sexual harassment in Hollywood, joining in the Women’s March in Washington, and driving forward the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants also advocates for Asian representation–both in her critique of several high-profile whitewashed castings and as a role model to young actresses and actors, alike.

The blockbuster pioneer’s production company, Rideback (formerly Lin Pictures), has generated over $3 billion dollars at the box office through “Sherlock Holmes,” “The LEGO Movie” franchise, and “It” (which holds the record for highest grossing horror film), as well as the “Lethal Weapon” television series.

In 1999, a day after Lin’s graduation, a studio executive offered Lin a junior position at Warner Bros. in their film production group. Lin worked his way up to Senior Vice President of Production and left in 2007 to form his own company. During his eight years at Warner Bros., Lin oversaw the development and production of the Academy Award-winning film “The Departed,” directed by Martin Scorsese. In 2018, he founded Rideback Ranch, a creative campus and incubator in LA’s Historic Filipinotown that brings together diverse storytellers in a unique setting to inspire collaboration and innovation, as well as the Evolve Entertainment Fund to promote inclusion alongside filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Hailing from Taipei, Taiwan, Dan received his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Lin is widely respected and loved for his consistent track record of success and grounded–but inspired–style.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Launching the Rideback TV Incubator that focuses on promoting diversity and inclusion in cable TV and streaming services. It took a year of intensive planning but I am excited about our first session that begins in May. We have an amazing group of Creators and an inspiring team of Producers who will be working alongside them. I’m excited to develop this next generation of talent and the stories they will tell.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I grew up in the business during a time when I was often the only minority in the room. So I’m excited to see that slowly changing now with more diversity in the executive and producer ranks. My ethnic identity made me think differently, like an outsider who is playing inside the system. As such, I find that I often support the outsiders who are looking to find their place in this business and have their voices heard - whether it’s writers, directors, or rightsholders.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

When I was an executive at Warner Bros., I learned from great leaders starting from Lorenzo di Bonaventura to Jeff Robinov to Alan Horn. I wouldn’t be a producer today without that strong support from the studio. Now I am blessed to have an amazing team at Rideback that supports me and allows the company to scale. I also have a core advisory team that includes my manager Mikkel Bondesen, my attorney David Fox, my spiritual adviser Dave Gibbons, and my real estate partner Tim Siegel. Most importantly, my wife Sophia who has supported me since we were both still students in school. She is now head of design at Rideback and played an integral role in building the creative campus of Rideback Ranch.

Daniel Dae Kim has made a career of creating multifaceted and stereotype-breaking roles as an actor, director and now, producer. Prior to his seven-season portrayal of Chin Ho Kelly on “Hawaii Five-0,” Daniel was best known for his role as Jin Soo Kwon on the hit TV series “Lost,” for which he shared a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, and was individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award and a Vanguard Award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor. In 2009, he was recognized with the prestigious KoreAm Achievement Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment, and has twice been named one of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive.”

Most recently, he received a Broadway Beacon Award for his role as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Tony Award-winning production of “The King and I,” as well as the Theater Legacy Award from New York’s Pan Asian Repertory Theater. Outside of his artistic endeavors, he actively pursues interests in the community at large, having most recently served as Cultural Envoy and Member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the United States at the World Expo in Korea.

Born in Busan, South Korea and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Daniel discovered acting while a student at Haverford College. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he began his career on stage, performing in classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “Ivanov,” and “A Doll’s House.” Despite early success, he deepened his knowledge of the craft by enrolling at New York University’s Graduate Acting Program, where he earned his Master’s Degree.

In addition to his onscreen career, Daniel spearheads his production company 3AD, established in 2014 to produce premier content for TV, film and digital media – in development partnership with ITV Studios America. Committed to storytelling that features characters and cultures traditionally underrepresented in today’s media, 3AD’s produced projects include this season’s acclaimed new series “The Good Doctor“ (ABC), where Daniel serves as Executive Producer.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

With my production company, 3AD and my roles in "Good Doctor," "Hellboy," "and "Always Be My Maybe," my proudest accomplishment of last year was really just being a small part of this wave of Asian American awareness. I think really this past year in particular there’s never been a better time to be an Asian American in this industry, and I’m really encouraged by that.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I think the real answer to that question is -- how has it not? It really has influenced and informed every part of who I am.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Success in this industry doesn’t happen for anyone without a strong base of solid supporters at every stage of your career and I am no exception. From one of my first acting teachers, Ron Van Liew, to J.J. Abrams and all of my brothers and sisters who are taking this journey as actors, there have been a countless number of people who have been there to support me and I’m happy to return the favor and support them as well.

Dara Khosrowshahi and Nelson Chai are leading the world’s largest ride-sharing company, Uber, through its IPO this year.

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Dara Khosrowshahi is the CEO of Uber, where he manages the company’s fast-growing business in 65 countries around the world and leads a global team of more than 16,000 employees.

Dara was previously CEO of Expedia, which he grew into one of the world’s largest online travel companies. A seasoned executive with a background in both engineering and finance, Dara oversaw a number of acquisitions that bolstered Expedia’s offerings and aggressively invested in mobile, which now accounts for more than half of Expedia’s traffic. He was also beloved by Expedia’s employees and named one of the Highest Rated CEOs on Glassdoor. Dara was promoted to Expedia CEO after serving as the Chief Financial Officer of IAC Travel, a division of IAC, which purchased Expedia in 2002 and spun it off in 2005. He was also instrumental in the expansion of IAC’s portfolio of travel brands.

Before joining IAC, Dara served as Vice President of Allen & Company and spent a number of years as an analyst. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Expedia and was previously on the board of the New York Times Company. He’s a passionate advocate for refugees in crisis around the world, having himself left Iran during the Iranian Revolution at the age of 9.

Dara grew up in Tarrytown, New York, and received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Brown University.

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Nelson Chai is the current Chief Financial Officer at Uber who brings more than a decade of experience in senior positions at some of the world’s leading publicly traded financial services and insurance companies. He joined Uber from the Chicago-based Warranty Group, an insurance and warranty provider, where he was CEO.

Previously, he spent more than 5 years at CIT Group, where he most recently served as President. Before that, he was Chief Financial Officer of Merrill Lynch & Co.; NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange; and Archipelago Holdings, the first fully electronic stock exchange in the United States.

Nelson serves on the boards of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, and the US Fund for UNICEF. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Darren Criss is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (2018). Best known for his portrayal of Blaine Anderson on the Fox musical comedy-drama series “Glee” from 2010 until 2015, Darren has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several recordings as a soloist and in a band. Darren’s cover of “Teenage Dream” became the fastest-selling “Glee” single, reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified gold in the US.

Chef David Chang is the Michelin-star-winning founder of Momofuku Restaurant Group, which includes Momofuku Noodle Bar, Milk Bar, majordōmo, and numerous other culture-defining restaurants. Recently, he created and starred in the Netflix original series, “Ugly Delicious” and launched Majordomo Media that’s developing a podcast, TV shows, and an editorial platform.

Dhivya Suryadevara made history in becoming the first female Chief Financial Officer of General Motors. After growing up in India, Dhivya moved to the States to attend Harvard Business School and joined GM in 2005. Prior to assuming the role of CFO, Dhivya worked as CEO of GM Asset Management and VP of finance and treasurer. In recent years, she’s played a key part in GM’s stake in Lyft, divestiture of the German affiliate Opel, and in SoftBank’s investment in Cruise, GM’s self-driving unit.

Domee Shi became the first woman in Pixar’s 32-year history to direct a short film at the studio, “Bao,” for which she won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Domee has also contributed as a storyboarder to multiple films, including “Inside Out” (2015), “Incredibles 2” (2018), and “Toy Story 4” (2019), and is now set to direct a feature film at Pixar.

Dr. Leana Wen is the President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Before joining Planned Parenthood, Dr. Wen served as the Baltimore City Health Commissioner, where she oversaw more than 1,000 employees with an annual budget of $130 million; two clinics that provide more than 18,000 patients with reproductive health services; and mental health programs in 180 Baltimore schools.

A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Wen was a Rhodes Scholar, Clinical Fellow at Harvard, consultant with the World Health Organization, and professor at George Washington University. She has published over 100 scientific articles and is the author of the book “When Doctors Don’t Listen.” In 2016, Dr. Wen was honored to be the recipient of the American Public Health Association’s highest award for local public health work. In 2018, Time Magazine named her one of the 50 most influential people in healthcare and she was named to the Time 100 List this year.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

It was an honor to be offered the incredible privilege of leading Planned Parenthood, an organization that has meant so much to me and my family throughout our lives. My mother, my sister, and I have all been patients at Planned Parenthood, just like 1 in 5 women in America (and we are proud to serve men and non-binary people too!). This is the fight of our time - just a few months ago, The Trump-Pence Administration issued their Title X gag rule - trying to take away healthcare from 4 million people, and put a gag on doctors like me to prevent us from providing our patients with full and accurate medical information. To fight back, Planned Parenthood joined together with the American Medical Association to sue the Trump administration, and launched our ProtectX campaign with our supporters. Twenty-one Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit as well! I’m honored to stand alongside our supporters and our partners in this fight.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I am an immigrant. My parents and I immigrated to the U.S. just before I turned eight. Like many immigrant families, we depended on Medicaid and food stamps. My parents worked multiple jobs, but still we struggled to make ends meet. I think a lot about where we would be now if we did not have these options. I think about this administration’s policies that attack the most vulnerable. It’s times like these that we must join together to fight, as an attack on one of us is an attack on us all.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Two incredible groups of people - my team in Baltimore where I most recently served as Health Commissioner who is continuing our good work, and the incredible team at Planned Parenthood for their help in this transition. My husband, Sebastian, who supported me in taking this job, and supports me every day, including looking after our one-and-a-half year old son, Eli!

Actor and producer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson continues to be box office gold. The films he starred in last year (“Rampage,” “Skyscraper.” and “Fighting with My Family”) collectively earned over $771 million, making him one of the top grossing actors of the year once again. He is also set to star in the upcoming films “Hobbs & Shaw” and “Jumanji 3”. In addition, Dwayne has been active across multiple platforms, starring in and executive producing HBO’s “Ballers”; executively producing the blockbuster “Shazam!”; hosting NBC’s “The Titan Games”; and engaging fans weekly on his popular YouTube channel. Johnson is widely adored by industry and fans worldwide for his unmatched athleticism, relentless charm, and sincere heart.

Emily Nishi and Raj Kapoor are helping to lead one of the world’s largest ridesharing companies, Lyft, during its historic year of going public.

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As Lyft’s Chief People Officer, Emily Nishi leads Lyft’s People team, impacting every touchpoint of the employee experience and making sure Lyft is a diverse, welcoming, and exceptional place to work. Prior to joining Lyft, Emily headed up YouTube’s People Team and previously led People Operations for Google’s Sales and Operations teams. When she first joined Google in 2005, Emily established the company’s Global Diversity & Inclusion programs. Emily has seen Google grow from 3,500 to 70,000 people during her time there.

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Tech industry veteran Rajil Kapoor serves on Lyft’s executive team as Chief Strategy Officer, where he focuses on company strategy, new growth opportunities, and Lyft’s autonomous business. Raj has an entrepreneurial track record of turning disruptive ideas into big businesses. In 1999, he Co-Founded and was CEO of Snapfish, the pioneer in online photo services, which amassed more than 100 million users and was acquired by HP in 2005. After Snapfish, Raj joined Mayfield Fund where he led Lyft’s Series A round of funding and served as a board member. Later, he co-founded and was CEO of Fitmob which combined with ClassPass to create the largest global fitness marketplace.

Eric Yuan decided to come to the U.S. in the mid ’90’s because of the Internet, which he knew was the wave of the future. The first time he applied for a U.S. visa, he was rejected. He continued to apply again and again over the course of two years and finally received his visa on the ninth try.

