V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA

Making it happen.

The Steering Committee is the team planning and executing V3con, using expertise and connections from their varied backgrounds.

Executive Team

	Jocelyn “Joz” Wang, V3con Founder and Executive Director Jocelyn “Joz” Wang is the Immediate Past President of the AAJA-LA. Joz is known online– and offline– for her personal blog jozjozjoz.com. She is the Editor-in-chief and CEO of the popular Asian American blog 8Asians.com. She is also a long-time contributor to blogging.la, flagship site of the Metroblogging network, for which she is now Publisher and CEO of. She was recently part of the Creative Team at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Online. Joz also serves on the AAJA National Advisory Board and National Governing Board. @jozjozjoz
	Denise Poon, Development Managing Director Denise L. Poon is a Broadcast Producer, Multimedia Consultant and Principal of Creative Streamline, a Media Communication company. Her career spans more than 15 years of broad-based communication for broadcast networks ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, PBS and private clients. She produces pieces in various formats- breaking news, feature and magazine, including content for CBS This Morning, DATELINE NBC and America’s Most Wanted. With AAJA, she is best known for many years of strong, creative event leadership, sponsorship and fundraising development for Trivia Bowl, the Chapter’s signature “fun-raising” event and the innovative, V3 Digital Media Conference. @cr8tivestream
	Mariecar Mendoza, Logistics Director Mariecar Mendoza is a Features Digital Editor for the Los Angeles News Group, a role she has recently transitioned into after less than a year as a general assignment multimedia reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News. Before moving to Los Angeles in the summer of 2012, she worked as a multimedia reporter for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs for nearly 6 years. She was a Chips Quinn Scholar in 2007, and has been involved with AAJA since 2006. Mariecar serves as an elected board member for AAJA-LA and is co-managing editor for Voices 2013, AAJA’s student convention project that pairs professionals with aspiring journalists as part of a rigorous multimedia training program.
	Margaret Sharpe, Logistics Director Margaret Sharpe has a varied experience in journalism. She writes for a hyperlocal magazine in Los Angeles, is a producer and reporter for Hawthorne Community Television and a social media manager and content creator for a women’s accessory company. Margaret has been an active AAJA-LA member for many years, volunteering at AAJA-LA fundraiser, Trivia-Bowl as well as last year’s inaugural V3 Conference.
	Kim Bui, Conference Programming Director P. Kim Bui is the associate editor for social media and outreach for Southern California Public Radio. She manages KPCC’s social media and engagement on and off the Web. She also develops outreach efforts for KPCC’s content and technology partners. She’s worked at major newspapers and news start-ups. Co-founder of #wjchat, a weekly Twitter chat for web journalists, Bui was named one of Poynter’s 35 influential people in social media in 2010.
	Anh Do, Editorial Director Anh Do covers multicultural communities & issues at the Los Angeles Times. A second-generation journalist, she served as vice president of Nguoi Viet Daily News, the largest Vietnamese-language publication in the US, founded by her late father. She has worked at the Dallas Morning News, the Seattle Times and the Orange County Register. You can find her on Twitter at @newsterrier.
	Henry Fuhrmann, Editorial Director Henry Fuhrmann is assistant managing editor for the copy desks, the library and standards at the Los Angeles Times. Since joining the Times in 1990, he has worked in every corner of the newsroom, including the metro, foreign, entertainment and business desks and the Times’ website. He holds two degrees in journalism: a bachelor’s from Cal State L.A. and a master’s from Columbia. He is a longtime officer of the Los Angeles Chapter of AAJA.
	Jenn de la Fuente, Online and Production Deliverables Director Jenn is a self-described WordPress ninja, web designer, and geek. She has run her own business, Rosebud Designs, since 2009 and has worked with a variety of design shops, agencies, small businesses, non-profits and good people. She enjoys collaborating with others and especially enjoys helping those who are afraid of the web overcome their fears and create something awesome. She has also taught workshops on web design and WordPress, and critiqued many design and journalism portfolios. Before becoming a designer full-time, Jenn was a former web producer at The Sacramento Bee, and spent 10 years in sports journalism as a reporter, copy editor and page designer at The Orange County Register, The Arizona Daily Star, The News Journal in Delaware, and The Sacramento Bee. She is currently the Vice President of Online Media for AAJA Los Angeles.
	Naomi Hayase, Registration Director Naomi Hayase has been an editorial researcher for Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei newspaper) in their Los Angeles Bureau since 2006. Having grown up in Tokyo, she enjoys being able to report on US matters to a Japanese audience.
	Sarah Mirza, Communications Director Sarah Mirza is a freelance producer at CBS News in Los Angeles. She has produced, written, and edited for various desks and departments at CBS News in New York, Channel One News, and ABC News. Sarah holds degrees from Wellesley College and Boston University.

