AAJA SAN DIEGO BOARD

Hoa Quach
President

Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network and the USA writer for Global Voices Online. She has also written for Asia: The Journal of Culture and Commerce, The Huffington Post and a 2008 presidential elections’ project of Reuters and Global Voices called “Voices without Votes.” In addition to journalism, she practices creative writing and has authored numerous poems. She graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Journalism and minors in Asian Studies and Spanish.

But apart from her writing, humanistic endeavors are at the top of her priority list. At SDSU, she was one of the original members of College Students for New Orleans — an organization that supports student volunteer efforts in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes. She is also the founder of Art Relief, an annual benefit that supports community rebuilding efforts. During an internship with the Union of Pan Asian Communities, she assisted in the development of a media literacy program for low-income children. Now, she teaches English to local refugee children and also serves on the board of Rolling Readers USA, a national non-profit organization that supports literacy development among socially and economically disadvantaged children.

Hoa can be reached at president[at]aajasandiego.org.

Savy Hak
Vice President, Fundraising Committee Chair

Savy Hak is the owner and president of Savy Marketing, a consulting and promotional products company in San Diego.  Savy has been involved with AAJA since she was a high school student. Since then, she has written for various local publications including her college newspaper at SDSU where she majored in Political Science. She graduated from UCSD with her masters from the school of IR/PS focused on international management and strategic marketing.

Savy can be reached at fundraising[at]aajasandiego.org.

Daniel K. Lew
Secretary

Daniel K. Lew is the managing editor and chief photographer at California Horsetrader magazine, the state’s oldest and most widely distributed horse publication. He writes, photographs and travels to horse shows and equestrian events throughout the year.

Prior to joining California Horsetrader in 2001, Daniel was the senior art director and a photographer at San Diego Ranch Coast Newspaper Group, which publishes the Rancho Santa Fe Review, Carmel Valley News, Del Mar Village Voice, and Carlsbad Coastline Review.

Daniel has also worked on the sales and business side of publications as managing editor of North Coast Current, editor of Asia in America magazine, and advertising manager of 78 Magazine.

He also operates his own business, Spotlight Graphic Design & Photography. In his spare time, Daniel loves visiting theme parks (especially Disney parks), uses a culinary-arts background to develop recipes for his cookbooks in progress, and volunteers for Flying Samaritans and the San Diego Asian Film Foundation Street Team.

Aron Stern
Treasurer

Aron Stern received a B.S. degree in Economics and Business Administration and an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the University of California – Berkeley. Aron has over 20 years of experience in capital formation, acquisitions, financial strategy and financial and operational management in growth-stage high technology and biotechnology companies. He previously held positions at Apple Computer and Isis Pharmaceuticals, and for 9 years was CFO at Protein Polymer Technologies Inc. and 4-D Neuroimaging, and for 3 years at VitaGen.

Helen Chang
Board Development

Helen Kaiao Chang is a freelance journalist and ghostwriter specializing in business and motivational topics. Her work has appeared in MSNBC.com, Fodors.com, Time, BusinessWeek, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Business Journal and many other publications. She is the collaborative writer of two real estate investing books, including Flip and Grow Rich, by Armando Montelongo, star of A&E’s “Flip This House.” She is also the co-author of a forthcoming book on socially responsible investing. As a board member of AAJA San Diego, she organizes events for journalism career development.

Helen may be reached at hchangwriter[at]gmail.com and www.oceancloudmedia.com.

Dennis-Michael Broussard
Events Committee Chair

Dennis-Michael Broussard, a New Orleans transplant, is the founder of Silk Road Productions, an event management and production firm through which he has created acclaimed special events and successful fund raisers for numerous nonprofit organizations. He has been involved directly and indirectly with journalism and the industry since his undergraduate days, from photojournalism and writing for the UNO and USD newspapers, to his ties with various media entities through producing events. His event marketing background stems from several years of experience in managing events both nationally and internationally. Dennis-Michael has an MBA from the University of San Diego and has recently completed a Master of Pacific International Affairs from the IR/PS program at UCSD.

Steven Bartholow
Programs Committee Chair

Nikki Jimenez
Outreach Committee Chair

Nikki Jimenez recently graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and Public Relations. She worked with the campus television station, Channel 3, as the Coastline News Manager, gaining valuable experience leading a news team, producing, writing, and anchoring for Coastline News.

She’s been actively involved with AAJA for the past four years. She also works with the San Diego Asian Film Foundation and assists former AAJA President, Lee Ann Kim.

Aside from journalism, Nikki enjoys coaching high school field hockey, snuggling up to a good book, and spending time with family and friends.

Nikki can be reached at info[at]aajasandiego.org.

Regina Ip
Website Coordinator, Student Member

Regina Ip is currently a junior at University of California, San Diego, majoring in Communication and General Biology. She is a news writer and layout designer at The Guardian, a student-run college newspaper. Her interest in journalism began in her freshman year in high school, where she eventually was editor-in-chief during her senior year.

Regina may be reached at web[at]aajasandiego.org.

Jessica Chang
Advisor

Jessica Chang is an Emmy Award-winning reporter for Channel 4 San Diego’s award-winning news magazine show, San Diego Insider, and the host/producer of Channel 4’s interview show about our multicultural community, Shades of San Diego.

Jessica joined the Channel 4 team in July of 2005 — excited to tell inspiring, interesting and in-depth stories about the community. Her work there has earned her three Emmy Awards, two Golden Mike Awards and a San Diego Press Club Award. She started her journalism career at KWES in Midland/Odessa, Texas, as a weekend anchor and general assignment reporter. From there, she moved onto WVEC in Norfolk, Va., as the weekend morning anchor and general assignment reporter. After spending more than three years away from home, Jessica is glad to be back in Southern California where she grew up.

In 2001, Jessica graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Business Administration. She is the San Diego chapter president of the Asian American Journalists Association and a volunteer with the non-profit organizations Framed With Hope and Friends and Family Community Connection. As a volunteer with Framed With Hope, Jessica traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia to work with impoverished children on a digital photo project. She’s also traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi with Friends and Family Community Connection to help rebuild homes for Hurricane Katrina victims. In her free time, Jessica enjoys hip hop dancing, traveling and spending time with her friends and family.

Lee Ann Kim
Advisor

Lee Ann Kim is the founding executive director of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, which serves more than 30,000 people a year through its media arts programming. A former newscaster for KGTV, Lee Ann refounded the San Diego chapter of AAJA in 1999, then served as chapter president for two years, during which she helped attract the national AAJA convention to San Diego. Lee Ann earned many local, state, and national awards for her reporting, including an Emmy for investigative reporting. She was also chosen as San Diego Metropolitan Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 and one of Bank of America’s Neighborhood Heroes. She and her husband, Louis Song, are raising two beautiful boys, one of them adopted from South Korea.

Ruth Castillo-Eggett
Advisor

Ruth Castillo-Eggett is a multimedia journalist based in San Diego and is a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. She previously worked for Metro Networks as a news and traffic radio reporter, anchoring news for KFMB-AM on the weekends and filling in for veteran reporters on KCBQ-AM and other San Diego stations. Grateful for her past participation in both the AAJA Radio & TV Student Projects, Ruth hopes to help other student journalists gain such enriching opportunities for themselves.

Ruth has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from BYU-Provo and a Master’s degree in Behavioral Science from CSU Dominguez Hills. She actively participates the running community. Ruth coaches Cross Country and Track at Patrick Henry High School, and enjoys training for races (10K-ultra marathons) with her athletes and family. She can be reached at sdtrailrunner[at]gmail.com or www.sdtrailrunner.com.