2023 Ascend Inspiring Across Generations 

Ted Chen has served as a general assignment reporter for NBC4 since 1995. Chen has reported on many major news stories like the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing China where he covered gold-medal winning accomplishments live for Team USA as well as reports frequently on major political stories. Chen also covers Hollywood events such as the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. Chen is the recipient of an Emmy award and two Golden Mike awards for his reporting, anchoring, and hosting NBC4 specials, including “Life Connected: Asian Pacific Heritage Month.” He was also honored by the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s Workshop on Journalism, Race & Ethnicity for his series of news stories on Asian Americans among numerous other awards. Chen serves on the advisory board for the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, as well as The Asian Youth Center. Chen can be seen weekdays on NBC4 News at 11am, 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm.

David is a Management Consulting Senior Manager in Accenture North America Health Care Innovation Practice and is based in Los Angeles. He is currently the Co-President for Ascend LA Chapter. At Accenture, David is the SoCal Inclusion & Diversity Council Lead and has oversight of 24 ERGs. He has served as an active core team member for the Leaders Inspiring Future Talent (LIFT) Mentoring Program and APA Leadership Summit. He is an Expert ERG Trainer with ERG Leadership Alliance. David has served as a guest speaker for Ascend, NAAAP, AAPA, and many of Accenture clients. As a registered nurse with experience in both medical and behavioral health, he understands the importance of whole-person care, mental health, health equity, and culturally competent care for the APA community.

Glen is the past president of the LA Metro chapter of Ascend where he served for nearly four years. Glen is a retired partner from EY where he worked in the assurance practice for 35 years serving public and private clients. Glen was responsible for establishing the Pan Asian professional network at EY in the mid 2000’s for the then Pacific Southwest area and served as the lead for that ERG for ten years. Glen currently sits on the Board for the Japan America Society and is the boys and girls golf coach for Whitney High School in Cerritos.

Mei-Li (Lili) Huang, Principal at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), has over 15 years of experience assisting in the preparation of financial statements, and performs on-site audits for charter schools, nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions. Lili conducts a wide variety of audits, including federal and state compliance and financial statements under FASB Basis of Accounting. She also has experience assessing, observing, and testing the internal control environment and with grant compliance. Lili serves on the board of CalCPA and the advisory board of ConnectMed International. Lili received a bachelor’s degree in business economics with an emphasis in accounting from U.C. Santa Barbara.

Jeanne Mau currently serves as Senior Vice President, TV Programming Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) at NBCUniversal. In this role, Mau oversees NBCU LAUNCH, the umbrella brand that houses the comprehensive DEI efforts across the company’s expansive entertainment television portfolio. Her purview includes the entertainment networks within the NBCU Media Group – NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, SYFY, Universal Kids, USA and Peacock – as well as Universal Studio Group – which comprises four powerhouse studios, Universal Television (UTV), Universal Content Productions (UCP), Universal International Studios (UIS), and Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS). Mau’s key responsibilities include oversight of NBCU LAUNCH, which supports the company’s goal to produce authentic and compelling content with a focus on providing qualified talent, who historically haven’t had access to the industry, including those from underrepresented backgrounds, with access to meaningful job opportunities in television. Her work spans inclusion efforts for scripted, unscripted and late night programming both in front of and behind the camera; working with internal partners to ensure DEI-related best practices are fully embedded into the creative development process; and managing current partnerships with external advocacy groups and organizations that support the company’s DEI goals. Before joining NBCUniversal, Mau spent two decades at ViacomCBS where she held several senior leadership positions including her most recent role as Senior Vice President, Global Inclusion. Over her tenure at the company, she oversaw the ViacomCBS Writers Mentoring Program, Directors Initiative, Viewfinder Emerging Directors Program and Nickelodeon Writers and Artist Program. She also successfully built partnerships with executives and producers to create access for artists and creators across all platforms of the business, and she established initiatives to inspire and foster innovation, and cultivate an inclusive, world-class talent pool of content drivers. Prior to her transition into DEI, she was a creative executive. She rose through the ranks at CBS to become the Vice President, Current Programs, where she was responsible for the day-to-day management of shows including “Criminal Minds,” “NCIS,” “Two and a Half Men.” Mau is an advisory board member for the Alliance of Women Directors and member of the Entertainment Creative Collaborative Outreach (ECCO), a diverse collective of entertainment professionals who help create awareness and drive positive impact around key issues and initiatives through civic engagement. Mau graduated from the University of San Diego with a bachelor's degree in Communications.

