Youth Leadership

CULTIVATING YOUTH LEADERSHIP AT ACT TO CHANGE

Youth Leadership

Cultivating Youth Leadership at Act To Change

Act To Change’s youth leadership vision starts with a simple belief: AAPI young people deserve real power, confidence, and support in the spaces they move through every day.

Our goal is to help youth find their voice, take action, and lead with pride in who they are. Whether they’re calling out bullying, building belonging, or shifting school culture, we give young people the tools, mentorship, and community to show up as upstanders and changemakers. At the end of the day, this work is about growing a generation of leaders who know their voices matter – and use them to create safer, more inclusive spaces for themselves and each other.

Leadership Pathways

Step 1: Join a Program

Find people who get you
Build community with peers
Explore identity
Learn about the impacts of bullying
Unlock your leadership

Step 2: Lead an Initiative

Learn how to lead an event
Host an Impact Convo
Pitch a workshop

Step 3: Mentor Others

Alumni mentor incoming youth ambassadors
Provide advisory support to the organization

Step 4: Shape the Movement

Join our Youth Advisory Council (coming soon!)
Lead a regional Youth Upstander Network summit
Leader a Homeroom Collective regional hub

Impact Projects

Impact Projects are where Youth Ambassadors get to showcase their creativity in implementing an idea or solution to prevent bullying and promote belonging in their local communities. We believe a hate and bullying-free world will only be possible if solutions come directly from those most impacted by it – and it starts with encouraging young people to realize their potential and help actualize their creative approaches.

Each project is informed by each Ambassador’s unique context and lived experiences. Ranging from art installations and podcasts, storytelling to workshops, advocacy, and community events, these projects meet students where they are and give us a glimpse into the kind of world they hope to help build.

LEARN MORE

Below are a few examples from the 2024-2025 Cohort!

“Pass the Plate” Podcast

Created by 2024-2025 Youth Ambassador and high school senior Heeju Bahk, “Pass the Plate” was a storytelling podcast where AAPI youth shared bullying experiences and cultural food traditions to reclaim identity and build pride.

Impact: Served as a healing platform for shared experiences.
Outcome: Nearly 4,500 Instagram engagements, sparking wide conversations on resilience and AAPI identity.

Rocky Mountain AAPI Student Coalition Youth Leadership Summit

Created by 2024-2025 Youth Ambassador and high school senior Madison Lee, the Rocky Mountain AAPI Student Coalition Youth Leadership Summit was a two-day statewide summit bringing together 25 AAPI students for workshops on identity, activism, mental health, and community-building.

Impact: Participants rated the summit 4.7/5 on overall satisfaction, leaving the summit feeling inspired and connected.
Outcome: Several students plan to start AAPI clubs; Madison is expanding RMASC into an annual statewide network.

Alumni Network: Building A Movement That Endures

We don’t just catalyze youth leadership, we invest in sustaining it from the moment they matriculate to and through alumnihood. We champion opportunities for our alumni to remain engaged with the work, resources, supports, and our platform, ensuring there are no gaps between youth activism and adult leadership.

Our Alumni Network offerings include:

Leading Programs like Impact Convos, which focus on increasing representation of AAPI leading voices in the industry across arts to business to entertainment.
Driving Advocacy on our Youth Advisory Council to shape our anti-bullying and anti-hate policy work.
Career Support through connections with our multi-sector partnerships across nonprofit, tech, entertainment, advocacy, and more.

Spotlight: Impact Convos

Impact Convos connects Alumni with leaders and influencers in the industry in conversations around representation, identity and leadership, career advice, and belonging.

Each month, these Impact Convos aim to platform AAPI voices and spark intergenerational dialogue with youth asking the questions and taking the lead.

Featured conversations included topics like:

A call for cultural advocacy with Boba Guys founder Andrew Chau.
Representation and trailblazing newsroom leadership with news anchor Pam Chen.
Commitments to accessible content with corporate executive Jane Park.
Embracing multifaceted identities with content creator Ryan Alexander Holmes.

Want to be part of an upcoming conversation or know someone who should? Drop us a note and introduce yourself: programs@acttochange.org

CONTACT

FAQ

Act To Change is a 501(c)3 national nonprofit focused on ending bullying for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth. The organization provides youth-led programs and public awareness initiatives, and advocates for inclusive anti-bullying policies to promote inclusive, supportive communities and schools.

Students, educators, parents, caregivers, and community members interested in bullying prevention and supporting AAPI youth in their leadership development can engage with Act To Change initiatives such as our Youth Ambassador Program and Homeroom Collective.

