On April 11, 2025, Asia Society Northern California will host the 2025 Asia Game Changer West Awards Gala honoring individuals, organizations, and movements that have demonstrated true leadership and made a significant impact in the fields of policy and business, technology and innovation, arts and culture, and education.

This year, we are grateful to honor the following 2025 ASIA GAME CHANGER WEST AWARDEES for their outstanding contributions to their fields!

• PHYLLIS KAO - Vice President & Auctioneer, Sotheby's New York
• DANIEL DAE KIM - Actor, Director, Producer, and Social Advocate widely known for his work in ABC’s “Lost,” CBS’s “Hawaii Five-O,” Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, and Disney’s “Raya And The Last Dragon”  
• ANDREW NG - Founder, DeepLearning. AI; Managing General Partner, AI Fund; Executive Chairman, LandingAI; Chairman and Co-Founder, Coursera; Adjunct Professor, Stanford University

We will also be joined by extraordinary speakers at this year's 2025 Asia Game Changer West gala!

• David Henry Hwang, Tony Award-winning Playwright; Librettist; Screenwriter; Theater Professor
• Erica Yew, Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court
• Robert Handa (Emcee), Reporter, NBC Bay Area News 

Additionally, we welcome the following musical artists bringing Asian and Asian American storytelling to our mainstage!

• Jongwon Han, Bass-Baritone opera singer performing a never-before-seen aria from the San Francisco Opera's Monkey King, opening Fall 2025!
• Julian Grabarek, pianist and Adler Fellow
• Gamelan Sari Raras, Javanese Performing Ensemble, Department of Music at UC Berkeley

Enjoy local wines and delicacies during our reception from the following Asian and Asian-American owned businesses in the Bay Area: Barber Lee Spirits, Freeman Vineyard & Winery, Gliding Eagle Inc., Jade Chocolates, Moone-Tsai Wines, RD Winery, ShunYi Cellars, Socola Chocolatier, and The Donum Estate. 

Don't miss out on our silent auction! Experiences and items that gala guests can bid on include:

• 2 Business Class Airline Tickets to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific
• 3-Day Stay at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana
• A Night at the Opera: Exclusive VIP package for San Francisco Opera’s The Monkey King
• Beachfront Penthouse Stay in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico
• Dinner for 2 at The French Laundry
• 5-course “Chef Tasting” Dinner and wine pairing for 4 at San Francisco Restaurant Copra
• And more!

THANK YOU TO OUR GALA SUPPORTERS  

SIGNATURE SPONSORS  

Chong-Moon Lee

Gary & Yucca Rieschel  

Jack & Susy Wadsworth  

Ruth & Kenneth P. Wilcox  

PATRON SPONSORS  

Simon Ma 

Scott Sandell 

SUPPORTING SPONSORS  

Pang and Yum 2002 Trust  

Covington & Burling LLP

Tencent 

The Naren & Vinita Gupta Foundation  

The Wang Family Foundation   

SPONSORS  

Carmen Chang

Buck Gee & Mary Hackenbracht  

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 

Jean & Hing Wong 

SUPPORTERS  

Danny Yu & Chun Mei Zhao  

Take a look at photos and videos from our past galas in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 to get a sense of the amazing experiences that await you. Mark your calendars and make sure to join us on this special night of celebration and inspiration! 

Asia Game Changer West Awardee Bios 

Phyllis Kao, a Vice President at Sotheby’s New York, has been an auctioneer for over 15 years. Currently, Phyllis oversees a broad array of sales each season at Sotheby’s. From high profile Marquee Modern and Contemporary Evening Auctions, to the rich tapestry of traditional Chinese Art and antiquities sales, to the diverse fields of Wine, Decorative Arts, Modern Design, Jewelry, Watches, and Natural History – she navigates the nuances of each category. Formerly at the helm as the Head of Auctioneers for a prestigious London auction house, Phyllis has not only orchestrated sales of global significance but has also imparted her knowledge by training auctioneers on an international scale. 

Phyllis's skills also find purpose in the nonprofit sector. Outside of Sotheby’s, she dedicates her time and craft to overseeing sales that benefit various philanthropic organizations globally. Her ability to auction in English, Mandarin, and French has proven a useful and standout element in the industry, welcoming an international audience in every venue. Many auction records have been broken with Phyllis at the rostrum, including the record for a dinosaur fossil--Apex, the largest and most complete stegosaurus fossil ever discovered, was auctioned by Phyllis for $44.6 million. Phyllis is Taiwanese-American, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and holds a degree from Columbia University. 

Daniel Dae Kim is an actor, director, producer, and social advocate widely known for his work in ABC’s “Lost,” CBS’s “Hawaii Five-O,” Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, and Disney’s “Raya And The Last Dragon.”  

