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Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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Rose Olea
Chapter President
 Rose Olea serves as the current President of NAAAP-Chicago. Responsible for overseeing the execution of the overall mission and vision of the chapter, Rose uses her previous leadership experiences to guide the organization in all capacities. An active member since 2001, her previous roles in NAAAP-Chicago include Director of Membership (2001), Director of Marketing (2006) and Chapter President from 2002-2004.
Rose is also one of twelve chapter representatives for NAAAP National. She has served in various positions on the NAAAP National level including National Convention Vice-Chair (2005), National Vice President of Chapter Operations (2004), and interim National President (2006), being the only female who has served in that capacity.
Under her leadership, Rose has re-invigorated the association’s activity within the Chicagoland community and re-established a membership base. She has coordinated and led numerous corporate and non-profit philanthropic events and activities. Rose has also provided training and professional development activities and furthered NAAAP’s brand via newsletters, listservs, and a new website. Rose is also one of the founders of the Midwest Asian American Business Network, now called Asian American Group Leaders, a network of now over 25 Asian affinity and employee resource groups.
Born in Manila and raised in Chicago, Rose’s industry experience includes non-profit management, knowledge and content management and real estate appraisal. In her free time, she enjoys writing, playing tennis, baking, and spending time with her daughter, Jocelyn, who at 16 is the youngest NAAAP-Chicago member.
Rose Tibayan
Vice President of Strategic Development
 Rose Tibayan serves as Vice President of Strategic Development for NAAAP Chicago and is responsible for the successful execution of roles and responsibilities by all directors as well as the overall development of the organization. Rose also sits on the NAAAP National Board, where she has been serving since her appointment in spring of 2008.
Rose joined NAAAP Chicago in October 2007, and was immediately elected to the local board as Marketing Director. Through innovative marketing ideas and methods, Rose enhanced the visibility of the chapter through the promotion of NAAAP’s national vision, “We Make Leaders!” As a result of her efforts, she was awarded the “Innovator Award” by the chapter in August 2008.
Rose is an award-winning executive producer and seasoned journalist with over a decade of experience in broadcast writing, editing and producing. Prior to moving to Chicago, she was a general assignment reporter at WPVI-TV (ABC6) in Philadelphia - the news leader in the nation's fourth-largest market. She has also worked for TV news stations in New York City, Milwaukee, Fort Myers, and the island of Guam.
Rose holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware. In 1998 she was accepted to the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York City. She truly respects and enjoys working with her NAAAP colleagues. Together, they have made NAAAP the most dynamic Asian American organization in Chicago.
Huu T. Ly
Vice President of Operations
 Huu T. Ly was appointed the Director of Cultural Awareness in 2008. Tapped with the responsibility of promoting awareness of Asian and Asian American history and culture to the community, Huu organizes events and initiatives based around this purpose.
Huu was born in the Philippines after his parents, part of the second wave of Vietnamese immigrants, risked their lives in dangerous waters in small fishing boats and sought protection in a refugee camp after the fall of Saigon. Upon coming to the United States, his family settled in a small immigrant community in Iowa, where they found factory work. Growing up with predominately Caucasian peers, Huu began to find his cultural identity while attending Iowa State University, where he received his B.S. in Civil Engineering.
Huu is currently a Civil Engineer at Terra Engineering, one of the few Women Business Enterprise civil engineering firms in Chicago that specialize in construction, civil engineering, structural engineering, and surveying. Huu has worked on a number of projects including O’Hare International Airport and the Illinois Tollway Open Road Tolling Project. In his spare time, Huu enjoys DJing, photography, reading, political activism and volunteering.
Huu continues to find avenues to educate himself while promoting Asian American issues through his position as Director of Cultural Awareness for NAAAP Chicago.
Mike Valdez
Treasurer
 Mike Valdez serves as the Treasurer as well as the Director of Affinity Groups. In this role, Mike brings together Asian Affinity Groups in Chicagoland as one network, allowing participants to share best practices and discuss the value or contributions they add to their organizations. Mike also serves as an asset to companies looking to implement Asian Affinity Groups as a way to retain talented leaders while accomplishing corporate diversity.
