Desert Shangri-La

A life long storyteller and champion of marginalized peoples, Mary David reaches audiences across television, film, radio, print, and new media. She has been featured as a legal and political commentator for television stations including those at ABC, PBS, CBS, FOX, and WUSA9. Formerly a columnist for the Huffington Post, Mary now writes for AWARE Now Magazine, a publication distributed to 17 million + subscribers. Drawing from her background in pageantry with titles and awards in the Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss United States systems, Mary began her work on camera as a host.

At the CW Network, Mary hosted two shows on Washington D.C. nightlife and fashion. She is proud to join ChimeTV as a Correspondent and Associate Producer. Concurrently, Mary is also the Chief Communications Officer for Stopping Traffic, a nonprofit working to eradicate modern-day slavery through awareness campaigns, training, and empowering survivors.

The organization’s award-winning documentary “Surviving Sex Trafficking” was executive produced by Alyssa Milano, Jeannie Mai Jenkins, and Jeezy. It is streaming on four platforms, including most recently STARZ. This past year, Mary joined the inaugural Human Trafficking Advisory Board at Harvard University to revamp human trafficking outreach prevention. For her advocacy, KTLA in Los Angeles honored Mary as an Asian Pacific Islander Visionary alongside George Takei and Cheryl Burke.

Her honors include being named one of the Top 99 Foreign Policy Leaders in the World Under Age 33, a leadership award from the U.S. Department of State, and receiving the 2014 Global Impact Award from Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation in recognition of humanitarian service across the US and abroad. She graduated with a B.A. in Communication and International Relations and holds a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Yasmine Tanres is an On-Air Host, TV Personality and multimedia journalist based in Los Angeles. Originally from London, Yasmine is British with Spanish and Chinese heritage, has worked across Asia and Europe, and is proficient in German and Spanish. She started her career as a multimedia journalist in London for the UK’s first youth-led news platform London360, supported by the BBC. Since then, she has worked for a variety of digital entertainment and news platforms, including PopFuzion TV and Long Beach Local News. Buoyed by confidence and radiating sincerity Yasmine elicits unexpected candor from anyone she interacts with. She has been featured along with her friends on the Netflix hit series ‘Bling Empire’. Throughout her career she has focused on compelling and educational topics that deserve more media representation, such as migrants making an exceptional difference within their communities.

Her primary research and reporting areas include emerging lifestyle trends, entertainment, women’s rights and wellness. Yasmine has co-created, produced and hosted Talking TED Talks, a live video streaming podcast on AfterBuzz TV, where she interviewed the speakers and affiliated experts on the myriad of topics explored in popular TED Talks. During the pandemic she also launched her own podcast show ‘Tea Talks with Yasmine Tanres’ where she interviewed exceptional guests on their journey and their idiosyncrasies. When she’s not on air, Yasmine focuses her efforts in wellness with her yoga and meditation app, Royal Bliss.

A 25-year media industry veteran, Debbie Lee is responsible for ChimeTV’s strategic partnerships in aspects of DE&I corporate social responsibility, sponsorships, live events and the executive production of its signature public affairs show “Owning A Piece of America”. Led Discovery Communications content rights management team and collaborated in DRTV marketing & infomercial production at TIME LIFE.

From financial and operational analysis to turnaround plans and tactical solutions, Takashi has effectively supported the management of a $3Billion and growing portfolio of ultra-high net-worth individuals. Leveraging his vast exposure to the legal community, Takashi entered the entertainment industry as a consultant for award-winning legal dramas like Boston Legal. He continues his creative work today as a film producer and recently completed production on several full- feature projects.

Non-Profit Boards

President – Children Mending Hearts (Founded by Lysa and her husband— writer, director, producer and Academy Award winner Grant Heslov to teach children empathy and courage.)

Director – Project Angel Food (Prepares and delivers over one million medically tailored meals to the under- served and sick in So. Cal.)

