Conference on the Well-Being of Asian American Senior Citizens – Biographies

Selma Botman is Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at The City University of New York. She previously served as Special Assistant to the Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she had a wide-ranging portfolio. In addition to teaching courses on the Middle East and on international development, she crafted a model of civic engagement for the campus that involved faculty, staff and students in meaningful outreach to the community. This involved linking curricular development, outreach activities and administrative structures and restructuring the schools, departments and majors to be multidisciplinary and to include service-learning opportunities for students.

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Heidi Chan came to the U.S. in 1971. She has a broad spectrum of nursing experiences.  Her passion is with hospice work.  After many years of administrative work, she returned to the field.  Now she is making home visits to the dying throughout Manhattan and the Bronx.  She gave workshops to the NYHPC, Beekman Downtown Hospital and St.Vicent’s Hospital.

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Cynthia Chen received her Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2001 from University of California at Davis. She is an assistant professor in the department of civil engineering at City College of New York. Her research activities cover several areas, including short-term activity and travel pattern analysis, long-term residential and job location choices, dynamics of behavioral change, traffic safety, transportation solutions for the elderly, vehicle transaction choices, and evaluation of vehicle scrappage programs. Her research has resulted in dozens of peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Chen is active in a number of professional organizations. She is currently the chair of the subcommittee of the time use subcommittee at Transportation Research Board and the board member for the Northeast chapter of the International Chinese Transportation Professional Association (ICTPA). Dr. Chen has also served on NSF panels as well as served as a reviewer for a number of journals, including Transportation Research Part A and Part B, Transportation, and Transportation Research Record. In the Department of Civil Engineering at City College, she is serving on the Ph.D. committee, representing the transportation group.

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David Chen is the Executive Director of the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. (CPC), the largest non-profit social service agency serving the Asian American population in the greater New York metropolitan area.  As the chief administrator of CPC, he oversees 42 programs in daycare, home care, low-income housing, employment and training, youth, children and family services, client advocacy, translation, and senior citizen services, etc.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of NAPAFASA, the Non-profit Coordinating Committee of New York, the Caring Community, and the Leadership Alliance of NY.  He also serves on the Community Advisory Board of JP Morgan/Chase Bank.  For many years, he had also served as a member of NYC’s Commission on the Foster Care of Children, the Chancellor’s Asian American Advisor Council of NYC’s Board of Education, and Manhattan’s Community Planning Board #3.  Prior to joining CPC, Mr. Chen was employed by the Mayor’s Office of the City of Chicago.  Mr. Chen holds a MPA in Public & Not-for-Profit Management, and MA in Social Service Administration, and a BA in Economics.

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Zhao Chen is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at New York City College of Technology, CUNY.  Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the Graduate Center, CUNY.  He has served as the chair of Student Development Committee of Title V, and has taught at the City University of New York for a long time and has published many research papers in mathematics.

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Betty Cheng is the Associate Executive Director at CBWCHC. She previously worked at Saint Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center. Ms. Cheng received her B.A. from CUNY Hunter College and her M.S.W. and Post Graduate Certificate in Social Work Administration from Hunter College. Ms. Cheng is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

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David Cheng is professor and director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Baruch College, CUNY. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice. Prior to joining Baruch College, Dr. Cheng has served as a senior psychologist and consultant for the New York City Police Department.

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Jerry Cheng is currently a principal transportation planner with the New York City Department of City Planning. Since 1971, he has managed more than 35 major transportation studies for New York City. He was the Deputy Director of the Transportation Division of New York City Department of City Planning between 1991 and 1996. He has authored 20 technical publications on transportation issues of Taiwan, Mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the U.S.A.  As an expert in urban transportation planning and a qualified Senior Technical Advisor for the United Nations’ TOKTEN Program, Mr. Cheng has frequently been invited to provide assistance to the transportation development in Taiwan and Mainland China since 1982. With his familiarity with both New York City agencies and the Chinese community, Mr. Cheng has helped the City to implement various transportation projects in the Chinatown area, as well as assisted the community in obtaining the City services they requested.

Mr. Cheng is currently the President of the New York Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans.

