The Ronin Project Podcast

Former CA Assembly Majority Leader and Ronin Project Podcast Host Bill Wong give their hot takes on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22, 2024.  This episode is 100% certified F-Bomb Free. Get Ronin Project updates at this link : https://mailchi.mp/a3a711ffa5ce/ronin-roll-call Or chip in $10, $20, or $50 to the Ronin Project PAC to help elect pro-choice, pro-labor, pro-...

Roshni Nedungadi is a founding partner and chief research officer of HIT Strategies, the leading millennial and minority-owned public opinion research firm in Washington, D.C. Roshni has led expansive, multi-phase research projects exploring how people across the United States feel about gun control, mass incarceration, abortion, and other important issues on behalf of advocacy leaders such as Eve...

Join Ronin Project Podcast host, Bill Wong, for an insightful recap of AAPI races in California's March 5, 2024 Primary Election. The Ronin Project Podcast's regular interview format will continue next week with pollster Roshni Nedungadi, co-founder of HIT Strategies. Get Ronin Project updates at this link : https://mailchi.mp/a3a711ffa5ce/ronin-roll-call Or chip in $10, $20, or $50 to t...

Warren T. Furutani has been a community and political activist for over 50 years. In the late 60’s he help start the Asian American and Pacific Islander social justice movement. He started as a student activist and fought for college admissions programs for people of color and women. He worked to establish ethnic studies and helped start Asian American Studies programs at UCLA and Cal State Long B...

Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke is a nationally recognized civil rights leader and a member of USA Today’s Inaugural Leaders of Change. As President & CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) and Founder and Principal of Arum Group, LLC, she brings nearly 25 years of experience working in political campaigns and specializes in political/non-profit fundraising a...

Boo Yuen, co-founder and executive vice president of the Adwell Group, is an expert ad maker and strategist.  Boo credits comedy as his entry into campaigns. While in school, Boo wrote for his college satire magazine, where he got his first unusual experience with campaigns, helping to run two different satirical candidates for student government president, one of whom won the election. Boo starte...

Betsy Lin is a national strategist working at the intersection of politics, advocacy and campaigns. As the founder of beelinning strategies, Betsy leverages her over two decades of experience across the Senate, federal campaigns, and multi-million dollar organizations to help her clients craft strategic plans and drive high-impact results. Betsy served as Chief of Staff to United States Senator Ma...

Manjusha Kulkarni is the Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance, which serves and represents the 1.6 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County.    In March 2020, Manju co-founded Stop AAPI Hate, the nation’s leading aggregator of COVID-19-related hate incidents against AAPIs.   Alongside fellow Stop AAPI Hate co-founders Cynthia Choi and Russell Jeung, Manju has been...

Sara Sadhwani is an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College , specializing in American politics and race and ethnic politics, and a commissioner on the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission . She is also serving as a visiting scholar at Stanford University’ s Bill Lane Center for the American West.    Her research examines voting behavior, elections, voting rights, public opi...

James Santa Maria brings more than 20 years of government, political, and public affairs experience to The Santa Maria Group.    James specializes in local government, focusing on the City and County of Los Angeles as well as other municipalities and public agencies throughout Southern California.   James founded the Santa Maria Group following a ten-year career in Los Angeles City government as c...

Dr. Jasmeet Bains was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2022 to represent the Central Valley’s 35th Assembly District.   Assemblymember Bains worked as a family doctor providing primary healthcare to families throughout the Valley.    Dr. Bains also serves as a volunteer with Global Family, an organization dedicated to combating human trafficking and child abuse, on the San J...

Dr. Richard Pan is a pediatrician and currently the senior policy advisor to AAPI Data. He is a former UC Davis faculty and a former State Senator and State Assemblymember representing the Sacramento region. He is the first Asian American to represent the City of Sacramento in the California legislature, where the Transcontinental Railroad began over 150 years ago.  Dr. Pan is Immediate Past-Chair...

Gina is CEO of Tech for Campaigns. She joined TFC in 2022, leading TFC’s voter turnout initiative. She advises early stage mission-driven start-ups on strategic growth and prior to TFC was a founding member of Blueland, where she was CMO. Gina received her MBA from Harvard Business School and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University. Learn more about Tech F...

