Staff Members

President & Executive Director

Carolyn Wang Kong is the President and Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Fund. In this role, Carolyn works closely with community partners and funders to identify and act on the issues that are most pressing to the bay area’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Previously, Carolyn worked for 20 years to create health equity for communities across California. She served as the Chief Program Director at Blue Shield of California Foundation, a statewide philanthropy with a dual mission of increasing health equity and ending domestic violence.… Read More

Emily’s role as Development Coordinator focuses on being the resident “expert” on various software programs used for the Fund’s development efforts and meeting the administrative needs of her team.

Hailing from New York City, Emily brings a unique perspective and skillset to Asian Pacific Fund with over three years of experience in DEIJ and education spaces. After graduating a year early in 2019 from New York University, Emily started her career in DEIJ at a white-shoe law firm as Diversity & Inclusion Assistant during the peak of the COVID pandemic and anti-Asian hate.… Read More

Chase Richardson is a communications and partnerships professional with more than 11 years of work experience. Chase joined the Asian Pacific Fund (APF) in April 2023 as the Manager of Strategic Communication. In this role, he develops, implements, and maintains APF’s strategic communications strategy, including infrastructure, key messaging, and platforms.

Before joining APF, Chase worked for the United Nations World Food Programme in the Philippines for eight years, where he developed and implemented effective branding and communications strategies and worked on emergency response operations such as Super Typhoon Haiyan, the Bohol Earthquake, and the Marawi Crisis, among others.… Read More

Tavae Samuelu (she/her/hers) is the daughter of a pastor from Leulumoega and a nurse from Saleimoa. Rooted in fa’a Samoa, she is a storyteller who empowers people to own their narratives, articulate their healing, and resource our movements.

Tavae was born and raised on Tongva Territory, in what is presently known as Long Beach. She left home to attend UC Berkeley where she majored in Ethnic Studies. After college, Tavae took a job as the District 5 Field Organizer for Jean Quan’s Oakland Mayoral Campaign which allowed her to grow her movement building skills and learn how to impact local institutions.… Read More

MaryAnn Martinez Treble serves as the Director of Finance and Operations of the Asian Pacific Fund. Her role focuses on managing accounting, human resources, and information technology.

MaryAnn brings over 15 years of accounting, operations, and business management experience and holds a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis, as well as an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from the California Culinary Academy.

Previously, MaryAnn worked for Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF), a statewide philanthropy with a dual mission of increasing health equity and ending domestic violence.… Read More

Director of Development

Gurpreet provides thoughtful leadership to create a strategic development plan that mobilizes resources to support the Bay Area’s most vulnerable Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

She does this by growing and nurturing the Asian Pacific Fund’s base of individual, corporate and foundation donors and works closely with the Fund’s executive director, board of directors, advisory council, and other key stakeholders.

Gurpreet brings over 12 years of experience in non-profit fundraising and is passionate about working to create meaningful change.… Read More

Corporate & Community Liaison

Joan manages the Asian Pacific Fund’s relations with affiliate organizations and grantees, and facilitates the grant application process as well as the Fund’s other funding initiatives.

Joan has spent over 25 years in media advertising sales, most recently at Comcast and AT&T. She was responsible for increasing advertising revenues from national companies such as United Airlines, American Express and McDonald’s, and raising over $500,000-1,000,000 in new business annually through corporate sponsorships, traditional and nontraditional revenue streams.… Read More

Madison Villanueva (she/her) is the Coordinator of Community Initiatives & Grantmaking for the Asian Pacific Fund. She was born in the Philippines and immigrated to California at the age of 7. Growing up undocumented in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley fueled her dedication to improving the lives of low-income, immigrant communities of color. Compelled to fight for the rights of herself and her loved ones, Madison joined the undocumented youth movement.… Read More

Kelly Wu (she/her/hers) is the Accounting and Operations Associate at the Asian Pacific Fund. In this role, she provides finance, accounting, operations, and administrative support.

Kelly has devoted her career to supporting Bay Area nonprofits in development, finance, and administration. Prior to joining the Asian Pacific Fund, she has worked for several arts organizations, including the Asian Art Museum, the San José Museum of Art, the Sweeney Art Gallery, and the California Museum of Photography.… Read More