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IN THIS ISSUE SUMMER 2015

PG 13 Ahyoung Stobar Joah Love

PG 6 Alan Lui Time Warner Cable

PG 15 Abe Ng Sushi Maki

PG 11 Chika Tillman Chikalicious

PG 16 Mona Zhao & Lily Xu Dotfully

PG 18 Christina Ha Meow Parlour

PG 26 Phillip Rhee Underdog Kids

PG 21 Jessica Shih HopeLine

PG 28 Marc Liu Picture Taipei

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PG 3 Amna Nawaz NBC Asian America

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PG 23 Hao Lam Best in Class

Copyright (C) 2015 ALIST magazine. All rights reserved. Title is protected through a trademark registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Printed in U.S.A.

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DIGITAL AD MANAGER BRIE MANAKUL as the youngest person to ever Never rely on the status obtain venture capital funding. quo. That’s the one thing CREATIVE If you think that’s impressive, I’ve come to expect. First PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC BOTHWELL wait until you read the rest there was Friendster, then

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DIGITAL JASMIN Guess what?HUANG She joined Alsop that introduced North ARTIST America

Louie Partners at the age of 19 to the smartphone. Or maybe WRITERS and pitched her first deal at 20. you remember BlackBerry.

Oh, Who would have expected the how the mighty fall.BRYAN CHEUNG youngest and brightest stars NINA HUANG Whether it’s business, finance, in the venture capital realm to RUBAIYAT KHAN sports, or even the weather, an Asian American college SVETLANA be KIM expect the unexpected.

BERNARD student NG and an Asian Canadian Friendster and Myspace who finished college at the age SAMUEL TSOI didn’t foresee a young Mark of 18?

JENNIFER SUZUKAWA-TSENG Zuckerberg getting far with SEE XIONG As you read the stories in this his Ivy League antics. Nor issue, let yourself be inspired did BlackBerry expect a ADVISORS by possibilities. It’s never too beaten down manufacturer JU to change course. Try late of personal computersANGELA and CHRISTINE MCFADDEN something new and email your cheap headphones to overtake stories to me. Succeed and the industry. And theCHUAN leading TSAY JOHN inspire or lose and say you smartphone operating systemZHANG tried. The only true failure now? It’s made by a search is failing to try. Welcome to engine company.

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EDITOR’S NOTE For the Summer issue, we bring you another set of articles of inspiring individuals. We chatted with Amna Nawaz from NBC News Asian America, Alan Lui from Time Warner Cable, Chef Chika Tillman from ChikaLicious dessert bar, Ahyoung Stobar from Joah Love, Abe Ng from Sushi Maki, Mona Zhao and Lily Xu from Dotfully, Christina Ha from Meow Parlour, Jessica Shih from Verizon’s HopeLine, Hao Lam from Best in Class Education Center, Phillip Rhee from Underdog Kids and Marc Liu from Picture Taipei.

Amna Nawaz is an amazing journalist and the Managing Editor of NBC News Asian America. She shares with us that journalism is all about being uncomfortable and not being afraid to jump into something without knowing how it will turn out. It is all about challenging ourselves.

Alan Lui is the Head of HR at Time Warner Cable tells us that additional perspectives are critical in making the right decisions. He also said that we should embrace change and growth by learning as much as we can.

Chef Chika Tillman of ChikaLicious dessert bar has her own food philosophy where it is okay to just have desserts first. She created a restaurant that serves a three-course prix fixe menu of desserts.

Ahyoung Stobar went against her parent’s wishes and pursued her dream of becoming a designer and started Joah Love. She tells us that sometimes ignorance is bliss and it allows you to take more risks.

Abe Ng is the CEO, President and Chief Sushi Officer of Sushi Maki.

With perseverance and his labor of love, he started his own restaurant chain where he now has 18 locations in South Florida.

Mona Zhao and Lily Xu, Co-Founders of Dotfully showed us how we can unload our unused beauty products. They launched the company earlier this year and at the time of print, we were informed of their acquisition so we’ll follow up with them for details.

Christina Ha is about firsts and Meow Parlour is the first cat café in New York. You can come in to have a cup of coffee and save a cat. With the café she tells us that if you are doing something new, it is important to think about what could go wrong.

Jessica Shih is the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community at Verizon and one of her programs is the HopeLine. The program helps victims by providing them with resources, so this year the goal is collect one million unwanted cell phones.

Hao Lam, the CEO of Best in Class Education Center combined his two passions, education and entrepreneurship. He has over 30 franchises all over the U.S. and believes that education is the door to the future.

Phillip Rhee is the Director and actor in his new film, Underdog Kids. He made this film to inspire kids and families to never give up. He is known for his Best of the Best films which has a cult following.

Marc Liu is a Producer of the film, Picture Taipei. The film is important because they were doing something that has never been done before, a universal story made by Asian Americans in Asia about the real Taipei.

I hope everyone enjoys this issue and let us know what other articles you would like to see in our upcoming issues!

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LEADING OFF

A Chat with Award-Winning Journalist Amna Nawaz B Y S VE T L AN A K I M

Amna Nawaz is an Emmy award-winning journalist who is the Managing Editor for NBCnews.com's new Asian America vertical, launched in June 2014 as the first network digital space devoted to stories from, about and for the Asian American community. Previously the Islamabad bureau chief and correspondent, Nawaz regularly appears on NBC and MSNBC. In 2013 she became the first foreign journalist to gain access to North Waziristan bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, the global hub of Al Qaida and Taliban activity. She is also expecting her second daughter. Please visit www.nbcnews.com/ news/asian-america for more information.

JACKIE HO

me, some very happy, others very difficult.

This is one of those lines of work in which you really do witness life in its extremes.

And there are some very tough things — sights, smells, sounds — that you can never quite shake.

But likewise there are people and stories from every corner I’ve been to that remind you about the basic humanity and incredible strength in all of us — even from some of those difficult places. At least, that’s the way I’ve chosen to see the world. I think you have to be an optimist to be a journalist. You have to be able to dive into the dark and still turn towards the light. You have to believe things will get better.

ALIST Magazine: The Sept. 11 attacks happened three weeks into your new job.

How did the opportunity to work on one of the nation’s most important news events influence your career?

Amna Nawaz: I don’t know that I would be a journalist today if I hadn’t been working as one on that day. I was really young, fresh out of school, struggling, like so many of us were, to process the events as they unfolded.

I was asked to dive into the kinds of issues you might wait an entire career to tackle — national security, foreign policy, how we value our privacy and civil rights — all the while working alongside and learning from some of the best journalists in the business, at ABC News under Ted Koppel at the time. I saw grace under fire. Intense editorial debates. Very raw emotion and many sleepless nights channeled into some incredible journalism. Those lessons stay with you.

On a personal level, the attacks brought into question very basic parts of my identity I’d always assumed to be immutable. I was

raised Muslim, in a multicultural household, with a multi-continental childhood. My hyphenated identity was always a source of pride. But I started getting second looks on the subway. Harder stares. Secondary screenings every time I traveled. Holes poked in my faith.

Journalism gave me a path towards some answers. It gave me direction at an otherwise very unsettling, often disturbing, time. I was always an intensely curious kid, but that was taken to a new level once I saw the power and influence that information wielded. I saw how important it was to fill the gaps of understanding with hard facts. Regardless of topic, that’s still true today.

AM: You have reported from all over the world for NBC News, including Syria, Haiti, Turkey, to name a few. What was your most memorable experience?

AN: That question comes up a lot and I feel really lucky to be able to say that there isn’t just one “most memorable” experience.

There are a lot of moments that stay with

“Journalism gave me a path towards some answers. It gave me direction at an otherwise very unsettling, often disturbing, time.”

AM: You reported from Pakistan and Afghanistan for several years. What challenges did you have as a female reporter?

AN: There are a lot of very talented and sharp female reporters in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, though we are the minority. It was not uncommon for me to be one of the only women at the street protest, or in the briefing room. And in spaces where women are not well-represented in public spaces, you stand out. You attract attention — particularly the moment you start speaking English into a camera — and that can bring with it a good amount of harassment and unwelcome interactions.

“There are people and stories from every corner I’ve been to that remind you about the basic humanity and incredible strength in all of us — even from some of those difficult places.”

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“One of my very first bosses once told me that my job should scare me a little bit every day. Journalism, in particular, is all about being uncomfortable.”

JACKIE HO

chance came up — after years of requests — to be the first to go into North Waziristan, in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.

On paper, a lot of people would’ve decided differently. I took the chance because I knew how hard it was to get access. I knew there were really important stories worth telling. I knew it was one of those openings that don’t come around twice. So I jumped. I got lucky.

And, thankfully, everything turned out okay.

But if you can get beyond that, being a woman in some of these areas can actually be an advantage. There is an entire, private world behind closed doors, controlled by women, in

AM: You’ve said that your greatest influence was your parents, who gave you their full support. Being a parent now, what would you say to your mother?

