Billy Taing
Co-Director | btaing@apirise.org
Formerly incarcerated in the California state prison system for more than two decades, Billy Taing serves as Co-Director of API RISE. The journey to this role required him to navigate early childhood as a refugee from Cambodia at the age of three when his mother and older brother fled the Khmer Rouge because of their Chinese lineage. Then, like so many immigrant youths, he joined a gang where he thought he found belonging and acceptance. A terrible decision led to a life sentence in prison, an order for deportation, and separation from his family until the age of 43. As his life purpose came into focus, his spiritual training deepened, and his desire to serve grew–Billy successfully petitioned and received a full and unconditional pardon, a set aside of the deportation order, and an acceptance into a union-wage apprenticeship program to be an electrician. For many reasons, he chose to leave the union apprenticeship to serve his brothers and sisters in the API community, as a Co-Director of API RISE. Billy is also the Co-Founder of the Black and API Solidarity group.
Dara Yin
Program Specialist | Los Angeles | dyin@apirise.org
Dara is of Khmer (Cambodian) descent who grew up in Long Beach, California. They have firsthand experience with the criminal justice system and were incarcerated at the age of 19 under a Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentence. Fortunately, Dara’s sentence was commuted by Governor Newsom in January 2022 to a 18-to-life, and after 20 years, they were found suitable for parole by the Board of Paroles. Dara has been home since November 2022 and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Education at the University of Souther California (USC) through the Learning, Design, and Technology program. They strongly believe in the transformative power of education to address issues like poverty, systemic racism, and violence. Dara hopes to leverage their education and skills to empower the API RISE community in the ongoing fight against racism, marginalization, and separatism. They look forward to collaborating and growing together with the community.
Diane Ujiiye
Co-director | dujiiye@apirise.org
Minister Diane Ujiiye's background includes over twenty years of working in the fields of substance abuse, mental health, HIV/AIDS, gang prevention-intervention, and reentry in multi-ethnic LA County. She has conducted civil rights and public policy advocacy for Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California. As executive director of a statewide network of CBO’s, she co-led the passage of AB 1088 (Eng) the disaggregated API data bill. Diane facilitated community input for AB 116 (Nakano) which established the CA Commission on APIA Affairs (CAPIAA) and served as a founding member and chair. She served as board president for Healing Urban Barrios, a gang intervention and re-entry program in North-east Los Angeles. Diane was an appointee to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Citizens Oversight Committee after the 1992 uprising, and is co-founder of the Black and API Solidarity group. She has facilitated an array of group processes designed to strengthen unity while addressing causes and symptoms of division. Diane holds a Master of Divinity (Mdiv’) degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Elsie Nu’u
Program Specialist | Inland Empire | enu’u@apirise.org
I am Samoan American and the first in my family to be born in America. I was raised in San Bernardino, CA, and I enjoy volunteering for my community and church. My goal with API RISE is to continue empowering API youth and guide them to use their voices in powerful ways.
Hana Morita
Communications & Admin Coordinator | hmorita@apirise.org
Hana is fourth-generation Japanese American with Okinawan and Chinese heritage, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. They went out of state to receive their bachelor’s degree at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where they majored in Sociology and Anthropology and minored in African American Studies. Their involvement with incarcerated and detained individuals at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) and the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) through programs like the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS) and Advocates for Detained Voices (ADV) ignited their passion for working with system-impacted individuals. They are guided by their focus on bridging gaps, breaking cycles of violence and trauma, and highlighting our shared humanity.
Heidi Chargualaf-Quenga
Human Resources Consultant | hr@apirise.org
Heidi is an experienced Accounting & Human Resource Manager with over 25+ years in the field with a B.S. in Business Management from San Francisco State University. As Executive Director of the Kutturan CHamoru Foundation, she advocates for the inclusion of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, serving as a CHamoru Cultural Advisor to various community groups and nonprofits leading initiatives to raise awareness across the U.S. and the Pacific.
Kanaka Luna-Jennings
Program Director | kljennings@apirise.org
Kanaka Mālia Luna Jennings, a proud Native Hawaiian and Filipina, serves as Program Director at API RISE, overseeing culturally responsive programs that promote healing, leadership, and empowerment. Raised in San Francisco’s marginalized communities and shaped by 23 years of incarceration, she transforms lived experience into leadership rooted in ancestral wisdom and resilience. Her professional journey includes working in the workforce development and tattoo removal departments at Homeboy Industries, and serving as a certified Substance Use Disorder (SUD) counselor at Amity Foundation and Grandview Foundation, supporting reentry, recovery, and community healing. Kanaka is attaining her AA in Liberal Arts and pursuing a BA in Asian American Studies/Social Justice to further her commitment to immigrant rights and collective liberation.
