APIA Scholars Welcomes Five New Members to its 2022 Board of Directors
Sefa Aina, William Cho, Pooneh Fracyon Butler, Scott Loretan, and Dr. Rowena Tomaneng join in support of the largest nonprofit for Asian and Pacific Islander American higher education completion and success.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholars (APIA Scholars) has elected new members to its Board of Directors: Sefa Aina, Associate Dean, Director Draper Center for Community Partnerships at Pomona College; William Cho, First Vice Chair and Seattle Chapter President of the Asian McDonald's Operators Association (AMOA); Pooneh Fracyon Butler, Advisor and Liaison to the CEO and the Chair of America's Promise Alliance; Scott Loretan, Global Vice President Performance Management, Sodexo Worldwide; and Dr. Rowena Tomaneng, President, San Jose City College.
APIA Scholars President & Executive Director Noël Harmon shared, "APIA Scholars is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the talent, expertise, and passion that Pooneh, Rowena, Scott, Sefa, and Willie bring to our Board. They have all been long time champions of student access and success, and their leadership and passion to not only serve APIA students but also tackle systems of inequity will only accelerate our ability to carry out our mission."
These new Board members will bring insights and experience to further APIA Scholars' vision of a world where all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have access to higher education and resources that cultivate their academic, personal and professional success regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, or financial means.
The APIA Scholars Board of Directors provides counsel and establishes policies that further the organization's growing programmatic, scholarship, and research portfolio. The five newest board members follow:
Sefa Aina, Associate Dean and Director of the Draper Center for Community Partnerships at Pomona College. Sefa is a founding member and currently serves as the Board Chair for EPIC (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities), a founding member of PIECE (Pasefika Inland Empire Coalition for Empowerment), and a founding member of NPIEN (National Pacific Islander Educators Network) and UCLA PIER (Pacific Islander Education + Retention). He has taught courses at UCLA and Cal State Fullerton on Community Engagement and Pacific Islander History and Communities in the U.S. In September of 2010, Sefa was appointed by President Obama to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Sefa served as the Vice-Chair of the Commission from 2010 – 2014.
William Cho, First Vice Chair and Seattle Chapter President of the Asian McDonald's Operators Association (AMOA). Mr. Cho has more than twenty years of experience in owning and operating McDonald's locations in the Greater Seattle area. He currently owns eight restaurants in the cities of Auburn, Federal Way, Fife, and Tacoma. Mr. Cho's current leadership positions include: First Vice Chair of Asian McDonald's Operator's Association (AMOA), Seattle Chapter President Asian McDonald's Operator's Association (AMOA), Chairman of OPNAD Asian Consumer Marketing Committee, Executive Board of OPNAD, Executive Board of Western Washington Operator's Association, and Chair of Regional Multicultural Committee (Walnut Creek).
Pooneh Fracyon Butler has more than 13 years of organizational and development experience with America's Promise Alliance, a non-profit organization with over 450+ national partners devoted to delivering services to America's most vulnerable youth. After a four-year tenure as a Senior Director specializing in executive operations, she assumed the role of advisor and liaison to the CEO and the Chair of America's Promise Alliance. In the interim, she supported her growing family and recently relocated to Florida with her husband and 3 young children. Pooneh holds an MBA from George Mason University.
Scott Loretan, Global Vice President Performance Management, Sodexo Worldwide. Scott served as a former APIA Scholars Board Member and Chair of the Development Committee (2008-2018). He was the Vice Chair Board of Directors (2011-2017) for Spark 10, served as a board member of the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (2008-2011) and currently sits (2021–present) on the Board of Advisors for the Rochester institute of Technology (RIT) Hospitality Program.
Dr. Rowena Tomaneng, President San Jose City College. Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng has been a multicultural educator in the California Community Colleges for more than 26 years. She is the President of San José City College in the San José Evergreen Community College District. Dr. Tomaneng serves on the board of the Chief Executive Officers of the California Community Colleges (CEOCCC). She is the President-elect of the National Asian Pacific Islander Council-Association of American Community Colleges and Vice President of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE).
APIA Scholars recently added Michelle Cohenour to its executive team. In her role as Chief of Staff reporting to President, Noël Harmon, Cohenour will guide the talent within the organization to reach transformational goals in the upcoming years.
For more information, contact Dawn Baron at [email protected].
Media Contact
Dawn Baron, APIA Scholars, +1 703-434-9306, [email protected]
SOURCE APIA Scholars
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