AN: “Thank you!” If I said it every day for the rest of my life, I still wouldn’t say it enough.

You know, despite my totally unwarranted, pretty lame teenage rebellion, my mother and I have always had a really great relationship.

“It’s been just over a year now since we launched NBC Asian America … The mission is simple: to pursue stories from within the community that aren’t being told, amplify voices that aren’t being heard, and make sure we’re doing the best possible job we can at covering this incredibly diverse and dynamic group of Americans. ”

AM: You mentioned that taking on challenges is an important part of becoming a successful journalist. Please share your insights with our readers.

AN: One of my very first bosses once told me that my job should scare me a little bit every day. Journalism, in particular, is all about being uncomfortable. Questioning things you believed to be true. Not being afraid to jump into something without knowing how it will turn out. Saying “yes” to assignments because they challenge you in some new and different way.

I was pregnant with my first child when the 4 |

SUMMER 2015

JACKIE HO

this part of the world. Getting access inside family homes, being able to speak freely with the wives and sisters and daughters who often have a much better sense of what’s going on than others do; that offered invaluable insight to much of my work.

She somehow figured out how to be a parent and still leave room for us to have a real friendship as I became an adult.

My mother was, and is, an absolute force with a seemingly endless supply of patience and love. She started her own businesses. She volunteered for causes she believed in. She hosted elegant dinner parties and killer kids’ birthdays. She cheered loudly — very loudly — from every field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball sideline and sat proudly through every (painful) piano recital. And somehow still managed to have a great circle of friends she would meet for tea, and her own artistic interests, and a wicked sense of humor, and never quite look her age (I’m hoping those genes made it my way).

One of the things I marvel at most, and am really grateful for, is how she was never afraid to send my sisters and me into uncharted territory — sometimes far from home — because she knew it would be good for us, even if it was hard for her. She set the bar high as a mom. If I make it half as high with my daughters, I’ll be good.

AM: You recently took the role of editor for NBCNews's new Asian America Vertical.

What are your goals?

AN: It’s been just over a year now since we launched NBC Asian America and I’m so proud of what we’ve built. I’m lucky to work with some of the most dedicated, talented and skilled journalists in this space and we’ve had phenomenal audience response. The mission is simple: to pursue stories from within the community that aren’t being told, amplify voices that aren’t being heard, and make sure we’re doing the best possible job we can at covering this incredibly diverse and dynamic group of Americans.

The digital space is an incredible playground to experiment in and reach an entire generation of news consumers that haven’t always felt the big players spoke their language; that’s true across ALL ethnicities.

The stories we tell, and the way in which we tell them, I hope speak to that — there are parts of every one of our reports that any American can relate to, regardless of your background.

AM: What's your greatest wish?

AN: To never stop learning. And hopefully leave things a little better than I found them.

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Looking for Volunteers Who are Interested in Being: Editors Copy Editors Writers

Graphic Artists Photographers Sales

Marketing Research Admin

For more information, please email Catherine@alist-magazine.com

BY BERNARD NG Alan Lui is the Head of Human Resources at Time Warner Cable (TWC), the second largest cable company in the U.S., with approximately 55,000 employees in 29 states. Born in Hawaii, Lui received an electrical engineering degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Harvard University. His previous work experience includes consulting with McKinsey, founding a startup company focused on electrical utilities and heading up the Video Strategy function at TWC. Please visit www.timewarnercable.com to learn more.

AM: You have mentioned New York as a melting pot of different cultures. How does it differ from your childhood back in Hawaii?

AL: Besides surfing and the amazing tropical weather, Hawaii is a melting pot full of blended cultures that I took for granted growing up. There’s a frequent comparison between a mosaic vs. melting pot metaphor for cultural inclusion. I’ve worked in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, and my experience is that New York and Hawaii are actually the closest in terms of the similarity of blended culture. Communities are not separate and distinct but rather overlapping.

COURTESY OF TIME WARNER CABLE

DIVERSITY DISCUSSION

An Insider’s Look at Diversity within Time Warner Cable

ALIST Magazine: How did you become the head of HR, and what have you been focused on?

Alan Lui: I had been running Video Strategy when I was asked to join Human Resources.

HR went through a re-organization and change in structure focused on a centralized rather than regional alignment. This change gave me the opportunity to bring in an outsider’s business perspective and bring a new focus to the function.

Since taking on the role, my top priorities have been 1) to help HR work more effectively across silo boundaries and 2) enhance our client partnerships. The transition for all HR functions to a central reporting structure created efficiency and made changes happen faster. This puts a premium on diversity and inclusion, as both are key to breaking down silos.

AM: Speaking of diversity, there are quite a number of definitions such as gender and racial. How do you view diversity?

AL: Both of those are vital to the composition of teams, but one diversity factor often overlooked is the functional aspect. For example, when making a major decision, how does finance or operations think about the problem? Those additional perspectives are critical to making the right decision and I think this is just a great metaphor for a broader definition of diversity.

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AM: How has the advancement of Asian Americans been at TWC? AL: We’re in catch-up mode compared to other ethnic groups. For example, we’ve had employee networks for Hispanic and African Americans, but the Asian employee network - Asian Pacific Islander Collective - just started last year. We encourage our networks to form organically, and this group started from our Los Angeles office by one individual who stood up and volunteered to lead the local program. She’s done a tremendous job, hosting a series of development events, workshops and speakers.

AM: And how do these employee network groups play in the company strategy overall?

AL: We like to leverage these groups and engage them in our business strategy. When we open retail stores in Hispanic-dominated locations, we will reach out to that network for advice in engaging the local population and also hiring. And many referrals come directly from our networks and in turn lead to faster business expansion into strategic locations. We will frequently bring together the leadership of our networks to share best practices and inspire others to start their own chapters.

AM: What impact do TWC’s new employees have?

AL: One network called the Aspiring Leaders Organization is dedicated to employees early in their career. Instead of talking about them,

we involve them directly in the conversation by hosting sessions with senior management.

It’s not just a one-way communication; senior managers are learning a lot from our young generation and the dialogue has opened up our mindset. As a result, we recently changed our approach to virtual work arrangements and have plans to expand it now.

In another change, we are learning that people are more responsive to brief news, so we have shortened many internal videos.

And finally, from an HR perspective, we understand that long employee surveys may not be effective as before so we are looking for ways to leverage smartphone technology as a way to deploy more frequent measures of engagement.

AM: Any advice to someone starting out his or her career?

AL: The way I think of a career, you sow and then reap. Out of college, there’s so much focus on achievement and success that it’s hard to take the long-term view. Your 20s and 30s is about laying down a foundation.

Gaining a variety of experiences is much more important than making a little more money.

If you manage your foundation in those two decades, by the time you are in your 40s those experiences will help you become a much more successful business leader.

Also, it’s generally more fun and rewarding to work for a company doing well and growing.

Change and adversity is when companies rely on internal people to step up and do something. Embrace the change and growth by learning as much as you can. Despite what happens to an organization, the knowledge you gained will carry on to your future success.

I find the TV business fascinating because you know it’s going to look very different in the next 10 years with increasing competition.

The undergoing changes in our market make this a great time to build a skilled foundation.

Bernard Ng grew up in Maryland and worked most of his career on Wall Street in New York City. In January 2014, he moved to Hong Kong to work in a global financial firm, overseeing Asia front office divisions on the HR Compensation and Data Analysis team.

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Hot off the Press: Burberry Has a Scarf Bar

If you ever wanted to be a designer how about starting with a Burberry scarf ?

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You can custom design your own scarf that is unique online and in the store.

The bar will have 32 colors to choose from and you can also add polka dots and or hearts.

But wait there's more, you can also monogram the scarf !

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Nepal Earthquake Donation

We urge our readers and friends to engage in fund-raising efforts to collect funds, and to drive funds to

www.directrelief.org

There are many wonderful organizations providing relief to Nepal.

In past disasters, NAAAP has chosen to direct funds to Direct Relief.

Direct Relief will use all donations designated for the Nepal Earthquake solely for relief and recovery efforts related to the Nepal Earthquake.

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A Taste of Chika Tillman’s Sweet Life

LIFESTYLE

BY JENNIFER SUZUKAWA-TSENG

E

JACKIE HO

piphanies are rare. But when they occur, they can be career changing.

Chika Tillman had just that when she was reading the newspaper. Despite working in investment banking at the time, she would regularly flip to the Food section before the Finance section. Tillman realized that she wanted to learn about trending restaurant news before diving into the stock market coverage.

JACKIE HO

JACKIE HO

Chika Tillman is the Chef and Owner of ChikaLicious Dessert Bar in NYC. Tillman has previously worked at Gramercy Tavern, Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Seegers and Bid Restaurant. During her spare time, she relishes watching ballet performances and reading mystery novels by Agatha Christie.

