President - Karen Luu, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Karen moved to Arizona five years ago and was drawn to NAAAP´s mission to raise cultural awareness, connect people, develop professionally and serve the community.
Karen began her career in the financial services sector and has also worked in various industries such as advertising, training and hospitality. In these fields, she enjoys building relationships with people and helping clients discover their true needs while offering innovative solutions to exceed client expectations and objectives. Currently, Karen partners with Arizona Insurance Specialists to help people and businesses with their insurance needs and risk management. In addition, she is involved in the community and served on the PR Committee for The Phoenix Symphony, chaired NAAAP-Phoenixs Corporate Relations Committee and served as Vice President. She has volunteered for a non-profit girl´s camp called Wings to Fly to help young girls build self-worth and self-esteem and is also an alumnus of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Citizens´ Academy.
As President, Karen strives to grow NAAAP in various aspects as a non-profit organization. Overall focus areas include building future leaders, fundraising, operational efficiencies, partnerships, marketing, events, memberships, etc.
Vice President - Bao Hoang, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Bao Hoang currently works as an Operations Manager at Sunfare, a healthy gourmet food delivery company that counsels individuals on their dietary needs. Sunfare has worked with many famous athletes as well as movie and television actors and actresses to achieve their nutritional goals.
Bao was born and raised in Sioux City, IA and attended California State University, Los Angeles where he graduated with a BA in 2004. He moved to Phoenix after graduation and has been a NAAAP member since 2006.
In 2009, Bao was responsible for overseeing the Community Service & Social-Networking committee. He has also been actively involved with the Cultural Awareness committee and has been working closely with the NAAAP Board throughout his years as a member.
Bao joined NAAAP for many reasons, and is proud to see it has grown in the past year. He hopes to continue to be an active member and to help other members get more involved with the organization.
As a Vice President, Bao will assist the Executive Team to achieve its goals. He wants to make NAAAP not just a network for people with business goals, but also bring something personal where our members can come and relax and enjoy the company of others with or without similar backgrounds. He wants to make NAAAP a place where people can come to help others as well as to help themselves. Bao wants our members to see that NAAAP is a friendly place where their goals whether personal or business can be met.
Treasurer - Ling Yu , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Born and raised in Shanghai, Ling moved to the Valley in 2006. She was drawn to NAAAP as a way to connect with and help other Asians in the Phoenix area. She understands the difficulties of the adjustment process to the U.S. and is willing to share her experiences with others.
Before moving to the U.S., Ling worked for a number of multinational corporations in various administrative roles in Shanghai, China. Living and working in fast growing Shanghai offered her an opportunity to grow professionally as well as to be exposed to diverse cultures.
Ling is currently an Executive Administrative Assistant and Program Assistant at Michael Baker, Jr., Inc. where she has been employed since 2006. She has become an expert in the various programs of the Homeland Security Market. Ling has a B.S. in International Trade from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
Secretary - Malisa Lievrouw
Malisa is from Colorado and a former CU Buffalos Alumni. She has joined NAAAP as of 2009 and is proud to have been elected Secretary on the Board for 2010.
Malisa began her career as a victim advocate for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office shortly after graduating from CU Boulder in 1999. She moved to Arizona in 2001 and has worked as a paralegal at law firms such as Quarles and Brady and Greenberg Traurig. In addition to joining NAAAP as of 2009, Malisa has ventured out on her own professionally as a contract paralegal. With 10+ years in the legal field, Malisa is certified as a Legal Document Preparer for her own company AZ Ez Legal Doc prep, LLC.
Chair of Mentorship Committee - Eva Li, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Eva is currently working for Independence Realty Professionals, Inc. as a broker specializing in residential and commercial real estate sales.
She moved to Phoenix twenty years ago after living and working in England, Switzerland and France. Eva was born in Hong Kong and studied accounting in England. Before entering the real estate field, Eva worked for eight years as a financial analyst at JP Morgan Chase. Since moving to the USA, Eva has been actively involved in various capacities in the Chinese and Asian communities. As an active leader in the Asian community, she has been the President of OCA – Phoenix (Organization of Chinese Americans), Officer of the Phoenix Chinese United Association, Chairwoman of the Phoenix Chinese Pageant, Vice-President of the Overseas Chinese Women’s Club, Principal of the Phoenix Chinese School and Metro Phoenix Chinese Alliance Church Chinese School and currently, President of the Phoenix Dragon Lion’s Club.
As Director of the Mentorship program, Eva seeks to provide NAAAP members the opportunity to help develop and improve themselves both professionally and/or personally through one-on-one coaching and counseling. By carefully matching mentors and mentees, both parties will benefit through knowledge sharing, effective communication and relationship building. She strongly encourages all NAAAP members to participate.
