This is the first of a five-part series.
Just months after we published our first news stories in August 2015, we tried something new: we listed and published brief biographies of the state’s 28 Most Influential Black Leaders. People really liked it, shared it on social media, told us who else should have been on that list. Many asked me if we’d do another list the next year; I said yes, we probably would.
We did more than that. That next year, we published another list of the state’s most influential Black leaders, as well as a list of the state’s most influential Latino leaders. Almost immediately, we started hearing an important and very reasonable question: What about the state’s Asian American and Indigenous leaders?
We wanted to do those lists, but we wanted to do them right. It took us some time to build the authentic relationships within those communities, and to gain their trust. I’m glad and proud that we took that time and did that work; it resulted in us publishing those lists for the first time in 2020.
This week we are proud to present the sixth annual edition of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Asian American leaders.
Every year, with every list, I’ve intended to highlight the beauty of the diversity across our state. I want kids here in Wisconsin to see role models of people who are succeeding, to know that it’s possible for people of color to achieve great things here.
This week, we shine a statewide spotlight on the dedicated leaders of Wisconsin’s Asian and Asian American communities. The people we highlight this week are elected leaders, business leaders and community leaders, doing difficult, important work, often in the face of discrimination.
We are also aware that this list, like every other, is not comprehensive. It’s obvious just from the number of nominations that there are far more than 20 influential Asian and Asian American leaders doing good work in Wisconsin. We hope you will let us know about people in your community who we can include on future lists. For now, though, we just want to introduce you to a few of the people doing the work, often behind the scenes and without the accolades, across Wisconsin.
You might know a few of these names, but there’s a good chance that most of them will be new to you. I urge you to get to know them. Reach out to those living and working in your communities. Learn from them, network, and create partnerships. And spread the word — let others in your network know that we have people of all ethnicities living and working across Wisconsin to make sure everyone here can thrive.
Henry Sanders
CEO, 365 Media Foundation
Publisher, Madison365
Dr. Ronak Mehta
Dr. Ronak Mehta is a family physician and founder of NerdBugs, which to makes intimidating medical concepts more approachable to kids through plushie organs inspired by a children’s book Dr. Mehta wrote while in medical school. With over 100,000 units sold worldwide, Dr. Mehta was named one of Inc.’s Female Founders 500 earlier this year. Since finishing her residency at Loyola University Chicago / Cook County Hospital in 2015, she has been an attending physician with the US Department of Veterans Affairs in Salt Lake City and a clinical assistant professor at UW-Madison, practicing with UW Health. A product of Marshfield, Wisconsin, Dr. Mehta earned her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies.
Melinda Osterberg
Melinda Osterberg is Regional Economic Development Director at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, where she supports communities and businesses in North Central Wisconsin by facilitating access to state and federal resources. With nearly two decades of experience, she has led initiatives in broadband expansion, school facility improvements, and comprehensive planning projects. Her leadership extends to serving on the board of Centergy, a regional economic development organization. She spent much of her career in land use planning, including five years as Shawano County’s planner and later launching her own planning firm to contract with other counties and entities. She earned a degree in Urban, Community and Regional Planning from the University of Washington.
Dr Maqsood Ahmed Khan
Dr Maqsood Ahmed Khan is a practicing gastroenterologist and chief of the GO section at Aurora West Allis Medical Center. He is also an assistant professor of medicine and the Des Moines School of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2021, he became the first American Muslim elected to the Franklin school board. He was reelected in 2024 and is currently the school board treasurer. He has served as president of the Wisconsin Civic Alliance since 2022. He is vice president of the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Foundation, an organization he helped establish to conduct research on issues vital to the Wisconsin Muslim community and broader society. He serves on the board of trustees of the Whitewater Islamic Center. He earned his medical degree at Danylo Halytsky Lviv State Medical University in Ukraine.
Edgar Lin
Edgar Lin is Wisconsin State Policy Advocate & Counsel at Protect Democracy, where he focuses on policy advocacy and litigation related to preventing election subversion. He previously worked at Ahmad & Associates and the Buting, Williams, & Stilling law firms, practicing civil rights and criminal law. Prior to private practice, he was a public defender in the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office, Milwaukee Trial Division. Before attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, he worked in the financial sector in Hong Kong and Tokyo. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School.
Part 2 coming tomorrow!