You can take the anti-bullying pledge on our site, share resources and content from our social media channels, participate in campaigns such as ACTober Against Bullying, donate, or partner with the organization to support our youth-led programs and initiatives.

For companies, Act To Change offers a variety of ways to support, including working directly with ERGs to develop workshops aligned to our mission and tailored to your goals. Reach out to partnerships@acttochange.org to learn more about partnership opportunities.

Sign up for the Act To Change newsletter by taking the pledge or follow our social media channels (Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube) for the latest news, events, and anti-bullying resources.

Act To Change welcomes speaking engagements, collaborations, and partnerships to expand anti-bullying education and inclusive initiatives. For companies, Act To Change offers a variety of ways to support, including working directly with ERGs to develop workshops aligned to our mission and tailored to your goals. Reach out to partnerships@acttochange.org to discuss opportunities.

Jax Kohlbrenner

Marketing & Communications Coordinator (any pronouns)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

My favorite thing about Act To Change is the unique way they approach combating bullying in schools, especially through the YAP program and the youth’s impact projects.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I make custom dolls!

Amy Paradis

Vice Chair of Finance (she/her)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

My favorite thing about Act To Change is meeting so many people who are Asian American like me. For so long I felt like I didn’t fit in with the Asian culture because I grew up in America, and I didn’t fit in with the American culture because I looked Asian. After I found Act To Change, I have met so many Asian Americans who can relate to me. I have gone so far as to find Asian American Korean Adoptees like me!

What’s a fun fact about you?

My favorite color is purple. My favorite food is mushrooms. I love the NYT Mini Crosswords. I love Puzzles. I like to color!

Arij Mikati

Board Member (she/her)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

What I love most about Act To Change is the opportunity to see our young alumni lead the next classes with power, confidence, and wisdom. It feels like real-time proof of how effective our programs are, and it makes me hopeful about the future they will shape.

What’s one fun fact about you?

So far, I’ve met 2 Batmans through my career. I love letting people guess which two.

Deborah Yeh

CMO, Sephora Americas & Sephora’s Global Chief Purpose Officer, Advisory Council Member (she/her)

Deborah Yeh is the Chief Marketing Officer for Sephora Americas and Sephora’s Global Chief Purpose Officer. In her Americas role, Deborah is responsible for cultivating the brand experience at Sephora and ensuring it is differentiated and compelling across all marketing touchpoints — from communications and creative, to loyalty and personalization. In her Purpose role, Deborah is focused on driving Sephora’s global mission to expand the way the world sees beauty. Prior to Sephora, Deborah held various marketing and digital leadership roles at brands including Target and Old Navy.

Deborah has been recognized as one of the 25 most innovative CMOs in the world by Business Insider, Forbes CMO Next, Adweek 50, Campaign 50, The Influence 100 by PRovoke, and Women Worth Watching by Diversity Journal. She is passionate about driving more inclusion in marketing and serves on several advisory boards aligned to this mission, including the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing as well as BRIDGE.

Michelle Lee

VP, Global Editorial & Publishing at Netflix, Advisory Council Member (she/her)

Michelle Lee is the VP of Global Editorial & Publishing at Netflix. Prior to joining Netflix in 2020, she was Editor in Chief of Allure. Since taking the helm of Allure in 2015, Lee has been committed to championing diversity and expanding the definition of beauty.

She was named Adweek’s 2017 Editor of the Year while Allure won Magazine of the Year for their groundbreaking covers, such as the July 2017 This Is American Beauty cover featuring model Halima Aden in her hijab. Lee and her staff declared the “End of Anti-Aging” in their September 2017 issue and took an oath to remove the term “anti-aging” from their own lexicon. It was a bold statement that challenged readers and brands to look at and speak about aging in a more positive way — and it has made ripples in the beauty industry and beyond.

Throughout her time at Allure, Lee has been uniquely committed to Asian-American issues and representation, featuring stars like Gemma Chan, Naomi Osaka, Priyanka Chopra, Fei Fei Sun, Fernanda Ly, Soo Joo Park, and K-pop stars Jihyo and JB on the cover of Allure; and she’s highlighted notable Asian-American voices on The Allure Podcast, including Awkwafina, Prabal Gurung, and Phillip Lim.

Lee was previously the Editor in Chief and Chief Marketing Officer at NYLON, Co-Founder and Chief Content and Strategy Officer at branded content agency Magnified Media, and held senior positions at Mademoiselle, Glamour, and more.

