Board of Directors
CALVIN SUN
Board of Directors
calvin.sun@ecaasu.org
Hometown: New York, NY
School: Columbia University ’08, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine ’14
CALVIN SUN is awesome and writes about himself in the third person all the time. Born and raised in NYC, Calvin graduated from Columbia University in 2008 with a B.A. in biochemistry and was Vice President of his class. He also was the founder of the Columbia University National Undergraduate Film Festival and served as the President of the Columbia University Asian American Alliance (AAA). During his presidency, AAA’s accomplishments were profiled on CNN and Sparknotes, and his organization was selected that year by AngryAsianMan and APAs for Progress as one of the “Top 10 Collegiate Organizations for AAPI Students” in the country. Calvin and his work have also been featured in Hyphen and Asiance Magazine.
In the media, Calvin was a host on MTVu’s hit show “The Freshmen” for four years and is an award winning independent filmmaker. He is known for his films on Asian American stereotypes, identity, and female body image, the last of which won the inaugural One to Watch Audience Award at the 2007 Asian American International Film Festival. His work on Asian American Beauty and Female Body Image has been featured in various articles and books, including The American Beauty Industry Encyclopedia.
After dabbling in the entertainment industry, Calvin went on to develop The Monsoon Diaries (http://www.monsoondiaries.com): a popular wanderlust blog that focuses on how to travel the world wearing just a backpack. The blog covers his adventures to over 30 countries in the last 2 years including building a free clinic in Tijuana within 4 days and visiting places like Myanmar, Kashmir, and North Korea. The Monsoon Diaries has been featured multiple times on BusinessInsider.com, South Korea’s Yonghap News, Radio Freedom, CBC, the Angel Clark Show, and hundreds of other blogs around the world. Some of his followers include celebrities such as Rachel Maddow and Gerard Butler. (And if you’re interested in joining him for this year’s travels to Mongolia, Cuba, Iceland, Pakistan, Tibet, or Iran, just ask!)
When he isn’t globe-trotting, Calvin attends medical school in NYC and is the President of his class. He also runs a business in healthcare and will serve as the incoming President of the Columbia College Young Alumni. In his spare time (if any!), Calvin cultivates a passion in hip hop choreography and South Asian dance while paying for medical school by working odd jobs as a bartending instructor, research assistant, events promoter, and DJ.
Finally, Calvin is an expert in underwater fire prevention and rescuing small animals. Rumor has it that he performed a transurethal guided laser induced prostatectomy on a male squirrel with his bare feet all while doing pushups with one finger.
ANDREW LEE
Board of Directors
andrew.lee@ecaasu.org
Hometown: Glen Rock, NJ
School: Cornell University ’08
ANDREW LEE earned his stripes the hard way while at Cornell University: he founded and managed a student organization as a sophomore at Cornell University and led the Asian American activist organization on campus. During his senior year, he directed the 2008 ECAASU Conference and conducted meetings with the President and Vice President of Cornell which successfully led to the founding of Cornell’s first ever Asian/Asian American center that year. And top that off in his senior year, he learned how to perform a Terran marine rush on Starcraft.
Upon graduation, he joined the ranks of Teach For America and cultivated his teaching chops in New York City. He inspires his students to conquer the murky waters of absolute values, polynomials, and Pythagorean Theorem. While quick to tackle the most daunting of mathematical concepts, his students often confused him with “that other Asian teacher” in the building. He also founded an educational non-profit in Chinatown dedicating to serving low-income families in that community.
Born in Taiwan and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey, Andrew currently enjoys exploring New York City, karaoke-ing, and figuring out the best recipes for fried dumplings.
ALLEN PAN
Board of Directors
allen.pan@ecaasu.org
Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
School: Yale University ’08, University of Pennsylvania Law ’11
ALLEN PAN is a humble and unassuming man who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Allen enjoys playing fantasy basketball and rocking out to Mahler.
In 2004, Allen was fortunate enough to attend Yale College. In college, Allen led a bid team that won the privilege of hosting the 2007 ECAASU conference. Building upon the success of the conference, co-directors Allen Pan and Nancy Liang formed the current ECAASU National Board. By working with the Yale Law School Nonprofit Organizations Clinic, Allen successfully obtained 501(c)(3) tax exempt status for ECAASU in 2008. At graduation, Allen was nominated by his peers and selected by the Dean Saveena Dhall to receive the Leadership Award for his work in the APA community.
After College, Allen was again fortunate enough to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His law school studies focus on corporate law, but he also worked on several pro bono projects. Allen volunteered at the Campaign for Working Families program to save families thousands of dollars by maximizing their tax refunds. He also worked with the Penn Advocates for the Homeless by helping Olaniyan Adefumi, a homeless man, in settlement meetings with the City of Philadelphia. As a result of those meetings, Judge Sandra Wells directed the City to provide Mr. Adefumi with a new house.
This year, Allen is clerking for the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court Myron Steele. Then he will travel to New York, NY to start working for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
MICHELLE HORIKAWA
Board of Directors
michelle.horikawa@ecaasu.org
Hometown: Wailuku, HI
School: The George Washington University ’09
MICHELLE HORIKAWA is from Hawaii and studied Psychology at the George Washington University. She enjoys meeting new people, trying new restaurants, traveling, baking, reading, and painting.
Michelle has been involved with the ECAASU National Board for the past three years and has held a number of positions on the board. She hopes to keep meeting new people who are interested in learning more about ECAASU and want to become involved. Please feel free to email her with any questions, ideas, or comments you have.