“I wasn’t planning to change my career or anything,” Tillman recounts, as she explains her decision to attend culinary school. “I wanted to talk about food,” she insists. “Then I thought, ‘Where is the best place to be that nobody would shut me up?’”

Tillman enrolled in classes at the French Culinary Institute and graduated the top of her class. As she was taking evening classes after her job, Tillman thought that she would return to the banking world upon graduation.

However, this all changed after her teacher

urged her to check out a new restaurant.

After work one day, still dressed in her suit and heels, Tillman stood in the corner and observed the bustling kitchen at Gramercy Tavern. She was in awe.

“Wow. Is it like a sport?” Tillman wondered as she gazed at the chefs coordinating with one another to prepare the dishes. “Everybody gets together and you have to have the right timing to cook everything,” she explains.

“Maybe two years or so?” Tillman thought to herself, as she started entertaining the idea of working as a chef. “Maybe I should be a part of the creating team making food to serve to the customers.” And with that, Tillman decided to pursue food full-time.

BE HER GUEST Over the years, Tillman worked in various kitchens and developed her own food philosophy; she cites Guenter Seeger and Tom Colicchio as mentors.

With culinary experience under her belt, Tillman founded ChikaLicious Dessert Bar in 2003. The restaurant has received coverage

by The New York Times, Fox News and New York Daily News, among other publications.

Located in the East Village, the restaurant serves only dessert, as a three-course prix fixe menu. The eatery’s tranquil atmosphere WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 11

JACKIE HO

penchant for colorful plates, rather than the traditional restaurant-white plates, helps create a welcoming and home-like ambiance.

As she continually draws inspiration and concocts new dishes, Tillman reflects, “You got to believe your taste buds. You have to serve to the customer what you were believing.”

“Everyday is different” when running your own business, Tillman says. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and I never ever get to the point that everything was so easy.”

The joy that she derives from running ChikaLicious is apparent. She lights up when she shares how her favorite part of her job is when returning customers invite their family. “From time to time, you have three generations together,” she remarks cheerfully.

JACKIE HO

is set with jazz music, courtesy of the owner, general manager, sommelier and husband, who previously was a jazz musician. The open kitchen layout allows Tillman to chat with the regulars as she slices fresh fruits and scoops sorbet.

ChikaLicious whips up an assortment of innovative dishes, but its most famous is the Fromage Blanc Island, a creamy, crustless cheesecake. Regarding her creative process, Tillman explains, “I am basically thinking about new dessert all the time. Even when I am prepping or when I am plating or when I am talking to somebody.”

She describes how inspiration takes many forms, as ideas can emerge from the ingredients to the plate designs. Tillman’s

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SUMMER 2015

OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN In her free time, Tillman has very specific indulgences. “Champagne. Food. Ballet.”

Her philosophy regarding Champagne is simple and straightforward: “Always with Champagne. Sushi with Champagne, steak with Champagne, fish with Champagne, butter and bread with Champagne.”

The last combination is particularly significant because Tillman’s favorite food is neither a precisely prepared dish nor a favorite meal from her childhood. Rather, it is an ingredient: butter. The word itself prompts a delightful smile. She explains how bread with a generous layer of butter as thick as the bread itself is her luxury.

Watching ballet is another cherished interest. Tillman is committed to this hobby, as she will fly around the world just to catch a show for one night. Born and raised in Japan, Tillman is no stranger to long flights. From

“I've been doing this for a long time and I never get to the point that everything was so easy.”

Milan to Paris to Moscow, Tillman explains how these short trips fit into her work schedule, as she “can come back the next day and open the restaurant.” She also shares how every year, she watches different ballet companies’ adaptations of the Nutcracker. As for why she adores ballet, Tillman responds, “discipline.”

Tillman is undoubtedly a globetrotter, and her ChikaLicious brand is also making appearances around the world. In New York alone, she has two East Village locations, a new opening in the West Village and another slated for Williamsburg. Abroad, ChikaLicious has locations in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Dubai. In addition to nationwide expansion plans, there are also plans to open sites in Shanghai and Jakarta.

While opening new locations worldwide is exciting, Tillman describes how the expansion plans are not a part of her job. “It’s Don’s job. I’m just happy to be here in the East Village.”

Chances look good that the petite powerhouse with her ready smile will not be departing her East Village kitchen anytime soon. That is, unless there is a ballet performance that cannot be missed.

For more information on ChikaLicious, please visit www.chikalicious.com

Following Your Dream with Ahyoung Stobar

BY CATHERINE LAW

THE BEGINNING WAS A RUDE AWAKING Pursuing your passion is not an easy path when you do not have the support of your family. Being Asian, our family dictates what professions we should go into. For Ahyoung, her Korean parents wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer and she was going against her parents’ wishes to be a designer.

Her decision was life-altering and she experienced things she was not accustomed to and took for granted. Ahyoung traveled to California with no family or friends. Her mom had given her $1000 before she left.

She “rode the bus to and from school and work, quite a contrast from zipping around in my old VW Rabbit in high school.” Ahyoung remembers celebrating her first Christmas with a frozen lasagna with one of her four roommates. “It was the most depressing, and most sunny Christmas” she had ever experienced. Through all of her struggles, she never told her parents what she was going through because she was “too proud after such a hard fight to get here.”

JOAH LOVE There was no “aha” moment for Ahyoung when Joah Love was created 7 years ago. She just “wanted to make cool, timeless clothes for kids and didn’t know what to expect.” She says that “sometimes, ignorance is bliss and allows you to be more courageous and take risks.”

The clothing Ahyoung designs is custom dyed and treated with a softener to create a “buttery soft touch.” So why was this done? She “only likes to wear comfy clothes, the kind of clothes in which no matter how much you eat, there’s no muffin top threat,” and babies’ and kids’ clothes especially should be soft and comfy. “They shouldn’t be rigid or full of hardware, in my opinion.” She wanted the kids’ clothes to easily come off and be washed, which appealed to her mom role. Ahyoung describes her process. First a “test is made of each roll of the fabric to analyze how much it shrinks and is then added back into the patterns. Then there is a custom dye all of the garments after it has been sewn, which gives it the softer hand and comes out pre-shrunk.”

NANCY NEIL

AHYOUNG STOBAR

Ahyoung Stobar is the Founder and CEO of Joah Love. She was born in Seoul, Korea. Ahyoung and her family relocated to Seattle, WA when she was nine years old. After high school, determined to convince her parents she could make it as a designer, Ahyoung declined an academic scholarship to the University of Washington and moved to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising with $1,000 to her name. Upon graduating, Ahyoung apprenticed for Richard Tyler and began working as a contemporary women’s wear designer. In 2003, Ahyoung became a member of the Costume Designers Guild, and went on to become V.P. of Product Development for SMK Merchandising from 2003-2007, where she oversaw Wayans Brothers-branded projects with Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Scholastic Publishing. In 2007, Ahyoung took a trip to Seoul, where she got the inspiration to start a kids’ clothing line. Six months later, Joah Love was born. Please visit www.joahlove.com for more information.

Joah Love’s targeted audience is currently girls and boys from infancy to 14 years old.

Ahyoung continues to receive requests to expand her line to include “tweens” but she says that “today’s teens like to dress a little more provocative than what I’d prefer, which is a challenge.” She also has a few items for adults but is only making them for the office staff, where she will expand and do a “mommy and me that can be done in a less cheesy, more tasteful way.”

Celebrity moms like Halle Berry, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Garner, Kourtney Kardashian, Miranda Kerr and Hilary Duff have dressed their children in Joah Love clothes. Ahyoung loves finding pictures of them online. The one child fashionista she would love to have wear her line is North West, whose parents are Kim Kardashian and Kayne West.

Joah Love is “described as Eurocontemporary with a twist of avant garde and focused on comfort.” This means unexpected details, as Ahyoung “unconventional style lines and asymmetrical silhouettes.” She describes this as her own personal style where she tries to keep “good harmony between the bizarre and what’s palatable to buyers.”

All Joah Love products are made domestically in the United States because Ahyoung loves working with local vendors.

She has maintained relationships with vendors for years. Working with them ensures that that the clothes get the quality she expects, and it also helps to keep small businesses running and people employed.

Also, if Ahyoung has a problem, she can stop by and check on the product’s progress, which is something you cannot do with overseas production.

THE FUTURE In the next five years, Ahyoung would like to see Joah Love expand to shoes, accessories and bags. She would also like to add more adult styles to the line and branch out into more overseas territories, especially in Asia and Europe. Another goal would be to “add more employees to have the company WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 13

“sometimes, ignorance is bliss and allows you to be more courageous and take risks.”

NANCY NEIL

not in her plans right now, but she would love to continue expanding the wholesale business in the U.S. and in the overseas territories. It seems Ahyoung is working on building Joah Love as a global lifestyle brand so that she can “leave a legacy for my children.”

grow and be able to provide a good life for them.”