Jeane Phan Wong is a feature writer that is also a strike captain for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and co-chair of the WGA Women's Committee.  A child of Vietnam War immigrants, Jeane is Vietnamese-Chinese. She was raised Buddhist in the San Gabriel Valley with stints in Orange County and once in a Mormon town in Nevada. She developed a sweet tooth as a child working at her parents’ bak...

Henry Lo is a member of the Monterey Park City Council.  Henry's history of public service spans over 20 years. From 2003 to 2020, he served on the Garvey Elementary School District Board of Education. As a board member, he co-founded the Garvey Education Foundation, which has raised community support for the schools in the district since its founding in 2007. As a proponent of creating colla...

Dr. Venkat is an emergency physician and was elected last cycle and serves as State House Representative for the 30th Legislative District in the state of Pennsylvania.  He is the first Indian American to be elected to the state House and the first physician to serve in the General Assembly in nearly 60 years.  His district includes part of Hampton Township, and all of McCandless, Franklin Park, O...

Alberto Torrico was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004. He served for six years, including two years as Majority Leader.  During his three terms in Sacramento, Alberto served as Chair of the Public Employee Retirement and Social Security Committee, charged with oversight of the pension funds, CALPERS and CALSTRS.  He also chaired the powerful Governmental Organization Committee.  Pri...

Maria Oyama Leininger, Founder of Overton Political Solutions, talks about diversity, helping progressive campaigns win, the no asshole rule, the Overton Window, and 38 cent donations. Overton Political Solutions is one of the only political consulting and public affairs firms in the nation that is Asian woman owned and led, giving clients unique insight into two powerful and growing political dem...

Bill Wong talks about the book, Better to Win , he recently wrote on Asian Americans and politics that will be widely available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble on April 8, 2023 on Season 2, Episode 4.  Better To Win offers readers a unique, proven perspective on the craft and power of politics. It examines the mindset and machinery involved in the use of power and the sacrifices necessary to affe...

Kim Bernice Nguyen was elected to the Garden Grove City Council on November 8, 2016.  She is the first Garden Grove City Council Member of Latino descent. She’s half Latino and half Vietnamese. In a recent LA Times article, she is described as: “Erudite and enthusiastic, Nguyen is fluent in Spanish and is bettering her Vietnamese. She enjoys quesabirria tacos at La Super Birria in Santa Ana as wel...

Today’s guest is Bethany Khan, the Spokeswoman and Director of Communications & Digital Strategy at the Culinary Union Local 226 in Nevada.  As spokeswoman for Nevada’s largest union and immigrant organization, Bethany is proud to use her digital and strategic communication skills to support working families in Nevada. The Culinary Union, Nevada's largest union and immigrant organization,...

Assemblymember Lee was elected in 2020 and became the youngest Asian American legislator ever elected and first openly bisexual state legislator in California history.  In this episode he talks about running for office, fighting for affordable housing, and inspiring young activists and voters. Learn more about Assemblymember Lee at his government website: https://a24.asmdc.org/ Or his campaign web...

Bryan Ha, California Faculty Association Director of Government Relations, talks about AAPIs in the House of Labor, his mentor Dean Murakami, and fighting for the rights and fair pay for CSU faculty and campus employees. Learn more about CFA at https://www.calfac.org/ Get Ronin Project updates at this link : https://mailchi.mp/a3a711ffa5ce/ronin-roll-call Or chip in $10, $20, or $50 to the Ronin P...

Former Hawai'i State Senate Ways & Means Committee Chair Jill Tokuda gives insight on how she effectively fought off a last minute multi-million dollar dark money attack during the Democratic Primary Election for Hawai'i Congressional District 2 that was vacated by Rep. Kai Kahele and once held by the legendary Rep. Patsy T. Mink who was the first woman of color elected to the US Con...

Nadia Nisha Belkin talks about the unprecedented $10 million effort to organize and mobilize progressive Asian American voters in seven key states this election cycle and building the ecosystem that will support broad, deep, and sustainable Asian American political power and representation. Learn more about Nadia's work and support AAPN at this link https://www.aapowernetwork.org/ https://sec...