Directors and Managers

	Richard Chang, Assistant Editor Richard Chang is an arts and entertainment writer and art critic for the Orange County Register. He specializes in visual art, but has also written about movies, television, music, film festivals, the performing arts and Southern California media. He was a primary contributor to the O.C. Register’s award-winning blog, the Arts Blog, and still occasionally blogs about TV. Richard is former President of AAJA Los Angeles, and hopes to expand AAJA’s reach to professionals and students in Orange County and the Inland Empire.
	Laarni Dacanay, Public Relations Director Laarni Rosca Dacanay is an award-winning corporate publicist. Her experience includes NBCUniversal, Focus Features, NBC, New Line Cinema, FOX Sports/TVG. She is currently contracting for Comcast’s (NBCU’s new parent co.) communications team. Laarni was a founding member of NBCU’s Asian Pacific American employee resource group and served as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Diversity Committee Co-Chair. Laarni is a seven-time Public Relations Society of America National Awardee, OC/PRSA “Distinguished Service Award” Recipient, and named to NBCU’s “Top 25 Most Inclusive Employees.” She was the keynote speaker at her alma mater’s CSUF 10th Pilipino-American Graduation. Laarni is also a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans in Entertainment and Entertainment Publicists Professional Society. @laarnid1
	David Iwata, Sponsorship and Fundraising Manager David Iwata has served on various boards and commissions impacting the Asian Pacific American community.  David has over 15 years of corporate development consulting experience in the areas of advocacy, business, community and diversity, including work with ABC, CBS, and Fox Entertainment Group.  David is Managing Partner for LD Group, Inc and partner in the newly formed Washington DC based Capital Business Resources LLC.
	John Khuu, Website Manager John Khuu is an Information Architect / Usability Specialist at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Online. He creates digital user experiences, and tests their usability for the Disney Parks online portfolio. He is an ‘honorary volunteer’ for the AAJA Los Angeles chapter, previously helping out for Trivia Bowl XVI and XVII. John contributes to efforts towards awareness projects for Asian Pacific American issues, and helping in low-income and homeless communities.
	Angela Kim, Social Media Director Angela is a Social Media Editor at Yahoo!. Prior to Yahoo!, she was a producer at public radio’s Marketplace. Her radio stories have also aired on Weekend America, Here and Now, and Splendid Table. She was also an East-West US-Korea Journalist Exchange fellow and a Rotary International Group Study Exchange fellow to Japan. Angela is also a member of AAJA-LA. In her free time, she blogs about food and travel on her blog, angelaishere.com.
	Bel Lo, Administrative Manager Bel is excited to be part of the V3con team again. She is a freelance consultant working in the LA area and is eager to contribute her expertise to help plan an amazing event. She is also the Director of Business Development and Planning for the Asian American blog 8Asians.com.
	John Parker, Multimedia Director John is a multimedia journalist and storyteller currently running content for Yahoo! Screen. In 10 years working in the journalism field he has done it all from taking prep sports boxscores over the phone, writing, designing pages, shooting still photos, and shooting and editing video. He relishes the opportunity to tell stories visually through the photo and video medium or re-creating the scene through written word. His written work has appeared in The Sacramento Bee, The Arizona Republic, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Denver Post, and Total Sports Magazine. His video work has appeared on ESPNLA.com and sacbee.com.
	Kevin Sablan, Analytics and Metrics Director Kevin is a reporter at the Orange County Register, where he previously lead the newsroom’s social media efforts. He helped to roll out social media programs at Freedom newspapers across the U.S. in 2012. Previous to his social roles, Kevin was an editor of technology coverage at the Register, a web editor at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, and developer for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. You can follow Kevin on Twitter @ksablan.
	Wes Tanaka, Sponsorship and Development Manager Wes Tanaka retired from Southern California Edison in December of 2009 after 37 years of service. At the time of his retirement, he was the SCE Public Affairs Director for Los Angeles County and City of Los Angeles. Throughout his career at SCE, he was very involved with a broad range of community organizations and was a key contact at SCE for AAJA-LA. Currently, he is Board Chair for the United Cambodian Community of Long Beach and a board member for the Center for the Pacific Asian Family, Pacific Asian Counseling Services and the Congress of California Seniors. Wes also acts as an advisor to a number of other non-profit organizations.
	Andrea Wang, Website Manager Andrea Wang is a digital content producer with a penchant for writing and beautiful, utilitarian design. She recently completed a digital media fellowship at Southern California Public Radio (KPCC 89.3), which she won through AAJA in 2011. She graduated from UCLA, where she was staff reporter and radio host for The Daily Bruin. Her goal is to generate innovative content that builds communities, encourages discourse and fosters lifestyles.
	Shawn Wong, Finance Director Shawn Wong is an urban planning consultant and film/media producer based in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. She has previously written for Venice Magazine and interned for ABC News 20/20 and Primetime. Since 2010, Shawn has served as Treasurer of AAJA-Los Angeles.