이사회

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.

에릭 리는 현재 뉴욕에 본사를 둔 투자회사 소로스 펀드 매니지먼트의 포트폴리오 매니저입니다. 이전에는 매크로 오버레이를 통한 신용 및 주식 투자에 중점을 둔 헤지펀드인 블록하우스 캐피털 매니지먼트의 공동 최고투자책임자 겸 매니징 파트너로 근무했습니다. 블록하우스에 합류하기 전에는 포인트스테이트 캐피털 매니지먼트에서 파트너 겸 포트폴리오 매니저로 근무하며 주로 고수익 및 부실 신용 투자를 담당했습니다. 또한 듀케네 캐피털 매니지먼트의 상무이사 겸 포트폴리오 매니저, 도이치뱅크 하이일드 리서치 그룹 이사로 근무했습니다. 1998년 5월 펜실베니아 대학교에서 와튼 스쿨 경제학 학사 학위를 취득하고 아시아계 미국인 연구를 부전공으로 졸업했습니다.

Kathy는 체이스 디지털의 수출 집계 책임자로서 체이스의 타사 채널을 이끌고 있습니다. 그녀는 소비자 데이터 공유 및 타사 및 핀테크와의 파트너십에 대한 전략과 제품 로드맵을 담당하고 있습니다. 체이스 디지털 이전에는 JP모건체이스에서 다양한 리더십 직책을 맡았습니다. JPMC에서 근무하기 전에는 IBM 비즈니스 컨설팅 서비스와 프라이스워터하우스쿠퍼스 경영 컨설팅의 금융 서비스 업계에서 수석 컨설턴트로 근무했습니다.

컬럼비아 대학교에서 경제학을 부전공하고 공학 및 경영 시스템 학사 학위를 취득했습니다. 그녀는 1999년에 고등학교 멘토 및 SAT 준비 자원 봉사자로 Apex에 입사했습니다. 그녀는 멘티가 고등학교를 졸업할 때까지 관계를 유지하면서 2004년까지 SAT 준비 프로그램을 계속 운영했습니다. 흥미롭게도 그녀의 전 멘티는 Kathy가 에이펙스로 돌아와 이사회에 합류하는 데 핵심적인 역할을 했으며, 지금도 여전히 연락을 주고받고 있습니다. Kathy는 뉴욕에서 태어나고 자랐으며 뉴욕시 공립학교 시스템의 자랑스러운 산물입니다.

블레이즈는 로펌 케네디스의 파트너입니다. 그는 상업 소송과 전문 책임 보험 정책 분석에 집중하고 있습니다. 이러한 맥락에서 그는 개인 기업가부터 중견 및 대기업에 이르는 비즈니스 및 고용 분쟁으로 인한 중재에서 합의 협상도 담당하고 있습니다. 또한 계약 위반, 신탁 의무 위반, 민사 사기 등의 소송으로부터 이사 및 임원을 변호합니다. 2001년 4월에 뉴욕주 변호사 자격을 취득했으며, 1997년 로체스터 대학교에서 학사 학위를, 2000년 브루클린 로스쿨에서 법학 박사 학위를 받았습니다.

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.

David는 뉴욕대학교 스턴 경영대학원에서 재무 및 국제 비즈니스 학사 학위를 받았습니다.

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.

그는 남편인 클레이튼 크롤리, 반려견 조지아와 함께 뉴욕시와 뉴욕 북부를 오가며 시간을 보내고 있습니다.

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.

유카리는 kindness.org의 이사회 의장이며 도요타 자동차, Google, Twitter, ngmoco, charity:water 등 다양한 산업과 글로벌 기업에서 경험을 쌓았습니다. 유카리는 운영 효율성, 기술 및 제품 혁신을 통한 제품 확장, 다양한 언어의 플랫폼 국제화에 중점을 두고 있습니다. 영리 및 비영리 부문에서 다양한 경험을 쌓은 유카리는 트위터와 자선 단체인 자선:물에서 아시아계 미국인 최초의 여성 임원이기도 합니다. 유카리는 노스웨스턴 대학교에서 학사 학위를, MIT 슬론 경영대학원에서 MBA를 취득했습니다.

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. 

맥신은 브루클린 레드훅에 위치한 예술 및 과학 문화 센터인 파이오니어 웍스의 전무이사로 재직하면서 지속 가능한 수익 모델, 개발 인프라, 운영 시스템을 구축하고 단체의 첫 자본 캠페인을 시작하는 등 조직의 성장과 안정 단계를 도왔습니다. 또한 뉴욕에 위치한 공연 예술 기관인 파크 애비뉴 아모리에서 가장 최근에는 메이저 기프트 디렉터로 근무했습니다.

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.