He then arrived in Silicon Valley in 1997 and joined WebEx, which at the time was a real-time collaboration company with about a dozen employees. In 2007 WebEx was acquired by Cisco and he became Cisco’s Corporate VP of engineering, in charge of collaboration software. Eric often met with customers, and in his conversations with them learned they weren’t happy with the current collaboration solutions, including WebEx.

He firmly believed that he could develop a platform that would make customers happy, so in June of 2011, he decided it was time to venture off on his own. Eric first envisioned Zoom when he was a freshman in college in China and regularly took a ten-hour train ride to visit his girlfriend (who is now his wife). He detested those rides and used to imagine other ways that he could visit his girlfriend without traveling — those daydreams eventually became the basis for Zoom.

More than 40 fellow engineers followed him in this new venture and together, they launched the Zoom platform in 2012. Seven years later in 2019, the company has gone public and is valued at $15 billion with $269.5 million gross profit in the latest fiscal year.

Eric Wu is co-founder and CEO of Opendoor, a consumer technology company that is re-inventing how people buy and sell real estate. Prior to Opendoor, he was the founder and CEO of Movity.com, a geo-data analytics company acquired by Trulia.com in 2011. At Trulia, Eric led location, social, and consumer product development. He also co-founded RentAdvisor.com, which was later acquired by Apartment List, and runs a real estate fund that has invested in over 100 multi-family units.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment in the past year has been helping Opendoor grow the number of customers we serve. We not only grew from 6 markets to 23 markets and hired 800 + people to help build the future of real estate, but we have now helped close to 40,000 customers buy or sell a home.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I believe growing up as a first generation Asian American in an area with very few other Asian American’s has had a significant impact on my life. And at times, I was forced to expand others’ definition of what is possible socially and athletically as opposed to what is possible academically. This taught me the value of resilience. Conversely, when I moved to the Bay Area, I felt immediately connected to the large network of Asian American entrepreneurs. And those connections and network have helped me both broaden my ambitions and kept me grounded and sane through the ups and downs of starting a company.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My family. My Mom, though openly would have preferred me to get my MD, has never once doubted that I could build something great. And today, I feel her silent but incredibly strong sense of pride of me. And succeed or fail, she will also be my biggest supporter. My sisters have been a staple in my life day to day. I call them free therapy, but it’s the friendship, unwavering support, and at times, challenging of my thinking that has given me the degrees of freedom and confidence to take risks.

Eugene Lee Yang is one of today’s most prolific digital content producers and performers whose collective work has been viewed billions of times. This past year, he and his fellow cofounders of the unscripted comedy series “The Try Guys” created their own independent production company, 2nd Try, and their new YouTube channel amassed over 5 million subscribers in 6 months.

Together, they hosted the 2018 Streamys where they won Show of the Year, wrote their debut book, “The Hidden Power Of F*cking Up,” which releases in June, and will launch their podcast The TryPod. Yang is well-known for being a prevalent voice for Asian and LGBTQ+ representation in the digital space and hosted The Trevor Project’s TrevorLIVE 2018 event. He also recently made his acting debut, appearing in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and in the upcoming indie film “Spring Bloom,” with a number of more traditional projects in development. As one of YouTube’s most-watched personalities, Yang has pioneered a uniquely hilarious, unapologetically controversial, and intimately complex image of the modern Asian American and continues to incorporate strong themes influenced by his Korean, Southern, and queer backgrounds into his projects.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

We launched our own totally independent production company called Second Try, we launched our own YouTube channel and got over 5 million subscribers in just six months, and wrote a book that's coming out this summer called "The Hidden Power of F*cking Up." There are many things on the horizon and you can bet that they will be unapologetically Asian.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My identity is something that really shapes all the work that I do. As someone who is considered as one of the most recognizable Asian American people online, I have this unique opportunity to showcase a complex and deep and multifaceted persona. It really is a huge part of the work I do and my passion behind being a digital creator in order to make being Asian American a fully realized story line.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Besides our many fans and followers, my fellow Try Guys (Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, & Zach Kornfeld) have been huge advocates and supporters for me throughout this journey.

Gemma Chan is a British film, television, theatre actress and former fashion model best known for her recent roles as Astrid Leong-Teo in “Crazy Rich Asians” and Minn-Erva in “Captain Marvel.”

After graduating from Worcester College, she turned down for a job at a law firm for a career in modeling and then in acting. Her parents weren’t comfortable with this choice, but the was determined to break into the industry and enrolled in the Drama Centre London, where she was scouted by British film producer Damian Jones.

Gemma has since starred on shows such as “Doctor Who,” “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” and “Sherlock.” She is also a theatre actress who has appeared on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s play “Turandot,” Anders Lustgarten’s “The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie,” David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face,” and Timberlake Wertenbaker’s “Our Ajax.”

Congresswoman Grace Meng is the first Asian American elected to Congress from New York. In Congress, she’s created the first comprehensive federal legislative agenda to promote the health of women and girls by making menstrual hygiene products safer, more affordable, and more accessible. It’s since been used as a model for state and local policy across the country. Congresswoman Meng is also Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I'm proud of the many issues I've championed that seek to enrich the lives of Asian Americans and highlight the contributions of the Asian American community. Some of these initiatives include working to get the House to recognize Lunar New Year, helping to establish a Lunar New Year School holiday in NYC, and honoring the Chinese immigrant laborers who helped build America's Transcontinental Railroad. I'm proud to help empower the Asian American community to ensure our voices are heard and I want to make sure that the stories of Asian Americans continue to be told.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Naturally, I’m honored and proud to be the first and still the only Asian American member of Congress in New York. Being an Asian American female also gives me unique perspectives and those insights help greatly in policymaking.  

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My grandmother has been a huge inspiration in my career and in my journey through life. She was the first in my family to come to America and she took care of me and my siblings while my parents work. She never went to high school or college and she was never involved in politics, but she was one of the wisest people I’ve ever known. She learned English by watching soap operas! She and I became very close and the values and lessons she taught me remain with me today: the importance of being a good listener, serving your community, and treating people the way you want to be treated.

Within an incredible year and half, H.E.R. has won two Grammy Awards (2019), released two remarkable EPs, made her first U.S. television debut, sold out her first ever North American and international headlining “The Lights On Tour” in seconds, joined Bryson Tiller on his 25+ city North American “SET IT OFF TOUR,” performed at the 2019 Grammy Awards, the BET Experience concert series and most recently at Coachella. In short, the enigmatic singer/songwriter, selected as one of iHEART’s “On The Verge” artists and nominated for five Grammy Awards this year (including Best New Artist), has established herself as one of modern R&B’s most fascinating new voices—an artist with a keen skill for channeling the pain and ecstasy of life through a variety of sonic moods.

Harry Shum Jr. is an actor, singer, dancer, and chroeographer best known for his roles as Mike Chang on Fox’s “Glee” and Magnus Bane on Freeform’s “Shadowhunters,” for which he won the People’s Choice Award for Male TV Star of 2018. Harry also starred as Charlie Wu in “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018) and appeared in the films “Step Up 2: The Streets” (2008), “Step Up 3D” (2010), “White Frog” (2012), “Revenge of the Green Dragons” (2014), and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny” (2016); the Hulu web series “The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers” (2010–2011); and the YouTube Red series “Single by 30” (2016).

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Being a part of a project like "Crazy Rich Asians" which was more than just entertainment and was instead a cultural movement, in addition winning the People's Choice Awards "Male TV Star of the Year" for "Shadow Hunters" are my two proudest accomplishments from the past year.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Your ethnicity, your ethnic background you can’t change. So the more you discover about it, the more you can shape who you are. You have to find that balance and for me, it's take a long time to do that. And finally, seeing the change that has happened in the industry and seeing people embrace themselves and others is the hope of the future of this industry. So you try and find things that speak to you and are authentic to you. For me, that's how this whole process has been and it's still a journey that I'm looking forward to expanding.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Even the smallest advice or the smallest gesture can have a large impact on someone. I remember there was this dancer/choreographer who stayed 10 minutes after a class to answer questions and I asked about resumes and the whole process about auditioning as I didn't know anything about that. To have some sort of knowledge being passed down and a little bit of confidence that "I can do that" had a huge impact on me. It really changed the course of whether I was going to go back to college or go to LA to pursue this.

Hasan Minhaj is the host and creator of the weekly comedy show “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” that premiered on Netflix in October 2018. The series explores the modern cultural and political landscape with depth and sincerity through his unique comedic voice. Last year Hasan earned rave reviews for his one-hour Netflix comedy special “Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King” that earned him a 2018 Peabody Award, and for his performance hosting the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. A first generation American, Hasan joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he was Jon’s last hire, in November 2014 as a correspondent and continued on in that role after Trevor Noah took over as host the following year. He remained on the show through August 2018.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Having a daughter.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

It has made me more honest and vulnerable in my performance and in the artistic choices that I make in my career.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Neal Brennan, John Mulaney, Mike Birbiglia, Ali Wong, W. Kamau Bell, Prashanth Venkataramanujam, and everyone I started comedy with.

Henry Golding made his feature film debut as the leading man in the blockbuster “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018). Later that year, he starred opposite Blake LIvely and Anna Kendrick in “A Simple Favor” (2018) and became the first Asian GQ ‘Men Of The Year’ cover star. Herny has since signed on to several more films, including “Last Christmas” (2019) and “The Gentleman” (2020). Prior to acting in feature films, Henry was known for being a host of travel shows in Malaysia.

Indra Nooyi is a trailblazing business executive who is currently serving as a Board Director of Amazon. Prior to that, Indra was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo–a global food and beverage company boasting 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales–and was one of the only female and Asian CEOs in the Fortune 500. In her time at PepsiCo, she led the company’s 80% growth in sales, with 2018 revenues over $64 billion, and pushed Pepsi toward healthier offerings while maintaining the brand’s relationship with its loyal soda drinkers. In addition to serving on the Board of Amazon, Indra serves as a member of the boards of Schlumberger Limited, The Consumer Goods Forum, Catalyst, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Tsinghua University, and is a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

One of the most prominent names in horror, filmmaker James Wan is best known as the creator of the “Saw,” “Insidious,” and “Conjuring” franchises, which together have grossed over $2.5 billion worldwide. Recently, Wan has branched out to direct other blockbuster fare, including DC Films’ “Aquaman” (which grossed over $1.14 billion and became the highest-grossing DCEU film and highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character) and the seventh installment of “The Fast and the Furious” (the franchise’s most successful entry both critically and commercially).

Jason Momoa is an actor best known for portraying “Aquaman” in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with the 2016 superhero film “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” in the 2017 ensemble “Justice League,” and in his 2018 solo film “Aquaman.” Directed by James Wan, “Aquaman” grossed over $1.14 billion and became the highest-grossing DCEU film and highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character. Jason is also known for his roles as Jason Loane in “Baywatch Hawaii,” Ronon Dex in “Stargate Atlantis” (2004–2009), Khal Drogo in the HBO’s “Game of Thrones” (2011–2012), and Declan Harp in CBC’s “Frontier” (2016–present).

Jen Rubio is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Away, a global lifestyle brand that’s working to transform the entire travel experience. Under her leadership, Away has been named one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies,” one of TIME’s “50 Most Genius Companies,” one of LinkedIn’s “Top Startups,” and a Forbes’ “Next Billion Dollar Start-Up.”