Her work honors the truth that true change begins within and ripples outward to heal communities and generations.
Lisa Nguyễn
Program Specialist | Inland Empire | lnguyen@apirise.org
Lisa Nguyễn (she/they) is a community organizer and cultural anthropologist from Little Saigon, Orange County. In her free time, she likes to play animal crossing and go to Hong Kong Cafés! She is honored to organize alongside everyone and looks forward to celebrating community wins!
Mike Madrilejo
Senior Program Specialist | Los Angeles | michaelm@apirise.org
Michael is of Filipino descent, originally hailing from the Bay Area but now considers Los Angeles home. He joined API RISE in 2017 and began his journey as a part-time reentry specialist, eventually transitioning to a full-time Senior Program Specialist role. Despite encountering challenges during his upbringing that resulted in some difficult decisions, Michael has persevered, striving to overcome his past and create a better future for himself. His current focus is on giving back to his community, and in 2024, he enrolled as a graduate student in Sociology at Cal State Los Angeles with the goal of using his education to serve the API community.
Nikotemo Matafele
Program Specialist | Inland Empire | nmatafele@apirise.org
I am Samoan American and was born and raised in Long Beach, CA. I am the youngest of 9 children and the youngest child of the late pastor Rev Matafele Tali Jr. I have been working and volunteering with the youth, church, and community for over 15 years. I enjoy being a helping hand upon my community, and will continue to do so for Philippians 2 versus 4 states “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”.
Robert B. Gurion
Finance Consultant | accounting@apirise.org
Robert B. Gurion is a proven strategic leader and operational executive with over 25 years of experience driving performance, stability, and growth across diverse industries, including manufacturing, technology, media, and nonprofit sectors. With a track record of aligning financial systems with organizational vision, Robert specializes in building scalable infrastructures, leading teams through change, and positioning organizations for long-term success. Throughout his career, Robert has guided companies through major transitions—from financial turnarounds and system overhauls to mergers and acquisitions—by leading with clarity, collaboration, and data-driven insight. His expertise spans GAAP accounting, financial planning, ERP system integration, cost containment, and cross-functional leadership. He has successfully implemented enterprise-level systems, created forecasting models that support executive decision-making, and overseen operational redesigns that improved efficiency, accountability, and cash flow. Robert is known for his ability to synthesize complex challenges into strategic roadmaps, while cultivating strong partnerships across leadership, staff, and stakeholders. Whether mentoring department heads or navigating organizational restructuring, his approach is people-centered and solutions-oriented. Born in San Francisco, California, and of CHamoru and Filipino heritage, Robert carries his cultural values into every aspect of his leadership—prioritizing service, integrity, and intergenerational impact. He serves as Treasurer and Board Member of the Kutturan CHamoru Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing CHamoru cultural traditions through education, language, and performance. Beyond his professional commitments, Robert is a devoted husband and father of four, committed to building systems—both in organizations and in community—that honor identity, elevate potential, and create space for future generations to thrive.
Tin Nguyen
Senior Program Specialist | Inland Empire | tinnguyen@apirise.org
After serving 22 years on a Life Without the Possibility of Parole and 10 months in an ICE detention center, Tin became a consultant at California State University of Los Angeles with the Center Engagement for Public Good and Service, where he received his Bachelor in Communication Studies and Master of Business Administration. He launched a dog boarding and training business, collaborating with rescuers to support animal welfare causes. Additionally, Tin served as the Immigrant Justice Coordinator at VietRISE and Program Director for the Decarcerated Orange County coalition, developing programs to assist OC system-impacted communities and advocating for policy change alongside organizations like the Orange County Justice Fund, and Orange County Rapid Response Network. He is a board member of the Asian Solidarity Collective, and Collective Freedom in San Diego County.
Vai Matautia
Inland Empire Program Coordinator
Vai was born and raised in Long Beach, CA. She is Samoan American and has lived in San Bernardino since 2007. Alongside her family, they have been serving the Inland Empire region since 2014.
O le ala i le pule, O le tautau – “The pathway to leadership is through service”.
Board Of Directors
Annie Liu
Annie is a research consultant for big tech companies and higher education. She received a PhD from UCLA where she studied the racial formation of Asian American youth gangs. As a doctoral student she started an educational program inside Barry J. Nidorf juvenile hall. She has conducted research and worked with incarcerated youth in Los Angeles, New York, Europe, and Guam. She went on to do her postdoctoral research at Stanford, in the Graduate School of Education. She's a proud San Jose native, and daughter of Vietnamese refugees. In her free time you can find her taking a cult workout class, or spending time with her large family (they call themselves the Asian Brady Bunch).