Mike’s initial involvement with NAAAP Chicago began in 2004 as a member in the Midwest Asian Affinity Business Network (MAABN) program. Through this involvement, he began to understand first-hand how NAAAP Chicago focuses on creating an open forum for Asian American corporate leaders throughout Chicago and the surrounding areas. Having served on NAAAP Chicago’s Board as Director of Corporate Relations from 2005 to 2007, Mike assumed the role of Director of Affinity Groups in 2008.
Mike is a Vice President with the Northern Trust Company in Chicago. With over 20 years of dedication to the company, Mike also serves as President of the Asian Leadership Council within the company. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Elmhurst College and a Masters in Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management. He resides in Crystal Lake with his wife Karen and two sons, Ethan and Harrison.
A strong advocate for diversity and a believer in giving back to the community, Mike serves as a leader in providing NAAAP as a forum for the important discussions Affinity Groups hold, while providing NAAAP as an attractive resource for group members.
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Andrew Samaniego
Marketing
 Andrew Samaniego is assuming the role of Director of Marketing for NAAAP Chicago in 2010. Andrew will be responsible for the chapter's marketing strategy and functions including branding, creative development, and creation of multimedia to promote events and programs. Andrew, who joined us in March 2008, previously led the chapter's community efforts from tutoring children, teaching business at inner-city schools, to donating gifts through our annual toy drive in December.
Andrew is a Global Account Manager at Yahoo!, a leading global internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. As a member of the Global Sales team, he develops Sponsored Search programs among Central and East US sales teams’ highest value clients advertising in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Yahoo!, he was an Agency Sales Executive at Getty Images, where he licensed copyright for photography to agencies for commercial use in print, web, and broadcast. Before Getty Images, he sold IT products and services at CDW, sold display advertising for the Michigan Daily, and led the redesign of a website as an intern at Organon Pharmaceuticals.
Andrew holds a BA in Communications from the University of Michigan. He was recently recognized as being in the top 5% of North America Account Management at Yahoo! for Q1-Q2 2009 performance. He is also an aspiring triathlon athlete and from New Jersey, where his parents relocated after emigrating from the Philippines.
Justin Samaniego
Membership
 Justin Samaniego is the Director of Membership for NAAAP Chicago. In this capacity, his main focus is to develop programs, events and initiatives geared towards building value in being a member. He looks forward to planning membership marquee events, continuously connecting members with one another and implementing a more strategic marketing and outreach program to in an effort to attract all levels of strong and passionate volunteer leaders in the Chicagoland area.
Justin joined NAAAP Chicago in summer 2007 in an effort to meet new faces, exchange creative ideas, experience the city, and give back to the community. Engaged in various leadership roles, mentorship programs, and volunteer activities across different industries, Justin has always valued the idea of having diversity in every aspect life.
Previously a Corporate Account Manager at CDW and with experience in out-of-home and online advertising, Justin has taken his wide degree of creativity and latitude in a business development role at W.W. Grainger, where he sees great opportunity in developing both personally and professionally. Similar to his initial goals in joining NAAAP Chicago, Justin looks forward to meeting new people and learning from various levels of leaders and professionals within Grainger as he takes on new leadership roles and starts getting involved with his company's Asian Business Resource Group.
Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Justin graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. Degree in Computer Science and Spanish. Involved in intramural sports, numerous non-profit groups, volunteer activities, traveling and frequent culinary experimentation, Justin looks forward to continuing his development as a non-profit leader and has high expectations in building value and commitment among members of NAAAP Chicago.
Yoojin Kim
Cultural Awareness
 Yoojin Kim joined NAAAP Chicago in January 2009. After attending the Lunar New Year Celebration and the 'Meet the Employer' Career Strategy Workshop earlier in the year, she was very happy to find an organization that she had been looking for a long time - the organization that promotes the leadership development of Asian American professionals within a structured framework.
Even before emigrating from South Korea to the U.S. in 2001, she always longed for an opportunity to serve as a liaison between Asia and the rest of the world. She hopes to become a cultural bridge that helps Asian Americans throughout their journey to discover our heritage. Also, she is passionate about raising cultural awareness to the broader audience.
Yoojin Kim serves as a Senior Investment Analyst for Blue Prairie Group and heads up the firm's Investment Analytics Group as a Group Leader. Yoojin graduated summa cum laude and was the class valedictorian from Loyola University Chicago with majors in Finance and Information Systems. She completed Level I of the CFA Program in 2006.