Chair of Cultural Awareness Committee - Iris Look, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Iris was born and raised in South Korea, came to the US at age eighteen. She attended Arizona State University and received a BS degree in Industrial Design. She is the owner of iSongdesign Co., a design consulting firm specializing branding, identity and environmental graphics for real estate development, retail, and hospitality industry for the past 9 years.
She has served as a President, and on the Board of Directors for the College of Design Arizona State University Alumni Association and is currently the Public Affairs Director of the Arizona Korean Association.
As an active member of Cultural Awareness committee at NAAAP-Phoenix, she enjoys meeting with other Asian professionals and organizing fun and educating Asian-American cultural events.
As the Cultural Awareness Committee Chair, she hopes to create a cultivating and strong committee that not only plans educational events to promote Asian American cultural awareness but also helps members to learn and excel on managing projects and people -- and still have fun!
Her husband Matthew is also a member of NAAAP-Phoenix and serves on the Social Committee. They have a 3 years old son Ryan and 12 years old Maltese dog named Daisy. They enjoy traveling, camping, cooking and eating good foods with friends and family.
Chair of Professional Development Committee - Azra Hussain, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Azra was born and raised in Kuwait and educated in England. She moved to Arizona in 1981. After five years in the Valley, she moved to the Northeastern US where she lived in New Hampshire and upstate New York and then moved back to Arizona in 1991.
In the past Azra has been a vice president of a small out-sourcing firm and the office manager for a car restoration business, a position she left to dedicate herself full time to being the director of a non-profit organization, the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona, which she started more than 10 years ago.
Azra has a real passion for volunteering and giving back to the community, which she has done as a Girl Scout leader for her daughter's troop, Cub Scout leader for her son's den, including being the committee chair for the Cub Scout Pack. She is one of the founders and served on the Board of Trustees for the Mosque in Scottsdale for 8 years, during which time she organized a Sunday school program as well as a youth program that she is still very involved in. She has served on the Board of the Alumni of the Phoenix FBI Citizen's Academy for 6 years, and has served as a civilian member of the Scottsdale Police Department’s Use of Force Review Board. Azra also serves on the Arizona Muslim Police Advisory Board. She is on the steering committees of the Interfaith Network of Scottsdale and Salaam-Chai-Paradise.
Azra joined NAAAP in the Spring of 2009 and as the newly appointed Chair of Professional Development Committee, Azra’s goal is to provide useful and educational workshops that are interesting as well as entertaining while helping to grow personal as well as professional skills of members and any others who attend them.
Chair of Social & Networking Committee - Elissa Nago, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
As a native of Hawaii, Elissa moved to Arizona to pursue her real estate career and to travel. She is a graduate of the University of Hawaii with a degree in Travel Industry Management and an emphasis in Transportation. Elissa also taught English for two years in Nagoya, Japan where she learned more about her family roots and Japanese culture and food. Prior to moving to Arizona, she worked at Hawaiian Airlines for 6 years and loved it.
Since getting her real estate license, Elissa has discovered the joy of finding homes for first time home buyers and investors. Her emphasis is mainly in Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix and Mesa. She also engages in land sales and property management.
As NAAAP’s Social & Networking Chairperson, Elissa’s main goals are to find great places to host social mixers and outdoor events. Since the people that attend these mixers are busy professionals, her committee stresses the importance of selecting locations with easy access for all members and guests. She is proud to be a part of this wonderful, growing association.
Chair of Corporate Relations Committee - Jenna Cheng, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jenna was born in Taiwan and raised in the United States. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication and Organizational Management from the University of California, Davis and an MBA in Global Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Currently, Jenna is a Principal Consultant at the Thunderbird Learning Consulting Network. She helps companies achieve sustainable growth by identifying new market opportunities and creating marketing strategies worldwide. Jenna has global market research experience in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Her professional background includes market intelligence and strategy consulting for clients such as Honeywell, IBM, Henkel, DuPont, GE and Bayer.
Since joining NAAAP-Phoenix in 2009, Jenna has volunteered for multiple committees and contributed to the organization’s growth through communication, marketing and event planning activities. As the Chair of Corporate Relations, Jenna aims to develop partnerships with corporate sponsors, enhance business opportunities for members and foster stronger ties within the Asian American community.
Chair of Community Service Committee - Monchai Pungaew
Monchai Pungaew was born in Thailand. At 8 years of age, his family migrated to Southern California, in search of opportunities in the United States. Monchai became a United States citizen in his early adulthood. He’s attended the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is currently the Director of Non-traditional Revenue at CBS Radio in Phoenix. He enjoys managing integrated marketing programs with his team at radio stations 94.5 KOOL FM, KMLE Country 108 and 101.5 JamZ.