Most recently, Daniel was on Broadway starring in David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face” at the Roundabout Theater. The play, which received rave reviews, is a comedic examination of race, representation and politics in a story where a semi-fictionalized version of the playwright protests the yellowface casting of a white actor for an Asian role in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his very next play.  

In 2024, Daniel wrapped production on a new spy series titled, “Butterfly,” that was filmed entirely in South Korea. He and his company, 3AD, produce the show for Amazon, where he leads an international cast of American and Korean actors.

He can be seen on streaming platforms in BJ Novak’s FX series, “The Premise,” Nat Geo’s “The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” and Apple TV+’s “Roar.” As a producer, Daniel and 3AD executive produced, “The Good Doctor,” which recently completed its final season on ABC, as well as 2023’s multi-award-winning IFC documentary feature film, “Bad Axe.” 

His past theater credits include the production of “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, “My Favorite Things: The Rodgers and Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert,” and the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s 2016 production of “The King and I.” 

Daniel’s advocacy for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is longstanding. His testimony in front of Congress helped lead to the passage of the “Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act,” and he recently completed his term as a member of the White House’s Commission for Asian American, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. He currently serves on the Board of Gold House, with whom he partners, along with the Asian American Foundation, on the Sunrise Collective, the first ever official AA and NHPI centered House at the Sundance Film Festival. 

Andrew Ng is the Founder of DeepLearning.AI, Managing General Partner at AI Fund, Executive Chairman of LandingAI, Chairman and Co-Founder of Coursera, and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University. As a pioneer in machine learning and online education, Dr. Ng has changed countless lives through his work in AI. Over 8 million people have taken an AI class from him. He was the founding lead of the Google Brain team, which helped Google transform into a modern AI company. He served as VP & Chief Scientist at Baidu, where he led a 1,300-person AI team responsible for the company’s AI technology and strategy. He was formerly Director of the Stanford AI Lab, home to 20+ faculty members and research groups. In 2023, he was named to the Time100 AI list of the most influential AI persons in the world. Dr. Ng now focuses his time primarily on providing AI training and on his entrepreneurial ventures, looking for the best ways to accelerate responsible AI adoption globally. 

Dr. Ng has authored over 200 papers in AI and related fields and holds a B.Sc. from CMU, M.Sc. from MIT, and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. 

Speaker Bios

David Henry Hwang’s stage works include the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face, Golden Child, Chinglish, and The Dance and the Railroad, as well as the musicals Soft Power, Flower Drum Song, and Disney’s Broadway and international hits Aida and Tarzan. The Broadway revival of Yellow Face, starring Daniel Dae Kim, enjoyed a critically-acclaimed limited run in Fall 2024, and will be broadcast in Spring 2025 on PBS’ Great Performances. Called America’s most-produced living opera librettist by Opera News, Hwang has written thirteen operas. Ainadamar, with music by Osvaldo Golijov, made its Metropolitan Opera debut in Fall 2024 and The Monkey King, with music by Huang Ruo, will premiere at San Francisco Opera in November 2025. Hwang’s screenplays include David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly, starring Jeremy Irons, and he is currently penning an Anna May Wong biopic to star Gemma Chan as well as a musical feature film for Paramount Pictures. Hwang co-wrote the Gold Record “Solo” with the late pop music icon Prince and was a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series The Affair from 2015-2019. He is creating a new television show, Billion Dollar Whale, for SK. Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a Grammy Award winner and two-time nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. A professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2018 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021. 

John “Jack” Wadsworth is the Honorary Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and an Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley, globally based in San Francisco. He is also Asia Society Trustee Emeritus. In 1987, he moved to Japan as President of Morgan Stanley Japan, Chairman of its Executive and Operating Committees, and as Head of the Firm’s investment banking business in Asia. In 1991, Mr. Wadsworth moved to Hong Kong as Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia. In 2001, he moved from Hong Kong to San Francisco. Mr. Wadsworth earned a BA from Williams College in 1961, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1963. 

Judge Erica R. Yew has served on the Santa Clara County Superior Court since 2001. In her years as an attorney, Judge Yew was President of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of the Silicon Valley, served on the California State Bar Board of Trustees, Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley, provided leadership to the Asian Law Alliance, the Legal Aid Society, the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services, as well as having served on the Santa Clara County Bar Association’s Board of Trustees. Judge Yew is also an educator, having taught classes on judicial ethics, the elimination of bias in the court system, language access in the legal system, and the function and work of collaborative courts. In 2006, Judge Yew served on the California State Bar and Santa Clara County Bar Association Pipeline Task Forces on Diversity. In 2010, the Supreme Court appointed Judge Yew to the Commission on Judicial Performance. Judge Yew served as a member of the Judicial Council from 2009 to 2012 and currently serves on the Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness. She also serves on the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions.  

