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What is LEAP's Mentor Program?

 

 

It is a six-month mentor program with a focus on academic guidance, career advice, and leadership development for young students and professionals of Asian descent in the STEM and related fields.

LEAP mentors are volunteer accomplished professionals and caring educators committed to help grow LEAP mentees to succeed in their career pursuit.

 

 

 

What can I get from the Mentor Program?

 

  • One-on-one mentoring for six-month with a trusted experienced mentor who will provide consistent support and real-world insights and guidance;

  • Privileged access to a series of year-around LEAP career development programs;

  • Exclusive access to a wide variety of internships and full-time jobs;

  • Exclusive access to regular LEAP networking events and resources;

  • Celebrated recognition at the graduation ceremony.

Mentor List

Marco Curreli, Ph.D.

Executive Director/Founder | Omni Nano (STEM & nanotechnology education)

Curriculum Developer/Instructor | UCLA

Consultant, Chemical Sensors | Hal Technology

Dr. Marco Curreli is a scientist, educator, and social entrepreneur. In 2012, Dr. Curreli consolidated his passions for nanoscience and teaching to become the Founder and Executive Director of Omni Nano, an organization that educates students about the cutting-edge science of nanotechnology. His innovative work in STEM education has been recognized and endorsed by the community. In 2014 and 2015, Omni Nano was a finalist for the Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award – dubbed the “Oscars of Innovation” – and in 2015, Dr. Curreli was nominated for the Nonprofit Leadership Excellence Award by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Omni Nano is listed on the Federal Government' National Nanotechnology Initiative website (nano.gov) as resource for teachers. Dr. Curreli earned his B.S. in Chemistry at Cal State LA and holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from USC, where he focused the entirety of his graduate work on nanotechnology.

Angela Efros

VP | HG Plus Consulting

Angela spent 7 years in China working in TV, media production, manufacturing, and education. She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and has extensive expertise in Chinese culture and business practices. 


She is helping individuals and companies succeed as the rise of the Chinese economy changes the business world. The talented pool of Chinese graduates can help companies stay competitive with the rising Chinese market (currently $10 trillion) and the influx of Chinese tourists and immigrants to the United States.

Angela Efros

VP | HG Plus Consulting

Angela spent 7 years in China working in TV, media production, manufacturing, and education. She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and has extensive expertise in Chinese culture and business practices. 


She is helping individuals and companies succeed as the rise of the Chinese economy changes the business world. The talented pool of Chinese graduates can help companies stay competitive with the rising Chinese market (currently $10 trillion) and the influx of Chinese tourists and immigrants to the United States.

Hao Fu

Analytics Associate | The Boston Consulting Group

Hao Fu is an Analytics Associate at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He has deep experience in optimization and data analytics for various functions and industries, including retail, banking, energy, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Prior to BCG, Hao worked at Capgemini as an IT consultant. Hao is also the co-founder of Sumi, an organization dedicated to promoting data science technology in social domains. Hao holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from University of California, Berkeley. 

Chongying Guo

Sr. HR Director | Gemalto

Chongying Guo, Senior HR Leader at Gemalto Inc., holds a master’s degree in HRM. She progressed her career from business consulting, to leadership & talent consulting with Korn/Ferry and business HR operations for multi divisions and businesses with 3M. Gemalto is world leader in digital security.

Yijia Guo, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor | USC Marshall School of Business

Dr. Guo’s research focuses on organizational and intercultural communication in business. She is particularly interested and specialized in identity development and strategic negotiation in various international organizational contexts. Her research has appeared on top-tier journals that examined topics such as organizational culture, conflict management, emotion management, communication technology use in business (e.g., social media, mobile), and leadership communication. Professor’s pedagogical expertise in academia includes organizational communication, communication strategies in business, leadership communication, business and professional communication, communication in non-western culture, and persuasion. Prior to academia, Dr. Guo held program and event coordinator positions in Chinese and U.S. multinational companies, specializing intercultural business communication.