She enjoys learning foreign languages and listening to classical music. She is interested in children's rights, political activism and world history.
Jessica Yang
Special Events
 Jessica Yang became a member of NAAAP Chicago in fall 2008 shortly after she had moved to Chicago in the summer. She decided to get involved because she had been previously involved with NAAAP Columbus as a college student and had heard great things about NAAAP Chicago!
She quickly found out that it's a great place to network and be involved within the Asian American community! She said, “I've met so many wonderful people because of it and there is something for everyone.”
As a new board member, Jessica really hopes to bring new ideas and help increase the organization’s visibility within the Chicago community. In addition, she hopes to help recruit new members with diverse talents and interests.
Jessica Yang graduated from Miami University in Ohio, majoring in Supply Chain & Operations Management and a minor in Chinese. She is a part of the Operations Advanced Development Program at Schneider Electric. She is currently on her second rotation as a buyer/planner for Juno Lighting Group by Schneider Electric. Her first rotation was as a Senior Process Improvement Analyst and her last 2 will be as a Lean Manufacturing Engineer and Manufacturing Supervisor at a plant.
Jessica is an avid reader, who also loves to shop, travel, cook and play tennis, piano & violin. In addition, she performs and teaches Chinese dance. Lastly, she’s a huge Buckeye fan and loves OSU football.
Wit Chitrapongse
Technology
Functioning as the main resource in ensuring that the organization's technological needs are being met, Wit is the Director of Technology. In this role, he maintains the organization's website as well as develops strategies that can effectively utilize technology for the organization's benefit.
Looking to meet new people in order to expand his network to include more than just IT professionals, Wit joined NAAAP in September 2007. Realizing that NAAAP can provide an outlet to cultivate and develop skills that he may not gain by limiting himself to IT, he decided to become more active in the organization. His involvement in NAAAP grew from taking the lead in getting items for the Red Orchid Gala's silent auction, to managing NAAAP's technology solutions. From these experiences, Wit has learned to work on teams with people who have different professional backgrounds from his own and has become more assertive in helping out with events.
Proficient in developing enterprise systems with Java, J2EE, Spring, and Hibernate technology stack, Wit is a Software Engineer at a boutique technology consulting firm, Redpoint Technologies. Proir to that, he was a analyst programmer at Accenture. A native Chicagoan raised on the north side of Chicago, Wit obtained his Bachelors degree at UIC in Computer Engineering and a Masters at DePaul in Software Engineering.
Wit looks forward to utilizing his experience as a technology consultant to further the efficiency of NAAAP's information systems.
Andrew Samaniego
Marketing
Andrew Samaniego is assuming the role of Director of Marketing for NAAAP Chicago in 2010. Andrew will be responsible for the chapter's marketing strategy and functions including branding, creative development, and creation of multimedia to promote events and programs. Andrew, who joined us in March 2008, previously led the chapter's community efforts from tutoring children, teaching business at inner-city schools, to donating gifts through our annual toy drive in December.
Andrew is a Global Account Manager at Yahoo!, a leading global internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. As a member of the Global Sales team, he develops Sponsored Search programs among Central and East US sales teams’ highest value clients advertising in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Yahoo!, he was an Agency Sales Executive at Getty Images, where he licensed copyright for photography to agencies for commercial use in print, web, and broadcast. Before Getty Images, he sold IT products and services at CDW, sold display advertising for the Michigan Daily, and led the redesign of a website as an intern at Organon Pharmaceuticals.
Andrew holds a BA in Communications from the University of Michigan. He was recently recognized as being in the top 5% of North America Account Management at Yahoo! for Q1-Q2 2009 performance. He is also an aspiring triathlon athlete and from New Jersey, where his parents relocated after emigrating from the Philippines.
Justin Samaniego
Membership
Justin Samaniego is the Director of Membership for NAAAP Chicago. In this capacity, his main focus is to develop programs, events and initiatives geared towards building value in being a member. He looks forward to planning membership marquee events, continuously connecting members with one another and implementing a more strategic marketing and outreach program to in an effort to attract all levels of strong and passionate volunteer leaders in the Chicagoland area.
Justin joined NAAAP Chicago in summer 2007 in an effort to meet new faces, exchange creative ideas, experience the city, and give back to the community. Engaged in various leadership roles, mentorship programs, and volunteer activities across different industries, Justin has always valued the idea of having diversity in every aspect life.