President – Society One Foundation (Provides mentoring and tuition assistance for AAPI kids in underserved communities)

A Few of His Projects

AchievaMed – In 2017, the collapse of the nation’s largest health care enterprise responsible for managing 1.2 million Californians shook up the industry. The abrupt shut down of the company left a dozen health plans and the Department of Managed Health Care panicking. To help avoid a tumultuous transition to new management, Takashi formed Achievamed as the intermediary. In the span of 12 (twelve) months, Achievamed successfully completed the run out of claims for these 1.2 million members. Not a single person was ever in any imminent danger of not receiving medically necessary healthcare services. Not a single person experienced delayed or unfulfilled services.

ChimeTV – First Asian American Network in English Language on Cable. Chief Creative Officer charged to develop and showcase the best of Asian entertainment in the English language sharing stories, issues, heritage and cultures that are uniquely of Asian experience and perspective that have never before been seen on screen in English only.

GoldenTV – Global Streaming Platform and Content Management

Developing an all-in-one marketplace solution for intellectual property and story rights by providing comprehensive tools designed to connect them to members of the entertainment industry to get those stories transacted. Advanced technology enabling matchmaking the story to the ideal director, producer and writer.

Investing extensively in building an impactful slate and ecosystem, state of the art cameras, production and post-production equipment along with the commitment to deploy 100m, several Asian American centric projects have already completed with dozens in development and pre-production.

Whereabouts Unknown – Production Company

Proudly partnering with veteran and one of Hollywood’s top casting agents, John Papsidera along with film producers Sean McEwen and Cassidy Lunnen, Whereabouts is already in production for several films and tv shows with a focus on real life stories.

Society One – Private Club

The club itself has acquired key luxury real estate in Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Malibu with a goal to enhance the presence, influence and participation of its members in the most elite circles of society. It will strategize creative partnerships to create opportunities along with a long term development target to raise the profile and integrity of emerging artists and entrepreneurs.

John Chiang serves on the board of directors of Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc., Chijet Motors and the Deep Medicine Acquisition Corporation. In addition, he further services on the corporate advisory boards of Pasadena Private Lending and Adept Development.

From 2015 to 2019, John served as California’s 33rd State Treasurer. As the state’s banker, he oversaw trillions of dollars in annual transactions, managed a $75 billion investment portfolio, and was the nation’s largest issuer of municipal bonds.

Prior to being elected Treasurer, John served as State Controller from 2007 to 2014. During the Great Recession, he took steps to preserve cash to meet obligations to education and bond holders. His cash management decisions, which included delaying payments and issuing IOUs, were instrumental in keeping the state’s credit rating from plunging into junk status, and his actions saved taxpayers millions of dollars. John aggressively used his audit programs to identify more than $9.5 billion of fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs, the most by any Controller in California’s history.

In 1998, John was elected to California’s Board of Equalization and served two terms, including three years as Chair.

John is a member of the Board of Councilors at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Treasurer of the California State Guard Foundation and a leadership council member of California Forward.

John served as an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow, Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow, and USC Center for the Political Future Fellow. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida and Georgetown University Law Center.

Jessica Li is originally from Shanghai China and is the CEO of Modell Talent based in Los Angeles. A well-respected business owner in the Chinese community she has been coaching Chinese and Asian talent of all ages for many years. Jessica graduated from FIT in New York City with a Bachelor degree in marketing and fashion business. Additionally, she is a California licensed realtor, fashion show producer, and event coordinator.

Warren supports ChimeTV‘s programming team in acquiring and developing scripted and documentary content. Before his role at ChimeTV, Warren previously worked as a Development Intern at Paperclip Limited. He earned his BA in Government from Dartmouth College, where he was an Executive Editor of the Dartmouth Law Journal.

As Chief of Staff at ChimeTV, Ariel McCarty oversees daily operations and plays a central role in mobilizing logistics and resources necessary within the company. She assists CEO and Founder, Faith Bautista on special projects and organizes strategic business initiatives from ideation to implementation. She is an alumni of the California State University -Northridge and a social media influencer and branding specialist.

A Filipina Canadian with over a decade of film industry experience, Trixie is responsible for curating ChimeTV programming that highlights the diverse stories, issues, heritage, and achievements of the AAPI community. Her unique perspective on programming stems from her experience heading Script Development at Drive Films and her background in screenwriting, producing, and brand marketing.