She is a Board member at ColorComm, a member of Adweek’s Advisory Council and Twitter’s Content Council, and she was named to the Gold House A100 of most influential Asians in 2018, 2019, and 2020, as well as Digiday’s Glossy 50, and Create & Cultivate’s Creative 100 in 2017. She was a recipient of a 2019 ColorComm Circle Award, and Allure was nominated for a National Magazine Award for its March 2018 issue The Culture of Hair featuring Lupita Nyong’o.

Sarah Ha

Senior Director of Strategy, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) (she/her)

Sarah Ha is the Senior Director of Strategy at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), where she spearheads the organization’s comprehensive strategy to drive impactful change for marginalized Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across New York. She oversees policy advocacy, membership and coalition-building, and leadership development programs, ensuring they align with CACF’s mission to enhance the health, well-being, and safety of marginalized AAPI children and families.

With over 20 years of experience driving strategic transformations in the racial and social justice, nonprofit, education, and social impact sectors, Sarah specializes in strategic partnerships, cross-racial coalition building, organizational strategy, leadership development, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) capacity building. A Professional Diversity Coach and trained Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator, she leverages her narrative as the daughter of working-class immigrants, caregiver, and satellite child to her professional practice, fostering environments of growth, healing, and transformation.

Before joining CACF, Sarah founded Jayu Consulting, LLC, a strategy coaching and consulting firm dedicated to empowering social impact leaders and organizations to deepen their connections and amplify their transformative impact. As Vice President of National Community Alliances at Teach For America (TFA), she led external engagement strategies with national civil rights and mission-aligned organizations, building intersectional partnerships across Black, Native, AAPI, Latinx, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. Her leadership at TFA included founding the AAPI Community Alliances, which mobilized and developed AAPI leaders to drive systemic change in education, earning her team national recognition, including the 2018 Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) Community Award and acknowledgment by the California delegation.

Sarah’s career also includes leading programs for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMSP) and APIA Scholars, where she supported over 16,000 scholarship recipients and contributed to national research on educational equity for underserved AAPI communities. Her strategic expertise and dedication to community engagement and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives have consistently empowered communities to achieve transformative change. Prior to serving at APIA Scholars and GMSP, Sarah worked in the Office of the Dean of Students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center, and served as an Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator dedicated to creating inclusive, affirming, and diverse campus environments.

She holds a Master of Education in Student Affairs, Higher Education & Organizational Change from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Faith, Peace & Justice from Boston College. She has completed certifications and fellowships with the Coach Diversity Institute, Pahara Institute, Aspen Institute, LEAP’s Emerging Leaders Program, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) National Leadership Academy, and TFA’s New Executive Director Fellowship.

Living on the unceded land of the Lenapehoking (Queens, NY), Sarah is committed to creating equitable opportunities for historically underserved communities, grounding in her core value of collective liberation. She serves on the Advisory Council for Act To Change and volunteers with community organizations dedicated to promoting equity, belonging, and justice.

Philip W. Chung

Creative Director, YOMYOMF, Advisory Council Member (he/him)

Philip W. Chung oversees the creative content for YOMYOMF, director Justin Lin’s (STAR TREK BEYOND, FAST & FURIOUS franchise) Asian American-centric digital company, and has worked in various capacities in film, TV, theater and digital. Previously, he was the co-founder/co-Artistic Director of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, an Asian American theater company, for ten years. Chung has developed projects for Google, Machinima, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Ovation TV, IFC, Legendary Pictures, ABC and others. Upcoming projects include FAMILY STYLE (an Asian food series for Warner Bros/Stage 13), MOONSHADOW (a LGBTQ-centric horror feature for Gunpowder & Sky), a Christmas musical for Disney Channel, and a theatrical adaptation of the beloved children’s book, EVERYONE POOPS.

Dr. Vanessa de Guia

Board Member (she/her/siya)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

Programs like the Youth Ambassador Program bring students together from across the country to develop leadership skills to protect students from bullying and hate speech and work to ensure students are treated with dignity, care, and respect. Students gain confidence, strengthen their public speaking skills, and become leaders in their communities.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I love to write and I was recently featured inThe Chicago Soul Poem: A City That Writes Together project – created by avery r. young, Chicago’s inaugural poet laureate. You can find all 30 featured poets in this project on YouTube. If you love poetry, please consider watching them in consecutive order.