Ray Han

Lecturer | UCLA Anderson School of Business

Advisor | Asia Pacific Consulting

Ray Han, Lecturer at UCLA and Advisor at Asia Pacific Consulting, holds a Master’s Degree in System Engineering from Stanford University and Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from Yale University. Ray is also advisor to three internet startups: Law Totem, Rent a Rave and DeveloBrain. Prior to becoming a lecturer at UCLA, Ray had been Professor and Researcher at top universities in China like Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China.

Yutao He, Ph.D.

Senior Research Technologist | NASA/JPL

Cofounder / President | LEAP Career Development Forum

Adjunct Faculty | UCLA

Dr. Yutao He is a Senior Technologist at NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) leading technology development in innovative avionics systems for future space exploration missions. Since joining JPL in 2004, he has worked on a variety of projects with increased responsibilities as a hardware/software designer, a system analyst and architect, and a technical/project manager. He has won numerous NASA/JPL awards, including NASA Group Achievement Award, NASA New Technology Awards, and JPL institutional awards.

Dr. He is an adjunct faculty member at UCLA and CSU-LA, and an Executive-in-Residence of College of ECST at CSU-LA, teaching graduate/undergraduate courses in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Dr. He has been serving as reviewers for numerous professional journals and conferences and as organizers of technical conferences, and on the review boards of NASA AIST and SBIR proposals in the area of avionics and information technology.

Bo Li, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor | CSULA College of Business & Economics

Dr. Bo Li is currently an Assistant Professor of the Management Department in the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Los Angeles. He received a Ph.D. in Operations and Supply Chain Management and a M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Toledo in Ohio, and received a B.S. in Computational Mathematics from South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. He holds the CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) and CFPIM (Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management) from APICS. He is also a certificated SAP ERPsim instructor. Prior to joining Cal State L.A., he was an Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, and worked as a supply chain analyst at the headquarters of Libbey Glass Inc. in Toledo, Ohio.  

Xiaojie Meng, JD

Co-Founder/Partner | Song & Meng, PC

Xiaojie (Marta) Meng is a licensed attorney in the state of California, founder of boutique immigration law firm Song & Meng, PC. She practices exclusively in the field of immigration and nationality law, specializing in employment-based immigration and work visas. Xiaojie has extensive immigration experience serving a diverse array of clients, including multi-national corporations, small businesses, and individuals from all walks of life. Xiaojie is a member of the American Immigration Lawyer Association (AILA) and a frequent contributor to Immigration Daily.

Yue Rong, Ph.D.

Program Manager | LARWQCB, California EPA

Dr. Yue Rong (a.k.a. “Y.R.”) is currently the environmental program manager at the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region.  He has more than 25-year experience with the Agency in dealing with groundwater contamination problems in the Los Angeles area of California, U.S.A.  He was the recipient of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Outstanding Achievement Award and Supervisory Performance Award.  He also received 2011 AEHS Foundation Achievement Award.  Dr. Rong was elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2008 as the president of the Southern California Chinese American Environmental Protection Association (SCCAEPA), serving the local minority community.  He has been involved with CESASC in many capacities as speaker, moderator, panelist, and annual meeting technical session chair (2013).  In 2014, he was elected as vice-president of CESASC.

 

Dr. Rong is an Associate Editor for the peer-reviewed journal of Soil and Sediment Contamination and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Environmental Forensics.  Dr. Rong is the author or co-authors for about 30 peer-reviewed publications, and the Editor of the book entitled “Practical Environmental Statistics and Data Analysis.”    He is also the Editor-in-Chief for the peer-reviewed SCCAEPA Online Journal.  Dr. Yue Rong has his Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Wisconsin, and B.S. in Earth Science from the Beijing Normal University. 

Doug Schafer

VP, Product Development | DataFrameworks, Inc.

Doug Schafer cofounded DataFrameworks in 2009. The company's ClarityNow storage analysis product has quickly become the leading solution for TV and film post production, life sciences (genetic research), and chip design. Prior to DataFrameworks, Doug was the VP Product Development for DataDirect Networks, which provides storage to the majority of the Supercomputing Top 100. Prior to DDN, Doug was the VP Engineering, Platform for Ixia, which develops TCP/IP test equipment. Ixia sold to Keysight Technologies in 2016 for $1.6B. Doug holds a BSEE from the California Institute of Technology.

Liping Yan, Ph.D.

