This is the third of a five-part series. Part One is here and Part Two is here.
Tony DelaRosa is an award winning Filipino American anti-bias and anti-racist educator, motivational speaker, spoken word poet, racial equity strategist, and researcher. He holds a BA in Asian Studies at the University of Cincinnati and M.Ed with a focus on Arts Education and Non-Profit Management from Harvard University, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Education Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Education Graduate Research Scholar. He received the 2021 INSPIRE Award from the National Association of Asian American Professionals, and the 2023 Community Trailblazer Award from The Asian American Foundation where he was featured on the special Heritage Heroes airing now on Hulu. His work has been featured in NPR, Harvard Ed Magazine, the Smithsonian, Columbia University’s Hechinger Report, Hyphen Magazine: Asian American Unabridged and elsewhere. He has co-founded New York City’s first Asian American teacher support, development, and retention initiative called AATEND under NYC Men Teach, the NYC DOE, and Office of the Mayor. He served as a Director of Leadership Development at Teach for America, coaching teachers and leading racial equity strategy. Today, he coaches CEOs and Principals on crafting and refining their short-term and long-term racial equity strategy. Lastly, he is writing a book with Jossey-Bass Publishing (WILEY) called “Teaching the Invisible Race,” which will provide practical ways on embodying a pro-Asian American lens, while combating anti-Asian American violence, racism, and hate for PK-12 educators.
Jaclyn Skalnik is corporate director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Boldt, a nationwide construction firm headquartered in Appleton. Skalnik has two decades of experience in diversity, equity and inclusion, including time as an independent consultant to private and public organizations worldwide. She earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Norbert College and a master’s degree in social work and mental health from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Amanda Wong is a practicing physical therapist at Columbia St. Mary’s in Milwaukee and co-founded Young Asian Professionals of Milwaukee (YappieMKE) more than 10 years ago. She has been active in the Milwaukee Asian American community since her youth and throughout college. She values representation, community, and education for the AAPI community.
Yimmuaj Yang is Community Director with Groundswell Conservancy, a 40-year-old organization dedicated to conservation, acting on climate change and connecting people with nature. Since Yang joined Groundswell Conservancy in 2020, she’s closed the gap between non-white farmers and available farmland. Partnering with Madison’s Southeast Asian Healing Center, Hmong seniors — who normally rely upon public transportation or family members to drive them — are provided with taxi service to their one-acre Lifting Hearts Therapy Garden in Westport. This garden debuted in 2021 at the height of the pandemic, and the transportation and supervision for the Hmong elders is the result of Yang securing a grant. As a young child, she arrived in Madison with her family from a refugee camp and went on to earn a degree in cultural anthropology at UW and an MBA from Lakeland University. She was named a 2023 “Woman to Watch” by Brava Magazine.
Kaili Lee is the Diversity & Inclusion Director of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) & SSS STEM at UW-Oshkosh. She previously served as the Director of Advising and Retention at Lakeshore Technical College and has been providing student support services for college students for the past sixteen years. Kaili received her Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Education from UW Madison and is an alum of UW Oshkosh with a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership. Currently, she is pursuing her doctorate at Edgewood College in their Higher Education and Leadership Studies program. As a first-generation Hmong American college student herself, she is committed to being a champion for supporting and celebrating academic and career success among first-generation, underrepresented college students.
Sabrina Kloehn is chief financial officer at Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin, a role she took on in 2021 after serving for a year as vice president of finance. Prior to joining Goodwill NCW, Kloehn was at RTI International assisting the global chief financial officer. She earned a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and is a certified management accountant.
Mai Nu Vang is a language arts teacher and reading specialist at Lombardi Middle School in Green Bay. The school’s only Hmong teacher, she spearheaded Lombardi’s first-ever Hmong New Year celebration and served on the district’s APIDA Achievement Summit planning committee. She also serves as vice president for events of Asian Corporate & Entrepreneur Leaders of Northeast Wisconsin, a new chapter of a national organization dedicated to the professional development of Asian American leaders.
Chingcha Vang is a program manager at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) in Milwaukee, where he designs, workshops, and develops training and professional development for Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in both the corporate and non-profit settings. He joined LEAP in 2021 after five years at Teach for America, first as a classroom teacher and later as a recruitment manager and leadership development manager. He previously served as a social studies teacher at the Hmong American Peace Academy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Southeast Asian History from UW-Madison and a master’s degree in educational policy and leadership from Marquette.
