Our Board of Directors is accomplished, passionate and dedicated to helping families succeed
Jim Chappell
President
Jim is a retired urban planner, and 15-year president and executive director of SPUR, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. He has served on a number of non-profit boards, including community organizations, professional associations, and educational institutes. His primary work has been in public-private partnerships, community building, and civic betterment. He has a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Albert Lee
Treasurer
Al is a business builder with experience in finance, treasury, governance, investments, investment operations, and business operations, and has spent the bulk of his career in the financial services industry in San Francisco. He currently works for Charles Schwab in their mutual fund and exchange traded fund business. Al previously worked as an SVP in the exchange traded fund business of The Hartford, and as a management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group. He has an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and an AB in Economics from Dartmouth College.
Jackson Chin
Board Member
Jackson is a retired financial services executive with over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, finance, technology, and operations. He is actively involved in non-profits and has volunteered as a Taproot Foundation pro bono consultant for well over 10 years as well as serving as a business mentor at SCORE. He has an MBA from San Francisco State University and a BA from UC Berkeley.
Bob Daoro
Board Member
Bob is a retired Director of Finance at Baker Tilly. He was a Founding Partner of DZH Phillips, with extensive experience in audits, reviews, compilations and tax planning, strategic planning, and succession planning. His expertise also includes management consulting and advisory assistance. He is a long-time board member of Compass Family Services and has served as treasurer and on the Executive Committee. Bob was treasurer at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture and now serves as Chair of their Audit Committee. He is a past treasurer of the Educational Foundation of Orinda. Bob joined the Wu Yee Board to help with the very important task of providing excellent child care and education for all children, right from the start. Bob currently serves as a member of the Finance, Strategic Planning, and Real Estate Committee.
Samira Khan
Board Member
Samira Khan is the Director, Campaigns & Insights, Global Public Affairs at Microsoft. Prior, Samira has worked at the intersection of social
innovation/impact + tech at both Microsoft, where she was a Director on the AI & Sustainability Market Development team, and Salesforce. While at Salesforce, she was involved in piloting a program with the WEF COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs.
Samira holds deeper expertise in the ESG space and digital inclusion and has worked across corporations, governments, and the social sector for over fifteen years on innovative solutions to solving some of society’s greatest challenges. She is especially interested in business model innovations and new ideas to deepen purpose and enhance wellbeing – leadership, organizational design, and empowerment are key aspects of this. Her work spans the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia. She is a former strategy/ management consultant; and while at A.T. Kearney
in Southeast Asia, she played a lead role in starting and building its social impact organization. She is also passionate about topics related to gender and youth empowerment toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dean Marotta
Board Member
Dean is Senior Vice President-Sr. Audit Director and Senior Management Committee member at Bank of the West, a BNP Paribas Company. He was previously Chief Audit Executive, AIG Companies in Japan; Managing Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Tokyo Japan, Financial Services Advisory; Executive Vice President–Risk Management at Zions Bancorporation and Executive Management Committee member in Salt Lake City; and Vice President-Audit Director with Merrill Lynch in Tokyo. Dean also served as Vice President – Audit Director with Citibank in London, covering capital markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Vice President-Global Markets Audit with JP Morgan in New York. Dean is a graduate of Fordham University in New York and completed the RMA Advanced Risk Management Program at Wharton School of Business-University of Pennsylvania. Dean was born in New York City and among his hobbies are skiing, music, wine appreciation, travel and quality time with family, friends and his dog.
Michael Lai
Board Member
Michael Lai is an entrepreneur, educator, and community builder. Most recently, he was founder & CEO of Tinycare, an innovative network of micro daycare centers that was acquired. Before that, he helped launch Promise, an early childhood venture studio, and was a Director of Outreach at Minerva, a new university funded with $100M dollars. Michael helped start co-living communities in SF, and organizes Chinese / Asian American heritage events. Michael’s passion for education starts from the classroom – as a volunteer preschool teacher, including at Wu Yee, and in college as a volunteer student teacher for 4th, 5th, and 8th grade. Michael graduated with honors from Harvard College, where he studied government.