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Yilo Cheng, a licensed clinical social worker in New York and New Jersey, is currently the Mental Health Project Manager at the Asian American Federation of New York.  Previously, he worked as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist at Children’s Aid and Family Services, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, Bergen Regional Medical Center, and Hudson Guild Counseling Service.  Currently, as the Mental Health Project Manager at the Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY), he is managing and overseeing multiple projects targeting the mental health needs of Asians and Asian seniors in New York City including the Federation’s American Red Cross September 11^th Mental Health Project which serves 9/11 Asian victims, their families, and affected Chinatown seniors.  He is the Chair of the Asian American Geriatric Mental Health Alliance and the Vice-President of the Chinese Community Social Service and Health Council.  Yilo Cheng received his Masters of Social Work (MSW) from New York University and currently maintains a small private practice in New York and New Jersey.

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Margaret Chin is the Deputy Executive Director of Asian Americans for Equality.  As Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Chin oversees the organization’s overall response to September 11th, plays a key role in advocacy and coalition building around the Rebuild Chinatown Initiative, and oversees all advocacy and policy agendas for the organization.

Ms. Chin has over 25 years’ experience working in the Asian community, in the field of education, housing, advocacy and accessing equal opportunity for all people of color.

Ms. Chin served on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Race and Ethnic Advisory Committee on Asian and Pacific Islander Population for Census 2000.  She is currently a board member of the New York Immigration Coalition and the Asian Alumni Group of City College of New York.  Ms. Chin holds a B.S. in education from the City College of New York.  In 2003 Ms. Chin was a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellow where she attended the Senior Executive in Local and State Government program at the Harvard Kennedy School for Government.

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Isabel Ching is currently the director of Hamilton Madison House.

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Mala Desai is the Founder and Chairperson for Pragati (an organization for South Asian women and families in Queens).  She is currently the Executive Director of the Northern Queens Health Coalition.  Mala has experience in grassroots community organizing and program development with a focus to improve the health status of community residents.

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Marianne C. Fahs, PhD, MPH, is Professor of Urban Public Health, School of Health Science, Hunter College, City University of New York. She holds a joint appointment as Professor of Economics in the CUNY Graduate Center and is Research Director of Brookdale Center on Aging of Hunter College. Formerly Professor Fahs was the founding Director of the Health Policy Research Center at New School University. Prior to that she directed the Division of Health Economics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she held joint faculty appointments in the Departments of Geriatrics and Community Medicine. Professor Fahs has served on several national advisory committees, including the National Advisory Panel on Payment for Preventive Health Services for the Elderly under Medicare for the United States Congress; Scientific Review Committees on Mental Health and on Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control for the National Institutes of Health; and the United States Prevention Services Task Force Subcommittee on Cost Effectiveness Analysis. Professor Fahs, a health economist, pioneered the first cost-effectiveness analysis of a preventive screening program among elderly women. Her research interests center on the economic and social determinates of successful aging in urban environments and on the economics of preventive interventions to reduce health disparities among vulnerable minorities and immigrants. Professor Fahs is the author of over 100 publications spanning such topics as cost-effectiveness analysis of preventive services for vulnerable and elderly populations, economic costs of occupational and environmental illness, and immigrant health. Currently, Professor Fahs is Principal Investigator of a 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of culturally-sensitive tobacco control interventions among Chinese Americans living in New York City. Professor Fahs received her PhD from the University of Michigan.

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Jay Hershenson is Secretary of the Board of Trustees and Vice Chancellor for University Relations of The City University of New York — the leading public urban university system in the nation. His portfolio includes the development and implementation of CUNY’s external relations program, including governmental, media and community relations, and the administration of the Board of Trustees’ agenda. He has worked in senior level administrative positions for six CUNY Chancellors since the mid-1970’s and with over 100 CUNY trustees. He has made a lifelong commitment to education and, in particular, to the use of higher education to positively transform lives. He received an M.A. in Urban Studies and a B.A. in Communications, Arts and Sciences and University Administration from Queens College, CUNY, after transferring from Queensborough Community College, CUNY. He is a former Vice Chairperson of the Anti-Defamation League Regional New York Board and current Board member. He served as a member of the United Negro College Fund Scholarship Committee and the Board of Directors of the Council of Churches. He was Padrino Duartiano Internacional of the Bronx Dominican Parade the past two years and is the 2005 Grand Marshall for Education.

