Tom brings over 20 years of combined professional experience as an educator, consultant, and nonprofit executive–career highlights include teaching positions in a number of higher education institutions, former Executive Director of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and currently serving as the Vice President of Development & External Relations for the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF).
Moreover, he has received a number of honors from City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and United States Congress for his leadership and excellence in community empowerment efforts. In 2009, he was appointed as the first Asian American to serve as a Commissioner for the City of Long Beach Economic Development Commission.
Tom holds a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Psychology from Thomas Edison State University, MS in Education from California State University East Bay and MA in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University-where he is also a Ph.D. candidate in Human Development