Laur is an LA native of Chinese, British, and Hungarian-Jewish heritage. As an actress, Laur made her network TV debut as the recurring character "Juliet Helton" on CBS's "The Young and the Restless." You can find her starring most recently in the LGBTQ+ holiday romcom "Christmas at the Ranch," alongside Amanda Righetti, Lindsay Wagner, and Archie Kao.

Laur was the first mixed-ethnicity Miss Los Angeles Chinatown Queen and proudly went on to represent the Los Angeles Chinese community at the Miss Chinese International Pageant in Hong Kong. Her involvement with these cultural pageants inspired her to continue working with the Southern California Chinese community to this day and also to pivot her career from behind-the-camera to acting. Prior to acting, Laur worked as a production assistant, then in production and development, and finally in the television marketing department at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

While working on "The Young and The Restless," Laur began law school at USC Gould School of Law, and in February 2021, she was admitted as a member of the State Bar of CA. With a strong passion for advocacy, Laur aspires to create an empowering platform, incorporating both acting and law, through which she can make a positive humanitarian impact and represent her community.

From his start in starring in the world’s #1 kids show as the Lost Galaxy’s Blue Power Ranger to later spending 10 seasons with the world’s #1 drama franchise CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Kao has had a colorful and storied career. 

In 2010, Kao was inducted into MOCA’s (Museum of Chinese Americans) inaugural class of YPX88- honoring Asian Americans in creative culture, along with actresses Lucy Liu, Michelle Krusiec, and trailblazing playwright David Henry Hwang. In 2012, Kao was honored with CAPE’s (Coalition of Asian Pacific’s in Entertainment) Leaders and Legends award from Who’s Who in Asian American Communities, amongst such distinguished recipients as former US Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, US Congressman Mike Honda and Indonesian Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal. 

In 2013, Kao joined the series regular cast of NBC/Universal’s hit series Chicago PD, broadening the success of legendary producer Dick Wolf’s One Chicago franchise. Being named one of People Magazine’s “Hottest Bachelors”, as well as dozens of appearances in US film and television productions led Kao to his first Chinese production: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN with Li Bing Bing, Gianna Jun, and Hugh Jackman. In 2014, Kao became the first male to appear on the cover of Vogue China. 

In 2016, Kao spent time in mountainous rural regions of Sichuan China when he volunteered to build educational centers for the impoverished youth of the region with donations from Harper’s Bazaar, and is on the advisory board for Homes4theHomeless, a non-profit organization aiming at tackling the homelessness epidemic, as well as supporting underserved youth with vocational training programs. 

His production entity Summer Grape Productions aims to create content for a transpacific audience, and Kao has produced various productions under this banner- including FAST MONEY, the recipient of numerous festival awards- as well as writing and directing INITIATION- starring Ashley Bell of THE LAST EXORCISM. 

In 2020, Kao began work on two new projects: Warner Brothers/HBO series FLIGHT ATTENDANT, and iQiyi’s BREATH OF DESTINY. 

Quyên Nguyen-Le (they/them) is a queer vietnamese american filmmaker and writer. Born to refugee parents in the place where Chumash and Tongva lands meet (San Fernando Valley, Los Ángeles), Quyên's work focuses on the ways histories emerge in the quotidian everyday. Their short films Nước (Water/Homeland) (2016) and Hoài (Ongoing, Memory) (2018) have screened in film festivals, museums, art galleries, universities, libraries, and community spaces worldwide. Recently, Quyên's documentary The Morning Passing on El Cajón Boulevard, a segment of a 4-part feature anthology, premiered as the Opening for the 20th San Diego Asian Film Festival.

In the past, Quyên was a recipient of the Emma L. Bowen Foundation's Fellowship at Focus Features/NBCUniversal (2011-2013), Visual Communications’ Armed with a Camera Fellowship (2016), the National Multicultural Alliance's documentary fellowship with the Center for Asian American Media (2018), and Points North Institute's North Star Fellowship (2019). Quyên holds B.A. in Comparative Literature and Philosophy, Politics & Law from the University of Southern California.

Saleka has performed at iconic venues across the United States, opening for both R&B legends and up-and-coming artists such as Boyz II Men, Summer Walker, Baby Rose and K. Michelle.

Upon debuting her first single, "Clarity", in September 2020, Refinery29 called Saleka "a new artist to watch". Saleka frequently collaborates with her sister, Ishana, who has so far directed three of four of her music videos.

In addition to music, Saleka uses her powerful voice to raise awareness for social justice reform, youth education and women’s rights. She currently resides with her family in Philadelphia.

To learn more about Saleka and her upcoming tour schedule, visit here website at https://www.salekamusic.com

A TV/Film Producer, celebrity chef, community leader and media activist, Cathlyn is best recognized by her fans and the Media as the Korean Food (Hansik) & Cultural Ambassador since 2009, having self-hosted and produced 4 Seasons of Cathlyn’s Korean Kitchen, the first Korean cooking show in English broadcasted on national PBS in the US. Over the course of 9 years, Cathlyn frequently performed culinary demonstrations at over 300 cultural festivals and food events to create awareness and educate the public about easy to make, delicious and healthful Korean inspired recipes. 

