About Us
Our Team
Ricky X. Yang
Operations
Ricky Yang, born and raised in New York’s Chinatown, is a Co-Founder for multiple businesses in the neighborhood (Taiyaki NYC, The Dough Club, Konveny) and a Software Developer at ICF.
He founded Protect Chinatown in hopes that this effort will galvanize support for the community and spread awareness on the anti-Asian sentiment currently sweeping the nation. His role in operations will focus on the coordination of volunteer enrollment and chaperone request fulfillment.
Chinatown is home and will always be a part of Ricky’s identity.
Kevin Law-Lee
Business Development
Born and raised a Chinatown native, Kevin has been surrounded by the rich culture of Chinatown and is constantly fueled to contribute to the betterment of the community. He has been involved with other neighborhood NPOs that serve to protect and preserve community principles through business, basketball, youth, and kinship.
At the peak of the pandemic, the shortage of masks and protective equipment warranted Kevin to launch Mask Our Heroes, an initiative to source, procure, and donate high quality PPE to healthcare workers.
Through Protect Chinatown, Kevin believes that collaboration, effort, and unity, we will not only be able to sustain cultural values, but also encourage the next generation to advance in society.
Jonathan Chan
Branding & Design
Jon credits a lot of who he is to his home, Chinatown. His closest friends and fondest memories originated from his beloved backyard, Columbus Park. As a teen, Jon joined Chinatown YMCA’s Leaders Club, an organization dedicated to enriching its members and providing aid to the community. In university, Jon brought his Chinatown spirit to the Chinese Association of Stony Brook (CASB), with goals to broaden the culture on campus. Jon currently works as a Front-end Developer at the comfort of his home — behind a window that overlooks Mott street.
He loves looking back on the days when he’d run around playing tag in Columbus Park with a meat skewer in one hand and a bao in the other.
Sandy Yang
Marketing & Communications
Sandy was born and raised in Chinatown, New York. Sandy is an avid AAPI educator and advocate, spending her free time to volunteer at non-profit organizations. Sandy served on the National Board for the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU), and assisted the organization in educating thousands of attendees about AAPI issues at Harvard, Boston, and George Washington University. She was also a member of the New York Asian American Student Union, Asian Americans For Equality group, Teen Resource Center in Chinatown, and Project Sunshine Non-Profit Organizations.
At the height of the pandemic, she helped distribute food at local churches. Her most emotional memory is of an elder tearing up at her first warm meal that day.
Emily Chen
Operations
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