Our People

Team

 

Margaret Conley
Margaret Conley
Executive Director

Margaret Conley, a Bay Area native, is the Executive Director of Asia Society Northern California. She is Chair of Asia Society's global Asian Americans Building America task force. Margaret was previously based in Asia for several years as a television news correspondent with ABC News in Jakarta and Tokyo, and with Bloomberg Television in Shanghai. She was part of the global ABC team that won a News and Documentary Emmy Award for presidential inauguration coverage. Her interviews include Howard Schultz, Richard Branson, Ban Ki-Moon, LeBron James and Beyoncé. Her non-profit experience includes the Berggruen Institute, where she built and launched a Philosophy + Culture Institute with a focus on the US and China. She has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Hong Kong, which specializes in coverage of Asia. Margaret was selected as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2019. She is on the Advisory Committee of TiE, and is a member of the board of the International Women's Forum.   

 

Jeremy Wegerer
Jeremy Wegerer
Director of Finance

Jeremy Wegerer is the Director of Finance for Asia Society Northern California. He is a certified public accountant with a long background in financial accounting and business development in the U.S. and China. Prior to joining Asia Society, Jeremy was based in China for many years, most recently leading the Greater China business of Reallyenglish, a pioneer in digital education, where he also led corporate social responsibility efforts supporting public health and training of displaced persons. His non-profit experience also includes several years advising local arts organizations in Chicago as a member of the Illinois CPA Society. Jeremy received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University, and a master’s degree in Chinese language and literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Jeremy is a native of Chicago and has lived in the Bay Area since 2015.   

 
Mackenzie Jakoubek
Mackenzie Jakoubek
Director of Partnerships & Memberships

Mackenzie Jakoubek is Director of Partnerships and Membership. Before joining Asia Society, Mackenzie was Director of Membership for Marines’ Memorial Association & Foundation, a Veterans’ non-profit, overseeing the recruitment, retention, and cultivation of 14,000+ members. Some highlights of her 15-year tenure at Marines’ Memorial include administering the annual scholarship program, introducing a major donor circle, and coordinating member events with high-profile speakers such as Gen James Mattis, USMC (Ret). Mackenzie grew up in the Midwest and has called the Bay Area home since 2006. She received her B.A. in Fine Art from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. She started her career in arts organizations, working at the Peoria Art Guild and the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco.

 

Christie YoungSmith
Christie YoungSmith
Director of Programs

Christie YoungSmith is the Director of Programs for Asia Society Northern California. Bringing a strong base in Education and Research, Christie has led program and professional development, curriculum design, and decolonial research efforts at the Stanford Center for the Support of Excellence in Teaching (CSET), American University’s Antiracist Research & Policy Center, and AAPI Women Lead. She is also a doctoral candidate studying international partnerships and education policy. At heart she is a seasoned elementary educator who taught in international schools in Hong Kong and Shanghai for many years. Christie is of mixed-Chinese descent and grew up between Colorado (on the ancestral land of the Utes, Cheyenne, and Araphaho) and Hawai’i (on the ancestral land of the lā‘au lapa‘au, practitioners of native Hawaiian medicine). She received her M.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Education, her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and is pursuing her Ed.D. with American University. Christie has experience with museum education and curation, having worked and volunteered at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, and San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum.

 

Nina Udagawa
Nina Udagawa
Program Manager

Nina Udagawa is the Program Manager at Asia Society Northern California. She was previously the Executive Associate and before that worked in Washington, DC as a Diplomatic Assistant in the Office of Congressional Affairs at the Embassy of Japan. Prior to working at the Embassy, she interned at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Library of Congress, and Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. Nina holds a B.A. in International Relations and History from the George Washington University; she has also studied Chinese and studied abroad at Donghua University in Shanghai. During her time in university, Nina was an active member of the Japanese Cultural Association and published a paper on the Amerasian Identity in Okinawa with the Okinawa Prefectural Government.

 

Aaren Marroquin
Aaren Marroquin
Executive Associate

Aaren Marroquin is the Executive Associate. Prior to joining Asia Society Northern California, he served as a Chief of Staff with the El Paso, TX City Council. During his time there, he worked to strengthen partnerships with Ft. Bliss Army Base and the Consulate General of Mexico. He previously interned for the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court and the Texas State House of Representatives. His educational background includes a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Texas at El Paso. During his time in undergrad, he focused his research on geopolitical and societal implications of emerging technologies. He was an active member of the UTEP Chicano Pre-Law Society and served as a Student Liaison for the Department of Political Science.