Before starting Away, Jen built her career as a branding, creative, and social media expert, redefining how customers and brands connect at companies like Warby Parker and AllSaints. She has been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for Marketing and Advertising, Inc.’s 30 under 30 list, and NRF’s People Shaping Retail’s Future list. She lives and works in New York.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

What we’ve been able to accomplish in just over three years has surpassed our wildest expectations, so it’s hard to choose just one moment! I think what I’m most proud of is the team we’ve built, and how we’ve been able to bring together such talented and fun people who share our vision for Away and believe in our ability to transform travel. Every day our team is working on new products or experiences that make travel more seamless—whether opening additional retail stores to bring communities together, expanding our product line to create the one perfect version of everything you need to travel, entering new markets so that we can be available to even more people around the world, or setting our sights on something even bigger—and I’m still awestruck that I get to work alongside such smart, creative people!

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I grew up in Quezon City in the Philippines, and some of my favorite earliest memories are traveling throughout the Philippines with my family. We moved to New Jersey when I was seven, and it felt like we were the only Filipino people there—at the time, I remember just wanting to fit in, but now that I’m older, I’m deeply appreciative of those roots and how a bit of discomfort has actually shaped who I am today. My family pursued more traditional roles (think doctors, lawyers), so I remember feeling a bit of pressure to follow the same, safe path. Growing up, I didn’t have many people in a creative or entrepreneurial field who looked like me to look up to, so I think that’s why a more traditional route felt like what I could do—it’s hard to be what you can’t see, so I never really imagined what I’m doing now as a possibility. I’m glad that, for whatever reason, I never let that hold me back from following my curiosities and exploring my passions; I think a mix of confidence, relentless optimism, and not really knowing what I didn’t know is what actually allowed me to forge my own path and ultimately start a company. Today, I’m a mentor and an angel investor to other young entrepreneurs, and I try to use that platform to support and enable the next generation of leaders who also come from underrepresented backgrounds.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My co-founder, Steph Korey, is without a doubt the strongest supporter I have. I’ve learned so much from her, and I’m not sure I would have been so fearless to do what we’re doing at Away without her. Beyond Steph, I try to surround myself with people who are optimistic and celebrate each other’s wins, while also challenging me to always go one step further than I think I can, so I’m endlessly grateful for the people in my corner.

Jennifer Cabalquinto is currently in her third year as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Golden State Warriors. In this role, she oversees all day-to-day and long-term financial planning and accounting for the organization.

With over 20 years of finance leadership experience in a variety of start-up, turnaround, and high growth business environments, Jennifer most recently served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Universal Studios Hollywood since 2007. In this role, she was responsible for NBCUniversal’s theme park and Citywalk operations in Los Angeles, California.

Jennifer joined NBCUniversal as part of the Telemundo acquisition. At the time of the acquisition, she served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Telemundo Station Group in Miami, Florida. With the integration of Telemundo, Jennifer was relocated to Los Angeles to serve as Vice President finance for NBCU’s Los Angeles television stations – KNBC, KVEA and KWHY. Before joining Telemundo, Jennifer worked for Ernst and Young, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Future Tech International in auditing, financial planning and reporting and controllership roles.

Jennifer earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from SUNY, Binghamton’s School of Management.

Jeremy Lin and his rise to prominence spread like wildfire during February 2012, when he took over the starting point guard role for the struggling New York Knicks and began one of the most improbable journeys sports has ever seen. Suddenly, everybody was into the inspiration of Jeremy that is forever known as “Linsanity.” He became an overnight sensation with his natural basketball skills and on court charisma. He was quickly embraced worldwide and gave New Yorkers the kind of hope they hadn’t felt in years.

A native of Palo Alto, CA, Jeremy is the NBA’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. Overcoming innumerable obstacles, Jeremy’s road to the NBA was not easy—he was always overlooked and was believed to be the only California Division II Player of the Year to not receive a Division I scholarship. However, Harvard University did take notice of him, and knew he would become the vital part to their program. Jeremy helped pave the way for his Harvard team to become nationally-ranked for the first time in its history along with making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1946.

After Jeremy’s storied college career concluded, he wanted to continue to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA. When he went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, he began thinking about non-basketball careers, but was signed by his hometown Golden State Warriors for the 2010-11 season. After being cut by the Warriors, he was signed by the Houston Rockets, and ultimately cut on Christmas Day in 2011. He was then picked up by the Knicks, and after being inserted as a starter for the injury-laden team in February 2012, the rest, as they say, is history. In the course of just a few weeks, Jeremhy went from benchwarmer to international icon, by scoring a historic 136 points in his first five career starts. His magical run included scoring 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, 28 points on the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, and 27 points and a last-second game winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors. Heading into the 2012 off-season, Jeremy was a restricted free agent and was ultimately signed by the Houston Rockets. In the summer of 2014, he was traded back to his home state to the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent the 2015-16 season with the Charlotte Hornets, then signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in the summer of 2016. He was traded to Atlanta in the summer of 2018. Jeremy agreed to a buyout with the Hawks in February of 2019 and then immediately signed with the Toronto Raptors, where he currently plays.

Jeremy’s incredible story is a testament to the power of opportunity. After going undrafted and being cut by multiple teams, his triumph is proof that the last man off the bench might be a star waiting to shine. Whether this is on a basketball court or in communities throughout the world, Jeremy believes that other people and organizations are likewise ready and able to “make a difference” if given a chance. As such, he launched The Jeremy Lin Foundation at NBA All-Star 2013 with its first initiative, “The Making a Difference Project.” The campaign sought out highly-impactful, yet overlooked non-profit organizations and supported them through fundraising efforts and public exposure, helping these organizations continue their valuable work. Jeremy’s recent initiative, One Game’s Wages, included a crowd fundraising effort to empower girls around the world that are affected by poverty.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

The thing I’m most proud of this past year is coming back from my knee injury. So many times during this rehab process I can’t even express to you guys how much disappointment, heartbreak, tough nights, tough days, uncertainty, doubt about not knowing if I’ll ever be who I was again as a player and for me to be able to overcome those two years of injuries and to be here now, about to chase a championship, doesn’t get much better than that!

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Growing up, I was always seen as the Asian basketball player or the Chinese basketball player. I was never seen as just a basketball player. So ethnicity to me has been something that is so deeply rooted in how everybody perceives me. As I get older, it becomes a bigger and bigger mantle that I cherish more and embrace. There are so many things that I feel like society has wrong about Asian people. And for me to be able to continue to do my best to break down barriers and challenge misconceptions and stereotypes, I’m all for that.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My family, my friends, and my fans. I know that my fans have really not been fickle, and a lot of sports fans are. But mine through all the ups and downs and injuries and changing teams, you guys have been with me through every step of the way.

John Cho is one of the most dynamic actors in Hollywood who continues to deliver compelling performances in both film and television. 
 
John is currently in production of the live action Netflix series “Cowboy Bebop”. Based off the original anime series, Cho will star as Spike Spiegel opposite Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassel. He was most recently seen in Aneesh Chaganty’s film “Searching”, which garnered him an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of “Best Male Lead.” “Searching” is a tense, emotional thriller told via technology devices that we use every day to communicate. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, winning two awards and a number of outlets singled out John’s performance as one of the best of the festival. Nick Allan (RogerEbert.com)  said John “is equal turns heartbreaking and funny in this wildly entertaining Sundance treasure” and Kate Erbland (Indiewire.com) called him “stellar as the undone dad.” The film has been named one of the National Board of Review’s top 10 independent films of 2018.

Upcoming, John will be seen in the CBS All Access reboot of “The Twilight Zone”, in which he will be starring opposite of Allison Tolman and Jacob Tremblay for one episode, “The Wunderkind”. He recently wrapped production on a number of feature films, including, “Tigertail”, written by Alan Yang who will also be directing. John is set to star opposite of Tzi Ma and Christine Yo in the upcoming Netflix feature. He also finished production on Sony’s “The Grudge” opposite Demian Bichir and Andrea Riseborough as well as the upcoming animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation titled “Wish Dragon” alongside Jackie Chan and Constance Wu. 
  
John was most recently seen on the big screen starring in “The Oath”, written and directed by Ike Barinholtz as well as Kogonada’s “Columbus,” opposite Haley Lu Richardson. That film also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before opening theatrically in August 2017. Variety raved about Cho’s performance and his “untapped ability as a captivatingly sincere leading man” – and the film was nominated for four Gotham Awards and three Independent Spirit Awards including Best First Feature.  
  
He first came to the spotlight in the 1999 hit comedy American Pie and opposite Kal Penn in the cult “Harold and Kumar” films. His previous film credits include: “Star Trek”, “Gemini”, “Identity Thief”, “Total Recall”, and “American Beauty.” 
  
His previous television credits include: “The Exorcist”, “Sleepy Hollow”, “Flash Forward”, “Off Centre” and “Kitchen Confidential.” 
  
Cho was born in Seoul, Korea and raised in Los Angeles. 

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I am probably most proud of the release of Searching. It was innovative and suspenseful, but that a whole, loving Asian American family was depicted without their culture being a story point was probably the coolest part. The film behaved as if it were from the future - one in which we are past all the firsts and just telling stories without any restrictions or justifications.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I could dwell on how it has arguably held my career back, but allow me to focus on the positives: it has given me a relationships in a beautiful community, strengthened my empathic powers, given me something bigger than myself on which to focus, and given me support that I never could have imagined.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

So many people to name: teachers, actors with whom I started, friends, family, my early mentors, strangers who gave me a pat on the back. Above all though, my wife has been my compass.

Director Jon M. Chu’s latest film, Warner Bros.’ “Crazy Rich Asians,” is the first all-Asian cast Hollywood studio film in 25 years (since “The Joy Luck Club”). His other movies, including “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “Now You See Me 2,” “The Step Up” series, and Justin Bieber’s documentary-defining “Never Say Never,” have grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide. Jon is also the founder of a dance company called the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (The LXD) which has performed at the Oscars, TED, and many prestigious venues around the world. His other work like the inventive and beloved Virgin America In-Flight Safety Video, Microsoft Surface commercials, and Justin Bieber music videos have more than a billion views all together. Jon is widely adored and respected for being a fun, inventive, and accessible creative.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Sharing this amazing, talented cast that we had on “Crazy Rich Asians.” We had such a deep bench and to be able to share that with the world and then have world discover them for the first time was cool to watch.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Well, obviously I’m Asian and I made a movie called “Crazy Rich Asians,” so it impacted me a lot! When you think about your own cultural identity, that’s the last thing, at least for me, you usually want to talk about when I was growing up as a filmmaker. It really took time, listening, and social media to really wake me up to know not to be scared of that conversation and that I didn’t have to have all the answers. There were also people out there who had the right words that I didn’t have so that we could debate it and figure out the answers together. It has really impacted me artistically, personally, and now having made a movie that has been seen around the world, and professionally. Embracing your own cultural identity crisis and sharing it with the world and realizing that there are others going through the same thing is extremely empowering.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

A lot of people on the inter webs have supported me! They’ve given me words when Id isn’t have them. They’ve given me courage when I didn’t have it. They’ve given me direction when I didn’t know what to creatively do.

As the first ever Global Chief Creative Officer at Edelman, the world’s largest Communications firm, Judy John leads the team of creatives and planners globally. Before joining Edelman, she was at Leo Burnett, where she served as Chief Creative Officer for North America and CEO for the agency in Canada. An award winning creative, Judy is known as the driving force behind the Always #LikeAGirl campaign which went on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial, Titanium, Grand Prix and Glass Lion at Cannes Lions, and was named by CBS as one of the top three Super Bowl Commercials of all time. Judy ranked the #1 CCO in the world in Advertising Age’s Awards Report 2015 and was named to Business Insider’s 30 Most Creative People in Advertising. Along the way, she’s judged top international awards shows including chairing the juries at Cannes Lions, The Clios, ADC and D&AD.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

At end of last year, I did a TEDX talk titled: “Don’t focus on what you’re not. Focus on what you are!”, where I talked about how my ethnicity and upbringing has influenced me. Every time I’m promoted, win an award or speak at conference, my mother asks me, ‘Do they know you’re Chinese?’