Previously a Corporate Account Manager at CDW and with experience in out-of-home and online advertising, Justin has taken his wide degree of creativity and latitude in a business development role at W.W. Grainger, where he sees great opportunity in developing both personally and professionally. Similar to his initial goals in joining NAAAP Chicago, Justin looks forward to meeting new people and learning from various levels of leaders and professionals within Grainger as he takes on new leadership roles and starts getting involved with his company's Asian Business Resource Group.
Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Justin graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. Degree in Computer Science and Spanish. Involved in intramural sports, numerous non-profit groups, volunteer activities, traveling and frequent culinary experimentation, Justin looks forward to continuing his development as a non-profit leader and has high expectations in building value and commitment among members of NAAAP Chicago.
Yoojin Kim
Cultural Awareness
Yoojin Kim joined NAAAP Chicago in January 2009. After attending the Lunar New Year Celebration and the 'Meet the Employer' Career Strategy Workshop earlier in the year, she was very happy to find an organization that she had been looking for a long time - the organization that promotes the leadership development of Asian American professionals within a structured framework.
Even before emigrating from South Korea to the U.S. in 2001, she always longed for an opportunity to serve as a liaison between Asia and the rest of the world. She hopes to become a cultural bridge that helps Asian Americans throughout their journey to discover our heritage. Also, she is passionate about raising cultural awareness to the broader audience.
Yoojin Kim serves as a Senior Investment Analyst for Blue Prairie Group and heads up the firm's Investment Analytics Group as a Group Leader. Yoojin graduated summa cum laude and was the class valedictorian from Loyola University Chicago with majors in Finance and Information Systems. She completed Level I of the CFA Program in 2006.
She enjoys learning foreign languages and listening to classical music. She is interested in children's rights, political activism and world history.
Jessica Yang
Special Events
Jessica Yang became a member of NAAAP Chicago in fall 2008 shortly after she had moved to Chicago in the summer. She decided to get involved because she had been previously involved with NAAAP Columbus as a college student and had heard great things about NAAAP Chicago!
She quickly found out that it's a great place to network and be involved within the Asian American community! She said, “I've met so many wonderful people because of it and there is something for everyone.”
As a new board member, Jessica really hopes to bring new ideas and help increase the organization’s visibility within the Chicago community. In addition, she hopes to help recruit new members with diverse talents and interests.
Jessica Yang graduated from Miami University in Ohio, majoring in Supply Chain & Operations Management and a minor in Chinese. She is a part of the Operations Advanced Development Program at Schneider Electric. She is currently on her second rotation as a buyer/planner for Juno Lighting Group by Schneider Electric. Her first rotation was as a Senior Process Improvement Analyst and her last 2 will be as a Lean Manufacturing Engineer and Manufacturing Supervisor at a plant.
Jessica is an avid reader, who also loves to shop, travel, cook and play tennis, piano & violin. In addition, she performs and teaches Chinese dance. Lastly, she’s a huge Buckeye fan and loves OSU football.
Wit Chitrapongse
Technology
Functioning as the main resource in ensuring that the organization's technological needs are being met, Wit is the Director of Technology. In this role, he maintains the organization's website as well as develops strategies that can effectively utilize technology for the organization's benefit.
Looking to meet new people in order to expand his network to include more than just IT professionals, Wit joined NAAAP in September 2007. Realizing that NAAAP can provide an outlet to cultivate and develop skills that he may not gain by limiting himself to IT, he decided to become more active in the organization. His involvement in NAAAP grew from taking the lead in getting items for the Red Orchid Gala's silent auction, to managing NAAAP's technology solutions. From these experiences, Wit has learned to work on teams with people who have different professional backgrounds from his own and has become more assertive in helping out with events.
Proficient in developing enterprise systems with Java, J2EE, Spring, and Hibernate technology stack, Wit is a Software Engineer at a boutique technology consulting firm, Redpoint Technologies. Proir to that, he was a analyst programmer at Accenture. A native Chicagoan raised on the north side of Chicago, Wit obtained his Bachelors degree at UIC in Computer Engineering and a Masters at DePaul in Software Engineering.
Wit looks forward to utilizing his experience as a technology consultant to further the efficiency of NAAAP's information systems.
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