Joah Love is now carried in more than 300 fine boutiques across the United States and overseas. Opening her own store would be a huge undertaking for Ahyoung that is

ME TIME All work is no fun, so what does Ahyoung do during her free time? She spends time with her son, husband and friends. She and her husband love watching her Cameron do anything and “everything he does is just so entertaining and cute.” She also likes to hang out with friends and watch movies.

AHYOUNG STOBAR

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THE FAMILY Ahyoung’s parents are very proud and happy that she was able to pursue her passion for design. Her son, Cameron, and her sixyear-old niece “wear nothing but Joah Love.”

She is very close to her family and her dream is to give them a “life of travel and leisure.”

Ahyoung only speaks to her son in Korean. Why? By speaking in her native language, she hopes he will pick up and speak the language fluently as he grows up. “It’s important, and I’m the only who can give him that gift.”

DESIGNING THE LINE Each season, every designer works on the designs for each collection. Ahyoung starts “with what worked in previous seasons and I fill in the blanks with new designs.” She may not put together a complete collection until the day of the photo shoot. Sometimes, when a line is done, she wonders “how it all came together.”

When working on a collection, Ahyoung keeps in mind what her son would wear or like. She thinks “what would look cute on him” as she designs for the boys’ and babies’ lines.

Ahyoung can also be inspired by “a color of ice cream, a vintage scarf, an old picture…

I think a creative mind is a sponge. You just soak up everything and let it take shape in whatever form you practice your art.”

So what should we look out for in Spring 2016? Ahyoung tells us there will be “lots of great prints, fresh colors, more whites and more unisex piece to mix and match.”

With each new collection, there needs to be models, so Joah Love had a model search last month. The company receives hundreds of submissions for the photo shoots each season, Ahyoung picks the “kids who look natural and have a unique look with a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and they have to fit into the sample sizes.”

While most of us would think that Ahyoung designs all the time, she actually only spends about 15% of her time designing and 85% running the business.

In the first few years, when Joah Love had no employees, Ahyoung would regularly pull all-nighters. Time and staff made it better, but each season she spends at least one or two days without sleep. For example, for the Spring 2016 line, she “spent a week straight working on line sheets with about 12 hours of sleep with the kind of urgency where going to the bathroom felt like a waste of time. That was the worst.”

SUMMER 2015

Dreaming of Sushi Maki

BY DEBBIE GRAGE

LITTLE FISH MEDIA

t is often said that a restaurant is a labor of love. The long days and nights, hungry customers and hot kitchens are not for the faint of heart! Yet, although Abe Ng, a graduate from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, could have gotten a job with saner hours, he chose to dive into starting his own restaurant chain. Along the way, he brought innovation and flair to the Florida restaurant scene.

LITTLE FISH MEDIA

Today, Ng is the President, CEO and CSO (Chief Sushi Officer) of Sushi Maki, a restaurant chain he founded in 2000 to offer premium-quality sushi in a relaxed dining environment.

The son of immigrants from southern China, Ng started in the food business young. His parents owned and operated a Chinese restaurant in Miami, Fla. Growing up, he spent most of his free time helping out in the restaurant, as well as squeezing in time with his parents. From his parents, Ng learned how to operate an efficient restaurant and how to treat employees. His father’s favorite saying was, “The dish-washer is the

most important person.” Everybody matters in a restaurant.

Perseverance is also key. For example, to clinch a partnership with Whole Foods, Ng persistently contacted a Whole Foods manager for two years by continuously sending her samples and information about Sushi Maki. She finally agreed to a tasting.

For the first store launch, Ng and his family pulled out all the stops to publicize the event and ensure that it was a success.

Such perseverance paid off. From a single restaurant, Sushi Maki has grown to 18 locations today, and is a partner with Whole Foods Markets for sushi stations in the South Florida region stores in MiamiDade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

It can even be found in places where you don’t expect to find high quality sushi, like high schools, sports arenas, universities and airports.

Another quality that has been important to Ng’s success is building relationships within his community. A married Miami native with three children, Ng still makes time to serve on various nonprofit boards, including the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau, Baptist Health Foundation and the Florida Restaurant Association.

His advice to young Asian Americans: Don’t just volunteer to get into college.

Giving back to your community through these organizations can be personally fulfilling and a way to build meaningful relationships with others. Ng suggests that for those of us who abhor superficial “networking events,” volunteering provides a way to build deeper connections. For example, he once showed up at 4:30 a.m. before a charity fishing

tournament to help stuff goodie bags. These actions also helped him build his personal brand of being a reliable and committed business leader in the community.

Ng celebrates his Chinese heritage with flair. Sushi Maki differentiates itself by putting a modern spin on the traditional sushi experience, and Ng is not afraid to use less conventional ingredients in his menu. Recently, he partnered with Chef Philip Speer, a 2014 James Beard Award semifinalist, to create seven unique dishes that featured fresh local ingredients and showcased traditional Asian flavors. These dishes, created for Sushi Maki’s summer menu, included mandarin oranges, lychees, fresh cobia and a local catch of the day. The fish came from the boats at Casablanca Fish Market on the Miami River.

This month, Ng and Sushi Maki are hosting a group of chefs from Cuba to train them in the restaurant. Might this result in some unique dishes combining Cuban and Asian flavors? Knowing Ng’s passion for new food ideas, it’s probably more a matter of “when,” not “if.” After all, one of the bestselling items on his menu is sushi tacos. At only 40 years old, Ng is keen to continue growing Sushi Maki.

LITTLE FISH MEDIA

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LITTLE FISH MEDIA

Abe Ng, 41, the founder and CEO of Sushi Maki, to the AList Entrepreneur and Food sections. Abe founded Sushi Maki, a chain of sushi restaurants in South Florida - Miami and Fort Lauderdale - in 2000 when he was 26. The company grew from one sushi bar to having 16 locations. Abe has done quite a few things that set him and his company apart beyond the growth of brand that warrant a closer look. For more information please visit www.sushimaki.com

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A Chat with Beauty Junkies: Mona Zhao and Lily Xu of Dotfully Dotfully was created by Mona Zhao, Lily Xu and Kenneth Lo to solve the problem of having too many unused cosmetics lying around: It’s a free peer-topeer marketplace and community where users earn points by posting their own unused products, and use those points to shop for others’ products. We spoke to Zhao and Xu about their company, passion for the beauty industry and the shared economy. Please visit www.dotfully.com for more information. question Dotfully answered is, “How can I try all the products in the world without spending an obscene amount of money?” The question is similar to when Airbnb asked, “How can I visit Paris and stay downtown without spending $500 a night on hotels?”

COURTESY OF DOTFULLY

AM: When Dotfully was launched earlier this year, what obstacles did you have to overcome before the site became live?

MZ: There were a few notable obstacles when we launched. The first obstacle our team faced was building the site. It’s a technical obstacle, which we overcame with many late nights of designs and coding beyond our skillset.

The most recent challenge was identifying product market fit, where we need to identify and answer whom is the site really built for.

How can we achieve the flywheel effect as a marketplace and gain virality now that we are able to better understand our early adopters?

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AM: Why should people use Dotfully?

MZ: Dotfully is the perfect solution for girls who love to shop for beauty products. Too often we buy or receive new beauty products

AM: You have a section on how to sanitize products prior to shipping, but how you know if it is done correctly?

Lily Xu: It’s an honor system. However, if the product that you receive doesn’t look clean or as described, we refund shipping and points to the buyer.

AM: How many members do you have now?

MZ: Since our January 2015 launch, we have grown organically to more than 7,000 users.

We are growing at around 1,500 users per month since June 2015.

AM: Why do you use a point system for the products?

MZ: Simple: why spend more money?

If you want to buy products with money, there’s more than a dozen online and retail establishments ready to supply. However, with Dotfully’s point system, it’s more fun and it feels very much like free shopping!

AM: How many products are currently listed on your site?

MZ: Since our launch in January 2015, we’ve had more than 5000+ products listed on Dotfully.

COURTESY OF DOTFULLY

COURTESY OF DOTFULLY

ALIST Magazine: How did Dotfully come about?

Mona Zhao: The idea for Dotfully sprouted through our love for shared economy and makeup! The entrepreneurs in us can’t look at the beauty industry without seeing room for disruptions. As a skincare junkie, I’ve battled acne my whole life, and finding and trying the right product for my sensitive skin has always been a challenge.

More often than not, I am left with myriad of products and money spent. That’s when the light bulb clicked that finding the right product is more about using it than taking quizzes or reading product descriptions. The

AM: The company is currently funded by the three founders, and your plans were to start fundraising last month. How is that going?