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Rochelle Holland is an assistant professor in the Counseling Center at Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York, Dr. Rochelle Holland practices brief therapy with college students.  Her article “Perceptions of Mate Selection for Marriage Among College Educated African American Single Mothers” has been published in the Journal of Counseling and Development, and this article was recently presented during a families and work research conference at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Dr. Holland’s other publications include “Launching Students On Academic Probation Into the First Phase of Self-Efficacy” and “Educating At-Risk students On Aspects of Life Skills and Personal Management While Enrolled At the Borough of Manhattan Community College” have been indexed in the Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC), as has her article “The Eminent Mother’s Cycle: Counseling the Single Mother College Student” in The Inquirer.  Her current work interests focus on creating intervention strategies that address self-esteem and family dynamics.

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Hiroko Karan received the Bachelor of Pharmacy from Hoshi College of Pharmacy in Tokyo and graduated with honors as valedictorian. She received the Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Brown University .  Professor of Chemistry, she has served as Chairperson of the Department of Physical and Computer Sciences, Dean of the School of Science , Health and Technology at Medgar Evers College and presently as Dean of the School. For the past fifteen years, she has been an advocate for women and minorities in science and has mentored many students during her tenure at Medgar Evers College . Many of whom have pursued careers in Science, Medicine and other Health Related Professions and actively serve the community.

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Dennis L. Kodner, an acclaimed gerontologist known for his contributions to the field of home and community-based long term care and for devising innovative programs for the elderly, has been named The Rose Dobrof Executive Director of the Hunter College Brookdale Center on Aging, the largest academic gerontology center in the Northeast. He has also been appointed Professor of Urban Public Health in the Schools of Health Professions. Dr. Kodner received a BA from Queen College (CUNY), a master of science in planning from Pratt Institute School of Architecture, and a PhD in health policy and aging from the Union Institute Graduate School. Kodner, who is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the New York Academy of Medicine, was the 1999 recipient of the prestigious Key Award for Leadership in Gerontological Research, Education, Policy and Practice given by the American Public Health Association.

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Michael Lau grew up in China town. He has served for the police force almost 20 years. He is the Deputy Inspector at NYPD and since January 2006, serves as the Commanding Officer at the 5th Precinct of NYPD.

Prior to the current position, he was in the Department of Community Relations at the NYPD Headquarter for three years.

He will talk about geographical and demographical aspect of current Asian Communities in the New York and issues related to elderly Asians pedestrians.

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Tracy Luo currently is Director of Asian Outreach for the Mental Health Association of New York and in this position, directs, manages and implements all MHA-based public education and outreach activities within the City’s Asian communities. Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, Ms. Luo joined MHA in 2002 and promptly launched a broad-based mental health education and communications initiative that to date, has reached over 1 million Asian-Americans living and/or working within the 5 boroughs of New York City.

Currently Ms. Luo is a member and 2005 Vice President of the Board of Directors of the New York Coalition for Asian American Mental Health and the Board of Directors of the Manhattan Coalition on Mental Health Issues of the Elderly.  She also serves on the latter association’s Conference Planning Committee and played an integral role in staging and presenting the 2003 “Beyond Cultural Barriers”, 2004 “Overcoming Stigma in Asian American Mental Health” and 2005 “Breaking Silence: Suicide Prevention” Conferences that attracted attendance of over 300 mental health professionals each year.  Other notable accomplishments include helping to establish the City’s first support network for Chinese Caregivers of mentally ill Asian-Americans and additionally, the first support group for grandparents in the Fuzhounese community.  A part-time counselor for the Hamilton Madison House – the City’s pioneer community agency for Asian mental health; Ms. Luo also provides volunteer counseling and mental health educational workshops for the Visiting Nurse Service and in 2003, was honored with that agency’s prestigious Community Award.

A native of Canton, China, Ms. Luo holds a B.S. degree in Community Health Education from Hunter College and a M.S.W., summa cum laude, from New York University. Prior to joining MHA, she served as a social worker for the Lower Eastside Family Union (a major child abuse prevention program for the Chinese population) and the Chinese American Planning Council. Before that, Ms. Luo was Shelter Coordinator for the Asian Women’s Center where her focus was on crisis counseling and management for women and children.

