AAJA SAN DIEGO BOARD

Hoa Quach
President

Hoa Quach is the Poway editor for Patch.com. In the past, she was 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.

Jenny Hamel
National Board Representative

Helen Chang
Board Development Committee Chair

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 senior at University of California, San Diego, majoring in communication and general biology. She is a news editor at The Guardian, a biweekly college newspaper.

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