JUNTA DIRECTIVA

Preeti has over two decades of experience scaling mission-driven organizations through growth, transition, and institutional maturation. An executive and civic leader, his work sits at the intersection of hospitality, design, and community impact.

Most recently, Preeti served as Chief Executive Officer of Kent Hospitality Group, a multi-Michelin-starred platform founded by the late Chef Jamal James Kent, where he led an ambitious phase of expansion through new concepts and acquisitions while advancing a long-term vision for the future of hospitality. In parallel, he is a founding partner of the architecture and design practice Modellus Novus, recognized for shaping some of New York City’s most celebrated cultural and dining destinations. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Asian American Policy Review at Harvard Kennedy School and is a co-founder of Central Queens Academy Charter School, the highest-performing public middle school in Queens. Preeti began his career in Paris working for Pritzker Prize–winning architect Jean Nouvel and holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, and Harvard University. He has been honored with an Official Commendation from the City of New York for his leadership in the Asian American community.

Eric T. Lee es actualmente gestor de carteras en Soros Fund Management, una empresa de inversión con sede en Nueva York. Anteriormente, el Sr. Lee fue codirector de inversiones y socio gestor de Blockhouse Capital Management, un hedge fund centrado en inversiones de crédito y renta variable con un componente macroeconómico. Antes de Blockhouse, el Sr. Lee fue socio y gestor de carteras en PointState Capital Management, donde se encargaba principalmente de inversiones de alto rendimiento y créditos en dificultades. El Sr. Lee también ha sido Director Gerente y Gestor de Cartera en Duquesne Capital Management, así como Director en Deutsche Bank en el Grupo de Investigación de Alto Rendimiento. El Sr. Lee se licenció en Ciencias Económicas por la Wharton School de la Universidad de Pensilvania en mayo de 1998, con especialización en estudios asiático-americanos.

Kathy es Directora de Agregación de Exportaciones en Chase Digital, liderando el Canal de Terceros para Chase. Es la responsable de la estrategia y la hoja de ruta de productos para el intercambio de datos de los consumidores y las asociaciones con terceros y FinTechs. Antes de Chase Digital, ocupó varios puestos de liderazgo en JPMorganChase. Antes de trabajar en JPMC, fue consultora principal en IBM Business Consulting Services y PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting en el sector de los servicios financieros.

Kathy es licenciada en Ingeniería y Sistemas de Gestión con especialización en Economía por la Universidad de Columbia. Se unió a Apex en 1999 como mentora de secundaria y voluntaria de SAT Prep. Mantuvo la relación con su alumna hasta que se graduó en el instituto y continuó dirigiendo el programa SAT Prep hasta 2004. Curiosamente, su antigua alumna fue clave para que Kathy volviera a Apex y se uniera a la junta directiva; hoy en día siguen en contacto. Kathy nació y creció en la ciudad de Nueva York y es un orgulloso producto del Sistema de Escuelas Públicas de Nueva York.

Blaise es socio del bufete de abogados Kennedys. Concentra su práctica en litigios comerciales y en el análisis de pólizas de seguros de responsabilidad profesional. En estos contextos, su práctica también incluye la negociación de acuerdos en mediación derivados de disputas empresariales y laborales que abarcan desde empresarios individuales hasta empresas medianas y grandes. Blaise también defiende a directores y ejecutivos contra demandas que incluyen incumplimiento de contrato, incumplimiento de deber fiduciario y fraude civil. Fue admitido a ejercer en el Colegio de Abogados del Estado de Nueva York en abril de 2001, y se licenció en la Universidad de Rochester en 1997 y en Derecho en la Brooklyn Law School en 2000.

Ray Chan is a Senior Managing Director at Blue Owl and member of the Alternative Credit Investment Team. In his role as co-head of the Asset Based Finance team within Alternative Credit, he is jointly responsible for the team’s efforts in non-corporate, private credit investments which are backed by financial or hard assets.

