OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates

Greater Cleveland Chapter (2022-2023)

LISA WONG

President

Lisa Wong is the President of OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Cleveland Chapter, co-founder of the Cleveland Asian Festival, and immediate past Vice-President of Communications for the national board of OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates. Lisa has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing Communications from Cleveland State University and is a graduate of Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland and the Cleveland FBI Citizen’s Academy. She is a certified Election Day Official for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections and has worked for the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, The Plain Dealer, The City of Cleveland Department of Public Health, and the Minority Business Assistance Center at the Urban League of Greater Cleveland. Lisa is a Cleveland native of Chinese descent and longtime community advocate who was named one of Cleveland’s 2017 Most Interesting People by Cleveland Magazine and honored with the City of Cleveland Third District Citizen Award. Lisa is also a trustee of the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys working on film projects, both in front and behind the scenes from the Cleveland 48-hour film project, to independent films, to Hollywood productions, and performing on the OCA Cleveland Dragon Dance Team.

VERA BOGGS

Secretary

Vera F. Boggs is the Cleveland Regional Director of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. As part of her duties, she oversees the investigations into allegations of unlawful discrimination in the Northeastern Ohio region and provides training to help educate and increase the public’s awareness of the laws against discrimination.

Vera graduated from the Ohio State University (Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Chinese) and Cleveland State University (Master in Labor Relations and Human Resources). She holds both the SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications and teaches the SHRM certification test preparation class at Cleveland State University.

Outside of work, Vera is involved with various organizations and events including the Cleveland Asian Festival, the Cleveland Print Room, College Now Mentoring Program, Ohio State University Alumni Club of Greater Cleveland, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, Society for Human Resource Management, and United Way.

Vera grew up in the Cleveland Asiatown area and enjoys seeing the revitalization of her former neighborhood. She is married with two daughters. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors, playing sports, and dining with her family and friends.

ROHIT SHASTRY

Treasurer

Rohit Shastry has been a Cleveland resident since 2011 when he graduated from the University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. He presently works at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a research engineer in electric propulsion. He received the NASA Early Career Achievement Medal for outstanding performance and leadership in 2014. Rohit has also been an active member of the Asian community. He has been a member of OCA and the OCA Dragon Dance Team since 2016. He has also helped with OCA voter registration drives, has volunteered at the Cleveland Asian Festival since 2015 on the volunteer and performance committees, and is a committee member of One World Day.

WAYNE WONG

Vice-President of Administration

Wayne Wong is the recipient of the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award. Wayne is the Chief of the Thermal Energy Conversion Branch, Power Division, at the NASA Glenn Research Center where he is helping to develop future high-efficiency space power systems and was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for his work. Wayne was born in Hong Kong and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University. Wayne is also an artist, actor, and scriptwriter, having pursued comic book illustration in the past and more recently wrote or acted in several films. He is the OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Cleveland Chapter Vice President of Administration, and leads the OCA Dragon Dance Team. He enthusiastically volunteers his time and energy to further the goals of the Cleveland Asian Festival as an Executive Committee member, Performance Chair, and Lead MC. Wayne is also a trustee of MidTown Cleveland, Inc.

JOHNNY WU

Vice-President of Communications

A native Clevelander raised in Central America, Johnny Wu is, a veteran award-winning producer with an MBA from Cleveland State University specializing in branding. Fluent in Chinese, Spanish, and English, Johnny is well known and respected within the Asian Pacific American community in Ohio, he is one of the co-founders of the Cleveland Asian Festival, as well as recognized by ethnic cultural groups as the Producer for Cleveland Cultural Gardens’ One World Day since 2015. Wu is currently serving as the Vice-President of Communications for the OCA Cleveland Chapter. In his profession, he has helped consult as a branding strategist for several fortune 500 businesses and nonprofit organizations; In addition to his civic engagement, Wu is very much involved in the art community; he is an award-winning filmmaker and the founder of Cleveland IndieClub which helped to create an independent filmmaking community within the City of Cleveland. Wu has done numerous speaking engagements at universities, conventions, and festivals on topics related to Asian culture, diversity, and filmmaking. Wu currently sits as an executive board member of St. Clair Superior Development Corp, a member of the International Task Force for Cleveland Museum of Art, a WKYC Community Council Member, and the City of Cleveland Consumer Affairs Community Board. He is an inductee to two Martial Arts Hall of Fames, and an inductee of the International Indie Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

JASON CHAO

Vice-President of Education & Culture

Jason Chao, MD is a Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Originally from Chicago, IL, he has lived in the Cleveland area since 1982. He was elected a Fellow of the CWRU Academy of Scholar Educators, and co-author on a paper receiving the STFM 2021 Research Paper of the Year award. He has participated with the Ohio Asian American Health Coalition, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, and has volunteered with ASIA, Inc. He joined the OCAGC board in 2022.

STEVEN JUNG

Vice-President of Membership

Steven Jung is an Information Technology support specialist at Millennium Software. He is a native Clevelander who grew up on the Westside.

Steve has been an OCA Greater Cleveland member since 2015 and is currently serving as Vice President of Membership. He has volunteered for voter engagement programs such as phone banking and voter registration initiatives. He also has been a core member of the OCA Dragon Dance Team and serves on the Volunteer Committee for the Cleveland Asian Festival.

Additionally, Steven supports the broader international community by volunteering at One World Day at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens and has served as a speaker for “The World in Your Backyard” series on the topic “Growing up as an Asian-American in Northeast Ohio.”

DAVID HUANG

David Huang is a NASA’s Glenn Research Center propulsion scientist and regularly engages in educational outreach activities including speaking engagement, staffing NASA exhibits, and creating engineering challenges for elementary to high school students. Outside of work, he regularly participates in volunteer activities such as coordinating for the Cleveland Asian Festival, running a performance stage for the One World Day, helping with voter registration drives, performing with the OCA Greater Cleveland dragon dance team, and more.

Fun fact, David once volunteered to staff the NASA booth, the MotivAsians for Cleveland booth, and the Cleveland Asian Festival at the same festival, though not at the same time of course.