BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Wenda Fong

Wenda Fong is a well-respected producer and director of television and live events with a remarkable track record as an executive and community force. While still an undergraduate at USC she began her career as producer and host of her own live talk show series and later continued hosting and producing community affairs programs for many of Los Angeles TV stations. She is credited on over 200 television programs, with experience producing all-star variety specials, award shows, live spectaculars, talk shows and documentaries. Some highlights of her career include four Emmy telecasts, five Disney specials, and seven specials with Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. In addition, she has launched productions around the world, in places as far-flung as China, Canada, Africa, and Europe. A partial list of recent events she produced include the International Special Olympics Benefit from the Kennedy Center, the historic inter-religious event for Pope John Paul II's visit to Los Angeles, the pre-game entertainment for World Cup Soccer USA, and the entertainment extravaganza of the G7 Summit for President and Mrs. Clinton. She staged the grand opening of the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, produced the Paris Las Vegas Millennium Countdown for ABC, and the annual Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

Her first sitcom series was as producer of She's the Sheriff starring Suzanne Somers. Ms. Fong has also produced Scorch, Best Friends, and The Preston Episodes. Most recently, she produced of The Steve Harvey Show.

Ms. Fong is co-founder and chairperson of CAPE, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and has served as president of East West Players, the nation's oldest Asian American theatre. A member of the Directors Guild of America since 1980, Ms. Fong serves as founding co-chair of the DGA Asian-American Committee.

She joined FOX as its first Vice President of Creative Diversity Development Department in 2001 where she created and launched its successful diversity initiatives. In 2002, she was appointed the project coordinator for American Idol, in addition to her diversity responsibilities. In 2003, she was promoted to her current position of Vice President of Specials and Alternative Programming for FOX Broadcasting Company.

Adele Yoshioka

Adele's first career in the entertainment field was as a successful dancer/actress/model in many films, TV and stage shows. A few of the directors and choreographers she has worked with are Bob Fosse, John Huston, Norman Jewison, Gene Kelly, Geoffrey Holder, Amy Heckerling, Michael Bennett, Herbert Ross, Ted Post, Lester Wilson, Ron Fields, Peter Gennaro and Pat Birch. As an actress, her most memorable role was as Clint Eastwood's girlfriend in MAGNUM FORCE.

Her second and current career is in international film distribution, specializing in contract and sales administration.  She has been Vice President at Image Organization, Behaviour Worldwide, CineTel Films, World International Network and is now with Nu Image/Millennium Films.

Her community service has varied from producing, directing and choreographing Japanese community shows to serving on the Board of Directors for AAPAA, East West Players and CAPE. She is a Founding Member of CAPE.

Laverne McKinnon

Laverne McKinnon is President, Television Production of 50 Cannon Entertainment, feature film director Mike Newell’s production company. 50 Cannon, led by CEO Cam Jones with offices in Los Angeles and London, has developed and produced a wide variety of television and film properties. 50 Cannon principals Mike Newell and Cam Jones were Executive Producers of the Academy-Award-winning feature Traffic and the critically-acclaimed and Emmy-winning series “Huff” for Showtime Television. Mike Newell has directed some of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of the last decade, including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Ms. McKinnon most recently served as Senior Vice-President of Drama Series Development at CBS where she was involved in such successful series as "Without A Trace," "Criminal Minds," "The Unit," "Cold Case," "Numbers," the "CSI" Franchise and "Shark." Prior to working in Drama Development, she served in the Current Programming and Children’s Departments at the network.

After graduating from the School of Communication at Northwestern University in 1987, Ms. McKinnon established herself as an award-winning producer and writer at Gerald T. Rogers Productions in Chicago, Illinois, a leading distributor of educational films. She moved to Los Angeles in 1992, working briefly for a talent agency before heading up development for Klasky-Csupo (“Rugrats”) where she was instrumental in shaping the studio’s reputation for seeking less mainstream, non-formulaic projects.

Ms. McKinnon also holds a Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and serves on the National Advisory Council for Northwestern University's School of Communication.

Leo Chu

He is currently an Executive Producer for the MTV Networks and the Executive in Charge of Manly Animation for Spike TV. He is in charge of building and launching a new slate of animated comedies and video game properties for Spike, including the upcoming HOWARD STERN: THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS and AFRO SAMURAI with Samuel Jackson.

