Team

  • Founder and Executive Director

    A Chinese-American with a pulse on cultural integrity, Dana He is a passionate nonprofit leader with over 8+ years of experience propelling organizational, community, and value-based initiatives forward. To date, Dana holds a dynamic background involving program and event management, cross-functional networking, and creating high-potential opportunities for the often underrepresented. Applying this advocacy as the Founder and Executive Director of H.AAPI, Dana is passionate about liaising between goal and milestone, and ultimately conceptualizing positive impacts within the local and national AAPI communities.

    Throughout her career, Dana built a large inventory of experiences supporting key functions across the community outreach sector. Notably, Dana began her career in administration for the Queens Historical Society and soon scaled to hold several roles for reputable organizations such as the Queens Chamber of Commerce. These experiences and her unique ability to connect with others of all backgrounds led Dana to establish H.AAPI in 2022 with the goal of accentuating quality and equal opportune advancements for one of the most demographically diverse populations in the US. More recently, Dana’s efforts have been alongside serving as an Assistant Exhibit Coordinator for the New York International Auto Show.

    Dana is a high-energy advocate for meaningful impact and is best known for human-centered engagements that break cultural biases and motivate others to become the change they want to see. This complements her deep roots in nonprofit relationships, C-level view of business, and understanding that systematic shifts start by being the domino that sets it in motion.

    Dana earned a BA in Global History from John Jay College of Criminal Justice (abbrev: CUNY) and currently resides in Queens, New York. In her free time, you can often find Dana exploring new restaurants in the city, whipping up new recipes at home, and unwinding with a good documentary.

  • Director of Operations

    Whitney Yeung is a seasoned real estate advisor who combines a buoyant, easygoing personality with extensive market knowledge and in-depth expertise in the buying and selling process. A Queens native with substantial career experience on Long Island, she provides elevated client service and bridges the gap for first-time buyers, sellers, and investors looking to move to, or between, the North Shores of Queens and Long Island.


    Whitney has been in real estate for nearly a decade and has successfully guided clients through every challenge and obstacle. She is an exceptional communicator who maintains constant contact during every step of a transaction. Her success can be attributed to her out-of-the-box thinking, kindness, and patience. She is a relentless negotiator in pursuit of her clients’ goals, and her passion for the industry is apparent in every showing and client interaction. The go-to resource for real estate advice within her community, she believes that building wealth through property ownership is achievable for anyone who puts their mind to it.

    In her spare time, Whitney enjoys reading self-development books and novels as well as trying out new recipes. She is obsessed with her air fryer and pressure cooker, and she has ventured down the TikTok recipe rabbit hole more than once. She is also a self-described gym rat who never skips leg day. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

  • Director of Special Initiatives

    Chen is an experienced medical communications professional with 4 years of experience in the healthcare communications and strategy space. She is currently the Senior Manager of Scientific and Medical Communications, and Innovation on the Global CeraVe team, part of L'Oreal Groupe. She and her parents immigrated to New York when she was 3, and has spent over two decades calling Queens home.

    Chen received her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Rutgers University, and continues to practice as a pharmacist at Alto Pharmacy. She extends her engagement in scientific research as an Evaluator for the Science Talent Search, and Grand Judge for the International Science and Engineering Fair. Chen is also a preceptor for pharmacy students anticipating to graduate from St. John's University and Rutgers University. Chen is passionate about mentorship, business clinical strategy and development, and health care information accessibility and purity for both patients and health care professionals.

    In her free time, Chen enjoys traveling with friends, family, or solo; building her Smiski collection; and spontaneously attending concerts or sports games. She is a big sister to younger triplets who keeps trying to convince her to purchase more Smiskis.

    Her primary advice to students and young professionals is a quote from Zig Ziglar, "there are no traffic jams on the extra mile." Everything worth doing is scary, but we have to do it anyway.

Board

  • President

    Christella Xu is the president of Elite Builders & Management (EBM), a certified woman-owned steel company specializing in high-quality, customized fabrications and installations. As an industry leader, she champions women's empowerment in the workplace. During her six-year tenure, Ms. Xu has become a role model for women in construction, leading a skilled and diverse team in a male-dominated industry.

    A committed advocate on behalf of women and the less fortunate, Ms. Xu is the past president of the Brewer Foundation, which provides academic resources and leadership training to students from economically challenged neighborhoods in Dallas. She is a member of the executive board of the National Association for Minority Contractors (NAMC).  

  • Treasurer

    Alejandra currently works in the accounting department at Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association and its various divisions, one of them being NY International Auto show. Alejandra has over 8 years’ experience working in non-profit finance. Prior to joining GNYADA Alejandra worked for Queens Chamber of Commerce as the Financial Controller where she handled financial statements and budgets. As well as managed the applications, procurements, budgets, and audits of New York City Discretionary Funding, New York State EDC Grants, and Private Grants.

  • Secretary

    Azra Khalfan-Kermali, is the founder and CEO of Away in a BOX, a division of Plaques by Azra. A trusted supplier for Awards and Signs, founded in Queens, NY in 1974.

    A native of Queens, New York, Azra has lived in Tanzania, UAE and extensively traveled the world.  She brings over two decades of entrepreneurial spirit, life experiences, education and passion.

    Azra has been featured in numerous articles including a cover feature, and four books, one of which is a NYTimes Best Seller:  Tory Burch:In Color.  She is a contributing writer for an industry specific online platform GraphicsPro.  

    Azra has been actively building her business through educational programs such as the Dartmouth-Tuck School of Business - Minority Business Program and the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business Program through the Tory Burch Foundation

    Azra has been awarded the NMSDC MBE Catalyst Award, the ACCION Award for Integrity and most recently the Women in Leadership Award.  She has had invitations to speak on panels around the world including Davos, Switzerland, particularly on topics around women as business leaders.

    Azra has been involved with community fundraising and awareness towards assisting orphans, widows, empowerment through education and the building of wells in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. She served on the Board of TPNY, a non for Profit organization advocating for victims of Domestic Violence.  

    Azra serves on the NYNJ Council’s MBE Input Committee, the Queen’s District Attorney South Asian Advisory Committee and a co-chair for the Manufacturing Committee at the Queens Chamber of Commerce. 

  • Associate Secretary

    Minyoung Lee has been an educator for the past 9 years - specializing in teaching ENL students in the Korean American community in Queens, NYC. Minyoung is currently an Elementary classroom teacher in a charter school in Queens. She has always been a passionate advocate for non-profit organizations. Minyoung has an adulation and deep appreciation for ballet and opera.