2026 GCC Summer Bash: From Passion to Community - Rising Advocate Panel
For Students & Young Adults age 14-25
Volunteer Hours & Free Food & Raffle
Whether you want to launch a club, kick-start a project, or build something meaningful in your school or community, this event is for you.
Spend an afternoon with youth leaders, student founders, and nonprofit changemakers who started exactly where you are. Through candid stories, interactive activities, and meaningful conversations, you'll learn how they turned ideas into communities, overcame setbacks, built teams, and created impact far beyond themselves.
You don't need a perfect plan, a big following, or years of experience to get started. All you need is curiosity and the willingness to take the first step.
Whether you're already leading something or still searching for your passion, you'll leave with new perspectives, practical insights, and connections that can help shape your next chapter.
Come with an idea. Leave with a community.
KEYNOTE
Yuna Youn, LCSW
Director and Clinical Supervisor at the Mental Health Clinic at Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS)
Yuna Youn is a licensed clinical social worker and mental health leader with over a decade of experience supporting individuals and families through anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions. As Director and Clinical Supervisor at KCS, she advances culturally responsive mental health care for immigrant and underserved communities.
Passionate about making mental health conversations more accessible, Yuna uses storytelling as a tool for healing, education, and community empowerment. She authored the comics I’m Speaking and I’m Wide Awake in collaboration with the New York Immigration Coalition. The comics explore challenges faced by youth, including discrimination, identity, and mental well-being, while encouraging resilience, self-advocacy, and connection.
Yuna regularly speaks on mental health, resilience, and youth well-being at conferences, community forums, and professional events across New York and New Jersey.
MODERATOR
Wenting Tina Xu
Program Director, Bonjour Girls · Co-Founder, Lollitune
Tina has built communities from the ground up across every stage of her career — from launching Clarkson University's first-ever fashion show and serving on the E-board of SASE, to hosting the IMA Summit at NYU. As Program Director at Bonjour Girls, she manages flagship events including an annual gathering of 250+ women and the Inspired by TEDx Bonjour Girls panel.
PANELISTS
Dana He
Founder & Executive Director, H.AAPI
Dana He is a Chinese-American community builder who has spent years creating communities that support AAPI professionals and women. She founded H.AAPI, advises Asian Career House, and co-created Asian Girlies Collective — each a space where community, connection, and opportunity can grow. Her work centers on building the structures and networks that help people show up fully, find their people, and move forward together.
Eric Lam
Co-Founder & President, EcoBiz · Western Hemisphere Lead & Director of Chinese Outreach, Bridging Seas
Eric Lam is a first-generation Chinese American and junior at Stuyvesant High School who co-founded EcoBiz, a youth-led nonprofit with 300+ members that educates students on sustainable business and has reached over 10,000 students. He represented EcoBiz at the United Nations ECOSOC Youth Forum as a youth leader in sustainable business. Eric also serves at Bridging Seas, strengthening cross-cultural understanding across the global Chinese diaspora.
Huiting Lei
Volunteer Leader, Glow Together · Co-Leader, Green Team at High School of Economics & Finance
Huiting Lei is a student leader dedicated to sustainability and youth engagement. Since her sophomore year, she has served as Sustainability Co-Leader at the High School of Economics & Finance and Secretary of the Green Team, organizing environmental initiatives and promoting sustainable practices schoolwide. Through her work with Glow Together, she continues to build community through service. She believes leadership starts with showing up — and taking the first step.
Tanisa Rahman
Co-Founder, Project Mango
Tanisa Rahman co-founded Project Mango, a youth-led nonprofit expanding educational access for underserved students in New York City. Driven by a passion for equity in education, she leads initiatives connecting students with free tutoring, organizing academic enrichment programs, and distributing resources to schools and families in need. Her work is rooted in the belief that every student deserves the support to succeed — and that young people can be the ones to make that happen.
Tiantian Wu
U.S. Office Lead, Asian Women Development Plan International (AWDPI)
Tiantian Wu leads U.S. initiatives and partnerships for AWDPI, a global nonprofit operating across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific dedicated to ending gender-based violence and advancing the empowerment of Asian women overseas. Through advocacy, cross-sector collaboration, and community engagement, she works to expand access to resources for underserved communities and advance policies that protect women's rights. She is also an Assistant Vice President at Blaylock Van.
This event is made possible with support from the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), and is presented in collaboration with Apex for Youth, Asian Women Development Plan International, H.AAPI, and Project by Project.