East West Players (EWP), the nation’s longest-running professional theater of color and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, is pleased to announce the appointment of five new members to the Board of Directors: Christine Chang, Alex Giza, Andrew Huynh, May Lee, and Nayan Shah. The new appointments hail from diverse backgrounds in law, media, education, e-commerce, and global management, and are avid supporters of the performing arts and Asian American theater. The size of EWP’s Board of Directors has increased to 17 members from 12 members last year.
“Christine, Andrew, Alex, May, and Nayan bring a wealth of personal and professional experience to help East West Players continue to grow and prosper. They are all extremely accomplished individuals in their respective fields who bring with them a passion for social justice and greater equity and visibility for communities of color,”says EWP Producing Artistic Director Snehal Desai. “East West Players is fortunate to have such incredibly talented and prominent individuals join our board.”
EWP Board Chair Randall Tamura says, “We are thrilled to welcome our new board members, who each bring unique skills, experience, expertise, and a love of theater. They strengthen the East West Players Board in many ways, and it’s a privilege to have them join us. We look forward to working with them all.”
Christine Chang is the SVP of Business Operations at Loot Crate. Since joining Loot Crate in 2016, Chang has streamlined operations, decreasing costs and increasing productivity and gross margins; she also oversaw the expansion of the business into new channels like Amazon and Walmart. Previously at Mattel, she headed operations for the Consumer Products and Brand Creative groups, and was instrumental in the launch of Mattel’s entertainment division. Chang serves as the Chair of Marketing and Operations for Women in Animation, which advocates for diversity and inclusion in the animation industry. Chang also serves as a Project Director for the Taproot Foundation, specializing in brand strategy and marketing projects for nonprofit organizations. She is a graduate of UCLA, where she studied English Literature & Writing and Business Administration.
Alex Giza is a co-founder and partner of Hueston Hennigan LLP. His practice spans two decades of intellectual property and business trials, litigation, and strategy. He earned a BSEE at the University of Virginia and worked as an electrical engineer for Westinghouse, IAI America, and Eaton. Giza graduated from the UCLA School of Law and served as law clerk to Justice Walter L. Carpeneti of the Alaska Supreme Court.
Andrew Huynh is a management consultant at Bain & Company, where he advises clients on topics such as strategy, performance improvement, organizational redesign, and change management. His work spans a broad range of industries and sectors, including aerospace and defense, consumer products, media and entertainment, and technology. Huynh recently received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and prior to that worked in operations management at an oil and gas company in his hometown of Houston, Texas.
May Lee is an award-winning television, radio, and online media journalist, who has been working in national and international media for nearly three decades. Lee was the first Korean American anchor for CNN, co-host of Oprah Winfrey’s women’s network Oxygen Media, and main anchor at CNBC Asia. In 2007, Lee founded Lotus Media House, which launched “The May Lee Show,” the first pan-Asian talk show for the modern Asian woman. Lotus Media House also specializes in helping businesses and individuals shape and build powerful and effective communication strategies. Currently, Lee is the L.A. correspondent for CGTN America, an international television news network. She’s also an adjunct professor at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
Nayan Shah is Professor of American Studies, Ethnic Studies and History at the University of Southern California (USC). Shah is a historian with expertise in the Asian American migration, social movements, and art and cultural transformations. Shah wrote two award-winning books, Stranger Intimacy: Contesting Race, Sexuality and the Law in the North American West and Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and dozens of journal articles and essays. He has worked with the National Park Service, Angel Island Foundation, PBS, the History Channel, California Historical Society, and the New York Historical Society to interpret Asian American past and present.
East West Players (EWP) is the nation’s longest-running professional theater of color and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work. Over its remarkable 53-year history, EWP has produced over 233 plays and musicals. East West Players’ new season Culture Shock explores what it means to be an immigrant in this country and an ‘American’ abroad, reframing the “outsider” narrative.
For more information, please visit eastwestplayers.org
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