MZ: Since April, we have experienced 1,000 percent user growth. In September 2015, we will be fundraising our seed round and closing it at the end of October. Overall, we started thinking about fundraising recently, and the goal is to raise a small fund of key investors who support our vision and believe in our team.

that go unused. Now, there is a marketplace to sell things quickly and safely. Dotfully, like other peer-to-peer marketplaces such as eBay or Etsy, is a curated site. Sellers are allowed to list used products, but that pertains to perfume only and not to makeup. As we curate the marketplace, we delete listings that do not comply with the community guidelines to ensure the highest level of safety and quality for the buyer.

SUMMER 2015

AM: How do you make beauty fun?

LX: We make beauty fun because for the first time, people can try different products without having to pay for them. Users like to find new products to try, and the discovery process is super exciting for them. We also occasionally host swap parties and events where our users can meet other women in the community and bond over makeup.

COURTESY OF DOTFULLY

AM: Do you have products for men?

LX: We’ve been seeing more men’s products on Dotfully recently, especially those from the men’s Birchbox and colognes.

AM: What are your thoughts on men wearing makeup?

LX: Men can benefit from wearing a little makeup. I don’t know about guyliner or nail polish, although some guys can pull it off,

AM: How has your Asian culture helped or hindered your professional career?

LX: My parents were immigrants from China, and I moved to the U.S. when I was 3. When my parents arrived, they lacked higher education and the ability to speak basic English. Because of that, they worked twice as hard, working 80 hours a week at restaurants and saving every penny just to make ends meet. They taught me discipline, a strict work ethic, and how to be resourceful, which is a thought process that has helped my career in tremendous ways. Nowadays whenever I am stuck with a challenging problem, I always encourage myself by thinking, “If my parents can make things happen when they had nothing, why can’t I?”

AM: What should be our must-have beauty products for both women and men?

LX: Kate Somerville’s EradiKate Acne Treatment. It’s 10 percent sulfur and super effective. It heals my breakouts overnight.

AM: What is the best advice someone has given you?

MZ: Dotfully is a very challenging and rewarding journey. One of the best pieces of advice a fellow entrepreneur gave me was, “There are many roads to success. Achieving success will be defined by your conviction, hard work, and persistence.” This advice is extremely helpful to me, as it helped me understand to always be open to new ideas and opportunities.

AM: If you didn’t meet to start Dotfully, what would you be doing now?

MZ: All three founders are born entrepreneurs, so one way or another we would be working on innovative startups like Dotfully. In an alternative universe where our paths don’t cross, I believe I would be working on another disruptive idea or Google X. AM: What are the top five items on your todo list?

MZ: Hire a full-stack developer with a passion for beauty products and shared economy. Launch Dotfully’s iOS mobile app by the end of 2015. Achieve the next big milestone for Dotfully by the end of 2015. Travel the world by plane, boat, train, motorcycle and foot by the age of 35. Visit my grandmother in China at least once a year to just bask in quality time with family and amazing home-cooked meals.

COURTESY OF DOTFULLY

AM: What are some things you can’t leave home without?

LX: Sunscreen! My favorite is Shiseido’s Urban Environment Oil-Free UV Protector SPF 42. It’s really light and contains advanced skincare ingredients. It doesn’t break me out, so I figured that’s good enough.

AM: What is the craziest beauty product or trend you have heard about or personally used?

LX: I think the craziest trend is bird poop facials. Bird poop, specifically from the nightingale, is said to contain nitrogenrich urea and an effective amino acid called guanine that can improve your skin. I haven’t tried it yet, but a little bird told me that Harry Styles, Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise and other celebs are huge fans.

but I think anyone can benefit from using concealer to cover dark circles and blemishes.

And concealer is makeup! I’ve also seen guys using brow gel to darken their brows, and when done right, it looks quite amazing!

AM: What are Dotfully’s goals for 2015?

MZ: We have a few major milestones for Dotfully, one of which is the release of our iOS app in the fourth quarter. We are also launching more brand partnerships in the fall, along with community-focused campaigns to raise awareness and support local and national nonprofits for women.

Dotfully has been acquired on August 2015. With the acquisition, Dotfully’s new management deepens its commitment to providing consumers with services that make it easier for them to share not only their unused beauty products but experiences. In the interim, former founders will continue to advise Dotfully on an ad-hoc basis.

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Christina Ha Lets the Cat Out of the Bag JENNIFER SUZUKAWA-TSENG

F

irsts can be daunting. Maintaining your first job. Experiencing your first love.

Even simply standing first in line. And yet, they can be remarkably rewarding and extremely exciting. Christina Ha, working alongside her business partner Emilie Legrand, faced a first when they co-founded Meow Parlour, which opened this past December.

Setting up shop in downtown Manhattan, Meow Parlour is a haven for cats and cat lovers. Cats freely roam and nap, while feline fans can indulge in some sweets and play with the cats. Just around the corner is Meow Parlour Patisserie, a brightly lit shop that sells cat-themed baked goods like cat-shaped macarons and cookies.

While this concept is a first for New York City, cat cafes are popular in countries such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

“There really is a big community of cat lovers out there, and there’s never been a place to gather,” Ha explains. “A place to actually hang out with cats that aren’t your own.”

Meow Parlour partners with KittyKind, a rescue group, meaning all of the cats meandering inside the cozy cafe are adoptable. In this sense, Meow Parlour has two objectives: to create a space to enjoy the company of cats and to have friendly felines adopted.

FIRST THINGS FIRST Managing expectations is a pertinent consideration when charting new territory.

“It’s hard to be a first, because people are going to be like, ‘This wasn’t what I expected,’” Ha says. In order to form a successful cat cafe, 18 |

SUMMER 2015

careful planning from the beginning was vital. “What made it so challenging was knowing that we were setting a standard.”

The novelty of the business played into the decision to open on a quiet street between the Lower East Side and Chinatown neighborhoods. “We knew that we didn’t have to be in a spot that was already a destination spot with a lot of foot traffic,” Ha says. “We could be wherever we wanted to be and people would come to us.” She understood that opening a destination could improve a neighborhood already on the verge of change.

The ripple effects of this decision are apparent. Ha recalls, “After we opened, the other stores around us have come in and told us, ‘The neighborhood is changed because you opened. Our customer base has changed.

The demographics are different because of you. You have saved our business.’”

SOMETHING TANGIBLE In addition to being a first, there is a particular sense of satisfaction that arises from creating something tangible. Ha recognizes this sentiment. She explains how she felt that her generation “had gotten out of touch with working with our hands.” Ha maintains, “I was starting to worry about what it’s like

when things aren’t tangible.”

The first incarnation of this desire resulted in Macaron Parlour. After working in fashion PR, Ha took a job at a nonprofit and enrolled in baking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education.

Growing up, Ha recalls frequently baking chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies.

A fond food memory of hers is when she and her sisters whipped up cupcakes with Michael Jackson’s face drawn on them to honor his passing. Needless to say, karaoke of his hits were involved as well.

Ha also recounts taking culinary classes in France and how after the day was over, she and her classmates would admire the 2,000 cookies sitting before their eyes. “We made it,” she says. “And it was that tangibility that I had been looking for.”

Fast-forward to her days in the Macaron Parlour kitchen, where Ha regularly peered over the thousands of macarons that she and

“What made it so challenging was knowing that we were setting a standard.”

CHRISTA HAMILTON

CHRISTINA HA

After successfully opening two Macaron Parlour locations in Manhattan with her husband Simon, pastry chef Christina Ha focused her sights on creating New York’s very first cat cafe: Meow Parlour. The couple owns four cats — Mr. Socks, Pickle, Bobo and Poussey. A New Jersey native, Ha hopes to one day move back to the suburbs and own a high-end oven, her domestic take on a Ferrari.

her team baked. “I run the whole kitchen for all three stores,” Ha explains.

With Meow Parlour and two brick-andmortar locations of Macaron Parlour, Ha’s accomplishments are literally taking shape in the world. Yet establishing a physical storefront is no easy feat. In order to set up Meow Parlour, Ha had to conduct extensive research and have meetings with the Department of Health.

For entrepreneurial hopefuls, Ha advises, “If you’re doing something new, it’s really important to think about everything that could be bad.” She shares how when planning Meow Parlour, she wrote up protocols for potential scenarios. “Think about everything that could possibly go wrong and prepare for it,” she urges.

Ha also notes the importance of being aggressive when starting your own business; her mentality of never backing down was a necessary mindset. “You need to accept that there’s going to be a lot of bad days and a lot of losses that you are going to have to go through before things turn around.”

She continues, “It’s sort of a perseverance and it also ties back to that aggressiveness. You have to bear through it and you have to accept that not everyday is going to be perfect.”

A CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF When addressing their aim to “get cats out of cages and into people’s homes,” Ha and her partner Legrand focus on the quality of the adoptions, rather than the quantity. Ha

describes how people tend to “want to see a cat from birth to death” and pass over cats that they deemed too old.

