2021 Ascend Golf Outing Charity

AWARDS2021
DINNER
ASCEND CHARITY

GOLF OUTING

RHOALEF-INF-LONEE
PRIZES

SEPTEMBERMANHATTAN WOODS GOLF CLUB MO1N3D,A2Y021

Inspire.
Influence.
Impact.
Leaders
do it al.

KPMG is proud to support Ascend Foundation’s
effort to advocate, educate, and assist Pan-Asians
to become the leaders of today and tomorrow.
You came for the celebration. You leave with the
knowledge that you made a difference.
kpmg.com

© 2021 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm
of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee.
NDP228200-1A

GOLF OUTING
AGENDA

September 13, 2021

8:00 A M REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST
Location: Main Dining Room

Driving range and putting green will be accessible to players.

1 0:00 A M SHOTGUN START
1 1:00 A M LUNCH GRILL OPENS
Location: Behind the clubhouse, right by the 1st tee

Grilled food and beverages are available on the 3rd and 12th holes.

3:00 P M COCKTAIL RECEPTION
Location: Oak Bar
4:30 P M DINNER
Location: Main Dining Room


Greetings from Master of Ceremonies

Kathy Lee, National Director, Business Development, Ascend

Welcome

Savio Chan, Chair, Ascend Charity Golf Outing

Opening Remarks

Jay Persaud, Americas Vice Chair, EY

Ascend Trailblazer Award Winners

Yang Shim, Americas Technology Consulting Leader, EY
Sherry S Chan, Chief Actuary, City of New York
Ian Asvakovith, Co-Founder & CEO, Piedmont Fund Services
Valerie Wong Fountain, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

Recognition of Sponsors and Foursomes
Prizes and Raffles
Closing Remarks

Hee Lee, Steering Committee Chair, Ascend Charity Golf Outing

3

THANK YOU
TO OUR SPONSORS

A Big Thank You to Individual Sponsers

Calvin Hwang • Christine Yan • Derek Poh • Eric Chun • Jerry Chan
John Colon • John Kim • Kristie Wong

4

WELCOME LETTER

September 13, 2021

Greetings and Welcome to
The Fourth Annual Ascend Charity Golf Outing!

Dear Sponsors, Friends, Colleagues and Supporters,

We are delighted to welcome you all to the Fourth Annual Ascend Charity Golf Outing! We are thrilled that you are joining
us for this year’s Golf Outing to help raise funds for the Ascend Foundation—a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to educate,
advocate, and enable Pan-Asian business leaders to reach their full potential. It’s been a long, unprecedented time in our lives
and well over a year since our last Ascend Charity Golf Outing so we hope you are as excited as we are to enjoy a round of golf,
connect with friends and build new relationships.

We have the privilege to announce Yang Shim, Americas Technology Consulting Leader, EY; Sherry S. Chan, Chief Actuary, City
of New York; Valerie Wong Fountain, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley and Ian Asvakovith, Co-Founder & CEO, Piedmont Fund
Services as our honorees and recipients of the 2021 Ascend Trailblazer Awards. The award recognizes distinguished Pan-Asian
leaders who have demonstrated their leadership and commitment to their profession and their community every day without fail.
These impactful role models are truly an inspiration to the larger Pan-Asian community. We know you will join us in applauding
Yang Shim, Sherry S.Chan, Valerie Wong Fountain and Ian Asvakovith for all their contributions.

All the funds raised today will go towards the Ascend Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to make a difference in the Pan-
Asian community through research, thought leadership, scholarships, and education. Since the inception of the Golf Outing in
2017, we are pleased to share that we have raised over $600,000 to date to help our community. During the pandemic, Ascend
Foundation initiated and engaged in a number of fundraising initiatives including the Covid-19 Relief Campaign, Feed Your
Hospital, and the PPE Program. As part of our efforts to stem the tide of anti-Asian hate, we also created the Ascend Impact
Fund to accelerate the 5-Point Action Agenda focus on promoting inclusion, raising awareness, denouncing bias, supporting
communities and giving donations.

On behalf of Ascend and the Ascend Charity Golf Outing Steering Committee, we express our sincere thanks and gratitude to
our sponsors for your continued support of and contributions to the Pan-Asian community. Finally, we thank the EY and Ascend
teams, and volunteers for their tireless work, time and commitment to make this annual golf outing and dinner possible.

We are fortunate to have you all as trailblazers, leaders, and role models. Please stay engaged, be proactive and help us shape the
future of Ascend and the Pan-Asian community. Let’s #AscendTogether! Thank you for joining us!