Alfredo Mendez is the vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and community at Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm that connects people with meaningful work and provides companies with the talent and subject matter expertise they need to confidently compete and grow. In this role, Mendez sets strategy and programs that support a culture of growth, inclusion, and a positive experience for the company’s 16,000+ global employees. This includes overseeing the company’s employee-created network groups, focused on historically underrepresented communities, and bringing together colleagues with common interests. Mendez is a seasoned HR executive with nearly two decades of experience in designing, leading and executing organizational effectiveness, change management, talent development and DEI activities for companies in the professional services, technology & engineering, media & entertainment and retail industries.

Trinh Nguyen is a digital technology leader with over 15 years of experience working in the media and entertainment industry. He is passionate about bringing technology and professional skills to underserved youth. Trinh is a regional advisory board member for the non-profit America on Tech, has served as a “Big Brother” with BBBSLA.org for over a decade and counting, and is a global advisor for Asian Pacific American (APA) the employee resource group within NBCUniversal.

Known amongst her peers, colleagues and leaders she supports as an “inspiration for change,” Hoai Scott has made it her passion to inspire leaders and individuals to find their purpose as a means to living a fulfilled and joyful life. As an HR professional in the entertainment industry for 30 years, she has played a key role in educating leaders in diversity, equity and inclusion, leading with purpose, how to be an ally and how to create a culture of inclusion and belonging in the workplace. As a refugee from the Vietnam War who came to America in 1975 and is in a bi-racial marriage, she leverages the power of her story to enlighten others on how racial inequity has affected her family in the hopes to engage others to have courageous conversations on racial bias and be a part of the solution. She is committed to fostering work that creates more awareness, changes perspectives and inspires people to take action in the movement towards social equity and justice. She currently serves as Senior Vice President, Human Resources for NBCUniversal where she supports the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and provides HR leadership to NBCUniversal teams in Canada, London, EMEA and APAC.

Amy is a People Operations senior manager at PwC. She was born in Urumqi, Xinjiang and spent part of her childhood on the South Side of Chicago before moving to Los Angeles where she has lived for the majority of her life, and where she currently resides with her partner and their 2 cats. She is an alumna of USC and played tenor saxophone in the Trojan Marching Band (Fight On!). Amy is proudly Chinese American and is passionate about advancing equity and helping groups overcome social barriers. As the co-chair of the Recruiting & Onboarding committee within PwC's Pan-Asian Community Inclusion Network, Amy has the unique opportunity to meet colleagues from all walks of life and connect them to a thriving community of Pan-Asians and allies across the Southwest region. In her free time, Amy loves hiking, backpacking, spin class, and traveling.

Brandon is a Managing Director with over 13 years of public accounting experience, where he has served a vast array of clients, ranging from privately-held entities to Fortune 500 companies. He serves as a leader in both the Life Sciences and Aerospace & Defense industries, where he is involved in complex and judgmental accounting / financial reporting matters, such as revenue recognition, debt/equity financing transactions, M&A, and stock-based compensation expense. He enjoys spending time supporting Deloitte's Asian & Allies community as a leader for greater Los Angeles, providing mentorship, resources, and support to develop the next generation of leaders.

Peter is a vice president at Robert Half where he oversees the advisory and legal placement operations in the East Bay. He specializes in human capital consulting and advisory services around litigation management, eDiscovery, M&A, commercial transactions, and regulatory compliance. He is also one of the founding members of Robert Half’s employee resource group: Apex. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University with a major in organizational leadership, minor in business administration, and a certificate of entrepreneurship.