Maria Odiamar Racho is the Founder of Kapwa Capital, a community of diverse angel investors committed to backing underserved yet high-performing entrepreneurs. She also founded BridgeMOR Partners, a strategic advisory firm specializing in organization and leadership development for venture capital, private equity, and family office portfolio companies. In addition, Maria serves as a Venture Partner at Qubits Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on quantum technology and the future of computing.

Maria's career spans three decades in Fortune 100 financial services, where she held roles in sales, technology, HR, and finance. Her expertise lies in working closely with executives to shape strategy, strengthen culture, build highly effective teams, develop networks, and facilitate open innovation. Maria has spent the last ten years partnering with intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs, guiding them from startup to growth stages.

Rooted in her Filipino heritage, Maria migrated to the U.S. as a toddler, embracing the richness of both her Filipino and American identities. Her personal life is anchored by her marriage to her childhood sweetheart, their two loving sons, and an extended, close-knit family the size of a small village.

Specialties: Strategy, Culture, Leadership/Executive Coaching, Team Effectiveness, Organizational Structure & Process, Network Building, Board/Investors/Executive Alignment, Investment Readiness

Location: Chicago, IL

Chettha Saetia joined CMAA as the Director of the Small Business Development Center which is the only Asian American-led SBDC in the state of Illinois. Born and raised in Thailand, Chettha moved to northern Illinois as a teen to study at a private boarding school called Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, IL. He then earned his business degree at Syracuse University for double majors in marketing and operation management, and after graduating, began his journey as an entrepreneur.

Chettha founded McKlein Company LLC, an international luggage and leather goods company which now became a woman and minority-owned business succeeded by his sister based in the Chicagoland area, in 1998. During his tenure at McKlein, Chettha obtained multiple domestic and international patents in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan; generated revenue over $10 million, developed 2500+ products distributed worldwide; received the CES International Innovation Award (2009) and PPAI Award (2006 and 2008). The SBA Emerging Leaders Chicago recognized Chettha as a Chicago Emerging Leader in 2018.

Specialties: Sales Strategy, Product or Service Marketing, and Business Plan Development

Location: Chicago, IL

Mr. Allen Wu immigrated to US at the age of Eight from Guangzhou, China with his parents and two younger brothers, graduating from UMCP with Mechanical Engineering degree.

He was employed by Lockheed Martin and later SAIC as Test Engineer and System Engineer from 1996 to 2001. In 2001, Allen quit his job at SAIC and joined the US Navy. Mr. Wu retired from the Navy in 2011 with an honorable discharge and the rank of Lieutenant.

During his services to the US Navy, he formed his first company, WehaveLoans4U in 2004, to provide mortgage services to residential properties clients. Under his leadership, he built a sales team of over 600 loan officers in the DC, MD and VA areas. He rebranded his company to Sequoia Properties and Management in 2008, which worked to provide services in short sale, foreclosure sale, REO, and more non-performing assets.

In 2018, he founded Sequoia Lending, providing funding for businesses across the USA. Currently, the company has partnered up with more than 500 funding sources, such as private money, hedge funds, institutional funds, local banks, and private investors.

Specialties: Working Capital, Equipment Loan, Business Acquisition, Commercial real estate, acquisition, renovation or value added

Location: Washington, D.C.

Adeel Afshar joins us as managing director of ACE NextGen. An engineer turned entrepreneur, he is the co-founder of Halal Beauty Cosmetics, a company he start with his mom to serve their community of South Asian Muslims. Empathetic of the entrepreneurial journey, Adeel strives to help out founders at all different stages.

In his free time, Adeel loves training for an Ironman he has coming up in April, coaching high school wrestling at Harvard-Westlake, and exploring sunny LA with his wife, Safa.

Specialties: Grant-Writing, Product Design, Data Analysis

Location: Chicago, IL

Kevin Felix Chan is the Co-Founder of Momentium, and specializes in helping businesses achieve scale by aligning strategy, people, finance, and execution. As an entrepreneur, Kevin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Best Delegate, a seven-figure revenue education company. Over the past 12 years, Best Delegate scaled its Model United Nations summer camps nationwide, and provided programs for clients such as the United Nations and governments in over 20 countries.