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Terrence F. Martell is Director of the Weissman Center for International Business in the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. Prior to his appointment, he served as a Fellow in the Weissman Center. Dr. Martell is the Saxe Distinguished Professor of Finance, where he teaches and conducts research in the area of derivative markets. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Martell serves on numerous committees at the College. He is Chair of the Graduate Curriculum Committee and Chair of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Martell is a Public Governor of the New York Board of Trade where he also is a member of the executive committee. Prior to joining Baruch College, Dr. Martell was Senior Vice President of the Commodity Exchange in New York City. Dr. Martell serves on a number of civic boards and committees. He is currently President of the Pelham School Board.

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Claire McKnight has been involved in transportation research since 1976, when she started graduate school in urban planning with a concentration in transportation. She worked as a research associate, working on projects in public transportation and paratransit, while completing her masters in urban planning and Ph.D. in public policy analysis. Since she has been at The City College, she has been involved in projects on the impact of bridge tolls on demand, the 63rd Street connector, transportation demand management strategies, the organization of transportation management associations in New Jersey, and an analysis of the bus routes of the Green Bus Lines, undertaken for NYCDOT. Dr. McKnight was largely responsible for the study of the impact of traffic congestion on bus travel times and costs done for New York City Transit.

This project was followed up by an internal study of the affect of traffic signals on bus travel times. She is currently finishing work on two projects on drivers’ licensing for NJDOT. One is a preliminary step in a two-phase evaluation of the recent NJ Graduated Drivers’ Licensing Law, and the second is a study of driving problems and licensing policies for mature drivers. She is also a research associate on the New Jersey’s Link to the 21st Century project.

Dr. McKnight has served on a Transit Cooperative Research Panel overseeing a project to determine the impact of transit vehicle amenities on ridership.

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Edwin Mendez-Santiago is the Commissioner of the Department for the Aging. Prior to his appointment, Mendez-Santiago was the President and CEO of the Spanish Speaking Elderly Council-RAICES, where he has also served as Executive Director. Prior to that, he taught as an adjunct professor at New York City Technical College and directed the BHRAGS Senior Citizens and North Brooklyn Mobile Meals Programs. Mendez-Santiago received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Masters in Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work.

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Ashwin Pandya, M.D. is the President of National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens Inc. (NIAASC). Dr. Ashwin Pandya is an Indo-American physician. A Board- Certified psychiatrist has been practicing in the United States since 1962. In his 30 years with the New York State psychiatric system, he held many senior clinical and administrative positions. His sub-specialties include addiction, forensic (legal), major psychiatric illnesses and Tran cultural Psychiatry.

In his private time, Dr. Pandya has made many contributions to the Indian community. He is one of the founders and a past president of the Indo-American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Pandya is the cofounder and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nav Nirmaan Foundation, a non-profit organization providing services to the South Asian community on family issues. He has developed and nurtured two senior programs in the New York City area in the last seven years. He has coordinated a number of health fairs for seniors, and participated on different panels of conferences arranged by NIAASC or other Indian organizations.

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Nina S. Parikh is a Senior Research Associate at the Brookdale Center on Aging of Hunter College, City University of New York.  She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in Sociomedical Sciences, and a MPH in Health Policy and Management from Emory University.  Currently, Dr. Parikh is working on several projects investigating the health status of older individuals, effects of the built and social environment on the health and health trajectories of the elderly, in particular those of immigrant populations, and health behaviors of older Chinese immigrants in New York City.  Prior to coming to Hunter College, she served as Project Director at the Center for Health and Public Service Research, New York University on a two-phase study that examined utilization patterns of emergency department patients in the Bronx, NY.  In addition, she has held various positions on several research projects, including a multi-site evaluation of an HIV prevention intervention aimed at high-risk women, and a prevalence study examining low literacy in a patient population receiving care at a public hospital.  Dr. Parikh’s research focuses on access to care, immigrant health, social networks, low-income populations, social and economic determinants of successful aging, and health literacy.

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Carol Peng serves as Deputy Director of Research at the Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY). Ms. Peng directs AAFNY’s research department, including its Census Information Center. She has served as project director and co-principal investigator on AAFNY’s research studies in the areas of health and mental health and community economic development. She is also responsible for development and oversight of service capacity building programs in the areas of mental health and elder services. She is currently working on a service planning study to address the health and social needs of Asian seniors in Flushing, Queens. Prior to joining AAFNY, Ms Peng worked as a researcher for a private medical corporation on projects for San Francisco’s Department of Public Health, Community Mental Health Services division and UC San Francisco Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute. Ms. Peng has an MSW from Columbia University and a BA from UC Berkeley.