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

When you start working at the age of eight and grow up at your family’s Chinese restaurant, you learn a lot about working. I have my parents to thank for my work ethic and for teaching me how to treat and respect others.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

I’ve been incredibly lucky to have so many supporters and advocates. The constant has been my family and friends, who have been there through it all. My husband is my rock, who keeps me grounded but also pushes me. And I’ve been fortunate to have had many bosses who have championed me throughout my career. Their mentorship and support have given me the opportunities that have gotten me to where I am today. Every day, I work on being a better person and a better supporter for others.

Justin Kan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Atrium, a full-service corporate law firm that uses modern technology to provide startups a legal experience that is fast, transparent, and price-predictable. Having been a repeat founder and investor both personally and as a Partner at Y Combinator for many years, Justin coins himself an involuntary user of legal services. With countless legal frustrations under his belt, he sought out to redefine the industry by removing the unknown barriers with transparency and operational efficiency to improve the delivery of services and inherently also the client-attorney relationship.

Justin previously founded many companies including: Kiko, the first AJAX web calendar; Justin.tv which later became Twitch, a video game streaming platform (acquired for $970mm by Amazon in 2014) and Socialcam, a mobile video sharing app (acquired for $60mm by Autodesk in 2012); and Exec, an on-demand maid service (acquired by Handybook in 2014).

He’s personally invested in over 100 companies, including Zenefits, Ginkgo Bioworks, Cruise, and Alto Pharmacy. Justin graduated from Yale University with a degree in Physics and Philosophy.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Building the culture here at Atrium. We have significantly built a culture that is conscious and empathy first, which are core values that are important to me personally.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Growing up as a Chinese American, I was always half in and half out. I always felt like wanted to be accepted. I had a deep rooted need to be accepted by my peers which drove me to do a lot of things that would deliver me acceptance. Things like starting a company and being a successful CEO of a company. These are very personal and deep drivers of trying to be better, but it’s been the case so far. Luckily I’ve ridden a lot of amazing waves and that’s worked out so far.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My co-founders of all the companies that I’ve had as well as all of our investors who I’ve learned a lot from.

In 2017, Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as a United States Senator for California, the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history. She serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Committee on the Budget.

Kamala has spent her life fighting injustice. It’s a passion that was first inspired by her mother, Shyamala, an Indian-American immigrant, activist, and breast cancer researcher. Growing up in Oakland, Kamala had a stroller-eye view of the Civil Rights movement. Through the example of courageous leaders like Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, and Charles Hamilton Houston, Kamala learned the kind of character it requires to stand up to the powerful, and resolved to spend her life advocating for those who could not defend themselves.

After earning an undergraduate degree from Howard University and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings, she began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. In 2003, Kamala became the District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco. Among her achievements as District Attorney, Harris started a program that gives first-time drug offenders the chance to earn a high school diploma and find employment.

Having completed two terms as the District Attorney of San Francisco, Kamala was elected as the first African-American and first woman to serve as California’s Attorney General. In this role, she worked tirelessly to hold corporations accountable and protect the state’s most vulnerable people. Over the course of her nearly two terms in office, Kamala won a $25-billion settlement for California homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis, defended California’s landmark climate change law, protected the Affordable Care Act, helped win marriage equality for all Californians, and prosecuted transnational gangs that trafficked in guns, drugs, and human beings.

In the United States Senate, Kamala’s mission remains unchanged: fighting for the rights of all communities in California. Since taking office, she has introduced and cosponsored legislation to raise wages for working people, reform our broken criminal justice system, make healthcare a right for all Americans, address the epidemic of substance abuse, support veterans and military families, and expand access to childcare for working parents.

It’s the privilege of Kamala’s life to work on behalf of the people of California. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and is stepmother to Ella and Cole Emhoff.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

There are so many things I’m proud of at the moment. In the last year, I’ve introduced the LIFT Act to raise tax credits for the middle class, the REUNITE ACT to immediately reunite families separated at the border, and passed the historic Justice for Victims of Lynching Act. I’ve also collectively pushed for major policy changes, such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All Act, and the Equality Act, all three of which I cosponsored and will do everything I can to pass in Congress.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My mother is one of the greatest sources of inspiration in my life. She was no more than 5 feet tall but she acted as though she were seven feet tall. She was one of the first women of color to have a position as a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. She had two goals in her life: to raise her two daughters and end breast cancer. She broke down all kinds of barriers and her everlasting spirit still pushes me to fight for what I believe in. Her lasting words continue to resonate with me to this day, “you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you’re not the last.” Of course, my sister Maya has been by my side through this entire journey. She’s brilliant and I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing without her.

Katrina Lake is the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service for men, women, and kids that exists to help people discover the clothes they love, that fit them and their lifestyle perfectly. Passionate about helping women achieve everyday confidence, Katrina founded Stitch Fix to help women everywhere discover and explore their style through a truly client-focused shopping experience. Stitch Fix is a service powered by machine learning and serves 3 million active clients in the US. In 2017, Katrina took Stitch Fix public; she is, to date, the youngest female founder and CEO to take a company public. In 2019, Stitch Fix ranked 5th on Fast Company’s Most Innovative List, as well as #1 under Retail.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I am most proud of Stitch Fix’s strong and consistent performance in the public market since going public just over a year ago. We’re demonstrating our ability to deliver growth and profitability, and we’re confident in our ability to continue on this path enabled by our highly scalable personalization platform. I am also proud of our upcoming expansion into the UK, which will help grow Stitch Fix’s total addressable market, and the launch of our first brand campaign. This year we announced our plans to introduce our personalization platform to UK clients. We are excited to partner with brands to create a compelling assortment for UK men and women and leverage our existing data science capabilities to serve the unique preferences of our UK clients. Additionally, we launched our first integrated brand campaign in February to connect with new and existing clients and drive increased awareness and consideration of our brand. We see a lot of potential in adding brand to our diverse marketing mix and reinforcing why our brand matters and I look forward to the impact this will have on our business.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My family is an inspiration to me. My mom immigrated to the US for graduate school and would later help my grandmother achieve her lifelong dream of coming to America as well. I grew up in a bi-lingual, bi-cultural household where my mom only spoke Japanese and my dad spoke English, so I speak both. As kids, we’d alternate between bringing onigiri and sandwiches to school, which was normal for me. In San Francisco, I went to predominantly Asian public schools but when we moved to Minnesota in my teens, I went to a fantastic private school but was one of just a few Asian people in my class. It really changed my perspective to experience and better understand feeling like a minority and I think made me a better, stronger person as a result. I’ve been lucky to have been surrounded by role models who helped me believe in myself and where I learned by example about taking big risks to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (StubHub) Bill Gurley (Benchmark), Steve Anderson (Baseline), Sarah Friar (Square & NextDoor) + our clients!

The multi-talented Ken Jeong is a comedian, actor, and physician. This past year, Ken starred in “Crazy Rich Asians,” was a judge on Fox’s hit show “The Masked Singer,” and released his own Netflix comedy special, “You Complete Me, Ho.” Prior to that, Ken was best known for playing Ben Chang on the sitcom “Community” and the gangster Leslie Chow in “The Hangover” film series. He was the lead in the ABC sitcom Dr. Ken, in which he was also the creator, writer, and executive producer.

Kevin Kwan is an author best known for his satirical novels “Crazy Rich Asians,” “China Rich Girlfriend,” and “Rich People Problems.” In 2014, Kevin was named as one of the “Five Writers to Watch” on the list of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Authors published by The Hollywood Reporter. In 2018, Kevin made Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people and was inducted into The Asian Hall of Fame, a project of the Robert Chinn Foundation established in 2004. Kevin also served as an Executive Producer to the film adaptation of his novel “Crazy Rich Asians.” Prior to his dedicating his career to writing, Kevin established his own creative studio, where he specialized in producing high profile visual projects for clients such as the New York Times, the Museum of Modern Art, Rockwell Group, and TED.com. Many unforgettable experiences followed, like creating the ultimate publishing tribute to Oprah Winfrey’s groundbreaking television show, handling Elizabeth Taylor’s fabled jewel collection while producing Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, and serving as the visual consultant for the re-launch of the TED website, which exceeded a billion views in November 2012.

Kevin Lin is one of the two pioneering founders of Twitch, the world’s largest live social video platform for gamers and creators. Having sold Twitch to Amazon in 2014 for over $1 billion cemented Kevin’s position as one of the most successful Asian American founders in technology history. As its long-time COO, Kevin brought live social video to hundreds of millions of people around the world, helping thousands of creators make a living building their communities around live, shared experiences. As one of the most respected and adored entrepreneurs and executives in digital media, Kevin and Twitch function as a center of gravity to the multi-billion dollar esports industry that is reimagining gaming, traditional sports, content, and other interactive technologies. An avid angel investor and advisor, Kevin is also a consistently deep patron to his hometowns of New Orleans and Taipei, as well as to Asian American founders and creatives.

Kim Yutani was appointed Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival in 2018. She began programming short films there in 2006, and became a feature film programmer in 2009, focusing on US and international fiction feature films, overseeing short film programming, and working on the Festival’s Offscreen series of panels and conversations. She was instrumental in the creation of Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong, which she also programs. During her tenure at the Institute, she has represented Sundance internationally by serving on juries, speaking on panels, and working to cultivate relationships with film commissions, industry, and artists around the world. For the past five years, she has also overseen a new collaboration with the Berlinale’s European Film Market — housed within the Sundance Film Festival at EFM program — which has provided exposure and sales opportunities for Sundance films, immediately after premiering at the Festival.

She started her programming career at Outfest Los Angeles, one of the world’s leading LGBT festivals, where she was the Artistic Director and the Director of Programming. She was a programmer for the Provincetown International Film Festival, has been a reader for Creative Capital, and was on the short film nominating committee for Cinema Eye Honors. Prior to her film festival work, Yutani was a film critic and freelance journalist focusing on independent film. She got her start in the industry as Director Gregg Araki’s assistant.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Last year I became Director of Programming of the Sundance Film Festival, which was an exciting career step for me. Even though I felt confident about the films our team had selected and I knew the work we had done on the Festival was exceptional, I had some trepidation prior to the Festival, knowing that I would be under scrutiny in my first year. I was credited for putting together one of the most inclusive Sundance lineups the festival had seen, which was an unspoken goal of mine, but I was eager to showcase the program beyond statistics. So seeing audiences and critics and ultimately, buyers, react in an overwhelmingly positive way to films like "The Farewell," "Late Night," "Blinded By the Light," and "Clemency"--films about people of color and directed by women of color, was incredible. It felt like a significant cultural and industry shift had emerged in my first year on the job.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity is something I see as an advantage because not always feeling a part of the mainstream helps me to enter experiences with empathy and an inquisitive spirit—as a programmer I feel it allows me judge the work I’m seeing in a pure way, separating my own experience from it.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Specifically this past year, I’m grateful to the Sundance programming team for their respect and for putting collaboration into action. I credit some industry friends and colleagues like Kirsten Schaffer, Trevor Groth, Kevin Iwashina, Marcus Hu, Eliza Hittman, and my partner Liz VanderVen—for encouraging me and (very politely) suggesting ways in which I could be better, and helping me shed my inhibition about being ambitious! My parents gave me the gift of travel at an early age, showed me good taste, and allowed me to pursue my interests, no matter how weird they might be.

Kyler Murray is the most-talked about collegiate football player today. As Quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, Kyler won the 2018 Heisman Trophy and was named the 2018 Associated Press College Football Player of the Year. Following his Heisman-Trophy winning season, Kyler declared his intentions to enter the 2019 NFL Draft and forego a promising career in another sport–baseball–despite also being drafted into the MLB by the Oakland Athletics.

