​Executive Board

Phillip Cheng (ISE & EALL '11)
President

​​Phillip Cheng resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and works in Student Affairs at Stanford University. Phillip also is an adjunct lecturer at Laney College in Oakland, CA and his research looks historically at Asians/Americans in the U.S. South, specifically Chinese student-immigrants who attended the University of Florida in the early 1900s. 

​Lauren Vu (PSY '19)
President-Elect

Lauren Vu currently serves as a 6th-grade math and science teacher through Teach for America in the heart of East Oakland, California. In addition to teaching and addressing education inequity, Lauren is passionate about psychology and health disparities within marginalized communities. In her free time, Lauren enjoys exploring the San Francisco Bay Area, cooking, and making music on her ukulele. 

George Ryan Perez (CPE '03 & MiDAS '14)
Treasurer

George Ryan Perez is a full-stack lead software developer.  He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Florida College of Engineering with a master's degree in Digital Arts and Sciences.  Living in Alachua, Florida, he spends his free time writing music and comics.

Rachel DiSesa (MS '16 & PhD '22)
Secretary

Rachel DiSesa is the clinical programs coordinator for the UF Veterinary Hospitals. She has been with the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine since 2006. Rachel earned her bachelors from the University of Phoenix, her masters from the University of Florida, and is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. Her research focuses on strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by encouraging under-represented minorities to consider careers in agriculture, specifically veterinary medicine.

Vi Payulert (BDes Arch '12 & MUP '14)
Marketing Manager & Podcast Host

After graduating with her Bachelors's degree in Architecture from UF, Vi went on to pursue her Master's in Urban Planning at the University of Southern California. Vi now resides in Northern California (San Francisco East Bay) with her husband and son! She utilizes her creative side of her brain to help maintain the social media accounts and launches marketing campaigns for the alumni association. 

Henry Nguyen (BME '19 & MBME '20)
Graphic Designer

After graduating with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering, Henry now works for the United States Patent and Trademark Office located in Alexandria, VA as a Patent Examiner for biomedical engineer related patents. In his free time, Henry likes to eat, cook, and watch anime.

The UF Association of Asian Alumni would like to extend its thanks to all former board members and contributors!

​Jamilyn Bailey (2011-2014)
Michelle Brumwell (2017-2019)
Alex Cena (2013-2015)
Sandy Chiu (2013)
Marcus Tran Degnan (2017-2019)
Avani Desi (2011-2012)
Whitney Fung (2013-2015)
Dennis Ngin (2011-2013)
Anthony Nguyen (2014-2016)
Diana Nguyen (2014-2016)
Michael Satyapor (2014-2017)