Phillip is a veteran lobbyist with a stellar reputation as a consummate professional among legislators on both sides of the aisle from having nearly two decades of working on a wide range of issues and interests in the Oregon Legislature.

He brings to the APANO 501c4 board expertise in community relations, political communications, and legislative coalition building at state and local levels that help clients meet their goals whether they are funding needs or policy initiatives. He is known among his colleagues for his integrity, passion and mission driven approach to government relations.

Phillip is a Senior Director of Government Affairs for the public affairs firm Strategies 360. Prior to that heled Oregon Food Bank’s state advocacy program where he was successful in acquiring public funds and advancing policies to fight hunger. As the chief lobbyist for Oregon’s most populated and diverse county, Multnomah, he played key roles in state and federal efforts in 2009 to replace a critical bridge in the Portland metro region. In 2006, he brought the religious community into a broad-based effort led by then-state representative Jeff Merkley that reined in predatory lending in Oregon. Early in his career, he organized neighborhood groups and local businesses to lobby Metro to bring light rail transportation to southeast Portland that resulted in the Orange and Green MAX lines.

Phillip served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves while earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Lewis and Clark College. He is the first to attend college from a family of Chinese-American immigrants. Upon graduating, he went to work right away on a political campaign during the 1992 presidential election. He went on to earn a Master of Science in public policy from Rutgers University and has never looked back in his public service career.

Phillip lives in Portland with his wife, two daughters, and two cats. As a lifelong Portland Trail Blazers fan, he has taken his frustrations out weekly on the hard wood in pick-up basketball games with the same group of friends for 20 years.

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Yaejoon Kwon is an independent scholar with expertise in the sociologies of race, Asian America, and empire. She most recently taught American Ethnic Studies at Willamette University and previously taught Asian American studies at the University of Illinois. Prior to her academic career, she was a anti-human trafficking advocate at the Korean Service Center in Minneapolis, MN and a youth organizer at the Multicultural Youth Project in Chicago, IL.

Coming Soon

Marie Lo is a professor and the chair of the English Department at Portland State University, where she teaches courses on Asian American literature and culture, comparative ethnic studies, and American literature. She received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and her BA from McGill University. She is interested in the many facets of the politics of representation, from cultural studies and curricular transformation to grassroots media and electoral politics. She co-founded and co-produced APA Compass, an Asian Pacific American public affairs program on KBOO Community Radio, which aired from 2005-2015, and she was a writer for The Asian Reporter for many years. She is currently a member of the Pacific Islander and Asian American (PIAA) Studies Initiative to build a PIAA Studies program at PSU.

Kirsten has dedicated her career to public service. She currently works as an Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice, where she manages criminal and civil cases on appeal. Before working at the DOJ, she served as a Deputy District Attorney in Deschutes County, prosecuting crimes ranging from low-level offenses to serious assault and sexual abuse cases. She joined the district attorney’s office after spending several years as a defense attorney, representing low-income, court appointed clients.  

Kirsten also volunteers with organizations to promote equal, affordable access to the justice system. She has volunteered with the Campaign for Equal Justice, helping fund Legal Aid and access to the justice system for everyone, regardless of resources. She is also a prior board member and current advocacy committee member of the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association.  

Born and raised in Portland, Kirsten went to Glencoe and Laurelhurst elementary, Mt. Tabor Middle School, and Lincoln High School. She graduated from Vassar College and the University of Washington School of Law. Kirsten and her wife are raising their son in a three-generation household in Portland, along with their rescue dog Snoopy.

Toni Tabora-Roberts has more than 20 years experience working in the nonprofit and private sectors in a variety of roles, with expertise in program management, communications, community engagement, grantmaking, and strategic planning. She has particular experience and passion for arts, culture, media, education, leadership development, civic engagement, and social justice. She founded Esper House, a small consultancy. Toni has worked with a wide range of organizations including the City of Portland, Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, Alliance for Community Media, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland Parks Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, City Club of Portland, MediaRites, Shaking the Tree, Hand2Mouth, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Unit Souzou, Oregon Public Broadcasting, KBOO Community Radio, and Center for Asian American Media. She also makes time to play and create through writing, performance, terraria, and whatever strikes. Toni is a proud mama, wife, daughter, and tita.