OUR TEAM
Nancy Chen
Founding President
Nancy Chen’s career reflects a rich history of public and community service in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Nancy retired as Regional Administrator of the Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor. She was Director of U.S. Senator Paul Simon’s Chicago Office for six years and Director of Asian-Pacific American Outreach at President Clinton’s White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
Lai So
Treasurer
Lai So has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry, leading and developing telecommunication products and services for U.S. and global customers. Currently, she is working on 5G technology deployment to major U.S. cities. Lai earned her B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and her M.S. in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Sharon Shi
Board Member
Sharon is an actively practicing immigration attorney with over 15 years of experience in business immigration. She is an attorney and counselor of the Supreme Court of the United States and a member of the New York State Bar. She received her Juris Doctor and Master’s degrees from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Cheing-Mei Suen
Board Member
For 35 years, Cheing-Mei Suen worked as a Research and Development department head at a telecommunications company. Her expatriate experiences in Poland and Finland while working in telecommunications made her passionate about increasing multicultural awareness and sensitivity.
Jinai Sun
Board Member
Jinai is an Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Culture at North Central College, Naperville, IL. She has a doctorate in Education Leadership from the Pennsylvania State University. Since 2013 she has served as the director of the STARTALK Chinese teacher training and student immersion program of the U.S. Department of Defense. Jinai is actively serving the Chinese community including Ray Chinese School and the Association of Chinese-American Scientists, Engineers, and Professionals, etc.
Tracy P. Leung
Board Member
Dr. Tracy Leung is a dedicated bi-lingual and bi-cultural clinical psychologist working closely with the Asian American community to improve community mental health through outreach and education. Before starting her private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago, Dr. Leung worked in a variety of locations, including community mental health, vocational rehabilitation, university counseling center, hospital, and jail settings. Her specialties include helping clients improve symptoms related to anxiety, depression, trauma and loss, relationship challenges, inter-generational conflicts, and immigration-related stress.
Christine Hwang Simonson
Board Member
Christine’s multidisciplinary career ranges from rocket science to teaching college level math to brand management across several Fortune 500 companies.
She has served in leadership positions spanning a variety of non-profit organizations including President of the Home and School Board at Naperville North High School, Parent Advisory Group at Hong Kong International School, several executive board positions with the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame and the National Charity League with her daughters. She holds a BS in Math/Computer Science (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), a MS in Math (Purdue University) and a MBA (Anderson School at UCLA).
Wei Liu
Board Member
Wei Liu is a Chinese and ELL teacher at Indian Prairie School District 204. She is also a sponsor of the Chinese Club and Chinese Honors Society at Waubonsie Valley High School. Wei has extensive experience in teaching Chinese language and culture in the Chicago area. Before coming to District 204, she taught the Chinese Language and Culture program for gifted students at Disney Magnet Elementary School and was an ESL teacher at Foreman High School in Chicago.
Among Wei’s extracurricular activities, she organized a trip for high school students from IPSD 204 to China, participated in China Bridge Program in Beijing and Hangzhou China in 2014, and participated in cultural learning programs in Egypt and Turkey.
Wei received B.A. from Beijing University and M.A. from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