“It takes a really special someone to have that open heart and be like ‘this cat has been through half of his life and I don't know anything about the first half, but I’m gonna stick with him for the second half,’” Ha says.

As cats’ personalities take time to develop, Ha emphasizes how “if you adopt an older cat, that is their personality. They might

For more information on Meow Parlour, please visit www.meowparlour.com

ETHAN COVEY

ETHAN COVEY

“It’s sort of a perseverance and it also ties back to that aggressiveness. You have to bear through it and you have to accept that not everyday is going to be perfect.”

mellow out over time, but you pretty much know what you are getting into.” She notes how Meow Parlour wanted to showcase that here and thus is making its own impact on cat adoption.

In addition to helping older felines find homes, Meow Parlour helps cats recuperate.

Luke, a large orange cat, was a store cat, but when his owners lost their lease, he was left behind. Since his abandonment, Luke has become scared and needs time to readjust.

“It’s going to take a long time for him to feel that trust towards people again,” Ha says.

“That’s what we’re here for. To try to help him get through stuff like that.”

Ricky is an example of an adoption success story. A swirl tabby, Ricky had difficulty getting adopted at KittyKind, as he tended to be depressed in his cage. At Meow Parlour, Ricky typically would not interact with the visitors. However, one day, he climbed on a woman’s lap and fell asleep. “‘This is my cat. I will take him home,’” Ha recalls the customer saying. “It was like a miracle because Ricky comes out for no one.”

Stories such as Ricky’s uphold Meow Parlour’s goal to “have an impact on the quality of adoptions.” While other cat adoption services may tout higher adoption statistics, Ha highlights their conscious decision not to have kittens, as they get adopted more easily.

“We can’t do this if we can’t do something that we feel good about,” Ha asserts. “Let’s do what we can do.”

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ALIST ScotteVest Travel Vest for Men Toshiba Encore Mini Zipbuds Pro Mic Cyntur Jumperpack Mini Stratos Bluetooth Connected Card Sealife Micro HD+ Underwater Camera Microsoft Surface 3 Polar Activity Tracker Polaroid Zip Instant Photoprinter Snap Pets by WowWee: a wireless camera that syncs with your phone Accell Home or Away Power Station Bruno SmartCan: has a vacuum in its base and alerts you when it's full Smart Rope: tracks your jumps and displays the data SmartyPan: is a cooking pan that connects to a free recipe app Halo Back: a smart screen protector

ISTOCK/KIRILLM

SafeWallet: an alarm will sound if it is stolen

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TECHNOLOGY

Jessica Shih and HopeLine Program: Bringing Awareness and Services to Domestic Violence Victims

BY SEE XIONG

Jessica Shih is the Executive Director of Corporate Character and Multicultural Communications. Jessica also oversees HopeLine, Verizon's domestic Awareness Program. HopeLine takes used phones and refurbishes them to distribute to domestic violence organizations so that victims can have a safe way of communicating for help. Any phone that are unable to be refurbished will be recycled to help the environment. 41 to 61% of Asian women report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime. Unfortunately that rate is higher than rates for all other races.

The topic is also rarely discussed among the Asian American community due to the deep cultural stigmas that accompany this topic. Please visit http://www. verizon.com/about/responsibility/hopeline for more information. ou might be surprised that a career in a big corporation could include working to prevent domestic violence, but that’s exactly what Jessica Shih does as the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Relations at Verizon.

Having worked at the company since November 2014, Shih’s role entails working on promotion of the programs that the company’s corporate social responsibility department has. In her words, the department creates programs with the purpose of creating “brighter futures.”

One such program is called HopeLine, a preventive and intervention program that focuses on domestic violence. It helps victims by providing resources to organizations that

provide services to them.

“It’s absolutely critical for companies to take notice and do something to prevent domestic violence, because it affects one in three Americans,” Shih said. “No company is immune. Domestic violence impacts the work environment in the form of absenteeism, increased medical care costs and productivity.”

and has donated more than $29 million in cash grants to other organizations and more than 190,000 phones for victims and survivors. This year, the program is hoping to collect one million phones. Verizon works with hundreds of organizations around the country. Although there is no formal process with organizations they work with, each of the company’s region support local

“The biggest misconception is that domestic violence is about violence…Domestic violence is about control.”

Since its inception in 2001, The HopeLine Program has been active in spreading awareness about domestic violence

HopeLine FAQs: What is the HopeLine Program?

HopeLine is a phone recycling program exclusive to Verizon that uses refurbished and recycled wireless equipment and Verizon Wireless services and equipment to help victims of domestic violence.

How does a wireless phone help a victim of domestic violence?

Access to a wireless phone and service, along with a voice mailbox can help victims of domestic violence rebuild their lives, by giving them the means to communicate with family, friends, agency and shelter support staff and current or prospective employers.

Besides providing phones to victims of domestic violence, what other projects is HopeLine involved?

HopeLine from Verizon also makes financial grants to regional and national domestic violence organizations, such as the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and other local community interest groups. The grants fund workshops, classes and other initiatives to aid victims and help raise awareness of domestic violence.

I've seen other phone recycling programs. Why should I choose to donate my phone to HopeLine?

Customers have many choices when looking for a phone-recycling program. HopeLine is an award-winning, well-established program which was created to make a positive difference in the areas of domestic violence awareness, prevention and victim recovery.

When customers donate their phones to the HopeLine program, they can be confident that their wireless phone will be recycled or refurbished properly, and proceeds will be used to generate funds for various programs to assist victims of domestic violence and the organizations that support them.

organizations that help the community.

By working with the HopeLine Program, Shih learned to correct her incorrect thinking about the issue of domestic violence.

“The biggest misconception is that domestic violence is about violence,” she explained.

“Domestic violence is about control.

Violence is just one way to exert control in a relationship. Many people who are in abusive relationships may not think it’s that bad, because they haven’t been hit. They may be verbally abused, stalked, have all of their communications monitored, not allowed to drive or need permission to do something, etc. There are many ways domestic violence manifests itself in a relationship.”

People can get involved in supporting HopeLine by donating unwanted cellphones to a Verizon Wireless store or hosting a drive to collect phones.

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ALIST Chinese Cinderella Adeline Yin Mah

Modern Romance Aziz Ansari

A Thousand Miles to Freedom Eunsun Kim

The 13th Disciple Deepak Chopra

Kyoko Mori

Meet Me in Venice: A Chinese Immigrant's Journey from the Far East to the Faraway West Suzanne Ma

On Gold Mountain Lisa See

The Birth of Korean Cool

Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History

Euny Hong

Leslie T. Chang

Bound Feet & Western Dress Pang-Mei Natasha Chang

Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back

BLENDED IMAGES/DAVE & LES JACOBS

Janice P. Nimura

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Polite Lies: On being a Woman Caught Between Cultures

SUMMER 2015

Yoshiko Uchida

Q. Edward Wang

Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro

The Girl with Seven Names Hyeonseo Lee and David John

Best In Class CEO on Franchising & Education ALIST sat down for an interview with Hao Lam, CEO of Best in Class. Born in Vietnam during the communist regime, Lam combined twin passions for teaching and entrepreneurship to create a successful business. His Seattle-based education program has 30 locations around the country and provides students with tutoring to help them prepare for college. Please visit www.bestinclasseducation.com for more information.

“My passion is to be a successful entrepreneur and to help people around me, especially our team (including staff members and franchisees), to be successful.”

COURTESY OF HAO LAM

personal and family time. I work six days per week and only take one day off: Thursdays.

ALIST Magazine: Can you tell us about Best in Class Education Center?

Hao Lam: Best in Class is dedicated to providing superior supplemental education.

We started small, but with huge a passion for education. We believe education is the door to the future and we want to leave a lasting positive impact on our students, staff members and communities.

AM: You’ve said that four out of your 12 franchisees fall into the 20-something age group because they have little to lose — why choose education? Why not open a Subway or Dunkin’ Donuts?

HL: Many people today are searching for business opportunities where they are able to utilize the skills they’ve developed from their career or from their college education.

Many of our franchisees have chosen Best in Class because they are passionate about helping more students reach their potential.

As opposed to a retail outlet or restaurant, our franchisees benefit from more flexible schedules. Their business can even be operated part-time. Because Best in Class is a lower investment compared to many other opportunities in the franchise industry, it is attractive for people of all ages.

AM: As an entrepreneur, would you convince someone to start a franchise instead of pursuing his or her own start-up?

Why or why not?

HL: As an entrepreneur myself, I understand exactly what a new business owner will face on a daily basis as well as the primary obstacles they will need to overcome. Some studies show that franchises have a success rate of approximately 90 percent as compared to only about 15 percent for businesses that are started from the ground up. One of the many advantages of a franchise model is that you do not need to reinvent the wheel.

AM: You left Vietnam in 1988; have you been back since then?