Before joining Blue Owl, Ray was a Partner at Atalaya Capital Management, the predecessor firm to Blue Owl’s Alternative Credit team, where he co-founded the ABF/Financial Assets Team and co-led the firm’s efforts in the space. Ray also sat on the firm’s Executive Committee, Risk Committee, DEI Steering Committee and the Investment Committees for multiple funds.  Prior to joining Atalaya, Ray was a Partner and Co-Founder of TTM Capital, LLC, an investment firm focused on acquiring and lending against portfolios of financial and other assets. Previously, he was a Managing Director and co-head of the Assets Group at Highbridge/Zwirn Capital Management. Earlier in his career, Ray was a member of the Principal Transactions and Principal Finance teams at Lehman Brothers and the Asset-Backed Securities Group at Salomon Brothers. He began his career as a consultant at Price Waterhouse, followed by internal consulting and operations roles at Lehman Brothers.

Ray is a member of the Board of Directors for Apex for Youth, a nonprofit providing mentoring, education, and after-school services to underserved Asian and immigrant youth.

Ray received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University.

Jeff Chen is a Principal at Enhanced Healthcare Partners. Prior to joining Enhanced, Jeff was an Associate in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he focused on M&A as well as equity and debt financing transactions for consumer retail and healthcare clients. Prior to his role in Investment Banking, Jeff worked in the Client Strategy Group within the Executive Office at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he focused on performing global client targeting analysis for senior executives of the firm. Jeff graduated with distinction from the Ivey School of Business with an Honors in Business Administration. Jeff was a previous Apex basketball coach, mentor, volunteer, and Chair of the Apex Associate Board.

David Jar is a Managing Director at Blue Owl and member of the Technology Investment Team. In his role, he focuses on credit, equity, and structured capital investments in technology businesses, and leads Blue Owl’s efforts in cybersecurity and infrastructure software. He currently serves as a Board Observer for Arctic Wolf.

Before joining Blue Owl in 2019, David led the software/technology vertical at SLR Capital Partners, a credit-focused asset manager based in New York. Prior to that, he was a Principal at KKR in the Capital Solutions Group, and a Vice President at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Natural Resources Financing Group. David began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers.

David is a member of the Board of Directors for Apex for Youth, a nonprofit providing mentoring, education, and mental health services to underserved, low income Asian American and immigrant youth. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a bipartisan research and policy institution focused on national security matters.

David es licenciado en Finanzas y Negocios Internacionales por la Stern School of Business de la Universidad de Nueva York.

Aya Kanai is the VP of Enterprise Content at American Express. Previous roles include Head of Editorial and Creative for Shopping at Google, Head of Content and Creator Partnerships at Pinterest and Editor In Chief at Marie Claire. Aya also spent nearly twenty years as a Fashion Director at publications including Cosmopolitan, NYLON, Women’s Health and Teen Vogue. She was also a judge on Project Runway Junior on Lifetime. A native New Yorker, Aya lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Roy is a design leader and strategist who has advised real estate developers across the US, helping to shape and form luxury residential and hospitality projects in New York, Miami and LA.

He has held leadership roles across Extell Development Company, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran Sunshine. Currently, he advises on new projects for Extell, ensuring that they achieve sales and marketing goals. As Chief Creative Officer at Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, he advised the nation’s most accomplished developers on matters related to design, development, construction and marketing.

Roy’s foundation in strategic design thinking began at the University of British Columbia, where he earned an M.Arch. It was honed at Eight, Inc., while working for clients like Apple and Nokia and where he was Principal of the NY office. 

Some of Roy’s projects include One57, the building that created Billionaire’s Row, as well as Deer Valley East Village in Park City, One Manhattan Square, Carlton House, The Park Hyatt New York, Central Park Tower, the Gem Tower, 432 Park, The Residences at the West Hollywood Edition, 87 Park, 152 Elizabeth Street, and 100 East 53 Street, to name a few.

Reparte su tiempo entre Nueva York y el norte del estado con su marido, Clayton Crawley, y su perra, Georgia.