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Maria Elena Piña-Fonti is presently a faculty in the NAS Nursing Program at La Guardia Community College, CUNY, in the position of Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Medical Surgical Course (Senior level), lecturer and clinical component as well as the lecturer for the course titled “Nursing Trends.”  Prof. Pina Fonti also lectures part time at Molloy College (in Rockville Center Long Island) in the Dual Degree Nursing Program, in a course titled “The Culture of Health in Chronic Illness”.  She has been in the discipline of Nursing for a total of 31years and in the area of education for approximately 21 years.  In addition, she has facilitated in the role of educator in numerous levels of nursing education (staff development, continuing education, bachelors program, LPN program, Home Care and presently the associate level of nursing).

Clinically, Prof. Pina Fonti has worked in the Emergency Department, Gastroenterology Department, Orthopedics, and varied settings in Medical Surgical areas.   As educator in the area of continuing education she developed varied programs for continuing education credits and most recently co-organized a course on cultural issues in nursing at La Guardia Community College as well as assisted in the coordination of the annual Transcultural Conference that was held in NYC at Baruch College this past year.  Prof. Pina Fonti graduated from Hunter College Bellevue School of Nursing in 1975 with a BSN.  She obtained her Master’s Degree at Columbia University Teachers College in 1981.  She is member of the Transcultural Nursing Society, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Chairperson of the Queens Chapter of the Hispanic Nurses Association and New York State Nursing Association.

Along with other faculty members she is presently working on a grant awarded to La Guardia Community College by the EPA, on an Asthma Prevention initiative targeted for the areas of Park Chester and Elmhurst. She is also serves as a mentor for a faculty member in Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, as part of Hispanics in Higher Education.  Presently, she is also belongs to the Task Force which is planning an educational program for Hispanics and heart disease in Queens as part of the Heart Association initiative on preventative health.

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Rajeshwar Prasad is the Executive Director of the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens Inc. Mr. Prasad has been in the field of health and human services – planning, implementation and administration – for about 25 years in USA, and about 15 years in India. With his educational background with two masters: one in Economics from India and another in Urban Planning from Hunter College, New York, he has worked in a number of agencies in Long Island. His professional positions included executive director and principal investigator of Long Island Cancer Council; executive director of Nassau Suffolk Regional Medical Program, and deputy executive director of Nassau Suffolk Health Systems Agency.

Over the years, Mr. Prasad has served on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Indian Associations for six years; president of NY-NJ chapter of the National Association of Americans of Asian Indian Descent for 2 years; president of Long Island chapter American Public Health Association for two years; with the Long Island’s United Way for 19 years; and his continued involvement with India Association of Long Island for 29 years serving in many positions. Since September 1999, Prasad has been appointed as a Human Rights Commissioner for the Suffolk County, New York. Since 1998 Mr. Prasad has been actively involved with the issues of senior citizens of Indian origin through National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC). Prasad is the NIAASC Executive Director and cofounder, and served two terms as its President.

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Karla Quintero is the Outreach Director for the Safe Routes for Seniors Campaign at Transportation Alternatives, a leading local bicycle, pedestrian and transportation reform group in the United States.  Over the last three years her work has raised consciousness of pedestrian safety issues for seniors and people with disabilities in Northern Manhattan and with elected officials.  She has spoken about the impacts of traffic on community cohesion at the Municipal Arts Society and about the organization and its campaigns with local media, Latino media and at community forums and organizations throughout the City.  Karla has a degree in Urban Studies from Barnard College at Columbia University.