Most recently, Leo was the Vice President of Creative Affairs for Walt Disney Feature Animation. He was the first Asian American in a leadership role at the studio and was responsible for developing and creative producing such animated films as FINDING NEMO (Academy Award Best Animated Feature 2004), SPIRITED AWAY (Academy Award Best Animated Feature 2003), MULAN, LILO & STITCH, TOY STORY, TARZAN, BROTHER BEAR, DINOSAUR, MONSTERS, INC., and the upcoming A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON.

His writing credits include MY NEIGHBOR THE YAMADA'S for Studio Ghibli and A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON for Disney. He is also writing and producing a new animated series which he co-created for the MTV Networks. His live-action films include ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD and THE JUNGLE BOOK.

A graduate of Stanford University, he is the proud recipient of the Image Award for Artistic Achievement from the Organization of Chinese Americans and featured as one of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Most Influential Minorities in Entertainment.

Cynthia Liu

Cynthia is a writer-filmmaker and holds a graduate degree in English literature. She's written short fiction, novels, essays, and several screenplays. Her scripts have reached semi-finalist status or higher at the following contests: American Accolades, Austin Heart of Film, the Disney Screenwriting Fellowship, the Chesterfield Writers Film Project (twice with different scripts), and the Sundance Screenwriting Lab (twice, with different scripts). She was the first CAPE New Writers Award screenplay winner and has since directed and produced her own work.

In 2004, Pathfinder Pictures will distribute her award-winning short film, the all-Asian American romantic comedy RED THREAD. It's now completing a lengthy run on the festival circuit. Another short, A. EYE FOR THE WHITE GUY (a spoof of a similarly-titled, popular cable TV makeover show), is currently exhibiting in international film festivals. She's in pre-production on a documentary short and developing one of her feature scripts to direct.

Her fiction has also won numerous prizes. Her first novel will be published in 2005.

Masashi Nagadoi

Ginam Lee, Esq.

Ginam Lee is currently the owner of Ginam Lee & Associates. His areas of practice are entertainment, business, real estate, and special education. His entertainment related clientele range from foreign financiers and production companies to up-and-coming producers and writers. Mr. Lee worked in the Business & Legal Affairs departments of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Digital Studios Division, and Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, dealing with intellectual property, employment, motion picture production, internet distribution, video game development, interactive television, and video-on-demand.

Clifford Lo, Esq.

Clifford Lo, Esq., of the Law Offices of Clifford Lo, has practiced exclusively entertainment law since 1996.  He assists directors, producers, production companies, screenwriters, composers, actors, and others with transactional matters related to film, television, and other forms of entertainment.  These matters may involve: rights issues; option agreements; collaboration, producer, writer, and co-production agreements; company formation; private placement equity financing paperwork; production legal agreements; and sales agency and distribution agreements.

One-third of Mr. Lo’s clientele are Asian American, and one of the main goals of his law practice is to help advance the careers of Asians and Asian Americans in all facets of the entertainment industry.

Mr. Lo studied Economics and Political Science at Yale University, and obtained his J.D. at Boston College Law School.  He started his entertainment career as in-house counsel at Disney, including two years in London, handling Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Sheri Bryant

Sheri Bryant graduated from Stanford University and worked for The Walt Disney Company for three years as a financial analyst of Investments and Funding. She then joined Disney’s Hollywood Pictures film division and began her career as an entertainment executive. At Hollywood Pictures, she oversaw the development process of a wide range of films, and brought in new material, directors and writers.

Sheri then served as Director of Development and Production for production/distribution company Image Organization, where she was involved in all aspects of production, from story inception through post production. During her tenure, the company made multiple films for CBS, HBO, Lifetime, and Artisan. In addition to managing the company's story department and staff of readers, Sheri was responsible for finding new writers and directors, and spearheading the company’s casting. Sheri is Associate Producer of Image's The Dentist, Daddy's Girl, and The Nurse, as well as Production Executive for Dead Cold,, The Secretary, and Voodoo.