Melody Lee is Chief Marketing Officer, Mercedes-Benz USA. In this role, she oversees brand
positioning and marketing strategy and execution with an aim to ensure long-term growth and
profitability for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the United States.

Previously, Melody was Senior Vice President, Global Brand & Product Marketing for the
Herman Miller and Knoll brands at MillerKnoll. In that role, she was responsible for ensuring a
cohesive brand-led strategy across the two marquee design brands’ products, channels,
messages and audiences.

Prior to joining MillerKnoll, Melody was Global COO and Principal, Americas for Camron, a
global design communications agency, where she led the agency’s New York and Los Angeles
offices.

She was, previous to Camron, the vice president for brand development at Shiseido, a 140-year
old global prestige beauty company. In that position, she led critical strategic initiatives across a
comprehensive remit of brand strategy, product development, marketing and retail planning for
one of Shiseido’s multinational prestige brands.

Prior to Shiseido, Melody spent six years with Cadillac. There, as head of brand marketing for
the iconic luxury car brand, Melody oversaw brand strategy, global planning, partnerships and
experiences and marketing innovation. She also led BOOK by Cadillac, the brand’s vehicle
subscription business, as a discrete business unit, with commercial responsibility for operations
and logistics, financial management, product development, branding and marketing, PR and
business development and corporate sales.

Before joining Cadillac, Melody was executive vice president at global PR agency Hill+Knowlton
Strategies from 2006 to 2012, where she led high-stakes communications campaigns for
Fortune 500 corporations.

Melody lives with her husband and two boys in Atlanta. She attended Georgia Institute of
Technology, receiving her B.S. and M.S. in International Affairs.

Gil is a partner of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (US) LLP, where he serves as the Managing Partner of Finance (US) and Head of the Securitization (US). Gil specializes in complex esoteric securitization and structured finance transactions involving a wide variety of esoteric asset classes, including residential and commercial solar assets, timeshare loans, US government energy savings performance contracts, energy efficiency assets, venture loans, life science loans, recurring revenue loans, home improvement loans, equipment leases, auto loans, trademark and licensing rights, and music royalties.

Gil has been honored with a number of industry awards including the 2026 Legends and Leaders – Rainmaker by ABF Journal, the 2025 Complex Financial Instruments MVP by Law360, and the 2024 Rainmaker Award by The Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Crain’s New York Business named him to its list of Notable Asian Leaders in 2022, the Asian American Business Development Center named him one of its Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business in 2014, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association honored him with its Best Under 40 Award in 2009.  Gil’s team has won numerous law firm and transaction awards from GlobalCapital, including Esoteric ABS Law Firm of the Year in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Gil has also been a member of the board of directors of Harlem RBI (now DREAM Charter School), Homerun Projects, and Volunteers of Legal Service. He is and has been involved in pro bono matters and other charitable projects for the DREAM Charter School, the CAIPA Foundation, the Chinese American Medical Society, the American Cancer Society – Asian Initiatives, The Lowline, Broadway Barks, Infinite Variety Productions and Seido Juku Benefit Foundation.

Gil received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the NYU School of Law.

Patrick Lo is the Co-Chief Investment Officer at Saluda Grade. Mr. Lo has 20+ years of structured product experience as a portfolio manager, trader, and banker. Prior to joining Saluda Grade, he was a partner and Co-CIO of Waterfall Asset Management LLC, a specialty finance manager across asset backed, residential and commercial mortgage sectors. Prior to being named Co-CIO, he was Head of International and Private Asset Backed Finance team at Watefall. Prior to Waterfall, he worked in the Asset Backed Finance group at Citigroup Global Markets. Mr. Lo holds a BS in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Yukari es la presidenta del consejo de kindness.org y aporta experiencia en múltiples sectores y empresas mundiales, como Toyota Motor Corporation, Google, Twitter, ngmoco y charity:water. Yukari se centra en la eficiencia operativa, la ampliación de productos a través de la tecnología y la innovación de productos, y la internacionalización de plataformas para muchos idiomas. Además de acumular experiencia en el sector lucrativo y no lucrativo, Yukari fue la primera mujer asiático-americana ejecutiva en Twitter y charity: water. Yukari se licenció en la Northwestern University y obtuvo un MBA en la Sloan School of Management del MIT.