Anna Mok Savio S. Chan Hee Lee
President, Ascend Chair, Ascend Charity Chair, Ascend Charity

Golf Outing Golf Outing Steering

Committee 5



Morgan Stanley is proud to support the

Ascend Charity
Golf Outing

And Congratulates

Valerie Wong

On Receiving the 2021 Trailblazer Award

At Morgan Stanley, diversity is an
opportunity — for clients, employees and
the Firm. By valuing diverse perspectives,
we can better serve our clients while we
help employees achieve their professional
objectives. A corporate culture in which
everyone feels they belong is fundamental
to our role as a global leader constantly
striving for excellence in all that we do.
Learn more at morganstanley.com/
about-us/diversity

© 2021 Morgan Stanley

YANG SHIM

Americas Technology Consulting Leader
EY

Yang Shim is the partner at Ernst & Young (EY) and he leads the Technology practice driving EY’s
technology and digital transformation agenda across Banking and Capital Markets in Financial Services
Organization (FSO). Prior to joining EY, he served as a Managing Director with a major management and
technology consulting firm and has also worked for another Big Four accounting firm. With more than 23
years of industry experience, Yang has held a number of leadership roles in which he earned his reputation
as an innovator, trusted sponsor and influencer of winning outcomes.
Yang holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua Business School and a BS in Commerce (Finance and MIS)
from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. Yang is a member of the advisory board
for the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and Center of Business Analytics in McIntire
School of Commerce. Yang also serves as EY Americas’ Inclusiveness Advisory Council and FSO Diversity
and Inclusive Leader for Advisory services.
As a former board member of a leading nonprofit organization that funds Type1 diabetes research, Yang is
enthusiastic about sponsoring events to spread awareness about this condition and supporting those who
advocate for favorable regulations on marketing new medical devices. Yang is also enthusiastic in golfing, and
one of the jobs that Yang wanted to do would be something close to major league sports-related area.
Yang is married and has one child.

What was your first job?
Waiter at Uncle Julio Restaurant. Got fired first day.

Who is the Asian American you admire the most and why?
Tiger Woods. How he managed to comeback from his mistakes.

Which talent would you most like to have?
Swimming like Mike Phelps

What is your ideal vacation?
Anywhere except for Disney during the July 4th weekend.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Becoming a father.

8

SHERRY S. CHAN

Chief Actuary
City of New York

Chosen unanimously by New York City elected officials and union presidents in the Spring of 2015,
Sherry S. Chan is the 5th Chief Actuary in the 100+ year history of New York City and one of the
highest ranked Asian-American officials in the City’s administration. Highly respected as the “Key Guardian
of City’s Fiscal Health” for the 4th largest US public retirement system, Ms. Chan is a visionary Chief Actuary.
A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary with the Joint Board, a member of the American
Academy of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and a conferee of an Executive
MBA and Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and actuarial science from The Ohio State University,
Ms. Chan regularly gives presentations at colleges and conferences.
Ms. Chan was selected for the City & State NY Inaugural 2020 Power of Diversity: Asian 100 list and was
named both a 2019 Crain’s New York 40 under 40 and a 2017 City & State 40 under 40 Rising Star of New
York City. In 2018, Ms. Chan received both the Community Hero Award from Assemblymember Yuh-Line
Niou and the Geoffrey Heywood Award from the International Association of Consulting Actuaries (IACA).

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Establishing the Sherry S. Chan Actuarial Endowment at my alma mater, The Ohio State University (OSU). It
is the first actuarial endowment in the University’s 150+ year history. My actuarial education at OSU allowed
me to be where I am today for which I am extremely grateful.

What was your first job?
Babysitting. It taught me time management (babies will let you know—very loudly—if you’ve missed their
feeding time), creativity (you can’t maintain a little kid’s attention without creativity), and people skills (the
smaller they are, the more important this skill)!

Who is the Asian American you admire the most and why?
My parents will always be the people I admire most in this world—everything they went through in their
lifetime, giving up the place they grew up in to start over in a new country and working immigrant jobs to
provide me the foundation to my life today.

What is your ideal vacation?
Luxurious, all-inclusive beach resort that offers a quiet escape from life and time to do nothing so my brain
can be on vacation. Mental wellness is so very important!