Kevin serves as the Executive Advisor for ACE NextGen, and previously served as the National Board Chair and the Executive Director. He is also past President of the Entrepreneurs Organization in Los Angeles and past Chair of the EO LA Accelerator program.

Kevin is a graduate of UCLA and completed Executive Education from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. He has traveled to over 60 countries and enjoys doing a personal retreat in Bali every year.

Specialties:

- Enhances organizational culture through workforce alignment.

- Provides global leadership training for educators.

- Connects young entrepreneurs with resources for growth.

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Ian So is the Co-Founder of Momentium, and brings over 11 years of experience operating a business with 10 food trucks and restaurants with over 100 employees. As an entrepreneur, Ian is the Co-Founder of Chicken and Rice Guys, which started with a $19,000 food truck that he bought on eBay and grew into a multi-million dollar revenue company and the 204th fastest growing private company in the USA between 2012-2016. Ian is also the co-owner of Seoul Kitchen in Boston and is starting a new restaurant concept in Houston.

Ian is a visionary leader in the AAPI community and is the Co-Founder of ACE NextGen. He sits on the Boards of the National ACE Foundation and the CalAsian Foundation.

Ian graduated from Babson College, a top global entrepreneurship school in Boston. Ian loves testing his fitness by completing marathons and half-triathlons.

Specialties:

- Transform businesses into multi-million dollar brands.

- Cultivate diverse leadership and corporate responsibility.

- Integrate philanthropy into business models for community impact.

Location: Houston, TX and Boston, MA

Jeff Tsai is the Co-Founder of Momentium and the Founder of Operation Ninjas. He is a consultant described as an “Unsticker of Things, Operations Strategist, Completions Specialist, and a Business Visionary’s Secret Weapon.” His Fractional Chief of Operations & Strategy services help business owners who seek to be freed from being stuck, having endless unfinished projects, and feeling overwhelmed when pursuing their vision.

Jeff is also the Operations Manager for ACE NextGen at the National level and the Vice President of the ACE NextGen Southern California Chapter. He also serves as the Operations Director of the nonprofit Project by Project in Los Angeles and serves on the Advisory Board for the Node Institute supported by the CalAsian Foundation.

Jeff is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He enjoys riding motorcycles, doing archery, playing strategy games, and hosting community events.

Specialties:

- Helps entrepreneurs streamline operations to boost productivity.

- Creates systems for achieving clear, tangible goals.

- Empowers teams to thrive through a results-driven culture.

Location: Orange County, CA

Tony Tang, a San Francisco Bay Area native and finance graduate from San Francisco State University, currently serves as the Director of Business Development at ASIAN, Inc. In this role, he leads a dynamic team overseeing 8 different Technical Assistance projects, including the San Jose Minority Business Development Agency business center. With a strong focus on finance, Tony has facilitated close to $1 billion in procurement and $600 million in Access to Capital deals during his 8 years with ASIAN, Inc.

Prior to joining ASIAN, Inc., Tony spent a decade in banking, with the significant portion dedicated to Retail Bank Management and Commercial Lending. This experience laid the foundation for his strategic approach to business development.

Adding to his diverse career, Tony had also led a Sales Team in a Tech Consultant company for 2 years, bringing a tech-savvy perspective to his professional journey.

Passionate about creating opportunities and fostering growth, Tony continues to make impactful contributions in the realms of business development and community engagement.

Specialties: Access to Capital (Consumer and Commercial Lending), Local, State and Federal Procurement, Certifications

Location: San Francisco, CA

Linh Hoang serves as a Managing Partner at the Outpost, pioneering a novel approach to business development, technology acceleration, and national security investment. With a proven track record, the Outpost has facilitated the successful closure of over $400 million in non-dilutive funding for small businesses. Linh brings a wealth of experience from his roles at IBM and Accenture, where he played key roles in implementing digital transformation projects for federal government agencies. Linh brings over 20 years of expertise in program management, technology management, business development, strategic partnerships, and innovation. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority, supporting innovators and entrepreneurs in accessing grants and loans to grow and scale their businesses. Linh is a proud graduate of Georgetown University.

Specialties: Business Development, Government Contracting, Proposals, State/Local Grants and Loans, Fund Matching Programs

Location: Washington, D.C.