Leadership Team

Shaima Ahmad

Managing Director

Shaima Ahmad is the Managing Director at CAPAL. She manages the day to day operations at CAPAL, in addition to the long-term development of the organization. Shaima has over a decade of experience working with non-profit organizations. She previously worked with Asian American LEAD where she was responsible for creating, managing, and evaluating youth development programming for underserved youth in the DC metro area. The combination of her love for travel and community service led Shaima to build and run a youth service learning immersion program with a network of nonprofits based in the Sacred Valley of Peru. Shaima grew up in Maryland and later pursued her undergraduate degree in Business Administration in Beijing, China. She loves learning about new cultures, architecture, and traveling.

Contact Shaima at shaima.ahmad@capal.org

Hannah Park

Programs Manager

Hannah Park is the Programs Manager at CAPAL where she handles daily operations and coordinates CAPAL’s various programs such as CAPAL’s Scholarship and Internship Program and the Washington Leadership Program. Hannah graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in International Affairs and English as well as a minor in Spanish. Her interest in advancing exposure to public service opportunities stems from her previous experience of supporting refugee resettlement programs in the metro Atlanta area and assisting with program implementation at a government agency. She formerly interned at non-profit organizations such as The Carter Center and New American Pathways as well as at a women’s magazine based in Bhutan. Hannah enjoys reading, writing, and trying new food.

Contact Hannah at hannah.park@capal.org.

Aaron Chan

Chair 

Aaron Chan (he/him) is a White House Presidential Appointee at the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD). He previously was Special Assistant to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, and before that he worked in the personal office of US Senator Tammy Duckworth. As a proud first-generation student and 1.5 generation Asian-American, he is a passionate advocate for diversity and youth representation. He has been a US representative delegate to the G20 Youth Summit, youth representative at the UN Water Conference, an organizer for the World Bank Youth Summit, and helped create the first-ever US-ASEAN Futures Symposium. He received his Bachelors from UCLA and his master’s degree from George Washington University. DC-based since 2019, he enjoys traveling, movies, and sports.

Zarana Shah-Durham 

Treasurer

Zarana Shah-Durham (she/her) serves as the Director of Marketing at CleanChoice Energy where she leads multi-channel marketing strategy for the marquee product line. With a background in clean energy and subscriptions, she is committed to making a positive impact on the climate change crisis by making clean energy accessible for all. As a first-generation immigrant and a new citizen, she is also passionate about uplifting and amplifying diverse voices in change making spaces. Zarana holds an MBA in Consulting & Digital Marketing from The George Washington University and a Masters in Commerce for the University of Mumbai. She currently lives in Washington DC with her husband, cat, and thirty-two house-plants.

Arushi Kumar

Vice Treasurer

Arushi is the proud daughter of Indian immigrants and has over a decade of auditing and budgeting experience across various levels of the U.S. government. She was appointed the third City Auditor of the City and County of Honolulu in November 2021 and served through August 2024. She oversaw several high-profile audits, including federal CARES Act expenditures, IT modernization efforts, and police overtime expenditures. She was previously a budget analyst for the City of Seattle, where she managed a portfolio of six City departments and time-sensitive, crosscutting policy issue areas with a total budget of nearly $400 million. She began her audit career with the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Health Care team, working primarily on Medicare and Medicaid reports across the Washington, D.C. and Seattle, WA offices.

Arushi has a B.A. in Economics and a Master of Public Policy degree, both from the University of Virginia, and is a Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Internal Controls Auditor, and Certified Fraud Examiner. She is fluent in Hindi, and is an active member of the AGA (formerly called the Association of Government Accountants) and the Institute for Internal Auditors.

Constancio Carvajal Paranal III

Constancio Carvajal Paranal III is a multidisciplinary leader with a career spanning government, non-profits, academia, and private industry. At the City and County of Honolulu, he drives the design and development of equity-focused initiatives like the Small Business Startup Incubator program, Oahu Small Business Loan Initiative, and C.A.R.E. (Cybersecurity Awareness and Readiness for Everyone) to empower underserved communities through economic revitalization and digital resilience. Beyond his government role, he performs IT/OPS Project Management Consulting for eWorld Enterprise Solutions, specializing in software and systems solutions, including maintenance upgrades on legacy systems. Complementary to CAPAL, Constancio serves on the boards of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) and the Filipino Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and Foundation (FCCH/F).