9

IAN ASVAKOVITH

Co-Founder & CEO
Piedmont Fund Services

Ian Asvakovith is the Co-Founder and CEO of Piedmont Fund Services, Inc., an award-winning fund
administrator for hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and institutional investors headquartered in the
Washington DC Metro area with offices in New York, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila. Ian was recognized as Top
10 Best CEOs by Industry Era Magazine and 2020 Top Hedge Fund Solution Provider.
Prior to co-founding Piedmont in 2005, Ian was with Ernst & Young (EY) in New York, where he oversaw the
audits of hedge funds, private equity funds, fund of funds, broker-dealers, and mutual funds clients. At EY, Ian
served as the first Co-Chair of EY/Asia for the Tri-State Area.
Ian is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in Business
Economics & Accounting. Ian serves on the executive committee/board of directors for a number of
professional organizations and is actively involved with various charitable organizations in the Washington
DC Metro area. Ian resides in Northern Virginia with his wife and three young children.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an engineer because I thought it would be something that would make my parents happy and I
could help them with their business. After taking FORTRAN, I knew that engineering was not for me. During
that same semester, I took a microeconomics class and everything just clicked. My parents were supportive
of my decision to switch to economics and I’m forever thankful for that support.

Who was your role model growing up?
I looked up to my parents as my role model. They started a small business in their home and grew it into a
sizable successful operation. That experience made such an impression on me because they worked so hard
and never gave up despite many challenges in the early days.

What is your greatest extravagance?
This year, we spent two months in Mexico for family vacation and remote work. We learned a lot about new
cultures, history and the Spanish language. I also convinced my wife to install a golf simulator in our basement
to enhance our kids’ golf game and my own golf game!

What talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to drive a golf ball over 300 yards and consistently shoot in the 70s so I can finally
take Hee Lee’s money.

10

VALERIE WONG FOUNTAIN

Managing Director
Morgan Stanley

Valerie Wong Fountain is Head of Morgan Stanley’s Signature Access Platform, which includes the
Single Family Office Advisory and Lifestyle Advisory. She leads the Single Family Office Advisory team which
provides consultative services to clients who maintain or are considering establishing single family offices.
Valerie also oversees Lifestyle Advisory, which delivers specialized resources to ultra-high-net-worth families.
Prior to her current role, Valerie served as Co-Head of Private Capital Markets, within the Global Capital
Markets division of the Institutional Securities Group focused on raising capital in private market transactions.
Earlier in her career, Valerie served as Chief of Staff to James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s Chairman and
CEO. She began her career in the Institutional Equity Division, where she traded a range of Delta One products.
Valerie serves on the First Tee of Metropolitan New York Executive Committee and Board of Directors and
the Penn Golf Alumni Board. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Morgan Stanley Foundation
and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Firm’s Multicultural Client Strategy Team.
Valerie earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude and as a University and Joseph Wharton Scholar. She was also
a Division I athlete, competing as a three-year letter winner on the Women’s Varsity Golf Team. As an
amateur golfer, she won the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association Better Ball Championship in 2019
and 2018. In 2020, Valerie was honored as one of the top 100 Most Impactful Asians (A100) in culture by
Gold House. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the top 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business
by the AABDC and was awarded Most Influential APIA New Yorker by the National Association of Asian
American Professionals New York.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a dentist like both of my parents. Turns out, I’m not cut out for biology and cadavers!

Who was your role model growing up?
Tiger Woods was my role model growing up. We both grew up in Southern California and I had heard
about his legendary golf game well before he entered the world stage. He accomplished so much at a very
young age and broke through numerous barriers.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Golf! We spend most of our free time and vacation on golf experiences and trips. We have collected over
100 golf balls from all the courses we have played.

11

THANK YOU TO OUR STEERING
COMMITTEE AND VOLUNTEERS

EVENT CHAIR
Savio Chan U.S. China Partners, Inc.

STEERING COMMITTEE
Hee Lee EY (Chair)

Kathy Lee Ascend Raymond Luis Brigade Capital
Karen Wong EY Huy Tran EY
Emily Lan EY Steve Ku Africa River of Life
Rick Ro Santander Serafin Icasiano HSBC
Derek Poh Black Swan

Kathy Lee ASCEND NATIONAL TEAM James Cruz

Winnie Li Mike Jee Emily Lin

VOLUNTEERS | DAY OF EVENT
Rick Ro Santander (Leader)

Rehan Khan Sam Lee Jessica Lang
Rachel Geng Rachel Lee Joanne Lee
Patrick Wong Yuchen Zhang Bo Jiang
Emily Lan Derek Birney George Zhou
Karen Wong Annie (Anh) Tran Lucas Yip
Lake Chaelen Eric Lu Christopher Kan
Ke Ding Devanie Dwarka
Phung Nguyen Alyssa Wei

