
Chavi Khanna Koneru (she, her)
Executive Director, Chavi@ncaatogether.org
Chavi Khanna Koneru is co-founder and Executive Director of North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT). Koneru moved to North Carolina in 1989 and has spent the majority of her life living in the state, including attending college and law school locally at the University of North Carolina. This has allowed her to gain a deep, personal understanding of what it means to be Asian American in the South. Additionally, her legal background in voting rights law has given her the opportunity to interpret and enforce laws impacting the Asian American community, including during her time in the Voting Section at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she focused on language access for Asian American voters.

Ricky Leung (he, him)
Program Director, Ricky@ncaatogether.org
Ricky is co-founder and Program Director at NCAAT. Ricky grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, and studied journalism and mass communication at UNC-Chapel Hill, concentrating in visual communication and design. He began his career in DC at National Geographic and at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, where he became more involved with Asian American grassroots organizers. Ricky returned to North Carolina in 2010 in hopes of bringing that Asian American experience to his home state and worked at NC Policy Watch, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center, before joining NCAAT full time. In his free time, he snuggles with his puppy Charlie.

Sarah Yopp (she, her)
Operations Director, Sarah@ncaatogether.org

Olivia Zalecki (she, her)
Engagement Director, Olivia@ncaatogether.org
Olivia grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and attended North Carolina State University where she double majored in Political Science and Foreign Languages and Literature with a concentration in Mandarin. Olivia’s passion for advocacy started when she had the opportunity to work with various Asian American organizations including the Triangle Asian American Student Conference and OCA National-Asian Pacific American Advocates. Doing so gave her insight into the collective power of community. In her free time, Olivia loves trying all the amazing restaurants the Triangle area has to offer!

Phian Tran (they, them)
Head of Community Engagement, Phian@ncaatogether.org
Phian is an NC State alum from Raleigh with a background in community engagement. As an event curator, they specialize in combining efforts of young creatives, activists, and local organizations to propel collaborative initiatives for justice and equity. In their free time, they like to play music and go to concerts.

Shruti Parikh (she, her)
Head of Voter Engagement, Shruti@ncaatogether.org
Shruti was born in India, but immigrated to the US at a young age and grew up in the Midwest. She attended the University of Michigan, where she studied Mathematics and Art History and received her MS in Management from NC State. She has been an active volunteer in the Triangle community since moving to North Carolina in 1993. After the 2016 election, Shruti was inspired to become more involved in voter outreach and engagement specifically in the Asian community. As a mother of three young adults, Shruti enjoys cooking and sharing Indian food and culture.

Dan Tews (he, him)
Field Coordinator, Dan@ncaatogether.org
As Field Coordinator at NCAAT, Dan helps with voter registration and engagement efforts drawing on his experience in grassroots fieldwork. He has worked for over a decade as an activist for social justice and environmental causes, with a special passion for working with those who are disenfranchised and historically underrepresented politically. He studied English Literature at The College of New Jersey. He lives in Raleigh with his rescue dog, Percy.

Gerry Lor (he, they)
Community Engagement Coordinator, Gerry@ncaatogether.org

Vicky Cheng (she, her)
Development and Administrative Coordinator, Vicky@ncaatogether.org

Giselle Pagunuran (she, her)
Digital Communications Coordinator, Giselle@ncaatogether.org

MK Alova (they, she)
Youth Engagement Coordinator, mk@ncaatogether.org