Home Wisconsin Wisconsin’s 34 Most Influential Asian American Leaders, Part 4

Wisconsin’s 34 Most Influential Asian American Leaders, Part 4

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This is the fourth of a five-part series. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here and Part 3 is here.

Raphael Ramos serves as the Director of Legal Action of Wisconsin’s Eviction Defense Project, which utilizes pro bono volunteers to exponentially increase the availability of representation to low-income tenants. Raphael helped to launch the Project in January 2017, and established it as an exemplary pro bono delivery service model. He has testified before Congress on the importance of legal aid in eviction. Prior to joining Legal Action of Wisconsin, Raphael was in-house with GE Healthcare and in private practice with Quarles & Brady LLP. He also serves as a volunteer attorney with the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic and a board member for the Wisconsin Justice Initiative.

Bongia Huguet is board chair of the United Hmong American Association, the 2021 Wisconsin Leadership Community Choice winner for Nonprofit Organization of the Year. The all-volunteer organization supports the education of Hmong youth in the Fox Valley area through scholarships, career exploration, financial literacy and more. Professionally, Bongia is an agent with Wisconsin Advantage Insurance.

Jamie Kuhn is outreach director for Governor Tony Evers. She previously worked on Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s public affairs team and was chief of staff to State Senator Mark Miller. She has also twice served on the Dane County Board of Supervisors, once from 1998-2000 and again from 2017-2020.

 

Sumathi Thiyagarajan was just this month named vice president for strategy and analytics for the world champion Milwaukee Bucks, where she will lead a business analytics team tasked with harnessing the power of data, applied analytics, and technology to drive results. She will have her hands in everything from parking revenue to improving the fan experience to data visualization. Prior to joining the Bucks, she was senior director of strategy and operations at Marquette University, leading an office she helped create. She serves on the board of directors of REDGen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to youth mental health.

Mee Yang is president of the Hmong Service Center in Oshkosh, a position to which she was elected in 2016. Founded in 1984, the Center was able to move into its own space for the first time last year under Mee’s leadership.

 

 

Dr Kaying Xiong Vue is Director of Student Services for the Eau Claire school district. She’s held that role for six years, but has been part of the Eau Claire school community for much longer. She was a student there from the time her family arrived in the United States when she was just six years old, and went on to earn a degree in elementary education from UW-Eau Claire. She began her career teaching first grade and then English as a Second Language in Eau Claire. In 2001, she became the first-ever Hmong principal in Wisconsin when she took the helm at Locust Lane Elementary School. She holds a master’s degree from UW-Superior and a doctorate from Hamline University.

Duy Nguyen is Assistant State Superintendent for the Division for Academic Excellence at the Department of Public Instruction. He served for more than 17 years in schools as a kindergarten, first- and second-grade teacher, learning coordinator, and an elementary school principal. Duy also spent several summers teaching middle and high school students in Nanjing, China. He was a librarian in Quito, Ecuador before heading to New York City to study at Teachers College-Columbia University. Duy started the first laboratory school in Wisconsin and is the first Southeast Asian state assistant superintendent in Wisconsin history. Duy earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and master’s degrees in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from Teachers College-Columbia University and UW-Madison.

Part 5 is coming tomorrow!