Ben Jung
Born and raised in Echo Park, Los Angeles, Ben Jung is a former juvenile lifer who served 21 years of a 25-to-life sentence. As the eldest son of Korean immigrants and the brother to a lawyer and the co-founder of API RISE, Ben brings a deep commitment to community advocacy and empowerment. Now a full-time Union Electrician with IBEW Local 11, he balances his career with his passion for supporting those currently and formerly incarcerated. Ben graduated college with honors and is a proud uncle to his toddler niece. He is also a die-hard Raiders, Dodgers, Lakers, and all things LA fan.
Duc Ta
Co-Founder and Board Chair, Duc Ta, served 15 of a 35-life sentence. After release, Duc achieved his culinary dreams at LA Kitchen and has worked for numerous celebrity chefs. Duc is currently pursuing entrepreneurial goals. Duc was a LA County Measure J (alternatives to incarceration) advisor in 2021.
Godfrey Santos Plata
Godfrey Santos Plata (he/him) is a queer Filipino immigrant and renter whose north star is a racial justice, and whose tools of choice are political education and building people power. He unapologetically works toward a world in which Black Lives Matter. Plata was born in Marikina, Philippines, and is a teacher-turned-organizer currently living in LA's Koreatown. After beginning to meet API RISE members in 2019, he was proud to support API RISE members in East-West Players' production of FROM NUMBER TO NAME, a collection of members' stories and experiences theatricalized for a Zoom audience. In his civic life, Plata sits on the boards of LA Forward and Pilipino American LA Democrats; and represents almost half a million LA residents as a member of the LA County Democratic Party's Central Committee. In 2020, Plata ran for California's State Assembly and won 50,000 votes (44% of the vote) as a first-time political candidate running against a 3-term incumbent, without taking any corporate PAC money and with 7 times less funding than his opponent. State-wide, he serves as Regional Vice-Chair of the Filipino-American Democratic Caucus of California and steers the California Progressive Alliance. In his organizing work, Plata supports community members in multiple LA-based organizing groups, having worked on issues of Sheriff's Department accountability alongside Black Lives Matter; immigrant supports and services at LA Unified School District; and protections for Asian Americans in light of recent waves of anti-Asian violence.
Kirn Kim
Kirn Kim was a former honor student and son of a prominent physician in the Fullerton Korean community. However, at age 16, he was sentenced as an adult to life in prison as part of a high-profile case that became known as the “Honor Roll Murder.” He earned parole after serving 20 years. Kirn became active in justice reform advocacy, leading to his hiring as the first formerly-incarcerated employee of The California Endowment. Currently working as a software developer, Kirn continues speaking on issues of criminal and juvenile justice reform, and the culture of shame and the model minority myth in the Asian/Pacific Islander community. Kirn is also currently on the board of directors at the National Juvenile Justice Network.
Kristina Wong
Kristina Wong is a performance artist, comedian, writer and elected representative in Koreatown Los Angeles who has been presented internationally across North America, the UK, Hong Kong and Africa. In the pandemic, Kristina foundedAuntie Sewing Squad, a national network of volunteers sewing masks for vulnerable communities. Theirbook “The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care and Racial Justice is published by the University of California Press. The experience of erecting this remote factory turned national mutual aid collective at the start of the pandemic is the subject of “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord”– a “New York Times Critics Pick” that premiered off-Broadway at New York Theater Workshop. Kristina also devised and directed last season’s“From Number to Name” at East West Players with members of API RISE, a support group for individuals who have been impacted by the criminal justice system.
Leesa Nomura
Leesa Nomura (she/her) is a formerly incarcerated Samoan woman who serves as the California Coalition for Women Prisoners as membership organizer and a volunteer for the AANHPI and Reentry communities.
Leesa's life's work is encapsulated in the empowerment of the formerly incarcerated and the liberation of people from prisons where institutional harm and medical neglect is a cultural mainstay. She is a Project Rebound scholar and in 2023 has earned her Bachelor's degree in Human Services.
Aside from having an amazingly supportive extended family, Leesa is a proud mom of four sons and two daughters whose resilience has inspired her to continue to strive for success and live her best second chance. She is also a blessed "Nana" to her three granddaughters and two grandsons.
Her life's motto is, "Always remember what not to forget, and you will never forget what matters most."