Staff
CACF's has dynamic and well-versed staff members, and throughout the year, CACF welcomes interns from high school, community programs, social work graduate schools, and law firms to the staff.
Click here to learn about becoming an intern or volunteer, or click on a name to view a staff member's full biography.
Noilyn Abesamis-Mendoza, MPH, Manager, Health Policy
AILIN CHEN, JD, POLICY MANAGER, Education
KALAIVANI DUANE, JD, Policy Manager, Child Welfare
Lisa Garrett, CAPACity building specialist
Queen Golder, development Associate, americorps vista member
Wayne Ho, MPP, Executive Director
Harjindar Lally, MSW, Program Coordinator
Elizabeth Lee, EdM, Program COORDINATOR
Vanessa Leung, MA, Deputy Director
Kim To, MSW, Development director
Mitchel Wu, MA, PROJECT COORDINATOR
everet yi, project pact americorps vista leader
Noilyn Abesamis-Mendoza,
MPH
Manager, Health Policy
namendoza@cacf.org
Noilyn joined CACF in March 2008. She leads health advocacy initiatives to improve language access, cultural competence, and health care affordability. Among her major responsibilities is Project CHARGE (Coalition for Health Access to Reach Greater Equity), a pan-Asian network of 14 partners aiming to expand access to health care. Additionally, Noilyn oversees the APA HEALIN’ collaborative (Healthy Eating and Active Living in our Neighborhoods) to foster healthier lifestyle choices through increasing access to healthy food as well as safe places to play, work, and worship. Previously, Noilyn was the Deputy Director of Outreach and Programs for the NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH). In 2004, Noilyn co-founded the Kalusugan Coalition, a Filipino health collaborative, where she currently serves as the Board Chair. Noilyn has also served as a board member or advisor for: the API Caucus of APHA, CACF's Action Council, Peace of Heart Choir, NIH/NHLBI Filipino Healthy Heart, Healthy Family Initiative, and St. Peter's College Center for Personal Development. She was a recipient of the New American Leaders Fellowship Program and the United Way of NYC Nonprofit Leadership Development Institute's Senior Fellow Program. She received a BA in Environmental Analysis & Design from the University of California, Irvine, and an MPH, Sociomedical Sciences from the Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health.
Ailin Chen, JD
Policy Manager, Education
achen@cacf.org
Ailin joined CACF in April 2010. She will be responsible for overseeing the Education Advocacy Project that aims to improve equity and access to New York’s public education system. Among her responsibilities will include Project DATA, a collaborative research project with Pumphouse Projects to analyze the academic achievement and opportunity gaps of Asian Pacific American public school students in New York City. Previously, Ailin was the Senior Policy Associate for Education, Juvenile Justice, and Youth Services at the Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC), having joined this children’s advocacy organization in 2002. She was responsible for developing CCC’s budget and legislative agenda, advocating to elected and appointed officials, managing qualitative research projects, and producing policy reports, position papers, public hearing testimony, and e-advocacy messages. Ailin has written three reports on out-of-school time programs and juvenile justice. Most recently, she was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force to Transform New York’s Juvenile Justice System in 2008 and worked to help implement the recommendations as part of her work at CCC. Additionally, Ailin was appointed to the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Independent Review Board which has oversight over New York’s juvenile justice facilities and is a member of the New York Juvenile Justice Coalition and New York City Youth Alliance. Ailin has a JD from Brooklyn Law School, MA from NYU Steinhardt School of Education, and BFA from NYU.
Kalaivani (Vani) Duane, JD
Policy Manager, Child Welfare
ksduane@cacf.org
Vani joined CACF in February 2010. As the Policy Manager for CACF’s Child Welfare Advocacy Project, she is responsible for advocating for the funding, resources, and policies needed to support Asian Pacific American children and families in the New York child welfare system. Previously, she served as a senior policy analyst at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), also in New York City. She was responsible for FPWA’s budget and legislative advocacy work in the areas of early childhood education and child welfare. She worked closely with city and state policymakers, community based organizations, coalitions, and advocates on a number of important policy issues affecting low-income children and their families, including the elimination of the child support requirement as a barrier to accessing subsidized child care and the development of legislation to expand financial assistance for foster youth in college. She has also interned in the past at the National Partnership for Women and Families in Washington, D.C. and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in Boston and served as a research fellow at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C. Vani is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Union Settlement Association in East Harlem, NY. She received her B.A. in Government from Harvard College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Lisa Garrett
Capacity Building Specialist
Lisa returned to CACF in December 2009, to serve as Interim Policy Coordinator after serving as an Interim Policy Coordinator in Summer 2008. In April 2010, she transitioned into the position of Capacity Building Specialist. She is responsible for providing training and technical assistance to 18 organizations, building their capacity around the following areas: Leadership Development, Organizational Development, Program Development and Community Engagement. Previously, Lisa started gMoxie Consulting and Coaching to support organizations and individuals to understand their power; and by doing so, better understand the impact of their power in creating lasting change. By offering consulting and coaching, Lisa has worked with many organizations and individuals – throughout the US and Internationally – to build their capacity, reflect on their strengths, allign with their purpose, and increase their effectiveness. She has also served as the Executive Director of the Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing, executed the International Youth Parliament 2004 for Oxfam in Sydney, Australia, and served as a Program Director for the Seva Foundation. Lisa received her coaching certification from the Institute for Life Coach Training (ILCT) and is co-designer/instructor for the ILCT’s Coaching for Social Action course. Lisa received her BA in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Queen Golder
Development Associate, AmeriCorps VISTA Memberqgolder@cacf.org
Queen joined CACF as an AmeriCorps VISTA Member in August 2010. She provides vital support to our development efforts in order to expand and sustain CACF’s policy and program initiatives. She is responsible for conducting grant research and writing grant proposals. She oversees fundraising and special events and cultivates new and existing donors. Previously, she interned at South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, helping to promote financial literacy among young people, and served as president of the Asian Student Organization and president/founder of the Hindu Student Organization at Bard College. Queen received the Andrew Golkin Memorial Scholarship and her BA in Anthropology from Bard College.