In April 2019, Kyler became the first-ever Asian American No. 1 draft pick in the history of the NFL. He will be joining the Arizona Cardinals.

Lilly Singh is an acclaimed YouTuber, comedian, television host and actress widely known as IISuperwomanII. In March 2019, NBC announced that Lilly would host a new late night talk show for the network, “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” which will replace “Last Call with Carson Daly.” In 2017, Lilly was ranked tenth on the Forbes list of the world’s highest paid YouTube stars and first on the 2017 Forbes Top Influencers List in the entertainment category. Lilly has received an MTV Fandom Award, four Streamy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and a People’s Choice Award. In 2016, Lilly released her first feature film, titled “A Trip to Unicorn Island.” In March 2017, she released her first book, “How to be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life,” which became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller.

Lisa Ling is an award-winning journalist who currently executive produces and hosts her own CNN Original Series, “This is Life,” which explores the far corners of America.

Before coming to CNN, Ling was a field correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and contributor to ABC News’ “Nightline” and National Geographic’s “Explorer.” She has reported from dozens of countries, covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, among other issues that are too often ignored. Ling got her start in journalism as a correspondent for Channel One News where she covered the civil war in Afghanistan at 21 years of age.

She later went on to become a co-host of ABC Daytime’s hit show “The View,” which won its first daytime Emmy during her time at the show. Ling has also served as a special correspondent for CNN’s “Planet in Peril” series and is a contributing editor for USA Today’s USA Weekend magazine. In 2011, her acclaimed documentary journalism series, “Our America” with Lisa Ling, was created and began airing on OWN.

Ling is the co-author of “Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood” and “Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home,” which she penned with her sister, Laura. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the California Museum.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment has been completing six seasons of my documentary series “This is Life” on CNN. That’s 48 episodes of TV which is very exciting to me. I’m particularly proud of it because as we all know, we are currently amidst a period of intense vitriol and partisan rancor and hostility. And I love that we produce a show that puts something positive and constructive out into the world. We allow people to get to know and familiarize themselves and walk in the shoes of people that they probably are very different from.

Marie Kondo is a tidying expert, bestselling author, star of Netflix’s hit show, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” and founder of KonMari Media, Inc. Enchanted with organizing since her childhood, Marie began her tidying consultant business as a 19-year-old university student in Tokyo. Today, Marie is a renowned tidying expert helping people around the world to transform their cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration.

In her #1 New York Times bestselling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” Marie took tidying to a whole new level, teaching that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Marie has been featured on more than fifty major Japanese television and radio programs as well as in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The London Times, Vogue Magazine, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Ellen Show and many more. She has also been listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.

Mark Tatum was appointed NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer on Feb. 1, 2014, following unanimous approval by the NBA Board of Governors.  He joined the NBA in 1999 and is currently responsible for the NBA’s business operations, including leading the NBA’s international efforts. He also oversees the Global Partnerships, Marketing, Communications and Team Marketing and Business Operations departments in addition to the NBA G League. 

Since becoming Deputy Commissioner and COO, Mark has been instrumental in many historic initiatives including the first NBA game in Africa, the launch of seven NBA Academies around the world for youth and elite development, and the debut of the Jr. NBA Global Championship, a first-of-its-kind global youth basketball tournament. Additionally, Mark spearheaded the NBA’s groundbreaking jersey sponsorship program to feature corporate logos on team jerseys, established an entitlement partnership with Gatorade for the NBA G League, and secured a global merchandising and marketing partnership with Nike, making it the exclusive oncourt uniform and apparel provider of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League.

In 2016, Mark was named to Forbes’ list of the Top 25 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. SportsBusiness Journal named him to its list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business in 2014 and 2015. For three straight years (2006, 2007 and 2008), he was also honored by the SportsBusiness Journal with a Forty Under 40 Award, making him an entrant into the publication’s Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame.

Mark sits on numerous boards including USA Basketball, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, LA 2028 Summer Olympics, and the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors. He is Chair of the Harvard Business School Club of New York and a member of the Executive Leadership Council, a national organization that empowers African-American corporate leaders to make impactful contributions.

He received a B.S. in Business Management from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard University.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

In the last year I’d say my proudest accomplishment is how we’ve been able to grow the international business. We’ve made several groundbreaking accomplishments in the last year, including the fact that we’re launching our first ever league in Africa, we’re doing our first ever pre-season games in India, we’re going back with pre-season games in Japan for the first time in many years, and we’re also playing our first ever regular season games in Paris.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My father’s black and my mother’s Asian and I grew up in a household with multiple cultures, multiple points of view, and it really shaped my view of diversity and the importance of hearing those different diverse views.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Throughout my journey I’ve had several supporters and advocates both personally and professionally. On the personal side, I’d say my family. Professionally, I’ve had the opportunity to work with incredible leaders like David Stern and Adam Silver who’ve given me the opportunity to do something that I’m passionate about and that I truly love.

Billionaire Masayoshi Son founded Softbank, a Japanese holding conglomerate, in 1981 and has continued to serve as its chairman & CEO. He was an early investor in many internet firms, such as Yahoo! and Alibaba, of which SoftBank reportedly owns nearly 30%. SoftBank’s investment vehicle, the $100 billion Vision Fund, invests in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics as well as companies aimed at revolutionizing industries such as real estate, transportation, and retail. Masayoshi plans to raise $100 billion for a new fund every few years, investing about $50 billion a year in startups. In addition to this incredible work, Masayoshi also serves as a director of Sprint Corporation, Yahoo! Japan Corporation and Alibaba Group Holding Limited and as the chairman of Arm Limited.

Maureen is a CEO, co-founder, and board director with over 2 decades of success creating, launching, and scaling mass-market, genre-defining digital products at the edge of tech and media. As CEO and co-founder of 9-time Emmy award-winning Baobab Studios, hailed as the world’s leading independent interactive animation studio, she has propelled the mixed reality, metaverse, and web3 industries forward. Having created some of the most viewed mixed reality experiences on Oculus, she led Baobab to expand their franchiseable family IP and interactive worlds into film/TV series (Disney+, HBO Max), games (Roblox, Oculus, web3), and books (MacMillan, Penguin). Under her helm, Baobab, which was named Fast Company’s 2018 Most Innovative Company, has attracted creative luminaries, such as the Madagascar films director, the Moana producer, and the Creative Directors, lead designers of Maxis (Sims), Pokemon, and Magic: The Gathering. She has also recruited and attracted board members such as Ed Catmull (Pixar co-founder and President of Disney Feature Animation) and Kevin Lin (Twitch co-founder) and investment from Disney, Comcast, Shari Restone, Peter Chernin, and Samsung. Her products have earned her recognition as one of Ad Age’s Most Creative People of the Year, Gold House’s Top 100 Influential Asians, and Variety’s Executive to Watch and Top Digital Creative lists.

A product leader, she helped birth the social casual games revolution as Zynga’s VP of Games, overseeing the original Farmville franchise (Zynga’s largest profit center, 40% of the company’s revenues and 120mm MAU). Directly reporting to the CEO, she built and oversaw 6 game studios to release games. She was 1 of the original 5 Zynga Product Managers who defined and embodied the term “growth marketer/hacker” by instilling a modeling culture to track data metrics to drive every aspect of business.

A thought leader in tech and entertainment convergence, she’s been featured in The “Wall Street Journal,” “Forbes,” and “Fortune,” and keynoted at TechCrunch Disrupt, WebSummit, F8, Comicon San Diego, Oculus Connect, SxSW, DICE, E3, and GDC. Always at the cutting edge, Maureen is an advisor for Believer, the gaming company founded by ex-Riot execs Michael Chow and Riot’s League of Legends EP Steven Snow and Lifelike Capital, a consumer tech venture fund founded by Kevin Lin, Randy Lee, and Jason Lin. She graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. from Stanford University.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I’m most proud of releasing Crow: The Legend… and having it win the first ever Annie Award for Best VR as well as two Emmys and we have four more nominations for Emmys that we hope we’ll win. I’m excited because it’s a story from an underrepresented community and we have a diverse cast all themselves representatives and advocates of their own communities. And the cast includes John Legend, Oprah Winfrey, Constance Wu, Diego Luna, Taye Sheridan, Liza Koshy, Sarah Eagle Heart, and also Randy Edmonds.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I’d like to think that I can take the best of both worlds by being Asian American. I strive to be both idealistic and also entrepreneurial which are traits often times associated with being American. And I also aspire to be very humble and community focused, traits that are often attributed and associate with Asians. And I strive to be inclusive. I was one of two Asian Americans growing up in my town and my elementary school. And oftentimes, I’m only female or minority in leadership meetings in technology and entertainment. And so being different, I really learned how to listen, observe, analyze, and empathize which has helped me a lot in being a leader. But also, help me overcome these differences and find my voice, and realize that my differences actually make me powerful and give me a unique perspective that needs to be heard.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

The first person is Tim LeTourneau who headed up the Sims franchise at EA. He taught me a lot about creative management, leadership, and in times where I was feeling insecure, how my voice was valuable, important, and how I should be authentic and strong. I’m very thankful for all the advisors we have at Baobab studios who helped me start this company and continue to help us along the journey like Glenn Entis (Co-Founder of PDI Dreamworks Animation), Alvy Ray Smith (Co-Founder of Pixar) & Glenn Keane (Animator).

Since taking the helm at Allure in 2015, Michelle Lee has been committed to championing diversity and expanding the definition of beauty. She was named Adweek’s 2017 Editor of the Year while Allure won Magazine of the Year for their groundbreaking covers, such as the July 2017 This Is American Beauty cover featuring model Halima Aden in her hijab. Michelle and her staff declared the “End of Anti-Aging” in their September 2017 issue and took an oath to remove the term “anti-aging” from their own lexicon. In June 2018, she put three Asian models on the cover of Allure, making a strong statement about Asian representation and tokenism.

Prior to her current role, Michelle was the Editor in Chief and Chief Marketing Officer at Nylon and held senior roles at Glamour and Mademoiselle.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I was very proud of our June 2018 cover with Soojoo Park, Fei Fei Sun, and Fernanda Ly. It was a beautiful cover and sparked a lot of conversation about Asian representation. I wrote my editor's letter about how—in 28 years and 327 issues—Allure had only featured two Asian women on the cover before that. We then featured Priyanka Chopra on our summer digital cover and Gemma Chan on our April 2019 cover. So it's been a great year for Asian representation.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I didn't realize it until I got older but being Asian American has influenced me a lot. I grew up in a small town that was not diverse. So I spent much of my life trying to distance myself from my ethnic identity. I never saw myself reflected in media or entertainment, so I grew up seeing a very narrow view of beauty. Now, as a person with a platform within the beauty world, it's important to me that diversity and inclusion is at our core.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

I've been fortunate to learn from so many great bosses in the past. And this year in particular, I'm feeling an amazing sense of camaraderie in the Asian American community in fashion, beauty, and media, so I now count everyone there as important sounding boards and friends.

Michelle Yeoh is recognized as one of the greatest and the most successful actresses from the east. She can most recently be seen starring in Jon M. Chu’s romantic comedy, “Crazy Rich Asians,” and in CBS’ “Star Trek: Discovery.”

The former Bond girl is best known for her roles in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 1 & 2”, Rob Marshall’s “Memoirs of a Geisha,” Roger Spottiswoode’s “Tomorrow Never Dies,” and Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine.” Michelle also starred in Luc Besson’s critically acclaimed “The Lady” and voiced a role in the Dreamworks animated hit, “Kung Fu Panda 2.”