Satjeet Kaur

Board Member (she/her)

Satjeet is a non-profit executive focused on civil and human rights issues, community mobilization and organizing as well as fundraising and operations.

She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Sikh Coalition, the largest and most prominent Sikh civil rights organization in the United States. Though she became Executive Director in 2018, she has worked in nearly every core facet of the organization’s work throughout her 12 years on the team. During that time, Satjeet has served as a leading organizer and activist providing direct support to Sikh communities across the country, including the rapid response after the Oak Creek Gurdwara shooting. Under her leadership as executive director, the Sikh Coalition has passed hate crime laws at the state and federal levels, successfully fought back against attempts to roll back federal policies that protected Sikhs from discrimination, improved how Sikhism is taught in six new states, oversaw the development of classroom-ready resources, mobilized grassroots voter registration drives, and successfully litigated cases to set strong precedence against religious discrimination. Recently, the organization led a U.S.-based response to the farmers’ protest in India, and provided crisis response support after the mass shooting in Indianapolis.

She currently serves as a Spiritual Life Advisor at New York University. She was named as one of 15 Faith Leaders to Watch by the Center for American Progress and has appeared on New York City and State list of leading Asian Americans. Satjeet has also served on interfaith advisory councils for Netflix, Facebook, and New York State. Previous to her tenure at the Sikh Coalition, Satjeet worked at SAMAR to increase the number of minorities registered on the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Satjeet was born and raised in New Jersey and currently lives in Connecticut. She is a graduate of New York University with degrees in Religious Studies and Psychology.

Nancy Tiên

Board Member (she/her)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

My favorite thing about Act To Change is the community we’ve built centered around supporting our youth, especially because as an adult I wish this type of support existed for the younger me. I am privileged to witness the journeys of the youth that we get to work with, as they embody the hope, potential and importance of a better future.

What’s one fun fact about you?

My first language was Vietnamese but I’m most fluent (and more comfortable) in Spanish and English. Growing up in Texas, my friends over the years introduced me to Latin American music, cuisine and traditions, which included opportunities to learn Spanish. I love how Latin culture and my friends’ experiences, albeit different than mine, have been both a window to the world and a mirror of my own experience.

Dr. Adam Collins

Vice Chair of Programs (he/him)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

My favorite thing about Act To Change is that we center youth in everything we do. We have helped AANHPI youth become stronger leaders who are able to show other youth in their communities what it looks like to be proud to be Asian and to stand up to bullying. My colleagues on the Board of Directors are aligned in making sure this generation of AANHPI youth know they belong no matter where they are in the country.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I have six pets, including four chickens. My two elementary-school-aged kids help take care of them and plan to sell our extra eggs at an egg stand in our neighborhood during the summer!

Gang Fong

Vice Chair of Operations (he/him)

Gang Fong is a director at Copia Power, an energy transition company in the U.S. committed to accelerating decarbonization in all areas of our economy. Prior to Copia Power, Gang was a management and technology consultant for 15 years, leading and supporting public, private, and government organizations to implement transformational programs, process improvements, and optimize their operations. Gang received his Executive Master of Business Administration (Valedictorian) from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Oregon State University.

As a first-generation Chinese American immigrant, Gang is familiar with the impacts of bullying in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and is passionate to support and amplify Act To Change’s mission and initiatives. Gang resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children.

Sumi Parekh

Board Chair (she/her)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

What I love most about Act To Change is how it centers youth voice and leadership in such a meaningful way. It’s not just about responding to anti-Asian hate—it’s about building a future where young people feel a true sense of belonging, power, and agency in shaping their communities.

What is one fun fact about you?

I’ve lived in five very different states across the U.S. (Utah, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and California), and each place has shaped how I see community, identity, and belonging. Those experiences have given me a deep appreciation for how the environment influences opportunity—and have really informed the way I approach my work.

Jonathan Dacula

Senior Manager, Operations & Development (he/him)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

Seeing our youth participants grow and fully tap into their confidence as leaders! It’s so inspiring to get a front row seat into their growth, tapping into the power they hold as changemakers for good that was always there. I’m proud of our role at Act To Change bringing that out of them and seeing the impact they have on others beyond their time with us.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I’ve been in choirs for most of life and was part of a short-lived alt-rock band in high school. I may or may not also have a few music social media channels out there under a different name…

Josef Canaria

Manager, Programs & Strategic Initiatives (he/him)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

My favorite part of Act To Change is watching young people step into their power and turn their experiences with bullying or exclusion into something meaningful. Seeing their confidence grow as they spark conversations, build impactful community projects, and make their schools more inclusive is what makes this work so special to me!