Maxine Ng Dalio is the founder of Bodhi House Advisors, a development and philanthropic advisory organization that provides strategic planning, training, and implementation support for non-profit organizations and philanthropic entities across the United States, Singapore, and Southeast Asia. 

Maxine fue anteriormente Directora Ejecutiva de Pioneer Works, un centro cultural de arte y ciencia situado en Red Hook, Brooklyn, donde ayudó a la organización en una fase de crecimiento y estabilidad, creando modelos de ingresos sostenibles, infraestructura de desarrollo, sistemas operativos y lanzando la primera campaña de capital de la organización. También ha desempeñado funciones en la institución de artes escénicas Park Avenue Armory de Nueva York, donde recientemente fue Directora de Grandes Donaciones.

Maxine is a member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy and Co-Chair of Philanthropy Asia Alliance Next Gen Impact Collective.  Maxine splits her time between NYC and Singapore, where she resides with her husband Mark and their daughter and son.

Karen Wong is New Museum’s Chief Brand Officer. Wong previously served as Deputy Director from 2012–21. During that time, she cofounded IdeasCity (2010–20), a platform exploring the role of art and culture in the future of cities; NEW INC (2014–present), the first museum-born incubator for art, design, and technology; and Onassis ONX (2019–present), a mixed-reality accelerator and exhibition space. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP and the Contributing Architectural Editor at Cultured magazine. She sits on the nonprofit boards of Apex for Youth, Arbutus, Kinfolk Tech Foundation, Rhizome, and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Patrick is a Partner and the Chief Business Officer at World Team Tennis. He was previously Chief Marketing Officer at Callisto Media and Daily Harvest. Prior to Daily Harvest, Patrick was CEO of Laird & Partners, the luxury brand and creative agency, working with clients like Tiffany, Tommy Hilfiger, Soulcycle and Swarovski. Patrick was an early partner and the Chief Marketing Officer at Refinery29, where he led growth, marketing and strategy for 9 years. After graduating New York University, he started his career as an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella and an equity research analyst at Soros Fund Management.

At 31, Wen Zhou founded her third company and became CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim. With her friend, the designer
Phillip Lim, they pioneered a cool, easy, chic style that paved the way for an entirely new market and redefined
the modern luxury space in the fashion industry.

3.1 Phillip Lim’s prescient wardrobe essentials are synonymous with an understated elegance that speaks to
today’s global citizens on the go. Equally important to the brand is the company’s commitment to social
change and sustainability, reflected in special projects, campaigns, and collaborations.

As a co-founder and sole investor in the privately held 3.1 Phillip Lim, Wen took on the roles of President and
CEO from day one and scaled the business from a 5-person team to its current position: a company with an
international footprint, including online, offline, and experiential marketing. The brand offers womenswear,
menswear, footwear, and accessories with offices in New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and distribution centers
worldwide.

Wen has trailblazed — from embracing inclusivity on the runway as early as 2007 to cultivating meaningful
collaborations, including Maya Lin designing a sustainable fashion show; the Brooklyn Nets celebrating
Lunar New Year; a three-year “at leisure off-court dressing” with Fila; sustainable material innovation with
Volvo; and clean beauty with Aveda. These partnerships represent a model for building communities and
actively promoting culture. Most notably, Wen and Phillip leveraged their global audience during the
pandemic to raise awareness and money for AAPI nonprofits. Wen thrives on a double bottom line —
balancing her business acumen with her passion for sustainability and social causes.

Wen demonstrates her soft power by mentoring young female leaders and investing in BIPOC-owned
startups. Additionally, she has chaired the Apex for Youth Gala the last four years, raising more than $10M+
in total, and co- founded the Taste of Asia Festival (2021 $1.2M raised, 2022 $1.6M raised), an outdoor Asian
food community event welcoming 100+ chefs to Madison Square Park for a joyous celebration of culture in
the heart of NYC.