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Without a doubt, being a part of two amazing phenomena, the "Crazy Rich Asians" experience and "Star Trek Discovery," made this last year incredibly special. "Crazy Rich Asians" was both personally satisfying as well as the pride of it achieving a number one status as a Hollywood film. Whatever side of the coin is discussed, such as being the first all-Asian cast in a generation, the great production values, my role as tough-but loving matriarch Eleanor, I am obviously very proud of our cast and production team. Having seen the industry over several generations of filmmakers in both East and West, I am so proud when I step back and know with absolute conviction that in our time, with this film, we left a new legacy building on the past and reaching for our future aspirations as Asian and Asian-American actors and filmmakers. The Crazy Rich characters are indeed full of wealth--wealth of personality, wealth of complexity, wealth of culture that layers on top, below and all around the title theme of the movie, bringing a unique vibrancy. Equally so, stepping into the boots of Emperor/Captain Georgiou on Star Trek has been a total blast. I love being part of the Discovery family and Star Trek fan universe, with a character who has many layered parts of her personality. Her gorgeous outfits even rival those of Eleanor from hundreds of years in the future. For both roles, I have been in so many interviews this last year and had so many fans talk about seeing some aspect of their Asian heritage on display for the first time on screen unapologetically. It is an incredibly humbling feeling to think you have helped empower someone to think about themselves in a new way because of your work, so for me its not just pride, but gratitude to have been intimately involved in this first groundbreaking chapter of the "Crazy Rich Asians" film series and a core part of Star Trek.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity has been a driving force for me and my career, as well as my gender. I think its important that we are now at a time were we can talk with greater force on how both place of birth and sex impacts all of us from personal and professional aspects of our lives, and have a sustained dialogue on it. For sure, both aspects were core to my personality because I was the girl from the East who brought her action skill set to the West, at a time when I saw--and was not going to settle --for being labeled as one type of stereotype or another. I think that is a lesson that has always driven me: I'm not one to settle for being put in a box with a checklist when there is another box I also want to explore. Asian movie production was my first cinematic love. Then my role as an equal partner to James Bond in our movie together opened some eyes in the West, and since I have been seeking in both worlds to portray women of complexity, vulnerability, inner and outer strength, and even leading a Star Trek spaceship as the first Malaysian captain in the shows history. I never felt like I needed permission to be myself, but recognized that we are climbing a long road together to open a dialogue about equality in our industry, and I am proud to stand together with both women and men who are kicking down barriers.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

I have been very lucky to have unconditional love and support from my extended family and wonderful parents who both instilled hard work in me but also freedom to make mistakes and continue to cheer me through the tough times. In that aspect, I am very blessed. I think when I reflect back when its all said and done, my journey will be a happy trail where many people extended a kindness to me through advice, mentorship, laughter, and great teamwork. I have been and continue to be grateful for the amazing people I have met on my journey who encourage me and support me to keep evolving and learning. Life is too short not to both push yourself and others to be better than the day before. And my best friend and love, Jean Todt .

Actress, writer, and producer Mindy Kaling first rose to fame on the workplace sitcom “The Office” in 2005, where she was both an actress and writer. Her work earned her six Emmy Award nominations. Bolstered by its success, Kaling went on to develop her own series, “The Mindy Project,” which debuted in the fall of 2012, making it the first sitcom in TV history to star an Indian American. In addition to writing, producing, and starring in her own show, Kaling has made multiple appearances in several hit films. She’s appeared in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Unaccompanied Minors,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” “A Wrinkle In Time,” “Ocean’s 8,” and the upcoming “Late Night” (which she also wrote, produced, and sold to Amazon for $13 million); while lending her voice to animated films like “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Inside Out.” In addition to her work in film and television, Kaling has written two New York Times best-selling memoirs, titled “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)” (2011) and “Why Not Me?” (2015).

Naomi Osaka is the reigning champion in women’s singles at the Australian Open and US Open, where she defeated 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final to become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. Naomi is currently ranked No. 1 in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), making her the first Asian player–man or woman–to hold the top ranking in singles.

Nathan Chen caught the eyes of many skating fans when he burst onto the scene in 2010 at the age of 10 years old, winning his first U.S. Figure Skating National Championship as a novice level skater. Since then he has continued to wow fans and judges as he competed in the Junior and Senior level and smashing records as he rose to stardom.

Nathan was heavily favorited going into the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games–he, along with his fellow teammates, took home the bronze team medal and in his individual event finished fourth place. His individual performances didn’t bring him the gold but his free skate performance smashed records that will probably never be broken: being the first skater to attempt and land six quadruple jumps in one program at the Olympics and skating a performance that will be remembered forever.

One month after the Olympics at the World Championships in 2018, Nathan broke another record, being the first skater to land eight quadruple jumps in a competition and claiming his first World Title. Now as a freshman at Yale, Nathan recently claimed his second World Title.

At the age of only 19 years old he has made an indelible mark in the sport of figure skating and is no doubt the future of men’s figure skating for the years to come.

Nathaniel Ru is Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer of sweetgreen, the destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food. Nathaniel launched sweetgreen in 2007, opening the first location in Georgetown, DC, just three months out of college. The brand’s strong food ethos, tech-forward approach and investment in local communities has enabled sweetgreen to grow into a national brand with more than 90 locations across the East Coast, Chicago and California.

Nathaniel has been recognized as a key innovator in food and business, named to Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Forbes’ “30 Under 30”, Ad Age’s “40 under 40” and Forbes’ “Next 50 CMOs.” In 2019 sweetgreen was named one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies.”

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Sweetgreen in Schools - a program we launched earlier this year to re-imagine the school cafeteria and encourage healthy eating at a young age.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I'm half Chinese, half Mexican and both cultures have taught me lessons in building meaningful personal relationships and the power of entrepreneurship.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My family, my two co-founders and my wife.

Neeraj Khemlani is an experienced media executive and investor operating at the intersection of digital, media and technology. He oversees Hearst’s investments in entertainment companies: cable networks like ESPN and the A+E Networks (A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime); digital video entertainment companies like Complex Networks; cable television and digital video production through NorthSouth Productions; subscription video on demand services for emerging markets through iflix; streaming music publishing and platform services through Kobalt Music, and comics syndication and character licensing through King Features.

He serves on the boards of A+E Networks, NorthSouth, Complex Networks, iflix, Kobalt Music and is a senior vice president and member of the board of directors of Hearst.

Neeraj’s diverse background across journalism (he began his career in network news, producing stories for the late Peter Jennings at ABC News and then Dan Rather, the late Bob Simon, Steve Kroft and other correspondents at “60 Minutes”) and digital technologies (prior to Hearst, Khemlani was vice president and general manager of Yahoo! News & Information as well as head of Yahoo! Originals) has molded Khemlani into one of the savviest and most forward-looking pioneers in media.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Working with the leaders of companies shaping the future of media streaming. Whether it’s investing in ESPN’s efforts to grow its new digital video subscription service, or Kobalt’s platform to empower artists and songwriters in the rapidly changing music business, or the storytellers at Complex to create digital video formats that routinely garner audiences larger than many television shows, I am proud to be a part of incredible teams who take nothing for granted and know their work is shaping the future of the industry one day at a time.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I was born in Singapore, the crossroads of Southeast Asia, with large Indian, Malay and Chinese populations—all disciplined to focus on family and the future. That, combined with my Indian background and American upbringing that focused on the power of equality, patriotism and the first amendment, has helped me become a global citizen with some of the best attributes of both East and West.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Being part of a strong management team that is committed to investing in the future and thoughtful and deliberate about the risks it’s willing to take. I’m constantly inspired by Steve Swartz (CEO of Hearst) and Frank Bennack (Executive Vice Chairman of Hearst). They have taught me about the importance of having a diversity of management teams, long-lasting commitment to our partners, and the relentless pursuit of strong talent, product and business models for the future. The team at "60 Minutes" taught me the art of storytelling and how to make a larger impact on the world. Paul Buccieri at A+E is a model on how to tactically improve businesses on every line item all the time. Jimmy Pitaro at ESPN is an incredible partner and is committed to delivering the best sports content to fans everywhere. And most importantly, my wife, Heather Cabot, and my children, Ian and Samantha, remind me every day what it is all really about.

An immigrant from the Philippines, Nico Santos moved to Oregon and majored in costuming at Southern Oregon University. While working as a wardrobe assistant, someone recommended that he try stand-up comedy.

He then moved to San Francisco to perform stand up and soon became a popular local comic in the Bay Area. It eventually led him to write for E!’s “Fashion Police,” star as Mateo in NBC’s comedy series “Superstore,” and most recently, play the role of Oliver T’Sien in “Crazy Rich Asians.”

With nearly two decades of experience in the motion picture industry, Nina Yang Bongiovi has gained a positive reputation for having an in-depth knowledge of film financing, creative and physical producing, and a knack for discovering talent, like that of Ryan Coogler (Marvel’s “Black Panther”), whose first film, “Fruitvale Station” (2013) was produced by Nina and her producing partner, Forest Whitaker. Together under their banner, Significant Productions, Nina and Forest have produced a number of critically-acclaimed films by auteur filmmakers of color, including “Dope” (2015) by Rick Famuyiwa, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (2015) by Chloe Zhao, “Roxanne Roxanne” (2018) by Michael Larnell and “Sorry To Bother You” (2018) by Boots Riley.

Nina’s mission is to create opportunities and inclusivity for underserved and underrepresented storytellers by producing culturally significant films and television shows. She is currently executive producing the premium series, “Godfather of Harlem,” which will premiere on EPIX this fall. She’s also in active development of the Angela Davis feature biopic with Lionsgate alongside a slate of projects that she loves.

Nina is a board member of Film Independent, The Oscar Grant Foundation, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), The Producers Guild of America (PGA), as well as a member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ (AMPAS) Producers Branch. She is fluent in Mandarin, Chinese, and received her graduate degree in Entertainment Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Launching Boots Riley’s revolutionary movie, "Sorry to Bother You." To see Boots thriving as a filmmaker today makes me super proud.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity has impacted my career because I have a very different perspective pursuing a career in film entertainment. We’re the underdogs that fly under the radar, and when excellent films are launched [since "Fruitvale Station"], people are often surprised that an Asian American woman is the lead producer behind these movies that shifted culture.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Biggest supporters (aside from my loved ones) are Forest Whitaker and couple of my close friends who’s seen me struggle but persevere through it all.

Peilin Chou is the Chief Creative Officer of Pearl Studio. In this role, she oversees the development and production of all content, as well as slate strategy and overall mission and creative direction of the studio. Pearl Studio is one of the world’s leading creators of animated entertainment for the global family market. “Abominable,” a Pearl Studio co-production with DreamWorks Animation directed by Jill Culton, will be released this September 2019. The studio is also currently producing “Over the Moon,” an animated musical feature film event directed by legendary animator and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Glen Keane, a co-production with Netflix slated for Fall 2020.

In her 20+ year career in content creation, Peilin has overseen dozens of films, television shows and live theater productions. She has held senior creative leadership positions at Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Roundabout Theater, and AZN Television, and in those roles has been a part of originating and producing numerous Emmy and Tony Award winning productions. Peilin started her career at the Walt Disney Studios where she was a Creative Executive at Walt Disney Feature Animation and Touchstone Pictures. There she was part of the creative team that developed and oversaw dozens of feature films, of which some of her favorites are: “Mulan” and “Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion.”

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

In the past year one of my proudest accomplishments has definitely been the launch of Pearl Studio. We have a lot of exciting projects coming up in the Fall of this year, 2019 – “Abominable”is a co-production with Dreamworks Animation.  And in next year, in the fall of 2020, we have a wonderful film called “Over the Moon,” which is a co-production with Netflix that is directed by Glen Keane.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Growing up in the US, I was in an environment where I never saw someone that looked like myself on television. This had a tremendous impact on me and really has been a driver and inspiration throughout my career. I have always hungered to bring the stories of Asian Americans to the screen.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

When I started out in this industry, there were very few Asians and Asian Americans working in Hollywood at the time. And I was fortunate that the people that did come before me and that were my peers at the time, we were all - we had a feeling like we were all in this together. It was a very very supportive community and environment. And it kept me going at times when the job could seem pretty tough.

