Anahid Gharakhanian joined International Institute of Los Angeles' Board of Directors in July 2026. She is Vice Dean and Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School, where she has taught since 2002 and has played a key role in the school's innovative Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills (LAWS) program, as well as helped build one of the country's [...]

Jennifer Morrow was an attorney at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where she was part of the ERISA, Labor, and Employment Practice Group. Before that, she worked in Business and Legal Affairs at Disney ABC Cable Network Television Group. Jennifer has extensive experience in all stages of federal and state court litigation, including trials, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings. At [...]

Jeff Hamilton is retired from over 50 years in commercial banking.  He has been an active volunteer working with immigrants for over 25 years, most recently by tutoring and mentoring many unaccompanied minors and families seeking asylum. He is a member of the Southern California Catholic Task Force on Immigration. He has a bachelor's degree in Economics and a [...]

Angela Efros spent 7 years in Hunan, China working in education, media, manufacturing, and entertainment. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, she frequently appeared on Chinese TV networks as a singer or emcee. She has an MBA from Xiangtan University, where her study focus was on creating partnerships between non-profit organizations and for-profit tourism companies. With extensive expertise in Chinese [...]

John O’Malley, M.S. is a principal of Pasadena, CA-based O’Malley International Associates, a global communications agency specializing in consultative services that include communication skills training, strategic planning and engagement, fund-development, technical writing, media and community relations.  Over the last 25 years, his agency has delivered results and solutions that successfully advance his clients toward their goals. • LinkedIn:  [...]

Chair/Treasurer Steve Holt is semi-retired with an architectural practice in Redlands, CA.  Adept at finding solutions, Steve’s career has focused on facility planning for large technical organizations. Steve received his Masters of Architecture from UC Berkeley and his MBA from UCLA where he focused on documenting user requirements. LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-holt 

Jennifer Zhuo Liu, MA, fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese, is the founder of U.S. News Express, a bilingual online news outlet headquartered in San Dimas, California since 2015.  She also serves on the governing board of KJC International, Inc., a consulting firm in Los Angeles. She has been the China Business Development Manager of the Beverly Hills [...]

Sharon Yen has served on the IILA Board of Directors since January 2017. In addition to her Board duties, she also chairs the Development Committee. She works at the Federal Reserve Board, overseeing the quarterly and annual financial reporting process of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks and consolidating financial results that are audited and published publicly. She holds [...]

Irene Li Williams, MBA, is First Vice President and a Branch Manager for East West Bank. Previously, she served as FVP for Cathay Bank and District Administrator for Southern California. Before joining Cathay Bank in 2010, she worked for East West Bank and U.S. Bank. Irene also serves on the boards for Business Finance Capital ("BFC"), a Los [...]

Thomas Lenz is a partner in the Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo law firm. He works from the firm’s Pasadena, California office handling labor and employment law issues on behalf of employers, nonprofit corporations, and trade associations. He teaches at the USC School of Law and serves as an officer with the Labor and Employment Law Section of the [...]