HL: Yes, my whole family went back for a visit in 2007. I brought my two boys back and showed them the place where I grew up. It brought back many good memories when I was there and the boys were very interested.

AM: Did your own sons Louis and Albert use the center?

HL: Absolutely! They started coming to our centers as soon as they could hold a pencil.

They both grew up at our centers.

AM: Describe your day’s schedule.

HL: 6 to 10 a.m.: work from home; 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.: attend meetings and catch up on phone calls at the office; after 5 p.m.:

COURTESY OF HAO LAM

AM: What are the top things you’ve learned by opening a franchise?

HL: Running a franchise has taught me how important it is to establish a solid system, to stay focused, to keep learning, to build a strong and dedicated team, and most importantly, to realize that we have a chance to grow our business exponentially.

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 23

AM: Coming from Vietnam, you made your way to the Philippines, then Canada, and then to Seattle. How has each place helped you grow as a person?

HL: Moving around helped me learn to adapt to new environments very rapidly.

In Vietnam, where I was born and grew up, I witnessed two totally different political systems: democratic and communist.

Escaping the country in the midst of the civil war helped me develop a fearless and positive attitude. My first few escape attempts ended disastrously (running from gunfire, capture and imprisonment). Even Vietnamese prison couldn’t stop me! I learned to never give up.

Finally, we successfully escaped by boat to the Philippines.

There, I first encountered hospitality and humanitarian assistance from the United Nations and I benefited as a refugee. This is also where I fell in love with my wife Lisa, who has helped me grow as a person in many ways.

In Canada, where I completed my high school and my college education, I appreciated so much from the bottom of my heart the welcoming, the support, and the welfare from all the people who supported me during my first few years as a new immigrant.

In the USA, where I first started my business, I was exposed to the land of opportunity, and I experienced the American Dream.

COURTESY OF HAO LAM

“The best advice I received is to balance work, self and family life.”

AM: How has your Asian culture helped or hindered your professional career?

HL: I have lived in North America for the past three decades and have inherited both American and Asian culture: work hard, never give up (perseverance), take risks, die hard and dream big.

AM: What are three things most people do not know about you?

HL: I started to learn English as a second language when I was in the Philippines at the age of 20. I graduated high school when I was 23 years old. And I love to read Hong Kong celebrity news.

AM: What are the top three items on your to-do list?

HL: 1) Lose some weight, exercise more, and stay healthy.

2) Build at least 100 Best in Class centers within the next three to five years.

3) Set up a non-profit organization to provide

supplemental education to underprivileged students.

AM: What inspires you?

HL: Stories of success and innovation, books and business news.

AM: So far you have locations in California, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Where are you looking to expand to next?

HL: Because of our ongoing success in Texas, California, New Jersey and Ohio, we are planning to continue to expand our footprint in those markets. We are also focusing on several emerging areas for Best in Class including New York and Pennsylvania.

AM: What is the best advice someone has given you?

HL: The best advice I received is to balance work, self and family life.

According to Hao, Best in Class stands out from other tutoring companies because: 1- They hire qualified and talented instructors with college education in their fields

2- They do not waste time on repetition. They always want to challenge their students to move ahead 3- They maintain a small class size with strict student to teacher ratios 4- They have assigned class schedules that allow tutors to monitor each individual student's growth 5- They have tutors who actively teach throughout the tutoring sessions 6- They have their own curriculum designed to help students achieve success by thinking critically and by excelling at standardized tests 7- They correct all homework and tests so they can monitor student progress every step of the way 8- They strive to provide to of the line education at affordable prices 24 |

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ALIST Hawaii Five-O with Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park and Masi Oka Elementary with Lucy Liu Scorpion with Jadyn Wong 2 Broke Girls with Matthew Moy Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD with Ming Na and Chloe Bennet Fresh Off the Boat with Randall Park, Constance Wu and Hudson Yang

Minority Report with Li Jun Li Night Shift with Ken Leung Grimm with Reggie Lee Crazy Ex-girlfriend with Vincent Rodriguez III Heroes Reborn with Masi Oka Strange Calls with Danny Pudi Master of None with Aziz Ansari

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Quantico with Priyanka Chopra Dr. Ken with Ken Jeong

The Mindy Project with Mindy Kaling

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 25

E

ENTERTAINMENT

Phillip Rhee’s New Underdog Film

Actor and filmmaker Phillip Rhee is best known for his “Best of the Best” movie series. An experienced martial artist with a 6th degree black belt in taekwondo, Rhee recently released “Underdog Kids,” which he wrote, directed and starred in. The action-packed, family-friendly comedy is available on DVD and On Demand. Please visit www.underdogkids.com for more information.

ALIST Magazine: You started CFC Entertainment in 1991 because you were frustrated with the lack of roles for Asian actors. How do you think the success of TV shows “Fresh Off the Boat” and the upcoming “Dr. Ken,” featuring Ken Jeong will affect the industry?

Phillip Rhee: “Dr. Ken” and “Fresh Off the Boat” are helping greatly; the fact that Asian Americans have a TV series at all is a miracle in itself, because getting shows off the ground with a major network is extremely hard. Just to give you a perspective of how hard it is, every year there are more than 100 thousand scripts submitted to the film and TV studios — LESS than 0.5 percent get produced. The odds are stacked against not only Asians but all races and colors, so we need to do everything we can to help these shows become successful because if it is a success, then there will be more. Asians MUST support one another in all endeavors otherwise we will never have a voice.

AM: Why do you think your films have a cult following?

PR: Because it had a great story that moved people’s hearts, which is easy to say but difficult to accomplish. The picture made the 26 |

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Top 15 Most Inspirational Sports Movies on Fandango, along with “Rocky”! http://www.fandango.com/movie-photos/ movies-that-inspire-us-349 AM: Your film “Best of the Best” in 1989 was centered around a team of American martial artists going against a team of Koreans in a taekwondo tournament, and your new film “Underdog Kids” is about

“Every year there are more than 100 thousand scripts submitted to the film and TV studios Less than .5 percent get produced. The odds are stacked against not only Asians but all races and colors.”

COURTESY OF MPRM COMMUNICATIONS

COURTESY OF MPRM COMMUNICATIONS

a group of inner city kids from a poor neighborhood going against the undefeated Beverly Hills Junior National Karate team.

Do you always center a storyline around overcoming moral conflicts as a team?

PR: For me, I love underdog stories because I was one. An Asian boy coming to the United States not knowing how to speak one word of English was a difficult period of my life.

But it’s not just me. It’s about people in general. Regardless of color, regardless of being rich or poor — we as human beings all face difficult times in our lives at one point or another but through trials and tribulations we build character and become stronger. I’ve

AM: How was your experience as both director and actor in the film?

PR: Before “Underdog Kids” I directed two films with Miramax films as producer, director and star so it comes naturally for me. And I am always thankful to my mentor, Peter E. Strauss and to Bob and Harvey Weinstein for giving me the chance.

AM: All the kids in the film are amazing; how was it working with them?

PR: In the film industry, they say never to work with kids and animals because they are very difficult to work with, but I was blessed with great kids who were also very talented actors and had a blast working with them!

AM: Will we be seeing more martial arts family dramas from you?

PR: Whether it’s martial arts, family dramas, action adventures or sci-fi thrillers, I just want to tell good stories that move people.

“I made 'Underdog Kids to inspire kids and families to never give up!”

AM: Will your son Sean follow your footsteps as you followed your uncles’ in pursuing martial arts?

PR: That will be up to him. He’s 15 now and he wants to be an investment banker, so we will see. My job is to guide him to all the opportunities out there, but ultimately he has to choose his own path that he loves, otherwise he will never be happy.

AM: Your wife, Amy is a fashion designer.

How do you support her work?

PR: My wife is one of the most talented people I know; she has an eye for beauty and clean lines. She also received a full scholarship at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) but she is now a stay-home mommy taking care of our son, which is I think is harder than fashion design.

Whatever she does, I will always support her financially, emotionally and spiritually because I know she will do the same for me.

AM: Has married life and having a family changed the way you approach your films?

PR: Being married changed the way I approach my films? No. Having a son? Yes.

COURTESY OF MPRM COMMUNICATIONS

heard the strongest trees are those living in the harshest environments because through rain, snow and windstorms, their roots spread deep underground; trees planted in the fair weather are easily uprooted because their roots are shallow.

AM: What does it mean to you to have a 6th degree black belt in taekwondo, 3rd degree black belt in hapkido and a 1st degree black belt in kendo?

PR: It means to be humble and to help those who are weaker than you. The strength lies in lifting people up, not knocking them down.

Actually, that’s why I made “Underdog Kids”: to inspire kids and families to never give up!

AM: What is your passion in life other than martial arts?

PR: #1 God, #2 Family, #3 Work, #4 Friends. In that order. Before, my paradigm was all wrong. I put my work first, friends second, family third, and when I have time, God last — which was all wrong. It took me a long time to figure this out. I know readers may disagree but it works for me.