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Parmatma Saran came to the United States from India in 1967 on a full scholarship to do graduate work at the City University of New York and received his PH.I. in Sociology in 1975.He has been teaching at Baruch College of the City University of New York since 1969 and at the Graduate School beginning in 1987. He was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1989 and currently serves as chairman of the Sociology and Anthropology department, as well as heads the Asian and Asian American Studies program at Baruch College. He teaches courses both at the Graduate and Undergraduate level focusing on race relations, ethnicity, minority groups, new immigrants, and India. His writing and research is on Asian communities in the United States and India. He is the author of four books and a large number of articles both in professional journals and magazines. Two of his books are on experiences of Asian Indians in the United States and are widely quoted in journals, magazines, and newspapers including the New York Times, Daily News, Time Magazine, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, National Geographic, India Today, India abroad, News India, India Monitor, and many others. Saran is the recipient of grants and awards from many prestigious organizations which include the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for Humanities, the American Anthropological Association, the American Sociological Association, the International Congress of Sociology, Columbia University, the City University of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania. Parmatma Saran has been active in many professional and community based organizations. He has served as president of the New York State Sociological Association, chairman of the Asian American Higher Education Council, vice-president of the National Association for Interdisciplinary and Ethnic Studies, and chairman of Columbia University’s faculty seminars on India and cultural pluralism. He is a founding member of the India Festival Committee, the Bihar Association, GOPIO, and the Indian American Democratic Club of Long Island and has also been associated with FIA, AIA, the Tagore Society and Various other organizations. Currently, he serves as a trustee of the Taraknath Das Foundation at Columbia University.

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Gerard Soffian joined the New York City Department of Transportation in 1985.  He previously worked in the air pollution control program at the Region II Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  He currently serves as the Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Signs and Markings at DOT.  He oversees the Offices of Borough Engineering, Highway Design & Construction, Alternative Modes, and School Safety Engineering.  He is responsible for 1.2 million traffic control signs and 69 million feet of roadway markings citywide.  Mr. Soffian obtained a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky, focused on Public Administration at the University of Southern California in 1970 and a Bachelor of Science in Physics in 1969 at Brooklyn College, CUNY.  In addition, he is involved in many professional and community associations such as the New York State Professional Engineer, Institute of Transportation Engineers, League of American Bicyclists and he’s also a soccer referee of the AYSO.

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Betty Lee Sung is Professor Emerita and Chairperson of Asian American/ Asian Research Institute. She is the former Chairperson of Asian American Studies Department at City College, CUNY. Professor Sung has published innumerable articles and seven books on Chinese Americans including Mountain of Gold (1967), and Chinese American Manpower and Employment , which won an outstanding book of the year award for 1976.

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Paul Steely White is the Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, the leading local bicycle, pedestrian and transportation reform group in the United States.  Paul is an internationally known author and lecturer on bicycling, walking and transportation reform. Paul is quoted frequently on these issues by the local and national news media and has appeared frequently in local, national, and international media. He has also appeared in publications such as The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, and the New York Observer.  Paul is frequently invited to speak on pedestrian safety, traffic calming and cycling issues by transportation and community organizations, including the Transportation Research Board (TRB).  Paul has a degree in Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Masters Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Montana in Missoula. Before joining Transportation Alternatives in April 2003, Paul served as Regional Director for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, a non-profit group based in New York City.

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Betty B. Wu was appointed by President George W. Bush in September 2005 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She oversees the Office of Grants Policy and Grants Oversight and Review, and leads a number of initiatives, including the President’s Management Agenda. Prior to the appointment, she served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and advised the President and the Administration on policy to increase economic opportunities for and improve the quality of life for approximately fourteen million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Before joining public services, she was an executive with Bloomberg LP, and a key executive with several global financial services firms. She also served as Commissioner of New York City Department of Employment where she received acclaim in redefining the scope of the department to an economic development agency. Ms. Wu received a Master’s in Public Administration from the School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of Washington, Seattle.

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Ming-Chin Yeh,  is Assistant professor of Hunter College, CUNY. Dr. Yeh received PhD in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; MEd, Columbia University; MS, New York University; BS, Taipei Medical College, Taiwan. Dr. Yeh joined Hunter College, Program in Urban Public Health, Nutrition and Food Science track as an assistant professor in Fall 2003, upon completion of his training at the Yale University Prevention Research Center. His research involves developing innovative intervention strategies to promote fruit and vegetable consumption in multi-ethnic populations. Another research interest focuses on weight management for those who are overweight or obese. Recent publications appear in the International Journal of Obesity, American Journal of Health Promotion, Preventive Medicine, and Behavior Modification. He has also coauthored two chapters in The Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion (Kluwer Academic; 2003).