Sheri founded independent production company Ransom Entertainment where she was Executive Producer of Discovery Channel’s feature film Rain starring Susan Dey and Scott Cooper, nominated for a prestigious Genesis Award. She Co-produced Arachnid, an independent feature film that recently premiered on Sci-Fi Channel and was released domestically by Lions Gate. She also served as Co-Producer of the sci-fi action thriller Crimson Force for Sci-Fi Channel in 2005, and produced the independent feature Boo with Dee Wallace Stone for Kismet Entertainment Group. Sheri has the supernatural love story The Sleeping Man in development at Twentieth Century Fox.

Sheri’s current endeavors are with partner writer/director Greg Aronowitz. Their company, Dog & Rooster Productions, is actively developing a diverse slate of projects for both television and feature films. They are in post-production on “Labou,” a family adventure film that was shot in August 2005 in New Orleans at the Robert. E Nims Center and will be released in January 2007. Their next film, a high concept family comedy, will begin pre-production in Winter of 2006 in Los Angeles.

Sheri has served as a Consulting Producer to Lance Entertainment and Brainstorm Media (Little Men, Kid Cop, Bridge to Terebithia), as well as Kismet Entertainment Group (Stander, Asylum, Dog Soldiers).

Sheri serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and is a Trustee for the charitable non-profit Feigenbaum-Nii Foundation.

Angela Cheng Caplan

Angela Cheng Caplan is the President and CEO of Cheng Caplan Company, Inc., a boutique literary/talent management and production company based in Los Angeles, California, representing Academy Award nominated filmmakers, best-selling book authors, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists and world famous comic book creators.

Two weeks after finishing college, Angela was in Los Angeles working for a talent and modeling agency. By the age of 25, Angela became Hollywood's youngest literary agent. After working for two prestigious agencies in Los Angeles and New York City, she opened Cheng Caplan Company, Inc.

Her clients include Will Rokos (MONSTER’S BALL), Felicia Henderson (SOUL FOOD), Pete Hautman (Winner of 2004 National Book Award for GODLESS), Warren Ellis (PLANETARY), Greg Rucka (WHITEOUT), Michael Kang (THE MOTEL), Leo Chu and Eric Garcia (Miyazaki’s OUR NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS), David Hilliard and the Black Panther Party, Noah Adams (NPR correspondent and author) and Pulitzer Prize winning author Dale Maharidge (AND THEIR CHILDREN AFTER THEM, DENISON, IOWA), among others.

Angela holds a BA in Semiotics-French from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.

Peilin Chou

Peilin Chou is currently a Principal Partner and Executive Producer at Lifefilm Productions-an entertainment company focused on the production of personal documentaries. Prior to that, Peilin was the Senior Vice President of Programming and Production for AZN Television (A Comcast Network). In addition to her role overseeing the overall programming strategy for network, Peilin served as the Executive Producer for all AZN TV Original Productions.

Prior to AZN TV, Peilin held several creative leadership positions at MTV Networks, including Vice President of Original Series for Spike TV and Director of TV Movies and Alternative Development at Nickelodeon. In the arena of live theatre, Peilin served as the Company Manager & Artistic Associate of the Roundabout Theatre, overseeing over a dozen different revivals and new works, including the Tony Award-winning productions of Cabaret and Sideman. Peilin also worked as the Director of Development at Livent, Inc. where she helped to launch the Tony Award-winning musical Fosse. Peilin started her career at the Walt Disney Studios where she was a Creative Executive at Touchstone Pictures and Walt Disney Feature Animation. Her feature film credits include: TOY STORY 2, MULAN, PHENOMENON, and ROMY & MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION.

Alan Chu

ALAN CHU is presently the Director of Operations for the Visual Effects Society, a non-profit membership driven organization of special visual effects artist in the entertainment industry.  He also moonlights as a music video and commercial director.

From 1998 to 2002, Alan was a freelance producer with credits that include “The Art of War,” “East meets West on the Silk Road,”  “The Disciples,” “Never Get Outta the Boat,” “Topa Topa Bluffs” and “Witchblade.”

Prior to producing on his own, Alan was an executive for writer/director Oliver Stone’s Ixtlan and Illusion entertainment for seven years in various capacities from development, business affairs, finance and operations.  During his tenure he worked on “The Joy Luck Club,” “JFK,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Nixon,” “Savior,” “The People vs Larry Flynt” and “Indictment.” 