Phillip Lim was born in Thailand in 1973 to Chinese immigrant parents who later fled to Southern California to escape Cambodia’s civil war, where his mother found work as a seamstress and his father became a professional poker player. While his mother clearly had an early influence on his ethos, Lim didn’t fantasize of being a designer. Instead he studied finance for three years at California State University of Long Beach, but soon found himself switching to a degree in home economics.

Phillip debuted his eponymous brand, 3.1 Phillip Lim, in the fall of 2005, with business partner and friend, Wen Zhou, bucking the ostentatious runway trends of the time. His line of youthfully elegant wardrobe classics with a twist, was an instant sensation and adored by critics, fashion editors and customers alike. Widespread recognition of Lim’s talent and accolades quickly followed, including the 2006 Fashion Group International Women’s Designer ‘Rising Star’ Award, the 2007 CFDA Swarovski Award in Womenswear, the 2012 CFDA Swarovski Award in Menswear, and the 2013 CFDA Award for Accessories Designer of the Year.

After nearly fifteen years in business, Phillip as creative director and co-founder of 3.1 Phillip Lim, finds himself at the helm of a pioneering modern luxury brand, designing women’s, men’s, accessories, and footwear – making him one of the most talented and successful young designers today.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment this year has been to take time for myself, and make time for myself. I think in a very busy career, we always take on more, we always like go faster, go harder, and I think the most difficult thing has been to stop and make time for myself.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

With any immigrant arriving here early on, I used to be a bit embarrassed about it actually. I wanted to fit in and assimilate. And you know now at this age, understanding more of where I come from, I’m so proud of it and it actually fuels me and motivates me to also share with the world the beauty.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My mom. I’m my mother’s son and she’s always been my champion. My tribe at work as we’re like a large family. And organizations like Apex for Youth.

Prabal Gurung launched his eponymous collection in February 2009 with a philosophy encompassing modern luxury, indelible style and an astute sense of glamour. Gurung was born in Singapore and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. After beginning his design career in New Delhi he moved to New York to finish his studies at Parsons The New School for Design. Upon graduating, Prabal spent two years with Cynthia Rowley’s design and production teams. Soon after, he was appointed design director at the iconic Bill Blass, a post he held for five years until launching his own collection, Prabal Gurung.

A focus on quality and innovation has placed Prabal at the forefront of American fashion with designs worn by leading ladies including First Lady Michelle Obama and The Duchess of Cambridge, to name a few. Notable accolades include the 2010 Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award, 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund runner up, USA Network’s Character Approved Award recipient in 2011, named goodwill ambassador of Maiti Nepal, a finalist of the Cooper- Hewitt National Design Award, recipient of the 2011 CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear and was honored in 2015 with the inaugural Creativity Award from The Drawing Center. Prabal was the official 2013 designer collaborator for Target, launched a product collaboration with MAC Cosmetics in 2014, collaborated on a collection with TOMS to support Shikshya Foundation Nepal in 2016, launched a capsule with Lane Bryant in February 2017 and was named the Global Creative Director of Tasaki in September 2017.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

The very fact that I’m able to do what I love doing - which is designing. Because of that I’m able to dress inspiring men and women of substance who together and individually have been able to challenge the status quo, the patriarchy, and the notion of masculinity and femininity.

Priyanka Chopra is one of the few international stars who’s successfully crossed over to multiple cross-cultural audiences. Born in Jamshedpur, India, she won the Miss India pageant while still in high school, soon followed by becoming one of five Indian women to become Miss World in 2000. Priyanka has starred in over 50 international films, and is currently most recognized for her breakthrough lead performance in ABC’s “Quantico” and in supporting roles in recent films such as “Baywatch and “Isn’t It Romantic.”

As a philanthropist, she has worked with UNICEF since 2006 and was appointed as the national and global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016, respectively. She continues to promote social causes such as environment, health and education, and women’s rights, and is vocal about gender equality and feminism.

Radhika Jones is Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair magazine and the first person of color to be named to the post since the magazine was founded in 1913. She formerly served as the editorial director for the books department at The New York Times, deputy managing editor of TIME (where she managed the TIME 100 and Person of the Year efforts), and the managing editor of The Paris Review. A cultural omnivore who’s deeply versed in books, art, politics, and more, Radhika holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia.

Rebecca Sun is a senior reporter at The Hollywood Reporter, where she covers the business of entertainment and writes about inclusion and representation in media. Her work has been recognized via GLAAD Media and Southern California Journalism Award nominations, and she has received a National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award. Prior to moving to Los Angeles in January 2013, Rebecca spent eight years as a writer and editor at Sports Illustrated in New York. A native of the Bay Area, Rebecca earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and a bachelor’s degree in biology and English from Duke University.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

One of my proudest accomplishments from the past year is actually something that we’ve done very recently [which is] The Hollywood Reporter’s first ever empowerment and entertainment issue. It’s the first time we’ve ever dedicated an entire issue to examining the state of inclusion in the entertainment industry.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity being Chinese American is one of the most defining aspects of who I am. Whenever you are a person of color growing up in the United States, you're very aware of those differences. And it really motivated me to become a writer. I wanted to be a bridge to help to explain the experiences of the marginalized to a general readership, to a general audience. And so being Asian is one huge reason why I decided to enter media and become a part of this industry.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

The “Journalasian” community has been a huge source of support. There are amazing conscientious writers who are working at publications all over from the OGs to the younger reporters who inspire me with their energy, spirit, and strengths. None of us would be where we are without the mutual support. The encouragement the fact that we're not a competitive group cause we know that when we elevate and we amplify one another, everybody wins.

Congressman Ro Khanna represents California’s 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is serving in his second term. Rep. Khanna sits on the House Budget, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform committees and is first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He also serves as an Assistant Whip for the Democratic Caucus.

Rep. Khanna is committed to representing the people and ideas rooted in Silicon Valley to the nation and throughout the world. For each job created in the high-tech industry, another four jobs are created. The tech multiplier is even larger than the multiplier for U.S. manufacturing. Rep. Khanna will work to ensure the technology sector is at the forefront of U.S. economic policy and strive to provide opportunities to those our changing economy and technological revolution has left behind. To do so, the U.S. must implement policies that will not only create tech jobs in Silicon Valley but across America. This includes job training programs, economic development initiatives, re-wiring the U.S. labor market, and debt-free college to help working families prepare for the future.

A dedicated political reformer, Rep. Khanna is one of just six elected officials to refuse contributions from PACs and lobbyists. He also supports a 12-year term limit for Members of Congress and a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

Rep. Khanna was born in Philadelphia, PA, during America’s bicentennial, to a middle-class family. Both of his parents immigrated to the United States in the 1970s from India in search of opportunity and a better life for their children. His father is a chemical engineer and his mother is a substitute school teacher. Rep. Khanna’s commitment to public service was inspired by his grandfather who was active in Gandhi’s independence movement, worked with Lala Lajpat Rai in India, and spent several years in jail for promoting human rights.

Prior to serving in Congress, Rep. Khanna taught economics at Stanford University, law at Santa Clara University, and American Jurisprudence at San Francisco State University. He wrote the book “Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing is Still Key to America’s Future” and worked as a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law. Rep. Khanna served in President Barack Obama’s administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the California Workforce Investment Board. He has also provided pro bono legal counsel to Hurricane Katrina victims with the Mississippi Center for Justice, and co-authored an amicus brief on the fair housing U.S. Supreme Court case, Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc.

Rep. Khanna graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago and received a law degree from Yale University. As a student at the University of Chicago, he walked precincts during Barack Obama’s first campaign for the Illinois Senate in 1996. In his free time, Rep. Khanna enjoys cheering for the Golden State Warriors, watching movies, and traveling. He and his wife Ritu call Fremont, CA, home.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

This Congress, I’ve been proud to work on legislation to end the war in Yemen. The potential famine could affect almost 14 million people in Yemen. And we passed my War Powers resolution through the House of Representatives and Senate to stop this war. It’s the first time in the history of this country that a War Powers resolution has ever passed to restrict the President’s ability to wage war. It also has the ability to lift the blockade of the Saudis to allow food and medicine in to prevent a lot of death and starvation.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

I’ve had a lot of role models and people who have helped inspired me. One of those people is Norm Minetta. When I was young, I remember hearing on the radio that Norm Minetta was appointed to the Cabinet in Bill Clinton’s time. That made me realize that Asian Americans could be a part of the governing structure of our society at the highest levels.

Ryan Brown is a first generation Filipino-American from Daly City, CA. He has brought creative innovation to Twitter over 7+ years of working in the marketing and creative teams at the company. In his current role, Ryan leads a team focused on elevating the brand experience through consumer facing content marketing activations.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Closing out the last year by being named to the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 list for Marketing and Advertising was definitely a highlight. What I've enjoyed most about that honor is how its inspired my friends, family, and community. I relish knowing that I can be a visible example for a whole new generation that can identify with my background. I also attribute this recognition to having been able to build a highly diverse team that puts in relentless heart and hustle into their work every single day.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

As a first generation Filipino-American growing up in the Bay Area I was exposed to an already highly diverse multicultural environment from the start. My parents raised me and my brothers with the same values that I've observed across other immigrant families growing up in the Bay; they were stern and unwavering as they built a new life from scratch after sacrificing so much to give us an opportunity to live the type of life we're afforded today. Because of that, I've continuously noticed that I've been able to bring empathy and respect into the workplace. I've always had a 'bias to yes' to supporting others regardless of stature or authority knowing that the opportunity I currently have is a privilege that was dreamed and built by my parents with the expectation that I would make the most of it in a way that would make them proud.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My two brothers have always been my biggest supporters and inspirations. They've laid out the blueprint for life and sparked the entrepreneurial flame from within myself at a really young age. And of course my wife has been the best partner to share every step of this journey with.

After working for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, Saikat Chakrabarti, a Harvard Graduate, co-founded an organization called Brand New Congress with a lofty goal: Launch hundreds of progressive candidates into congressional races.

Hundreds didn’t exactly pan out, but one major star emerged from that process: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Saikat supported her candidacy for Congress serving as her campaign chair and last summer, the political world was shocked with a primary upset when Ocasio-Cortez took the win over rising party leader Joe Crowley in New York City.

Saikat now serves as her Chief of Staff and was included on Politico’s 2019 “Playbook Power List.”

