WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholars (APIA Scholars) has elected new members to its Board of Directors: Nancy Lee, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company; William F. L. Moses, Managing Director, Education, at The Kresge Foundation; Nidhi Munjal, Vice President of International Partnership Services at Walmart; Wally Suphap, Writer, Lawyer and Advocate at Columbia University; and Jason Wong, Vice President – Treasurer and Investor Relations at Tiffany & Co.
"Nancy, William, Nidhi, Wally and Jason are excellent thought leaders and advocates for the higher education needs of the APIA community, and we are honored to welcome them to our Board," said APIA Scholars President & Executive Director Noël Harmon, Ph.D. "As we continue to navigate the many challenges and opportunities of our new normal in 2021, we are excited to have these five join our efforts to support our Scholars. We look forward to the diverse leadership perspectives that Nancy, William, Nidhi, Wally and Jason will bring to the table."
These new Board members will bring insights and experience to further APIA Scholars' vision of a world where all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have access to higher education and resources that cultivate their academic, personal and professional success regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, or financial means.
APIA Scholars Board Member Nancy Lee is Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to The Walt Disney Company's Executive Chairman, Robert A. Iger. In her previous role, Ms. Lee served as a Director in the Corporate Strategy and Business Development Group. She managed M&A transactions, including the acquisition of Lucasfilm, and key strategy initiatives on a global basis. Prior to joining Disney in 2011, Ms. Lee was an Associate in the Technology, Media and Telecom investment banking group at Goldman Sachs & Co. Ms. Lee serves on the board of directors for National Geographic Partners. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and a BA from the University of Chicago.
William F. L. "Bill" Moses serves as managing director for The Kresge Foundation's Education Program, which supports postsecondary access and success for students living with low incomes, as well as first-generation and underrepresented students in cities. Bill leads the team's continuum of domestic and international grant activities from developing program strategy, reviewing preliminary ideas, and helping grantees develop proposals or initiatives, to awarding funding and monitoring existing grants.
Before joining Kresge, Bill served as executive director of The Thomas J. Watson Foundation and as a senior analyst at the Investor Responsibility Research Center. He also worked as a research officer at TechnoServe and held various administrative positions in Alaska's state legislature and the federal government, including the U.S. Embassy in Cape Town, South Africa.
A graduate of Claremont McKenna College, Bill holds a master's degree in international relations from Yale University. He is the author of "A Guide to American State and Local Laws on South Africa" and co-author of "Corporate Responsibility in a Changing South Africa." Bill is a member of the National Advisory Board of the College Promise, the Steering Committee of the Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group, and the Leadership Committee of the Detroit College Access Network.
APIA Scholars Board Member Nidhi Munjal is Vice President of International Partnership Services at Walmart. She represents Walmart in overseas markets, including India, Argentina and Brazil, and leads its efforts to create value for local partners and customers in a world where physical and online retail is converging.
Nidhi has excelled in a variety of roles in her 13 years at Walmart. She was most recently vice president of global people transformation, with responsibility for shaping how the company's vast associate base experiences corporate processes and technology. Earlier, she engaged with suppliers and merchants worldwide as senior director of systems process and analytics with the Responsible Sourcing and U.S. Compliance teams. She has also worked in India, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa to enhance country operations by streamlining and integrating processes. Nidhi helped spearhead Walmart's entry into India in 2007, leading systems development and deployment. Nidhi also helped lay the framework for Walmart's global sustainability efforts, coordinating stakeholder groups and developing mechanisms for feedback, collaboration and reporting.
An inspiring leader who combines a people focus with in-depth technical knowledge, Nidhi holds a Bachelor of Science in Operations Management and Information Systems from Northern Illinois University, along with a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Management Information Systems from North Central College, Illinois.
APIA Scholars Board Member Wally Suphap is a lawyer, writer, and advocate. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Wally was raised in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California. Wally has fifteen years of international corporate legal experience in private practice and as in-house counsel. He practiced as a corporate finance attorney in the New York and Hong Kong offices of international law firms, including Clifford Chance, Skadden Arps, and Latham & Watkins.
Most recently, he served as Vice President in Legal and Compliance at Morgan Stanley Asia. He is dual qualified in New York and Hong Kong. Wally is co-founder of the Hong Kong LGBT+ Attorneys Network (HKGALA), the first and largest network for LGBT+ legal professionals and law students in Hong Kong.
As a queer Thai-American, Wally is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, and minority rights and representation. He was recognized as a Top 10 Diversity Consultant on the 2020 Global Diversity List published by The Guardian and ranked in the top 5 on the 2018 and 2019 OUTstanding Top 50 Global LGBT+ Future Leaders' Lists, published by the Financial Times and Yahoo! Finance, respectively. Wally holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in Economics and Political Science from Columbia College and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School.
He currently resides in New York City, where he is pursuing creative writing studies at Columbia University and serves as an Executive Committee member on its LGBT+ Pride Alumni Network.
APIA Scholars Board Member Jason Wong joined Tiffany & Co. in March 2017 as VP – Treasurer. During 2019, his role was expanded with the addition of the Investor Relations duties for the Company. He previously worked in Finance for a consumer products company (Jarden Corporation / Newell Brands) for 12 years and served as a CPA with EY for the 12 years before that. At Jarden/Newell, he most recently spent a year in Prague on assignment as Chief Administrative Office – Europe.
At Tiffany, Jason is responsible for all Treasury, Cash Management, Risk Management, Credit and Collections, Accounts Payable, Capital Markets, AML and Investor Relations matters. Jason also co-leads the Asian heritage employee resource group (InspirAsian ML) for the NY/NJ area. Outside of Tiffany, Jason serves as a Board member at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, NY, served on an advisory committee for Restore NYC (an NYC not-for-profit), looks forward to traveling again and exploring culinary experiences.
The APIA Scholars Board of Directors provide counsel and establish policies that further the organization's growing programmatic, scholarship, and research portfolio.
APIA Scholars recently added Dr. Julie Ajinkya to its executive team. In her role as Senior Vice President reporting to President, Noel Harmon, Ajinkya will guide the research agenda for the future of APIA Scholars. For more information on Dr. Julie Ajinkya and her position, please view the full press release.
For more information, contact Katrina Breese at [email protected].
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Katrina Breese, APIA Scholars, +1 703-434-9306, [email protected]
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