Named the 2015 Reporter of the Year by the Associated Press, Robert Handa is a reporter for NBC Bay Area News. Handa also hosts Asian Pacific America with Robert Handa, a weekly talk show featuring Asian newsmakers, events, community, and youth perspectives. Handa has interviewed many prominent figures, including President Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, UFW founder Cesar Chavez, Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, baseball legend Willie Mays, 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, Star Trek actors George Takei and John Cho, and TV star and producer Mindy Kaling. Handa has received several national journalism awards, including two top honors from the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and a first-place award from the National Association of Black Journalists. He has also won multiple Emmys, including one for outstanding investigative reporting, and an Associated Press Award for best documentary. Handa is a South Bay native and an active member of the Bay Area community. 

Margaret Conley, a Bay Area native, is the Executive Director of Asia Society Northern California. She has expanded the Center from San Francisco, to Silicon Valley and Seattle. She served as 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, and is a member of the board of the International Women's Forum Northern California.

Performer Bios

Gamelan Sari Raras is a performing ensemble in the Department of Music at UC Berkeley. Founded in 1988, the ensemble includes students, alumni, and community members, and frequently hosts guest artists from Indonesia. The ensemble is directed by Midiyanto, a renowned gamelan musician and teacher, and features Heni Savitri, a vocalist specializing in traditional Javanese singing styles. The group has performed throughout California and in Indonesia and specializes in wayang kulit, traditional Javanese shadow puppet theater.  

Third-year Adler Fellow Jongwon Han was the Third Prize winner at the 2022 Operalia, The World Opera Competition. Jongwon plays the role of “Buddha” in the upcoming production of Monkey King by the San Francisco Opera. The Korean bass-baritone recently debuted with Atlanta Opera as Schaunard in La Bohème and sang the same role in Bohème Out of the Box with San Francisco Opera, where he also sang Tom in Un Ballo in Maschera and the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, and covered the role of Escamillo in Carmen. Recent career highlights include Han’s San Francisco Opera debut as Il Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, a Voice of the Watchmen in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten and Colline in Bohème Out of the Box, as well as debuts with Dayton Opera in Handel’s Messiah and Palm Beach Opera as Il Bonzo. 

Han was a Grand Finalist in the 2021 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, first prize winner of the Vero Beach Opera Rising Stars, and third place and Audience Choice award winner in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Stephen De Maio Memorial Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and an encouragement award winner in the Gerda Lissner Lieder Competition. Han received his Bachelor of Music degree from Seoul National University and his master’s degree at the Mannes School of Music, and he studied at The Juilliard School in the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program. 

Pianist Julian Grabarek will accompany Jongwon Han's singing performance. He is a recent graduate of the Collaborative Piano program at the University of Michigan. A second-year Adler Fellow, last year’s San Francisco Opera assignments included joining the music staff for The Magic Flute, Carmen, and Bohème Out of the Box. 

Presenters

David Henry Hwang’s stage works include the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face, Golden Child, Chinglish, and The Dance and the Railroad, as well as the musicals Soft Power, Flower Drum Song, and Disney’s Broadway and international hits Aida and Tarzan. The Broadway revival of Yellow Face, starring Daniel Dae Kim, enjoyed a critically-acclaimed limited run in Fall 2024, and will be broadcast in Spring 2025 on PBS’ Great Performances. Called America’s most-produced living opera librettist by Opera News, Hwang has written thirteen operas. Ainadamar, with music by Osvaldo Golijov, made its Metropolitan Opera debut in Fall 2024 and The Monkey King, with music by Huang Ruo, will premiere at San Francisco Opera in November 2025. Hwang’s screenplays include David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly, starring Jeremy Irons, and he is currently penning an Anna May Wong biopic to star Gemma Chan as well as a musical feature film for Paramount Pictures. Hwang co-wrote the Gold Record “Solo” with the late pop music icon Prince and was a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series The Affair from 2015-2019. He is creating a new television show, Billion Dollar Whale, for SK. Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a Grammy Award winner and two-time nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. A professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2018 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021. 

Sheila Melvin is a member of the Advisory Council for Asia Society Northern California. She has been writing about arts and culture in China for more than 15 years. She contributes regularly to The International Herald Tribune and is a culture columnist for Caixin Media Group.  Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wilson Quarterly, and other publications. 

Tom Robertson is Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation, leading the Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs team supporting the Experiences and Devices organization, which includes Windows, Office, Surface devices, Microsoft 365, Teams, Bing, Edge, Microsoft Advertising, and their AI-integrated functionality.  He sits on the boards of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and Town Hall Seattle.  Among other things, he has in the past led Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs team for North Asia, based in Tokyo, served as an Associate General Counsel in the Office of the US Trade Representative, been an attorney at Covington & Burling in DC and London, and served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of Virginia.  He is a Life Member of the Council of Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the U.S. Japan Leadership Program. He is also a member of the Advisory Council for Asia Society Seattle.