Wayne Ho, MPP
Executive Director
who@cacf.org
Wayne joined CACF in August 2004. He is responsible for leading the nation’s only pan-Asian children’s advocacy organization by overseeing agency administration, program oversight, board relations, staff supervision, community partnerships, and fundraising to improve the health and well-being of Asian Pacific American children and families. He serves on the board of directors of Coro New York Leadership Center, Human Services Council, New York Foundation, and Partnership for After School Education (PASE). To ensure that Asian Pacific American needs are being represented, Wayne is a member of the NYS Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board, NYS Office of Children and Family Services’ Internal Review Board, NYC Citizen Review Panel, Immigration Advisory Board of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), and Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Multicultural Audience Development Initiative. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business of New York University. Previously, Wayne was the administrator of out-of-school time programs for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), which was recognized as a model after school partnership by the California Department of Education during his tenure. He also conducted policy analysis for ACS on options for public and non-profit agencies to expand child care and worked with the Blue Ridge Foundation New York on performance management systems for start-up non-profits. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Wayne founded several volunteer-based programs to empower youth of color to pursue higher education and to become community advocates. Wayne received his bachelor degree from UC Berkeley and his Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He also completed the New American Leaders Fellowship Program of the Coro New York Leadership Center and New York Immigration Coalition. Wayne received a Making a Difference Award from the Family Health Project in 2008.
Harjindar Lally, MSW
Program Coordinator
hlally@cacf.org
Harjindar Lally joined CACF in April 2009. She is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating ASAP (Asian American Student Advocacy Project), CACF’s youth program that empowers Asian Pacific American youth to become advocates and agents of social change within their communities. She is also responsible for POWER (Parents Organized to Work for Equal Rights), CACF’s parent education and mobilizing program that empowers Asian Pacific American parents to advocate for equity and access. Previously, she was the Program Manager at SAYA! (South Asian Youth Action) where she developed, evaluated, facilitated and ensured the success of SAYA!’s core leadership programs including their young women’s leadership program, co-ed leadership program, young men’s sports program and school based counseling program at William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens. She has worked with immigrant youth populations for over 4 years on issues of bias-based harassment, intimate relationship violence, youth leadership and various social justice issues. Harjindar also works part time as a counselor at the Child Center of New York, Asian Outreach Clinic in Elmhurst, Queens. Harjindar received her B.A. in Sociology from California Polytechnic University of Pomona and her MSW from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Elizabeth Lee
, EdM
Program Coordinator
elee@cacf.org
Elizabeth joined CACF in December 2006. She oversees our program aiming to increase the capacity of Asian-led and serving community based organizations in New York City by providing trainings, technical assistance, and mini-grants to enhance their knowledge of public policy and to advocate for Asian Pacific American children and families. She also oversees CACF’s strategic communications, coordinating the production of CACF’s newsletter Progress, maintaining and updating CACF’s database, website, and promotional materials, and writing and distributing items for CACF’s advocacy efforts, including action alerts, sign-on alerts, press releases, and policy updates. She maintains regular communication with over 300 faith-based organizations and community-based organizations, and nearly 4,000 service providers, decision makers, and donors in CACF’s database. She coordinates CACF’s event programming, including CACF’s annual Coalition Convening, membership meetings, trainings, and film screenings, and she assists with special events planning. She provides vital administrative support to all CACF initiatives. Elizabeth received her bachelor degree from Hunter College of City University of New York in Psychology and her master in psychological counseling from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College.