Samin Nosrat is a cook, teacher, and author of the James Beard Award-winning New York Times Bestseller “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.” She is an Eat columnist at The New York Times Magazine and the host and an executive producer of the Netflix original documentary series based on her book.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment in the last year has been sharing my platform with traditional food artisans, including rural women, from around the world—indigenous female beekeepers in the Yucatán, a traditional soy sauce producer in Japan, and makers of my favorite cheese, Red Cow Parmesan, in Italy, have all shared their stories via my documentary series, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and seen economic profit from the experience.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity as an Iranian-American is the foundation of my identity as a human. My hyphen allows me to live in two worlds, to see many sides. As an Iranian kid growing up in a very white, suburban San Diego, I always felt like I didn't belong, and that feeling of outsiderness has guided many of the choices in my life. And as a result, I work very hard to ensure that the work I put out in the world, whether it's stories or cooking, feels inclusive to all.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Some of my biggest advocates and supporters include my many mentors in the kitchen and in my writing, but it all starts with my mom, who gave up so much to make sure that her kids would have opportunity, safety, and comfort. In 11th grade, my English teacher Thomas Dorman encouraged me to write, and set me on the path to become the writer I am today. In college, my professors Robert Hass and Stephen Booth instilled in me a love of the written word, of poetry and the natural world. At Chez Panisse restaurant, where I learned to cook, Chef Christopher Lee took me under his wing and Alice Waters shared her knowledge and advice over the years. In Italy, Benedetta Vitali took me into her kitchen and her family, as did butcher Dario Cecchini. In writing, Michael Pollan has been a steadfast and generous advisor and guide over the last ten years, and he gave me an opportunity to audit his class, where I met the group of writers who have created the basis of my writing community. My literary agent Kari Stuart has believed in and advocated for me since the day we first met. My editors Michael Szczerban, Emily Weinstein, Claire Gutierrez, and Andy Ward have cheerled, guided, supported, and helped me improve and mature as a writer. At Netflix, I am indebted to Lisa Nishimura, Ted Sarandos, Zana Lawrence, Kim Parker Gordon, Alexa Diaz, Max Pezim, Kristen Anderson, Crystal Mais, Peter Sloterdyk for their fierce protection and endless championing of me, and their commitment to giving me a platform to share my story. My collaborators Wendy MacNaughton and Ben Cotner, who’ve supported me in countless ways, shared opportunities, defended me when I’ve needed defending, and pushed me when I’ve needed pushing. My wonderful, smart, sensitive publicists Ilana Alperstein, Eva Karagiorgas, and Vanessa Santos have helped spread my story and message far and wide. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, my friends have supported me through high and low, and boy has there been a lot of low. I couldn't have done anything without them.

Sandra Oh had a groundbreaking year being the first Asian American Host of the Golden Globe Awards in addition to sweeping wins as the lead actress in BBC America’s spy drama, “Killing Eve,” at the Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The daughter of Korean immigrants, Oh started her performance career as a child. She attended the National Theatre School of Canada, and at age 19 had her breakthrough role in the television biopic “The Diary of Evelyn Lau” (1993). Her performance garnered a Gemini nomination and the 1994 Cannes FIPA d’Or for Best Actress. In 1996, Oh moved to Los Angeles to join the cast of HBO’s comedy “Arli$$”. Roles in films like “Under the Tuscan Sun” (2003) and “Sideways” (2004) followed.

Sandra then landed the role of Dr. Cristina Yang in the hit TV series “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005), which garnered her numerous award nominations over the course of her 10 years on the show. And just this year, she hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

Sarah Guo’s mission is to partner with founders to productize disruptive ideas, get advantaged distribution, and build dominant businesses. She is interested in almost everything where technology can be used as a weapon to get us to the future, faster. Sarah spends a lot of her time thinking about opportunities in B2B applications and infrastructure, cyber security, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and healthcare.

She joined Greylock Partners as an investor in 2013 and led Greylock’s investment in Cleo, Demisto (Acquired by Palo Alto Networks), and Sqreen and is on the board of Cleo, Sqreen and Obsidian. She also works closely with Awake, Crew, Rhumbix and Skyhigh. Prior to joining Greylock, Sarah was at Goldman Sachs, where she invested in growth-stage technology startups such as Dropbox, and advised pre-IPO technology companies such as Workday (as well as public clients including Zynga, Netflix and Nvidia).

She is an advocate for STEM education for women and the underserved. She has taught Marketing in the Wharton Undergraduate Program and served as a teaching fellow in lower-income high schools for the Philadelphia World Affairs Council. Sarah has four degrees from the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania. She is part of Linkedin’s Next Wave and the Forbes’ 30 Under 30.

As CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella has transformed not only the business strategy, but also the culture of the fading desktop software behemoth into a relevant technology leader again. The company’s strategy now emphasizes cloud computing and collaboration, and its products are built with empathy for the user at the forefront. Since Satya has taken the helm, Microsoft has generated more than $400 billion in market value in four years. He is widely respected for his affability and collaborative style.

Preserving the status quo is not a winning strategy. As Adobe CEO, this core belief drove Shantanu Narayen and his leadership team’s successful transformation of Adobe, moving its creative software franchise from the desktop to the cloud, while creating and leading the explosive digital marketing category. He is passionate about building and empowering teams to drive product innovation and scale Adobe’s business globally, while advancing the company as a respected global brand and corporate citizen.

Originally from Hyderabad, India, Shantanu has an undergraduate degree in electronics engineering, a master’s degree in computer science, and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He is a board member of Pfizer, and Vice Chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and was named one of the world’s best CEOs by Barron’s magazine in 2016, 2017 and 2018. If Shantanu were not at Adobe, he would be a professional golfer.

Shiva Rajaraman helms technology for The We Company where he is responsible for creating products for WeWork, WeLive, and WeGrow, that empower members worldwide. Prior to this he held leadership roles at Spotify where he ushered in an era of personalization and YouTube where he focused on helping creators build an audience and a livelihood. He’s motivated most by helping people reach their full potential irrespective of their starting point so they can live better lives and share their creativity with the world.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Building an outstanding team that is creative, committed, and a tight, trusting community.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I was raised on an island town in Texas where there weren't many people like me. While home cooking, my parents' music, and fable-filled Indian comic books are some of my fondest memories, I never quite embraced my roots. And in those days it wasn't unusual to be reminded about how different you were and that did instill in me a strong empathy with outsiders everywhere. How I invest my time now is both a reflection of valuing the uniqueness in everyone and ensuring they can express their unique color safely and confidently. I'm now part of a team that is building a global community aimed at helping people to find their home and fulfill their full potential.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My mom was truly my biggest supporter by always encouraging me to live well, love and laugh a lot, and find achievement where I was comfortable even if it meant forgoing the safe or obvious path. I've also had the support of countless mentors and friends in my life who I am indebted to. The secret of my success is that people always took a chance on me before I was ready. I'm committed to that.

As Chief Operating Officer of Imagine Entertainment. Steve Shikiya is responsible for aligning all business operations across Imagine’s broad film and television operations and managing new business initiatives.

Prior to joining Imagine Entertainment, he served as deputy chief operating officer for Endemol Shine North America where he oversaw operational strategy across the company as well as the business operations within the scripted studio. Steve has also held executive positions across 21st Century Fox, which includes time at The Shine Group, a division of 21st Century Fox as well as separate stints within each of Fox’s motion picture and television studios. He also held management positions at Universal Studios, MGM Studios and The Walt Disney Company.

Steven Yeun is widely loved as one of the few Asian actors who’s been able to successfully penetrate mainstream audiences and the broader zeitgeist. He is known for his role as Glenn Rhee on AMC’s critically-acclaimed horror drama television series, “The Walking Dead.”

Steven has also starred in several films including Bong Joon-ho’s action-adventure film, “Okja,” and Joe Lynch’s action horror film, “Mayhem.” He is also a seasoned voice actor in both animated series and films, with roles including Avatar Wan in season 2 of “The Legend of Korra; Keith in Voltron: Legendary Defende”r; Steve Palchuk in “Trollhunters”; Nathan Park / Wingspan in “Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters”; and Little Cato in “Final Space”; the latter four of which are still active roles.

Steven is recently featured in the films “Sorry To Bother You” and “Burning” in addition to Netflix’s “Tuca & Bertie.”

Sun Choe has led world class product teams and her proven leadership has assisted in fueling lululemon’s current success. She joined lululemon in 2016 as Senior Vice President of Global Merchandising and has been instrumental in elevating merchandising capabilities, partnering with design leadership and innovation to deliver the company’s product vision to guests through best in class product assortments.

Prior to joining lululemon, Sun served as Chief Global Product Merchant at Marc Jacobs and also served in senior merchandising roles at successful brands, including Urban Outfitters, West Elm, and Madewell.

Sundar Pichai is CEO of Google Inc. Prior to ascending to CEO, Sundar is credited with leading the product management and innovation efforts of Google’s client software, most notably Google Chrome, Chrome OS, and Google Drive that he shepherded into global prominence. He also oversaw Android, the world’s largest mobile operating system.

Sundar is widely loved for his collaborative decision making style and approachability, likely stemming from his humble beginnings. His mother, Lakshmi, was a stenographer and his father, Regunatha, was an electrical engineer at GEC, the British conglomerate. Sundar grew up in a two-room apartment in Ashok Nagar, Chennai and is now reportedly worth over $1.2 billion.

Ted W. Lieu represents California’s 33rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Ted is serving in his third term in Congress and currently sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was also elected by his Democratic Colleagues to serve as a Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

Ted is a former active duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and currently serves as a Colonel in the Reserves. Prior to serving in Congress, Ted was elected to the California State Senate in 2011, the State Assembly in 2005, and served as a Member of the Torrance City Council in 2002.

In Congress, Ted established himself as a leader on the environment; cybersecurity; civil liberties; government ethics and veterans. In his first year, Ted sponsored seven pieces of legislation, some of which aided in providing resources and housing for Veterans, that were signed into law. He also introduced the Climate Solutions Act, which aims to make California’s renewable energy goals and climate emissions reduction targets a national model. In 2019, Ted introduced the most aggressive version of this legislation to tackle climate change.

Ted has proven to be a leader against discrimination. He serves as Whip of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Vice Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, and Co-Chair of the Cloud Computing Caucus.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

The proudest accomplishment last year was to work with the House Democratic Caucus and stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. That has been a huge achievement in American history. The ACA has saved the lives of countless people, insured people who previously did not have health insurance, and made people who had health insurance get better insurance.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

When I first ran for Torrance City Council, my consultant told me something that I never forgot. He said, ‘The one thing you don’t have to explain is that you’re Asian American. So I don’t explain it when I campaign. I campaign because I want to help people move their family forward, I want to make voters lives’ better, I want to improve the community. But it doesn’t mean that when I get in office, that I’m not sensitive and recognize issues that do disparately impact Asian Americans.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

It is my family that is the rock that allow me to do what I do. Being in Congress is amazing and I love this job, but I do hate the travel and hate being away from my family. It really requires a supportive family to allow me to continue to be in D.C. fighting for the values that I believe that America needs and that my constituents want.

Theresa Kang-Lowe is a partner at WME in the agency’s literary department and represents television and film clients, including Oscar winning and critically-acclaimed talent such as Gillian Flynn, Steve Zaillian, Lisa Joy, Simon Beaufoy, Lena Waithe, Guillermo Del Toro, David Goyer, Destin Daniel Cretton, Roberto Patino, Prentice Penny, Justin Simien, Charles King’s MACRO TV Studios, The Ink Factory studio, amongst notable others.

Recently, she negotiated a 9-figure multi-year television overall deal for her client (who is Asian American) and packaged her client Soo Hugh’s Apple show which is the first-ever high budget series about four generations of a Korean family, based on the book PACHINKO, which will shoot next year in Asia and the U.S. for Apple. Her focus in television and film projects and the clients she represents are those with powerful voices and speak to the social and political conversation, while entertaining.

Theresa is the first Asian American to be promoted to partner at Endeavor Talent Agency. Additionally, she co-founded WME’s Empower, a company-wide program promoting diversity and inclusion. In 2019, she was appointed to Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti’s Enterpreneurs in Residence for the Evolve Entertainment Fund focused on increasing diversity in the entertainment community.

Over the course of her career, Vera Wang has grown a single bridal boutique into a fashion and lifestyle empire that spans a wide range of product categories — ranging from engagement rings and ready-to-wear to dinner plates and cosmetics — at a variety of price points from luxury to mass market.

After graduating college Vera was hired at Vogue as a rover but quickly worked her way up the ladder, becoming one of the magazine’s youngest ever fashion editors. She left Vogue and, in 1987, joined Ralph Lauren . Two years later, while planning her wedding, Vera had an epiphany. There wasn’t anything, either a retail situation or a couture designer that really satisfied the needs of modern brides.

In 1990, she opened her own bridal boutique on Madison Avenue that brought fashion to the bridal industry. The retail value of goods bearing Vera Wang’s name is estimated to be upwards of $1 billion per year.