AM: Did you grow up watching the old Kung Fu movies on television?

PR: Absolutely! And like many Asians and Caucasians alike, Bruce Lee was one of my favorite heroes. He was a bad-a**! A strong Asian figure with courage and dignity.

What’s there not to like?

COURTESY OF MPRM COMMUNICATIONS

COURTESY OF MPRM COMMUNICATIONS

AM: You were a bodyguard to John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal; what did you learn from that experience?

PR: To kill people with Kindness and always be good to people on your way up because it’s the same people you will meet on your way down.

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 27

‘Picture Taipei’ is a Film Worth Funding

MARC LIU

“Picture Taipei” is a Kickstarter-funded short film about a young woman from Los Angeles who takes a life-changing trip to Taiwan. We spoke to producer Marc Liu, a California native who also keeps Taipei close to his heart.

AM: Why is this movie important to you?

ML: “Picture Taipei” is the culmination of many years of hard work and trial and error for myself and the rest of the team. Both the director Jason Poon and I came from working on a lot of music videos and commercials, but our hearts are in the traditional, narrative form of storytelling. We saw an opportunity to make a film that had a unique angle and a compelling story, so we decided we needed to act on the moment. In retrospect, “Picture Taipei” is most important to me because it showed that we were willing to “burn our boats” and pursue something even though not everything was guaranteed and we had to do everything on our own.

AM: According to the Kickstarter description, the film is about “living an authentic life, about choosing what you want to do versus going through life by default. It's about looking past everyday difficulties and finding beauty and meaning in the world around us, so that we can move forward in life with fresh eyes.” Can you elaborate?

ML: I think young people are often faced with a list of obligations and duties to perform.

What we are trying to say is, sometimes those obligations and duties are not necessarily demanded of us, but rather restrictions we place on ourselves. For example, some would say that in order to live a “comfortable life” you need to make a certain level of income or pursue a career in a certain line of work, otherwise you won’t be successful or happy. I think that is a misnomer and a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of life. It’s not about being irresponsible or pursuing a career in the arts; we’re encouraging people

“…obligations and duties are not necessarily demanded of us, but rather restrictions we place on ourselves.”

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SUMMER 2015

to think about what it means to live an authentic, meaningful life, which naturally enriches everyone around them as it nurtures themselves.

When we meet our main character Aimee, played by Aileen Xu, at the beginning of the film, we discover that she is living a life by default: a life that is focused on what she feels she needs to do to be happy. Aimee realizes very quickly, however, that simply living the life she was taught to live — go to a good school, get a good job, work hard, save up — was not enough. She was still unhappy, and worse yet, when things go wrong, she has nothing to hold on to.

We deliberately kept out an explicit cultural message to the story because we feel like

MARC LIU

ALIST Magazine: Describe “Picture Taipei” in a sentence or two.

Marc Liu: “Picture Taipei” is about a girl whose life is falling apart. On a whim, she travels to Taipei on a trip that changes her life for the better.

AM: Your core team consisted of Aileen Xu, Jason Poon, Andy Chen and Samuel Wang – how did you convince them to do the movie for free?

ML: Man, why you gotta say I convinced them to do it for free? Haha. In reality, in addition to our work, we actually all contributed time and money to the project.

Like many independent films, this is at heart a passion project. It’s about Taipei and what a great city it is, but it’s also about telling real stories.

There are so many Asian Americans who are 1.5-generation kids or second generation kids who travel to Asia on occasion. The idea of going back to a country where everyone resembles you, yet you still experience as a foreigner is both a universal feeling that everyone can understand as well as something that features unique things about the Asian American experience. If we don’t tell our stories, who will? The proposition I made to the team is that we would be doing something that has never been done before: a universal story made by Asian Americans in Asia about the real, authentic Taipei. I was offering Aileen, Jason, Andy, and Sam the chance for an adventure, and because I know all of them well, I knew that they would see the opportunity for what it was and jump on it.

MARC LIU

AM: How long is the movie?

ML: The film is slotted to run between 15 minutes and 20 minutes. We are currently in the editing process, so we will have a better sense once we are done, but we definitely want to keep the story tight and fast-paced.

AM: What does a producer do in a movie?

ML: There are many different types of producers, some who focus purely on marshaling the logistics of a project, while other producers are hands-on in the creative process. I prefer to be a creative producer, someone who not only seeks out the talent in front of the camera and behind the camera, but also a producer that is actively involved in finding and refining the story. I feel like being a producer is not simply putting the show together, but running with the director as the show takes shape, setting boundaries but also working with the director to achieve a unified vision. That’s what takes the act of producing from being just a job to a truly collaborative process.

MARC LIU

AM: You just launched a Kickstarter campaign; is $15,000 really enough to finish the movie? What happens if you don’t reach your funding goal?

ML: $15,000 is not the cost for the whole film, but rather the costs associated with post-production and the reconciling of some of the production costs we spent in Taiwan.

We honestly could probably ask for more, but we feel like $15,000 is the right amount to ask our friends, family, and fans’ support in order to finish the journey with us.

With Kickstarter it’s actually an all or nothing funding process, so if we don’t raise $15,000, the crew and I are probably going to be very sad and go through our Executive Producer Sam’s whisky collection. In all honesty though, we are doing everything we can to raise the $15,000 because we believe in our project and we are confident that our friends, family, our Southern California community, our filmmaker family, our Taiwanese community, the greater Asian American community, and lovers of art everywhere will see what we’re doing and pledge their support to a worthwhile endeavor.

MARC LIU

being subjected to obligations is a universal concern; it comes from parents, from peers, from society, even from ourselves.

WWW.ALIST-MAGAZINE.COM | 29

MARC LIU

AM: What do you love about Taipei?

ML: Taiwan has a special place in my heart.

The Portuguese called it Ilha Formosa, the Beautiful Island, and that’s exactly what it is.

Whether you like the city, the ocean, or the countryside, Taiwan has it all.

I actually think that Taipei manages to do something that no other major Asian city has done quite to Taipei’s level, which is find a balance between urban and suburban culture and lifestyle. The culture in Asia goes back thousands of years, and now you have all

those years of history juxtaposed with rapid development all over the continent. I think that in focusing on modernizing and building up to a “global standard” of international trade and business, it’s easy to lose things you take for granted.

In Taipei, however, you see a clear engagement with outside culture. All of the trends in the West and East Asia are alive and on display in all of the cultural parks and art centers across the city. At the same time, it’s hard to go a few blocks in many parts of

MARC LIU

“Taipei is a wonderful place to feel international, yet be able to delve into a uniquely local culture at the same time.”

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“I feel like being producer that is actively involved in finding and refining the story. I feel like being a producer is not simply putting the show together, but running with the director as the show takes shape, setting boundaries but also working with the director to achieve a unified vision.”

Taipei and not bump into a temple, a food stand or a small park. Taipei is a wonderful place to feel international, yet be able to delve into a uniquely local culture at the same time.

AM: After “Picture Taipei” is released, what is next for you?

ML: I actually was just brought on to assist on a feature film that will start shooting in Utah in September! It’s called The Jade Pendant, based off a book by L.P. Leung, about a love story between two Chinese immigrants that come to Los Angeles in 1871. It is directed

by Po-Chih Leong, produced by Thomas Leong and Scott Rosenfelt (“Home Alone”), and stars Korean actress Clara Lee and Taiwanese actor Godfrey Gao. I’m really excited about the project because it hits close to home: a lot of people are unaware of the discrimination and racism perpetrated against Chinese people in America throughout history, but definitely back when Chinese immigrants from Toisan and Canton Province came to this country as railroad workers and small business owners. I love L.A., but a terrible massacre of Chinese people happened in Los Angeles back in 1871, on top of which the original Chinatown (on the land that is now Union Station in Los Angeles) was burned to the ground. We have a great crew and an exciting cast, so the project should be a lot of fun and help tell the story of the Chinese experience in America in a way that has never been seen before.

At the time of print this film was fully funded on Kickstarter.

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ALIST WOMEN:

MEN:

Graphic black and white High-shine wet look Reefer jackets Arctic fur Jersey dresses Velvet Quilted jackets Military style Vinyl Leopard prints Breton stripes Patchwork Concept dresses Shearling Punk-rock 80's Rivets Sequins

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ALIST A Photo Recap of KCON NY 2015 By Jackie Ho

ALIST was invited to attend the inaugural KCON NY, which took place on August 8th at the Prudential Center.

It included a one day convention and ended with the concert where 17,000 people celebrated KCON’s arrival to the East Coast. Musical performances included artists like Girls’ Generation, AOA, VIXX and Teen Top. For more photos, please visit www.alist-magazine.com

FESTIVAL

CONVENTION

PRESS CONFERENCE

CONCERT

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