Cathlyn is the founder and Executive Director of Asian Culture and Media Alliance, a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization established in 2013 to promote a voice of unity, awareness and empowerment for the Asian and Pacific Islander communities and culture through the power of Television, Film and New Media. As part of the mission, Cathlyn has been hosting and producing Asian Voices (currently in production of Season 4 series), featuring Asian culture, history, businesses, artists and events in Southern California.

Additionally, Cathlyn has over 25 years of international business development, sales and marketing background as the VP of Marketing and Business Development working for startups within the wireless, media, wellness, F&B, health and beauty industries in North America, South America and Asia. 

Hosted by twin brothers, Ausdon and Josdon Thong. Asian Youth Voices features younger generation of API entrepreneurs, filmmakers and artists with topics ranging from TV and film content, music, media arts and pop culture.

In this episode, Ausdon and Josdon talks about their childhood and life experiences growing up in the US, and how some of the television and film content had made a big impact in their lives involving their educational and future career choices.

Ausdon is a graduate from California State University of Fullerton with a degree in Cinema & TV Arts with a focus in Screenwriting. Being passionate about movies and television since he was younger, and noticing that there wasn’t much representation of Asian Americans in mainstream media, he made a conscious decision to be a filmmaker. Ausdon currently hosts his own produced true crime podcast on Spotify and in development of a new horror anthology podcast. His goals are to improve his craft on acting and become a director and producer in the future.

Josdon Thong is an alumni of California State University of Northridge. He graduated in the spring of 2020 and his field of study was in the Cinema & Television Arts, specifically in Screenwriting.As an aspiring screenwriter, Josdon has written a number of stories that he’d like to share with the world on the big screen one day. He’s currently producing, writing and voice acting in two fictional, audio drama podcasts. Josdon's dream is to someday produce his own animation film for the big screen and win an Oscar. 

At age 19, Nadya was the youngest candidate in the race for a seat for Cambridge City Council, focusing her campaign on issues of affordable housing, education equity, and climate change.

In 2017, Nadya was named as one of Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21. She was awarded the L'Oréal Women of Worth award at the annual Glamour Women of the Year ceremony in November 2019.

In 2020, Nadya co-founded August, a lifestyle period brand with Nick Jain, the founder of JUV Consulting. The brand also built Ask August, a "judgement-free platform" that "makes it easier for Generation Z to navigate the process of menstruation."

Author of, "Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement," Nadya was featured in multiple high-profile media interviews, landing on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list as well as others — that, amid the whirlwind, she did not realize she was "monopolizing" the movement.

Georgina was born and raised in San Francisco, where she attended New Conservatory Theatre and later UC Santa Barbara. She worked for numerous production firms in Los Angeles before starting Urduja Films, which focuses on amplifying women's perspectives and intersectional storytelling.

Alex S. Fabros, Jr. is the son and grandson of immigrants who lived through the anti-Filipino racial discrimination of the early 1930s. After retiring from the U.S. Army in 1992 he was affiliated with the Asian American Studies Department of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He taught the history of Filipino Americans as taught to him by his father. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University and the University of California Santa Barbara.

“No Dogs ” is a short film written by Georgina Tolentino and Alex Fabros about the race riot in 1930 that led to the death of Fermin Tobera, a Filipino man who was killed in a drive-by shooting. The story is based on actual events but is a work of fiction. A “Nightrider” firebombs the taxi dance hall where Filipino men and white women socialize. The “Nightriders” are a white hate group enraged at the massive influx of Filipino migrant farmworkers taking jobs away from the white workers. They are also opposed to relationships forming in Central California between Filipino men and white women.

Did you enjoy this episode? Check out Episode 27, featuring South Asian Audio Storyteller Nidhi Shashtri. Nidhi shares the importance of creating stories for minority folks in an authentic and genuine way.

Today, Councilwoman Nithya serves as the Los Angeles City Councilmember for the 4th District since 2020. Both of her experiences at SELAH and Time's Up have provided her the experience and insight needed to present opportunities of growth to the community.

With SELAH, Councilwoman Nithya helped organize weekly outreach programs, and providing access centers serving hot meals, case management, showers, clothes, and other services to a region of the city severely lacking in resources for people who are homeless. Time's Up was focused on equity and safety for women in the entertainment industry. Under her leadership, the team launched a mentorship program for the executive and producer pipeline, published comprehensive Know your Rights resources related to sexual misconduct in the workplace, built a critics database, and created regular opportunities to build community among women in Hollywood.

Do you enjoy learning more about community activists? Listen to Episode 7 with Connie Chung, CEO of Advancing Justice Los Angeles.