Bob Rose brings several decades of invaluable cable TV network leadership to the ChimeTV team. He has an outstanding track record of increasing company asset value in mature and start-up environments. Bob is recognized as a collaborative, creative, and thoughtful leader. As EVP Distribution, he drove affiliate revenue of both CBS Sports Network (2006-2013) and Court TV (1992 – 2006) to well over $100 million annually. Court TV reached a valuation of nearly $1.5 billion when Bob took its subscriber base to 86 million HH’s.

Bob also worked in the non-profit sector, where he was Group Vice President at Sesame Street, responsible for worldwide licensing, including the expansion of Sesame Street’s theme park to Tokyo, Japan and Monterey, Mexico, as well as the creation of Sesame Street General Stores in the US. He cut his teeth when cable was in its infancy (USA Networks, Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment Co.), and on Madison Avenue with Benton & Bowles Advertising and Kurtz & Tarlow.

Bob is married to Alison Rose (Estee Lauder) and has two children, Maxwell 27 (Airline pilot) and Madeline 29 (Madeline Rose Digital Media, LLC).

“The AAPI creative community is underrepresented on TV screens despite the significant contributions they bring to America’s culture and economy. ChimeTV will ensure their incredible stories and creativity will be presented.” -Bob Rose

Emmanuel Williams is a talented storyteller who combines education, entertainment, and enthusiasm in his art. He creates online content and production for brands and TV shows using his experience in cinematography, writing, and directing. With a passion for showcasing art and depth through storytelling, relatability, and his own experiences, Emmanuel specializes in content creation that offers a unique perspective on the world. He is also a competitor on season 14 of American Ninja Warrior and the founder of Project BLKSheep – a clothing brand that empowers people to embrace their authenticity.

Tad Yo is a member of the Network of Korean American Leaders and the CEO of Ascend Sports and Entertainment, a full-service agency based out of Irvine, California. He previously spent ten-years as the Executive Director of Baseball Operations for Asia for the Boras Corporation. Tad has extensive experience and background in cable programming, distribution, marketing, finance, media sales, and operations, serving as the Vice President and General Manager of Time Warner Cable, Los Angeles Division. Other roles within Time Warner Cable include Vice President of Business Operations and Development, where he managed the strategic direction of the company while cultivating new business opportunities. Yo is a graduate of the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, earning a BSBA degree in Finance/Marketing in 1994. In 1996, Yo completed his MBA with an emphasis in Finance from his alma mater. He is also an alumnus of the Walter Kaitz Foundation and CTAM University at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School. In his community, he has served on the boards of the Orange County Forum, The Padrinos at CHOC, Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert and California State University – San Bernardino.

Yoonj immigrated from South Korea as a child and is a naturalized American citizen. She is an award-winning television journalist, writer, and producer who has reported from four continents. She has received recognition for her coverage of immigration and the drug war, homelessness, environmentalism, and the 2020 presidential campaigns. She is a former Correspondent at MTV News, hosting and writing viral segments on social and political issues for its flagship news show Need to Know, and is the former host/creator of MTV News’s HOLD UP!, a docu-series tackling established assumptions with a fresh perspective. Yoonj is the recipient of the 2020 WOWIE Award for Outstanding Correspondent, beating fellow nominees Trevor Noah and Anderson Cooper; winner of the 2017 Los Angeles Press Club Award for Best Investigative Series; and a Webby Award Honoree, among other distinctions. Yoonj has been a correspondent and Producer at Mic and MSNBC. As a writer, she has published in The Washington Post, Slate, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, and other outlets. She was a columnist for Bitch, penning a series called “Model Media” on race, gender, and the entertainment industry, and at 22 was the youngest person to be accepted into The Guardian‘s Diversity Writer’s Workshop. Yoonj has a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She speaks Korean, German, and Spanish.

Jessica is opening doors to ChimeTV Ambassadors, International Asian influencers, as well as investors. Jessica was born in the Philippines and thrust into the role of provider after the murder of her mother when she was fifteen. With four siblings under her care, she began work early, first as a live mannequin and later as a model, actress, talent manager and television host. Telly Award and Communicator Award winning host of The Polished Woman.podcast show on La Talk Radio. Jessica’s book, Date Like a Girl, Marry Like a Women: The Polished Woman’s Guide to Love, Romance and Sex is an Amazon favorite. She is a Reality TV Star known for appearances on “Making A Model with Yolanda Hadid” on Lifetime network and the E docuseries “ Raising A F***ing Star with her daughter model and recording artist Breanna Bunevacz. She is also the creator of “The Polished Woman” brand.