Alan was born in Paris, France but was quickly uprooted into another French speaking part of the world; Montreal, where he spent his childhood and teenage years working in the family owned Chinese cinema.  He is a graduate of Concordia with a degree in engineering and a post-graduate from McGill in business. 

Katy Lim

Daniel Lin

Dan Lin is a Senior Vice President of Production for Warner Bros.
Pictures. This past year, he oversaw the production and release of
the films THE DEPARTED, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring
Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson; and UNACCOMPANIED MINORS, a family comedy directed by Paul Feig. Lin is overseeing several films that will be released in 2007, including THE
INVASION, a sci-fi thriller starring Nicole Kidman and produced by
Joel Silver; 10,000 B.C., an action-adventure film directed by Roland
Emmerich; TRICK OR TREAT, a horror film produced by Bryan Singer; and TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, a CGI-animation film based on the popular series.

 In addition to his work in domestic feature production, Lin also works with Warners' Asia offices in the development of Chinese language films for Warners in China and Hong Kong. Lin received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1999. While at business school, Lin interned for Warner Bros. before joining the company as a Creative Executive upon graduation.

James Ngo

Board Member

James Ngo is currently Manager of Licensing at FremantleMedia, managing high profile brands such as American Idol, the long-running The Price Is Right, the classic Family Feud, among a library of game shows and other international brands. In this capacity, James is responsible for all product development and marketing
and promotions of brands in FremantleMedia’s portfolio for North
and South America.

A graduate from UCLA, James was most recently a Public Relations Associate at Washington Mutual and Marketing Coordinator at Warner Bros. He also serves as Co-Membership Director for CAPE, organizing various social and networking events for the organization. James enjoys painting and cooking in his spare time and hopes to travel around the world one day.

Janis C. Shen

Janis Shen is an entertainment lawyer currently working at the Law Offices of Howard Sadowsky in New York City. A graduate of New York University School of Law, Ms. Shen worked in-house at RCA Records/RCA Victor, and the independent label TVT Records prior to joining the firm. Her work in the music industry has spanned all genres of music from alternative rock, hip hop/urban, pop and adult contemporary, to classical and jazz from Snoop Dogg and the Eastsidaz, Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, NIN, to Yanni, The Chieftains and George Winston. She has also worked on various soundtracks including MR. DEEDS, WAKING LIFE, and SCARY MOVIE 2.

Ms. Shen served on the CAPE Board of Directors from 2000 to 2002 and is currently Managing Director of CAPE NY. During her school years, she was a founding member of the Asian American acting troupe and community activist group Descendents of the Monkey God at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and chair of Advocates for the Arts at NYU Law. She not only supports development of arts and media but also enjoys performing as a violinist and backup singer in the band The Sharp Things. The band has released one record, is recording the second, and is planning a tour of the UK in Spring 2004.

Chase Wang

Chase Wang is the Principal and founder of BAM! Marketing, Publicity
& Promotions (BAM!). He has spent the last 10 years honing his marketing, publicity and promotional skills in the entertainment industry.
Mr, Wang has consulted companies on consumer brand marketing,
publicity and promotional campaigns for clients including Activision,
Seagram Americas, Fox Home Entertainment, New Line Home
Entertainment, Paramount Classics, Sony Electronic Entertainment,
Subaru of America, Miller Brewing Company, Phillip Morris
Companies, Gap Brand, Gap Outlet, Anime Expo® and many more. Prior to the founding of BAM!, Mr. Wang held positions in a prominent marketing/promotions boutique agency and with one of the world’s leading electronic entertainment publishing and product companies.
Mr. Wang is considered a marketing and publicity expert in the anime/manga industries.

Nathan Wang

Nathan started his musical studies at the age of four. When he was
nine, he was accepted to the University of Southern California to
study musical theory and composition. However, after high school he
decided to get a liberal arts education from a small campus, and
graduated from Pomona College and received a Fulbright Fellowship
to study at Oxford University, England. After two years overseas,
Nathan returned to Los Angeles to pursue his musical interest.