Vanessa Leung, MA
Deputy Director
vleung@cacf.org
Vanessa joined CACF in November 1999. She oversees CACF’s policy initiatives by partnering with decisionmakers and community organizations and is responsible for the development of a pan-Asian children’s advocacy agenda to improve policies, funding, and services for the Asian Pacific American community. Previously, Vanessa was CACF’s Education Policy and Program Coordinator. She authored CACF's in-depth report on the status of Asian Pacific American students in the public school system entitled Hidden in Plain View. Vanessa has worked alongside other advocates, including the New York Immigration Coalition and Advocates for Children, to call for changes to improve safety in our schools as well as equitable access for parents, winning the addition of Chancellor’s Regulations on interpretation and translation services in the public schools and an increase to $12 million for such services. She spearheaded a high school youth leadership project, the Asian American Student Advocacy Project (ASAP) that trains a diverse group of high school students to advocate for the needs of Asian Pacific American students. In February 2007, Vanessa was named to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s Middle School Taskforce to investigate and develop recommendations to improve the persistently low academic achievement of New York City’s middle school grades. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Chinatown Youth Initiative and the Parish Advisory Council for the Church of the Transfiguration. Vanessa received her Masters of Arts degree in developmental psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College and her bachelor degree from NYU. She also completed the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management’s Middle Management Program of the Graduate School of Business of Columbia University and the Immigrant Civic Leadership Program of Coro New York Leadership Center.
Kim
To, MSW
Development Manager
kto@cacf.org
Kim joined CACF in September 2005 as a social work intern and became full-time staff in June 2006. She oversees CACF’s fundraising, special events, individual donors, membership, and public relations. Kim develops our annual and long-term fundraising plans and cultivates ongoing relationships with foundations, corporations, government, and other funders. She is also responsible for developing a communications and marketing plan to educate and cultivate funding prospects and to recognize funders on the CACF website. As a social work intern, Kim organized our first annual Funders Recognition Breakfast to develop closer ties with our corporate, foundation, government, and individual donors. She was also responsible for assisting with CACF’s child welfare project, Project B-SAAF, and CACF’s fundraising efforts. Kim is currently a mentor with the Asian Professional Extension and a member of the Vietnamese Community Health Initiative. Previously, she ran a student-initiated outreach project at UCLA called the Higher Opportunity Program for Education (HOPE), working with high school students in Westminster, California. She completed her Masters in Social Work at Columbia University. She was an active student activist and organizer at UCLA, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies and Asian American Studies. She has also completed the Fundraising Institute of CUNY School of Professional Studies and Community Resource Exchange, the Immigrant Civic Leadership Program of Coro New York Leadership Center, and is currently completing the Seminar in Field Instruction at Columbia University School of Social Work.
Mitchel Wu, MA
Project Coordinator
mwu@cacf.org
Mitchel joined CACF in November 2009. He is responsible for overseeing Project Collegebound, which aims to improve the school culture of Flushing International High School to promote college readiness among immigrant and English Language Learner students. He organizes students and parents, coordinates college readiness services, and conducts professional development for school staff. Mitchel is also a lecturer of Asian American Studies at CUNY Hunter College. In San Francisco, he worked at the YMCA Urban Core Program to assist in the Mandarin language program and was active in the Chol Soo Lee advisory committee to address Asian American incarceration in California. In New York, he was a supervisor at Harlem’s Riverbank State Park summer camp youth program and was the head staff supervisor of the Educational Opportunity Program/Advancement on Individual Merit (EOP/AIM) pre-freshmen program at Stony Brook University, which promotes college success for minority and economically disadvantaged first generation college students. A native of Queens, NY, Mitchel graduated from Cardozo High School. He received his B.A. in Social Science Interdisciplinary and U.S. History from SUNY Stony Brook and his M.A. in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He has contributed work on the issue of racial profiling of Asian Americans in the 2009 edition of The Contemporary Asian American Encyclopedia. He is also a member of Chi Alpha Epsilon (XAE) Honor Society.
Everet Yi
Project PACT AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
eyi@cacf.org
Everet joined CACF in August 2010. As VISTA Leader, Everet will work with the Deputy Director to oversee and support eight VISTA Members in their work at six organizations associated with Project PACT (Promoting Assets and Capacity Together). Everet’s responsibilities include creating a sustainable support network in order to successfully guide fellow VISTAs through their year of service, as well as sharing the vision of VISTA to recruit and inform others and advance the pan-Asian community’s movement against poverty. Previously, he was VISTA Leader with Montana Legal Services Association, providing support to 40 VISTA Members across more than 10 organizations. He did his year of service as a VISTA Member with the Custer Network Against Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault in Mile City, Montana, where he helped with fundraising and volunteers. Everet restarted and was president of the American Civil Liberties Union chapter, founder and president of the progressive publication the Bully Pulpit, and co-president of the Political Coalition at Cornell University, where he received his BA in Government.