Born in Ningbo, China, Wen arrived in NYC at 12 and settled in Chinatown. In true entrepreneurial style, she
juggled jobs at a fast food restaurant and garment factory while attending high school. After two years at FIT,
at 21, Wen independently founded a high-end fabric import company Aegis Group and never looked back.
Her dynamic, witty, personable, visionary leadership style has drawn accolades, including BOF500, EY’s
Entrepreneur of the Year, and “Top 60 Most Influential Chinese-Americans” by Forbes China.

Jumee Song is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Siegel Family Endowment, where she leads internal strategy and operational infrastructure to advance the organization’s mission of understanding and shaping the impact of technology on society. She is one of the few Korean American women in C-suite leadership roles within large, staffed private foundations in New York’s philanthropic community. In 2022, Jumee was selected as a Council on Foundations Career Pathways Fellow and has been a member of the Philanthropy NY COO Roundtable since 2021. In 2024, she received a Fulbright Specialist grant to South Korea, partnering with the Asan Nanum Foundation in Seoul. She is currently an Advising Director at Nanro USA, a Korean culinary nonprofit, and serves on the board of the Korean American Family Services Center, and the Asian American Federation, and Northwestern University School of Education & Social Policy. Jumee previously served on the board of the Korean American Community Foundation, where she was a member of the Executive Committee and chaired the Governance and Nominating Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

Elizabeth Yan is a Senior Director on the Consultant Relations team at First Eagle Investments. Prior to joining in June 2024, Liz was a Managing Director and a senior consultant relations executive at TCW. Before that, she was Head of Business Development at 1623 Capital, a long-short equity hedge fund. Liz was previously Vice President managing consultant relationships at AQR Capital Management, where she was responsible for overseeing existing client relationships, advising on asset allocation and portfolio construction, and discussing AQR’s investment strategies. Earlier in her career, she was on the Credit Portfolio Group at JP Morgan and the Debt Capital Markets team at HSBC. Liz earned a BS in Finance and Accounting from Boston College and an MBA with a concentration in Analytic Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations. Liz is also deeply involved with the Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM), a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in investment management, and serves on a few committees including the Accelerate Program, the inaugural College Scholarship committee, and is co-host of the AAAIM HIGH ELI Podcast.

Allister Chan is a Director in the Investment Banking Division at Citigroup, where he is part of the Debt Capital Markets Asset Based & Transitional Finance team. He focuses on the origination, structuring, underwriting, and distribution of distressed, rescue, and asset-based financing transactions for companies across Metals & Mining, Power, Paper & Packaging, and Technology, Media and Communications.

A native of Vancouver, Canada, Allister earned his BA in Economics from New York University. He remains engaged with the NYU community as a mentor to students and as Senior Captain of Citi’s Capital Markets NYU recruiting team. In addition to being a member of Apex for Youth’s Board of Directors, Allister is a member of Futures and Options’ Advisory Council and supports the Committee of 100’s Asian American Careers initiative.

He lives in Tribeca with his wife, Angela, and their daughter. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, discovering new restaurants and bars, skiing and playing golf.

Justin A. Chen, MD, MPH, is Vice Chair of Ambulatory Services, Vice Chair of Health Justice, and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York-Presbyterian (WCM/NYP). In these roles, he leads ambulatory behavioral health strategy across NYP’s East Campus to ensure delivery of high-quality, accessible, and patient-centered care in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Westchester. Prior to moving to NYC in 2023, he was an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital (HMS/MGH), where he co-founded the nonprofit volunteer-operated MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness to promote the mental health of Asian American and international students and families. Dr. Chen completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at Yale University, his psychiatry residency at MGH/McLean, and his MPH at the Harvard-T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He also completed an HMS Dupont-Warren Research Fellowship focused on improving engagement of depressed Chinese immigrants into mental health care at South Cove Community Health Center in Boston’s Chinatown.