Through his involvement with the University of Hawaii Center for Indo-Pacific Studies and East West Center U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy summer program, Constancio was chosen to work with the Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board on a study supporting the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A first-generation Filipino immigrant, Constancio trained and served as a Naval Reserve Petty Officer First Class with the Philippine NRTOC. He holds advanced degrees in law, information science, and political economy. He is committed to fostering innovation, equity, and inclusion through his diverse professional endeavors and advocacy for underserved communities.

Axel Defngin

Axel was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, and is from the islands of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. He earned an MA in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He has served as Team Leader and Project Manager at Pacific Students Media, and he currently serves on the Asian & Pacific Islander American (APIA) Scholar Advisory Committee and for The Fourth Branch-Micronesia. Axel currently works as Program Manager for the Islands of Opportunity Alliance (IOA)-LSAMP at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Denise Lew

Ms. Denise Lew (she/her/hers) is a US Air Force veteran who retired as a Colonel from the military after serving 26 years as a healthcare administrator. She is board certified and a Lifetime Fellow (LFACHE) in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and past chair of the ACHE’s Asian Healthcare Leaders Forum (AHLF). After retiring from the military, she spent 10 years as a healthcare consultant with Deloitte Consulting LLP, and supported multiple projects for the Military Health System, specializing in health plan operations, strategic planning, quality management, and patient safety. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she lived in Texas, Virginia, Ohio, Utah and in the Azores, Portugal, before settling in the Washington DC area. During her time at Deloitte, Denise was actively involved in several firm initiatives, including recruiting, the Experienced Hire Initiative, and military veteran transition programs, as well as a wide variety of inclusion activities, such as the firm’s Federal Inclusion Council and the Armed Forces and Asian Business Resource Groups. Denise is also an active member of the Board of Admissions and the Community Affairs Committee of the University Club of Washington DC. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a BA in Health Arts and Sciences, and earned an MPA from California State University, East Bay. She is a proud single mom of her daughter, Leslie, who currently serves on active duty as a Navy Surface Warfare officer and is a 2013 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and 2020 MBA graduate of the Wharton Business School.

Catt Phan

Catt Phan is the Senior Communications and Training Manager at Cause Communications, where she combines her experience in community relations, strategic communications and storytelling with a passion for amplifying community strength and developing culturally nuanced leaders from diverse backgrounds. Catt provides day-to-day support across Cause’s consulting projects and helps train cohorts on effective communications through Cause’s capacity building services. Driven by her passion to advance justice and equity, Catt has distinct expertise in using grassroots organizing to advocate for social change on every level, from local hard-to-reach communities to national service campaigns. She is a sought after and trusted thought partner and has been featured on multimedia channels, including NBC News, LAist, and Netflix, for her cultural expertise. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with her Bachelor of Arts and University of Southern California with a Master of Public Administration.

James Servino

James helps lead HRC’s digital fundraising and advocacy efforts through email, SMS and paid digital recruitment. Activating and engaging HRC’s more than 3 million members and supporters on ways they can make an impact for LGBTQ+ equality at the local and national levels is at the core of his work. He previously served as Chief of Staff in the Guam Legislature and helped pass comprehensive workplace nondiscrimination protections and marriage equality on Guam.

Juliana Zhou

Chantale Wong

Chair

Chantale Wong currently serves as United States Director of the Asian Development Bank. She was appointed by President Biden to represent the United States on the board of directors in this role. She is passionate about using data to tackle global issues like sustainable international development. Chantale is an expert in open data, public policy, and program management. She has served as an advisor at Amida Technology Solutions. She was the presidentially appointed vice president for administration and finance, and CFO, at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which under her leadership was the named the most transparent aid agency in the world. Prior to her work at MCC she was budget director at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, acting budget director at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the chief of staff to the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

John Kusano

Vice Chair

John Kusano recently retired from a 35 year career with the US Forest Service from a position as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Chief for Business Operations at the Forest Service Headquarters in Washington, DC focusing on Diversity and Inclusion Programs and Student Recruitment.

