Our Team

Ted Gong | Executive Director
Ted Gong is Executive Director of the 1882 Project Foundation and President of DC chapter of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance. Before retiring in 2012, Ted was a career diplomat in the U.S. Department of State where he served primarily in East Asia on policy and operational issues related to border management and security, migration and refugees, and consular affairs. He has degrees in History, Asian Studies, and National Strategic Studies form the University of California, University of Hawaii and the U.S. Army War College. Ted is also included in The Guardian‘s The Frederick Douglass 200, a list of two hundred people — abolitionists, diplomats, writers, feminists, and more — who best embody the spirit and work of Frederick Douglass.
Franklin Odo | Deputy Director and 1882 Symposium


Sojin Kim | Deputy Director and 1882 Symposium
Stan Lou | Talk Story Director


Ting-yi Oei | Curriculum & Education Director
John Kusano | Historic Preservation Director
John develops historic preservation programs for the 1882 Foundation and is also the Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council of the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership in Washington, DC. He recently retired from a 35 year career with the US Forest Service. He is a third-generation Californian and a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz.


Jenn Low | Deputy Director and Chinatown Programs
Jenn is an integrative designer and landscape architect with over twelve years of experience as a Landscape Architect in New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle. She is also a design educator with experience in both secondary and higher education. Jenn holds an MDes in Integrative Design at the Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan and a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. Expanding her skillsets beyond traditional modes of urban design practice, her work centers issues in design, power, and spatial justice. In collaboration with the 1882 Foundation, her thesis project, Dear Chinatown, DC, explored how we can redesign public engagement practices that give community members a more meaningful role in how our neighborhoods are planned and designed.
May Cheh | Senior Advisor for Programs
May Cheh earned degrees in Chemistry and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley and American University. She had a career at the National Institutes of Health doing research in medical informatics and directing a training program for visiting fellows at her institute. May was born in Guangdong, China, and came to the United States as a toddler. The first member of her family came to the United State during the California Gold Rush in the 1800’s, but, because of the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act against Chinese immigration, May and her mother were the first women in their family to immigrate to the United States. May’s passion is to preserve the history and stories of Chinese families in America.


Lily Liu | 2020 Summer Internship Mentor
Jamelah Jacob | Communications and Public Affairs Director


Beth Zhao | Public Affairs Coordinator
Beth graduated magna cum laude from George Mason University Class of 2019 where she double majored in Government and Chinese and will be pursuing her J.D. at The George Washington University Law School. She first joined 1882 Foundation as an intern in 2018. Last summer, Beth launched 1882 Foundation’s first podcast on the legacy of the Supreme Court decision on U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark to interpret the 14th Amendment and affirm birthright citizenship for people born in the United States regardless of their immigration status. This summer, Beth is coordinating 1882 Foundation’s internship program while working with OCA-DC on census and voter outreach.
Linda Wen | Programs Associate


Gabi Chu | Programs Associate
Gabi Chu is a third-year at the University of Virginia, hoping to major in Global Development Studies and Anthropology. Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, she graduated high school in Seoul, South Korea. Her main area of interest is in oral histories and narratives, and exploring how these stories are represented through walking tours and reclaiming spaces in ethnically distinct neighborhoods. She is also interested in the intersection of the modern Asian-American experience and self-representation through fashion and art. Gabi joined the 1882 Foundation in the summer of 2019 as an intern and has since developed a walking tour of the historic DC Chinatown neighborhood and continues to expand the initiative.
2020 Summer Interns

Sabrina Brogniart
Sabrina Brogniart is a rising senior at Michigan State University. She is majoring in Comparative Cultures and Politics with a concentration in the Asian region and is minoring in German. She grew up in the metro Detroit area and comes from a multi-ethnic family. After graduation, Sabrina plans on serving in the Peace Corps or studying at an international graduate school.
Lauren Eng


Saniya Han
Saniya Han is a sophomore at The College of William & Mary, studying Asian and Pacific Islander Studies along with East Asian Studies. She is passionate about preserving Chinese American heritage through education and outreach and her main interests are AAPI policies in the U.S. and the representation of Asian Americans through art, music, and literature. Saniya joined the 1882 Foundation this summer and is excited to contribute to the Talk Story and Literature Corner projects as well as expand 1882’s public relations through media outreach.
Calvin Kim


Susan Li
Susan Li is a rising sophomore at Columbia University studying Political Science-Economics and Anthropology. She is particularly interested in oral histories, archival practices, and public education about Asian American history in relation to the histories of black and brown Americans. On campus, she sits on the Executive Committee of the Asian American Alliance and co-directs the annual Crossroads Conference for AAPI high-school youth in NYC. In addition to her work within the AAPI community, Susan writes for the Columbia Spectator, edits for the Journal of Politics and Society, and volunteers with a number of grassroots and student organizations in the NYC community. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, friendship-bracelet-making, and baking.
Ana LuoCai
Ana LuoCai is a rising senior at the City College of New York where she is studying political science and public policy. As a first-generation Chinese immigrant, she is heavily invested in the immigrant and Asian American experience in the United States. Her background and upbringing in New York City have been instrumental in pushing her to pursue a future in public policy where she can contribute to primarily immigration reform policies. With the 1882 Foundation, Ana hopes to further connect her personal identity and upbringing with her policy interests by continuing to learn about the history of Asians in America and the ongoing policy efforts to address past inequities whose effects we still see today.


Sean Milko
Sean Milko is a rising Sophomore at the University of Maryland, majoring in American History. A native of the DMV, Sean is interested in local culture and historical preservation. As the former President of his high school history club, Sean is passionate about protecting historical sites and getting involved with educational programs. Sean joined the 1882 foundation in 2020 and looks forward to working with the team!
Kyle Wang
Kyle Wang just finished his sophomore year at Stanford University, where he is majoring in English (with a creative writing emphasis) and minoring in Mathematics. His interests include postcolonial and diasporic literature, AAPI poetry, and the intersections of activism and scholarship. This summer, he will be working primarily on the 1882 Foundation’s historic preservation initiatives as well as its Literature Corner. In his spare time, he writes a lot of poetry and fiction.


Hayle Wesolowski
Hayle is a recent graduate from Middlebury College, where she received her BA in History and Political Science in 2018. Having conducted research on the Chinese Exclusion laws and their effect on creating Asian diasporas in Latin America, she is passionate about the inclusion of underrepresented communities and voices in history. As a summer intern, Hayle assists with The 1882 Foundation’s heritage tours and site preservation initiatives, as well as with expanding partnerships with museums and cultural institutions.