Geotechnical Engineer | Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Liping Yan graduated from the Southwest Jiaotong University located in Sichuan, China, in 1983 with a B.Eng. Degree, majoring in bridge structural engineering. He received an M.Eng. Degree in geotechnical engineering from the same university in 1986 and came to U.S. for further study. He earned M.S. (1990) and E.D. (1992) from the California Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. (1998) from the University of Southern California, all Dr. Liping Yan's research projects have related to soil constitutive relations, numerical analysis on seismic stability of earth dams and embankments, dynamic analysis on soil-structure interactions, and development and implementation of improved seismic design and retrofit procedures for bridge abutments and footings.  He has authored and co-authored over forty scholarly publications. 

Since 1990, Dr. Yan has been consulting for both public and private clients.  He has been involved in or has managed a variety of projects, such as reconstruction of I-10 Freeway bridges at Fairfax and Washington Boulevards after the Northridge earthquake in January 1994, Port of Los Angeles 2020 Plan, California Statewide Bridge Retrofit Program, Alameda Corridor, Metro Gold Line, and Los Angeles Reservoir Water Quality geotechnical issues for design and construction.  His expertise in geotechnical analysis and construction support includes aspects of building and bridge foundations, seismic site response, seismic hazard evaluation, seismic retrofit design, ground improvements, highway and parking pavements, airports, stations, earth dams, tanks, tunnels, storm drain, pipelines, port and harbor facilities, landfill, parks, and retaining structures.  Currently Dr. Yan works in the Geotechnical Engineering Group, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Kenneth Yao

Engagement Manager, IT Strategy Lead Technologist | Booz Allen Hamilton

Ken is a management consultant and specializes in cyber security, digital strategy, and data analytics. In his current role as a Lead Technologist and Engagement Manager with Booz Allen Hamilton, Ken serves clients across North America and Asia Pacific, leading mission-critical projects and driving enterprise change initiatives for global Fortune 500 companies and government entities. Starting his career journey in the world of finance, Ken spent several years interning in asset management, investment banking, and corporate finance including in the mergers & acquisitions division at a top-tier investment banking firm where he learned how to work hard and deliver results.

Power System Engineer III & Project Manager | Southern California Edison (SCE)

Dr.Hui Yuan is a Power System Engineer III at Southern California Edison (SCE) leading advanced applications in power system distribution management system. Dr.Yuan serves as the vice chair of IEEE Computer Society in IEEE Metropolitan Los Angeles Section. Prior to joining SCE, Dr.Yuan worked with California Independent Operator to operate California's Wholesale Electricity Market. Before coming to the US, Dr. Yuan worked with China Electric Power Research Institute as a Project Manager. He delivered Energy Management System for China National, Regional , Provincial and municipal Control Centers. He also participated one of the first China wholesale electricity markets' design, development and delivery.

 

Dr.Yuan holds a Ph.D. from Washington State Univeristy, an M.S. from North China Electric Power University (Beijing), and a B.S. from Fuzhou University, all in Electrical Engineering.

Lisha Yuan

Senior Associate | KPMG LLP

Lisa is a senior associate at KPMG Deal Advisory, providing accounting advisory services to clients in various industries who experience accounting changes, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and debt and equity issuance or investment. Lisa previously served as an audit senior at Deloitte in Chicago and Southern California, providing financial statement, internal control, and IPO audit services to clients in technology, real estate, and consumer and industrial manufacturing industries. Lisa holds a Master of Accounting with Distinction from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Peking University.

John Zhuang, JD

General Counsel & HR Director | BYD America

John Zhuang is Corporate Counsel and Interim Director of Human Resources at BYD America Corporation. He currently oversees all of the company’s legal and human resources operations in the United States and Canada.

Prior to joining BYD, John has represented a variety of entities ranging from Fortune 500 conglomerates to startup technology companies. His experience includes mergers and acquisition, business development, and government and regulatory affairs work for the automotive, aviation, and clean technology industries. He also has experience advising governments and nonprofits with clients that include City of Santa Clarita, City of Gardena, and the education reform nonprofit StudentsFirst.

John received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He earned his law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall). John is a licensed attorney with the State Bar of California.

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