Prior to this he has held a number of positions in various fields and in various locations: Senior Advisor to the Deputy Chief for Research and Development, Forest Service Headquarters in Washington, DC | Division Director of the Human Capital Policy & Strategy Division of the Office of Human Capital Management at USDA involved with Department-wide programs in Human Resources Policy, Workforce Planning, and HR Accountability. | Assistant Director for Human Resource Management with the USDA Forest Service with responsibilities for Workforce Planning, Recruitment, Employee Development and Human Resource Technology. | Assistant Director of Civil Rights, Forest Service Headquarters in Washington, DC | Director of Civil Rights in the Forest Service’s Southwestern Region (NM & AZ). | District Reforestation Forester, Plumas National Forest, Forest Service’s CA Region

Jasmeet Ahuja

Jasmeet Kaur Ahuja is a lawyer at Hogan Lovells US LLP, where she focuses on privacy and cybersecurity matters. Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, Jasmeet served numerous arms of the U.S. government in developing defense and foreign relations policy. Early in her career, Jasmeet managed a national cybersecurity task force sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, she assisted in developing and managing the department’s priorities and assessing its capabilities in science and technology. Later, she served as the Director of South Asia for the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, where she implemented the department’s security commitments across the region and managed the distribution of over US$300 million in defense contracts. Most recently, Jasmeet served as the Professional Staff Member responsible for South Asia for the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. In this role, she drafted legislation that continues to define our relationship with Pakistan and facilitated passage of legislation granting congressional consent to civilian nuclear cooperation with India.

Jasmeet clerked for the Honorable Kent A. Jordan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and for the Honorable Mary A. McLaughlin of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Jasmeet graduated from Yale Law School, where she was a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow for New Americans, and earned a B.S. and an M.S. in engineering from Stanford University, where she graduated with Honors and Phi Beta Kappa.

She serves on the Advisory Boards of The Sikh Coalition, the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, Project2049, and the Anti-Defamation League of Philadelphia.

Christine Chen

Christine Chen, the founding executive director of APIAVote from 2006-2008 returned in January 2011 to serve as its current Executive Director.  During her tenure she had strengthened and expanded APIAVote’s partners into 26 states.  In addition Chen serves as President of Strategic Alliances USA, a consulting firm specializing in coalition building, institutional development, and partnerships among the corporate sector, government agencies, and the nonprofit and public sector.

Carrie Kagawa

Carrie Kagawa is the Founder and Principal of Keystone Strategies, a consulting firm dedicated to strengthening support for our Nation’s service members, veterans, and their families.

Carrie is a former U.S. Department of Defense official who served four years as a Special Assistant to the 28th Secretary of Defense.  Carrie advised on a range of issues directly impacting our Nation’s service members, veterans, and their families, as well as the DoD civilian workforce.  In addition to DoD, Carrie served at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2013-2016 in the Secretary’s Office, and previously at DoD from 2009-2013 in various roles.  Her other public service includes the White House, Peace Corps, U.S. Senate, and senior roles in the non-profit sector.

Carrie is an alumna of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Andrew Kim

Andrew is a Senior Analyst at Google’s Public Policy & Government Relations team and manages Google’s engagements with the U.S. Executive Branch. Andrew plays a leading role in shaping Google’s policy agenda in security, artificial intelligence, and transportation and infrastructure, among a wide range of other internet and technology policy issues. Previously, Andrew was a Policy Advisor at Google’s Trust & Safety team and developed product policies for Android, Chrome, and emerging virtual reality and IoT products.

Andrew started his career at the Pentagon as a Country Director for China and South Korea in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He continued his government service at the State Department, managing North Korea security issues in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs and then moving to Embassy Rangoon to serve as the Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to Burma.

Andrew has lived and traveled extensively across Asia and is fluent in Mandarin and Korean. He received his MPA and AB summa cum laude from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is originally from New York and lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife.

Viraj Patel

Viraj Patel is a higher education leader, educator, grassroots organizer, and facilitator based in Chicago, IL. With over a decade of experience at various institutions of higher learning, including Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the University of Pennsylvania, Viraj now serves as the Inaugural Director for the Asian American Student Academic Program at the University of Illinois Chicago. In this role supported by the AANAPISI grant, Viraj supports and advocates for Asian American students in their academic transition with a focus on delivering culturally conscious academic advising, navigation of university systems, and cocurricular education to support retention and, ultimately, degree completion.  Viraj is a proud past Board member of CAPAL and, during her time in Washington, D.C. worked at Georgetown University and George Washington University in student-centered positions, and was involved with a number of community and nonprofit organizations. Viraj holds a B.A. in English with a Minor in Asian American Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Education from the University of Vermont and is a Doctoral candidate in the Ed.D program at the University of Pennsylvania, where her research focuses on experiences of South Asian students in Ethnic Student Organizations. She welcomes connections with anyone interested in conspiring to support Asian American and Pacific Islander students on and off campus!