Nearly 20 year media background includes critical roles within the Programming, Acquisitions, Distribution, and Business Development teams at HBO, Univision, Sinclair Broadcasting, El Rey Network, New Line Cinema, Rooster Teeth Productions, WarnerMedia, FilmRise, Fuse Media, Cinedigm, and several others. Dan is a Film School graduate from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Director Advertising Sales and Marketing and President of OCA Sacramento Chapter. In the past two decades, Jinky has committed her life to advocate, serve and advance the Asian American community in Sacramento and beyond. During her work at ChimeTV and other media company, Jinky helped countless of government entities, non-profit and commercial brands to connect with Asian audience in English, in-language and in a culturally meaningful way. Understanding that Asian Americans have been traditionally under-represented, Jinky strives to combat this inequality, so that crucial and useful information can be accessible to this “often stereotyped and oversimplified” community.

Outside work, Jinky and her OCA team lead over 30 initiatives every year to provide Asian Americans, especially women and the young professionals, with the resources and platform to practice leadership, find support, and continuously grow. Jinky is also an active board member of City of Elk Grove Diversity Inclusion Commission, Anchor University Advisory Council at CSUS, Pacific Rim Heritage Foundation, Filipino Fiesta, Sierra Donor Services Advisory Board.

Globally well known for co-starring in the Hollywood blockbuster film The Last Samurai and starring in Disney movie Wendy Homecoming Warrior on Disney+. Koyamada is also well established producer of entertainment contents at Shinca Entertainment and internationally recognized for his philanthropic efforts at Koyamada International Foundation (KIF).

Coming from an industry where paying attention to details, applying common sense and approaching tasks in a methodical way are the norms, this veteran in private practice Pediatrics brings 33 years experience of not only managing growth and disease uncertainties on his little patients but also running a successful Pediatric group in the not so distant past.

Taka, as he likes to be called, husband of Faith Bautista, brings into the organization a sense of stability and accountability, a fresh diplomatic no non-sense style within ChimeTV’s “no dress code and no drama” culture.

His leadership proclivities started to show during his adolescent years. Growing up in his native Peru, he was a founding member and first Director of the Medical Science Department of a Japanese undergraduate youth organization in Lima. Several decades later he became an advisor and English translator to former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori when Mr. Fujimori was exiled in Japan and Chile.

His medical research in Measles at his alma mater, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, caught the attention of the Neurovirology Department at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD) and his 38 years old publications are still referenced in current review articles in virology and infectious diseases. He also participated as medical consultant for Univision’s “Despierta America” hosted by the legendary Amelia Macchiavello.

Pragmatism, analytical, out-of-the-box thinking, relentless dedication and passion for AAPI issues and Asian matters in general is what Taka is all about inside ChimeTV.

Faith Bautista is the founder and CEO of the first Asian owned television network, ChimeTV. She currently serves as the President & CEO of the National Diversity Coalition (NDC), an organization of community organizers, faith-based leaders, nonprofit directors and business owners advocating for the voiceless and working collectively for greater financial equality and empowerment for underserved groups. Faith Bautista advocates in the halls of Congress, in the California legislature, and in front of key federal legislators such as the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, FHFA, FTC, FCC and SEC and among America’s Fortune 500 corporations, as a major voice for the ethnic minority.

Faith currently serves on the corporate advisory board for FCC, First Republic Bank, Chair of T-Mobile California Advisory Board, Co chair for PG&E, OCWEN Mortgage, Royal Business Bank, Charter Communications, and Council of Filipino American Chamber of Commerce that has 24 chambers in the US. Faith was also a member of the Office of Thrift Supervision Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee and sat on the Low-Income Oversight Board for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Faith is the host of a prime-time news show on Charter cable television, Spectrum News 1 “Owning a Piece of America,” conceived in 2014 that discusses issues such as the future of homeownership, small business lending, technical assistance and consumer protection. Through her leadership, she has gained the support of Corporate America in reaching out to minority groups and has been a leading advocate for low-income and underserved communities.