12

GOLF OUTING
HIGHLIGHTS

THE WEIKES GROUP CONGRATULATES The Weikes Group

Ian Asvakovith for His J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
Career Achievements
and Contributions to the Liz Weikes
Pan-Asian Community Managing Director
Wealth Partner

277 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10172
212.272.9214
[email protected]
jpmorgan.com/weikesgroup

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is a business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which offers investment products and services through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS), a
registered broker-dealer and investment advisor, member FINRA and SIPC. Annuities are made available through Chase Insurance Agency, Inc. (CIA), a licensed insurance
agency, doing business as Chase Insurance Agency Services, Inc. in Florida. Certain custody and other services are provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPMCB).
JPMS, CIA and JPMCB are affiliated companies under the common control of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Products not available in all states.

© 2021 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved.

13

Ascend Builds Holistic Pan-Asian Business Leaders &
Empowers Them To Drive Workplace And Societal Impact

Who We Are Ascend is the largest Pan-Asian business professional membership organization in
North America. Our mission is to drive workplace and societal impact by developing
and elevating all Asian and Pacific Islander (API) business leaders and empowering
them to become catalysts for change.

What We Do Ascend offers impactful career lifecycle and cross-industry leadership programs and
networks that foster community and engagement for Pan-Asian business professionals
and students, corporate partners, and the community at large.

Ascend serves members across various professions and industries and is designed to
develop business leaders at all career stages.

• Supporting Pan-Asian business professionals through all stages of the career lifecycle
• Informing and educating the broader corporate community outside of Ascend
• Providing tools for societal change through fact-based research

Ascend Foundation

The goal of the Ascend Foundation, a 501(c)(3), is to
help make a difference in the Pan-Asian community
and industry in major North American metropolitan
regions through scholarships, community support and
fundraising, thought leadership, research, and education.

Learn more at: www.ascendleadership.org
www.ascendleadershipfoundation.org

14

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across the Pacific.

Growing your business means knowing how to take the
next step. When you see an opportunity across the Pacific,
turn to East West Bank. As the premier financial link
between the U.S. and China, our cultural fluency, market
intelligence and personal connections in both countries
can be your bridge to success.

535 Madison Ave., 8th Fl., New York, NY 10022
212.298.3801 | eastwestbank.com

15

WHEN
ASIANS
ASCEND, WE
ALL ASCEND.

ascendleadershipfoundation.org/impactfund SCAN TO DONATE

#Ascendtogether

It’s time to create a C-change. The Ascend Impact Fund is
committed to advocating for AAPI professionals, all the way through
the C-Suite. By working to dismantle the model minority myth, we
believe that we can make change that will elevate Asian leaders and
drive impact that will be felt by countless members of our diverse
community. Let’s ascend together.

MAKE CHANGE WITH YOUR WALLET.
HELP THE EFFORT BY DONATING.

ASCEND
TRAILBLAZERS

The Ascend Trailblazer Award is given to individuals who have demonstrated success in their career and
contributed to the growth and advancement of the Pan-Asian community. These individuals are recognized
as leaders and role models in their career and industry, trailblazing the path for professionals to advance their
careers and contribute to the betterment of society.
This award truly embodies the vision of Ascend to:
• Connect Pan-Asian leaders across industries through a network of seasoned professionals and emerging leaders
• Enable young professionals and emerging leaders to pursue their dreams and achieve new professional heights
• Assist our partners and sponsors to achieve their business growth through world-class diversity and inclusion practices

Jun Li Partner, EY Kristie Wong Managing Director, Barclays
• 2019 Trailblazer Honoree • • 2019 Trailblazer Honoree •

K. Calvin Hwang Co-Founder, CityMD
• 2019 Trailblazer Honoree •

Lesley Ma Global CIO, Cadillac
• 2018 Trailblazer Honoree •

Rajive Johri Board Director, Conagra Andrew Y. Chin Chief Risk Officer &
• 2018 Trailblazer Honoree • Head of Quantitative Research, AB
• 2017 Trailblazer Honoree •

Qingji Yang, Ph.D. Principal, EY
• 2017 Trailblazer Honoree •

17

18

NOTES

19

Work the smart way.
Give the kind way.
Play the fairway.

EY is proud to sponsor the 2021 Ascend
Foundation Charity Golf Outing. Because
serving and building our community is
always our game plan.
Visit ey.com

2021 Ernst & Young LLP. All Rights Reserved. 2106-3803851 | ED None