Victoria J. Chin
Vice President
Victoria is a Product Marketing leader at Asana. Previously, she held marketing and customer experience leadership roles at high-growth tech companies Dropbox and Opendoor, and established enterprises Bloomberg and Dow Jones (publisher of The Wall Street Journal). She has a MBA from UC Berkeley-Haas and a BA from UCLA. As a daughter of immigrants from low-income families, Victoria is committed to serving communities in need, and was raised to value family and education above all else.
Diana Pohle
Secretary
Diana is a psychologist and healthcare business leader whose North Star is connecting the heart of what drives people with the data that provokes meaningful action to make the world a better place. She leverages extensive analytical skills and a relentless curiosity to produce deep insights, improve decision making, and guide strategies with unwavering equanimity. Diana is Senior Director, Business Analytics and Insights in a West Coast-based biopharma company that seeks to transform men and women’s health. She has over 20 years of experience in healthcare market intelligence, serves on many philanthropic and industry association boards, and teaches undergraduate courses in business strategy, market research, statistics, and healthcare consumer trends.
Diana is privileged to be the mother of nine amazing young people. As her family grew through unconventional means, she has become an outspoken advocate for the needs of the vulnerable, including immigrants, foster youth, and unaccompanied refugee minors.
Raymond Delacruz
Board Member
Blanca Rocio Cendejas, MD
Board Member
Rocio is a Pediatrician at Kaiser San Francisco where she serves a diverse patient population with a strong focus on Latinx families. Before completing her medical training, Rocio devoted her early professional career to international medical aid working for Direct Relief, an organization active in over 80 countries with a mission to improve the health of people affected by poverty and humanitarian crises. Today, outside her clinical practice, Rocio is involved in various community-based projects focusing on early childhood education and early developmental screening, as well as health outreach in minority and low-income communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a strong interest in education, she also serves as a UCSF volunteer clinical faculty teaching UCSF medical students and pediatric residents. Proud daughter of immigrant parents, Rocio is passionate about programs and initiatives that foster access to high-quality childcare and early education for all communities in need. Rocio received her medical degree from the UCSF School of Medicine and completed her specialty training in Pediatrics at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
Milu Maggin
Board Member
Milu became involved with Wu Yee Children’s Services in 2016 when her son started preschool at Wu Yee’s New Generation Child Development Center and served as the Chair of the New Generation Family Committee for two years. She also joined Wu Yee’s Policy Council in 2016 where she served as Chairperson in FY16-17 and FY17-18. After her son began kindergarten, Milu continued to serve on the Policy Council as a Community Representative. Born and raised in San Francisco, Milu is passionate about early education, special needs education, and creating opportunities for these populations. She graduated with a B.S. in Economics from University of San Francisco.
Cindy Yang
Board Member
Cindy is a finance and operations executive, with over 15 years of experience in high growth environments. She is currently the COO and was on the founding team of SoMa Equity Partners, an investment firm, where she oversees several functions including finance/accounting, operations, legal, and compliance. Previously, she held roles at other investment firms and was an auditor at Ernst & Young. She is also a licensed and active Certified Public Accountant. Cindy is committed to improving underserved communities and promoting social justice. She lives in the East Bay with her husband and two boys.
Gabriela Vasquez
Board Member
Gabriela is an Attorney at Hanson Crawford Crum Family Law Group in San Mateo, CA. She began her legal practice in civil litigation where she handled cases involving commercial litigation, premise liability, and product liability before focusing exclusively on family law. She works with clients and families to achieve positive results during what can be one of the most challenging times in their lives. Gabriela is a first generation immigrant who is passionate about creating opportunities and pathways for underserved communities who need of access to high-quality childcare and early education. Gabriela received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Michelle Droz
Board Member
Michelle Droz is a Vice President/Employee Benefits Consultant & Broker for Alliant Insurance Services. She specializes in benefit plan strategy and management. Michelle engages with employers to develop benefit solutions that meet their insurance needs and fit within the organization’s budget and corporate culture.
Michelle is a noted speaker, advocate, and philanthropist. She is a Board Member & Executive Director for The San Mateo County API Caucus, Business Council Member for Asian Health Services and hosts nonprofit executive roundtable events quarterly. Michelle founded and leads her company’s first AAPI Employee Resource Group (ERG). Michelle is a mother of twins sons, is originally from South Korea, raised in the Midwest and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years with her husband.