He is proud of having started his career in theater, having composed music for shows as The Traveler at the Mark Taper Forum, Shakespeare's Timon of Athens at the Old Globe in San Diego and Bouncers at the Tiffany Theater. Nathan has composed over the years for EastWest Players, the oldest AsianAmerican theater in the United States. He has
worked on shows there as Big Hunk of Burnin' Love, Performance Anxiety, Sisters Matsumoto, and for Chay Yew's Reds. He has written two musicals for EastWest which received NEA funding: The Canton Jazz Club, which was one of East West Players' most successful musical runs in the history of the theater, and a reading of The Cathayian Pirate.

Nathan's music can be heard on all genres. He composed for the CD interactive games, The Muppets Treasure Island and The Return to Zork. For television, Nathan has worked on Eekstravanza, the popular animated series now for six years on Fox, and has written for shows such as China Beach at Warner, as well as The Excellent Adventures of Bill and Ted at Lorimar. Nathan's movie credits include scoring the Jackie Chan's Asian versions of RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, FIRST STRIKE, and Columbia's release of JACKIE'S WHO AM I? He worked with Hans Zimmer for an October film, THE LAST DAYS for DreamWorks, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary . His versatility has also given Nathan
opportunities to compose shows for Disneyland, California Adventures, and his music can also be heard on many Asian artists' albums throughout China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Jusak Yang Bernhard

Jusak Yang Bernhard works as an independent producer and an actor.

As a producer, Jusak has produced a critically acclaimed feature film, hundred percent; multi-award-winning Public Service Announcements for Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival, and National Asian Pacific American Voter Registration Campaign. Jusak has also served as event producer for the Asian Pacific American component of the 2000 Democratic National Convention and the 1996 Democratic National Committee, as well as the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and East West Players. Since forming Yang Bernhard Entertainment, Inc., Jusak has garnered an impressive list of clients, such as the City of Santa Monica, Capistrano Unified School District, California State University of Long Beach, Center for Language Minority Education and Research, Hana Financial, KSCI-TV, McDonalds, Toyota, Bank of America, Southern California Edison, CDC: Verb, and the Los Angeles Police Department; and organizations, such as the Asians for Miracle Marrow Matching, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, CAUSE Vision 21, Chinatown Public Safety Association, Korean American Coalition, Chinese American Museum, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and Organization of Chinese Americans.

As an actor, Jusak has appeared in television and feature films, such as Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, Red Skies, The Doctor, Highway to Heaven, Simon & Simon, and Tour of Duty. Recently, Jusak also appeared in recurring roles in The Agency, Wild Thornberries, and Daytime Series, The Young and The Restless, General Hospital. Jusak provided his voice, as a regular character, on Klasky/Csupo’s cartoon series The Immigrants. On stage, Jusak has performed in M. Butterfly as “Song Liling” at the Salt Lake Acting Company; On Gold Mountain at the LA Opera; Chairman’s Wife and Canton Jazz Club at East West Players; Struggling Truths and Offending the Audience at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

Named one of the Asian America’s 500 Most Influential People by Avenue Asia Magazine, Jusak Yang Bernhard was Co-President and a Board Member of the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE). Jusak is one of the Founding Members of the Asian Pacific Alliance for Creative Equality (APACE), and has served as Board Member of the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists (AAPAA) and the Asian Pacifics Aids Intervention Team (APAIT). Jusak has been recognized with the Media Award of Excellence (Asian Pacific Exchange Organization); Bronze Apple (National Educational Media Network); Visionary Award (Media Action Network for Asian Americans); Aegis Video & Film Production Awards; and Telly Awards. Jusak now resides in beautiful Savannah, GA.

Paul Gor

Membership Director

Born in Texas, Paul Gor is currently a freelance multimedia designer located in Los Angeles, California. He holds a broadcast degree from Texas A&M University and first started working in the entertainment industry at Warner Brothers Television Post Productions.

Over the years, Paul has worked on various different projects as a multimedia consultant with clients such as East West Bank and Far East National Bank and on projects for Sheraton Hotels, Hard Rock Hotels Pan Pacific Hotels and Renaissance ClubSport . In addition to interactive multimedia presentational packages, he has completed numerous marketing videos for hospitals, law firms and various religious organizations.

Paul continues to serve as membership director for CAPE maintaining communication among the various members. He is also actively involved with heading the media department at Epicentre church and is a technical media consultant with PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) a non-profit organization that outreach to the homeless community in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

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