This is the fourth of a five-part series. Part One is here, Part Two is here and Part Three is here.
This week we highlight some of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Asian American leaders. Previous lists of the state’s most influential Black, Latino, Native American and Asian American leaders are published at Madison365.org/MostInfluential.
Huong Nguyen-Hilfiger
Huong Nguyen-Hilfiger is the chief data officer for the Division of Public Health at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, where she also serves as director of the Office of Health Informatics. She leads the division’s informatics workforce and statewide data-modernization efforts, focused on using data and analytics to improve population health outcomes. She joined the department in 2021 and was named to the de Beaumont Foundation’s 40 Under 40 in Public Health in 2025. Before entering public health, Nguyen-Hilfiger held roles at UW Health in population health management and business planning and analytics, and earlier worked on electronic health record implementation and quality improvement at Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and Epic. From 2018 to 2020, she served as a Dane County supervisor representing District 14, winning re-election in 2019 before declining to seek another term, and she previously served on the board of the Madison Public Library. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Macalester College and a Master of Public Health in health policy and management from Columbia University.
Mary Lou Yang
Mary Lou Yang is a member of the Green Bay Area Public Schools Board of Education, elected to an at-large seat in April 2026. A GBAPS parent, she campaigned on addressing disparities, supporting educators, and improving transparency and family engagement in the district. Yang has been active in Green Bay civic life and education advocacy. She serves on the board of the NEW Community Clinic, where she chairs its awareness and engagement committee, and is board secretary of the Hmong Center of Green Bay. She has served on the Green Bay School Boundaries Committee and the Brown County Truancy and Attendance Task Force, led anti-bullying initiatives, organized free children’s clothing giveaways for local families, and advocated at the state level for public schools and health care, including in support of legislation that became 2023 Wisconsin Act 266. Her endorsements in the school board race included the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and Wisconsin Progress.
Pratima Gandhi
Pratima Gandhi is the vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, where she serves as the university’s chief financial officer. She returned to that role on July 1, 2026, after serving nearly a year as the university’s interim chancellor. Gandhi was named interim chancellor in July 2025, succeeding Thomas Gibson after he became chancellor of UW–Milwaukee, and led the university—which enrolls more than 8,500 students across campuses in Stevens Point, Wausau, and Marshfield—through a yearlong leadership transition until Dr. Robert Brinkmann was selected as the permanent leader of the campus. Gandhi joined UW–Stevens Point in 2020 as vice chancellor for finance and administration, overseeing a division that includes financial operations, budget and planning, human resources, facilities, capital planning, risk management, sustainability, parking, and campus police, and she is credited with helping return the university to financial stability and overseeing campus improvements including a new student health and wellness center and the revitalization of the university library. Before coming to Stevens Point, Gandhi spent more than two decades as chief financial officer and treasurer at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and earlier worked in treasury management and internal audit at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University and has more than 25 years of experience in higher education administration.
Raja Sundararajan
Raja Sundararajan is executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Alliant Energy Corporation, the Madison-based utility holding company. In that role, he leads the development of the company’s corporate strategy and its Energy Blueprint, and oversees government affairs, renewables and business development, product offerings, marketing, communications, and supply chain. He joined Alliant Energy in 2023. Sundararajan has nearly two decades of experience in the energy industry. Before Alliant, he spent his career at American Electric Power, where he held roles in corporate finance, investor relations, and market risk before becoming vice president of transmission strategy and then of regulatory services. In 2019 he was named president and chief operating officer of AEP Ohio, and he later served as senior vice president of regulatory and customer solutions and then executive vice president of external affairs. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior product engineer at General Motors. He has served on several nonprofit boards, including the United Way of Central Ohio, the Columbus Zoo, and the Central Ohio Transit Authority. Sundararajan earned a bachelor of technology in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Part 5 coming tomorrow!
