Cecilia Moy Yep is known as “The Godmother of Chinatown” in Philadelphia and has fought major developments in Chinatown, now home to about 8,000 residents, for more than 60 years, since opposing the original plan for the Vine Street Expressway which cut straight through her home and required demolishing Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and school. Since then, Yep has protected Chinatown from infrastructure projects that threaten to further carve up the neighborhood. She has lived in Chinatown since she moved there with her family when she was eight years old.

Carol Wong is the executive director of the Chinatown Learning Center, a school program focussed on high-quality early childhood education to English language learners, and is part of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce Board. In 1993 she opened the preschool and after-school and is involved in many community organizations.

David Oh is the president and CEO of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia. He was a Philadelphia mayoral candidate in 2023 and served as a council member at-large from 2012 to 2023. He was the first Asian American elected to political office in Philadelphia and was the only veteran serving on the council during his 11 years of service. Oh received his bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and his law degree from Rutgers University.

Dr. Vijay Kumar is the Nemirovsky Family Dean of University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering. He is the founder of Exyn Technologies, a company pioneering autonomous aerial robot systems for complex, GPS-denied environments and served as the assistant director of robotics and cyber physical systems at the White House office of science and technology policy from 2012-2013.