What’s one fun fact about you?

I’m sharing more than one fun fact, but together they paint a pretty accurate picture of who I am: I still have two baby teeth (which I insist just means I’m youthful), I’ve somehow landed in Taylor Swift’s top 0.05% of Spotify listeners for three years straight, and I’ve watched every single episode of Survivor – all 50 seasons of it.

Soukprida Phetmisy

Executive Director (she/they)

What is your favorite thing about Act To Change?

What I love about Act To Change is seeing young people from communities and cultures that also raised me, realize their voices are powerful — that they matter — and then watching what happens when they get a platform and use those voices to create real change. Every story shared and every action taken is proof of what’s possible when young people feel truly seen, supported, and rooted in who they are. It gives me a lot of hope for what we’re building together.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I’m thisclose to platinum-ing Balatro. I’ve been a card carrying member (No. 17793) of the Cloud Appreciation Society since 2009. Please ask me about my cloud collection.

Jill Yu

Co-Founder (she/her)

Jill Yu’s own experiences with bullying have profoundly shaped her commitment to creating a world where every young person feels safe, valued, and proud of who they are. As a new mom, her motivation has grown even stronger—knowing that the work she does today will help shape a brighter, kinder future for her child and all children yet to come.

Currently, Jill serves as a senior official overseeing field operations in Washington, DC, where she works tirelessly to support and empower communities on the ground. Her journey in public service began as a Presidential Management Fellow, driven by a desire to advocate for vulnerable youth. Prior to that, she was a Staff Attorney at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, focusing on issues affecting foster youth and education.

In 2015, Jill served as an Advisor at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. There, she contributed to critical initiatives such as “Act to Change,” which promotes kindness and anti-bullying efforts, and organized impactful events at the White House that fostered collaboration between philanthropic, public, and private sectors. She also worked closely with senior federal agency leaders to improve how their agencies serve Asian American communities.

Beyond her professional roles, Jill is an active member of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association and founded the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Washington, DC. Her personal experiences and her love for her family inspire her to empower youth, helping them embrace their identities and stand proud—because she knows firsthand how vital it is for the next generation to grow up in a world that celebrates diversity and kindness.

Rebecca Lee

Co-Founder (she/her)

Rebecca brings more than 15 years of experience in strategy, outreach, and communications as Founder and Principal of Dot Movement, a public affairs and marketing agency working to turn ideas into movements. Rebecca served as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the Biden-Harris Administration. In that role, she coordinated and implemented federal programs and initiatives to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities. During her tenure, she led the launch of the first-ever national strategy to advance equity for AA and NHPIs, a regional economic summit series, and the historic White House Forum on AA and NHPIs featuring Vice President Kamala Harris.

Rebecca was previously Communications Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under the Obama-Biden Administration. She also held public affairs roles at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after joining the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Rebecca co-founded national anti-bullying organization Act To Change and served as Chair of the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership. Rebecca received her master’s degree from Columbia University and bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, where she led a diverse coalition to found the Asian & Asian-American Center.

Maulik Pancholy

Co-Founder/Advisory Council Chair (he/him)

Maulik Pancholy is an award-winning actor, author and activist whose work has spanned hit television shows, the Broadway stage and films. He is best known for playing Jonathan on NBC’s award-winning comedy 30 Rock, Sanjay on the Showtime hit series Weeds, and Neal on the NBC comedy Whitney. He is also the voice of Baljeet on Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, and the title voice of Sanjay on Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig – the first lead Indian-American character on a network cartoon.

His debut novel, THE BEST AT IT — about a gay, Indian American boy coming into his own — was named a 2020 Stonewall Honor Book, a 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, The American Library Association’s Booklist and Kirkus Reviews.

As an activist, he has long been an advocate for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and LGBTQIA+ communities. He is the recipient of the Asian American Arts Alliance Award, the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award, and was named to Out Magazine’s Top 100 list. He regularly speaks at universities and corporations on the topics of diversity and inclusion.

In 2014, President Obama appointed Pancholy to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs. During his three-year tenure at the White House, he helped launch Act to Change.

Youth Leadership

Leadership Pathways

Impact Projects

Alumni Network: Building A Movement That Endures

FAQ

What is Act To Change and what does your organization do?+

Who can participate in Act To Change programs?+

How can I take action or support the mission?+

How do I stay updated on events and resources?+

How can my school, company, or group work with Act To Change?+