Notice: Asian Female Role Model Series

[kasia]

i'm going to start posting profiles of asian female role models in our community. a new asian female role model will selected every other week. to nominate someone (even a fellow yw member), please private message me with the individual's picture and a brief blurb on why you believe she should be a YW role model :)


Featured:

1. Angela Oh (http://forums.yellowworld.org/index.php?act=ST&f=40&t=4868)
2. Maya Ying Lin (http://forums.yellowworld.org/index.php?act=ST&f=40&t=5325)
3. Mari Matsuda (http://66.246.77.119/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=40&t=5910)
4. Patsy T Mink (http://forums.yellowworld.org/index.php?act=ST&f=40&t=6954&s=)
5. Yuri Kochiyama (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=376117#post376117)
6. Thuy Thi Nguyen (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=162774#post162774)
7. Lee Takasugi (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?t=12626)
8. Judy Chu (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=365067#post365067)
9. Chloe Christine Pang (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=447366#post447366)
10. Maxine Hong Kingston (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=461499#post461499)
11. Iris Chang (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=501930#post501930)

[Commando_turned_MD]

I vote for KASIA..... :P

[LCY]

Awesome. I'll have to go look for some people to nominate.

[SunWuKong]

what a minute, do they have to be alive? and if not, how dead are they allowed to be?

[kasia]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jan 25 2003, 07:24 AM
what a minute, do they have to be alive? and if not, how dead are they allowed to be?
doesn't matter. i don't see why that should be a factor.

[Shuriken]

http://voices.cla.umn.edu/images/Kingston_a.gif

How about Maxine Hong Kingston?

[Shuriken]

http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/biographies/mink/images/mink2.jpg

Patsy Takemoto Mink (1928-2002)

[Shuriken]

http://www.aamovement.net/art_culture/art_culture_images/passionforjustice.jpg

Yuri Nakahara Kochiyama

[Shuriken]

http://www.queenstribune.com/archives/confarchive/2000/0127/chen-0127.gif

Joan Chen

(born Chen Chong in Shanghai, China, 1961)

Hollywood squandered this beautiful and talented actress after her breakthrough performance in the multiple Oscar-winning movie The Last Emperor (1987). Frustrated with being typecast as a straight-to-video sexpot, she stepped behind the camera and became the first Asian woman to direct a Hollywood-financed feature film, MGM's Autumn in New York.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Shuriken@Feb 3 2003, 06:33 PM
http://www.aamovement.net/art_culture/art_culture_images/passionforjustice.jpg

Yuri Nakahara Kochiyama
i second the vote for yuri definitely.

[Shuriken]

http://www.gesuiti.it/popoli/anno2001/immagini/20010803.jpg

If you're interested in role models from the continent of Asia, there's

Aung San Suu Kyi

[kitty]

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/8370/bai4.jpg

bai ling (for Red Corner)

[Shuriken]

Originally posted by kittygirl@Feb 17 2003, 01:50 AM
bai ling (for Red Corner)
Do you really think that her performance in that one movie makes her a role model? What else has she done?

[kitty]

Originally posted by Shuriken@Feb 17 2003, 06:10 PM
Do you really think that her performance in that one movie makes her a role model? What else has she done?
not that her performance was all that good, but that she was willing to stand up against the Chinese gov't for it.

[Shuriken]

Originally posted by kittygirl@Feb 18 2003, 04:58 PM
not that her performance was all that good, but that she was willing to stand up against the Chinese gov't for it.
But that was the character, not the actress herself. One shouldn't confuse the two. I think that a woman ought to be more than just a working actress in order to be considered as a role model. Has she done anything out of the ordinary, as Joan Chen did by overcoming her sex-vixen niche in the industry and directing a Hollywood feature?

[yoMAMA]

I nominate Kelly Hu, for being pretty.

That's all :D

[Elizabeth A.]

Originally posted by Shuriken@Feb 16 2003, 05:38 PM
http://www.gesuiti.it/popoli/anno2001/immagini/20010803.jpg

If you're interested in role models from the continent of Asia, there's

Aung San Suu Kyi
I second this nomination. Aung San Suu Kyi is the first women who came to my mind when "Asian Female Role Model" was mentioned. Unless this is strictly for Asian-Americans.

[yoMAMA]

I really admire Aung San Suu Kyi too.

On a related note, have you guys and gals seen Beyond Ragoon?

It was a great movie, a must have for my DVD collection.

[Shuriken]

Originally posted by yoMAMA@Feb 26 2003, 05:34 AM
I really admire Aung San Suu Kyi too.

On a related note, have you guys and gals seen Beyond Ragoon?

It was a great movie, a must have for my DVD collection.
Not only have I seen Beyond Rangoon, but I attended its premiere at the Directors Guild Theatre in Hollywood in 1995. (Hey, I gotta boast about these things while I can :D .) I have to disagree with you, though, about it being a good movie. That film has one fatal flaw: after she rescues her driver, the main character (Patricia Arquette) has nothing to do for most of the movie — she just looks on as the Burmese characters make their way to the Thai border. To me, it came off as yet another one of Hollywood's Asian-themed movies that has a white main character just for the sake of having a white main character, even if that character feels imposed upon the story (others include Come See the Paradise and The Lost Empire). That's my opinion, anyway.

Here's a little trivia about Beyond Rangoon: The actress who plays the cameo role of Aung San Suu Kyi in the film is Adelle Lutz, the wife of rock star David Byrne (formerly of Talking Heads) and the sister of the late model and fashion designer Tina Chow (née Bettina Louise Lutz), which also makes her China Chow's aunt. Small world, idn't it?

[haku]

I'd nominate Yuri Kochiyama , civil rights leader....
http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/biographies/kochiy...hiyama-bio.html (http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/biographies/kochiyama/kochiyama-bio.html)

Evelyn Lee, who just passed away at the age of 58, a pioneer in Asian American Psychiatry
Evelyn Lee, Ed.D., LCSW, is a professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and has more than 34 years of management, clinical and consulting experience in mental health. Dr. Lee is an active advocate for Asian American issues, and has authored more than 25 articles and book chapters on mental health and cross-cultural subjects.

Lela Lee, all of you know her...lots of entertainment figures who are also advocates and presences, but I'm not sure if they qualify as "role models" per se (Tamlyn Tomita, Kayo Hatta, Emiko Omori, Margaret Cho, the list goes on...at least a little bit more...) And this doesn't even count the Asian Asian women...

Thanks for this thread!

[Chris]

Originally posted by yoMAMA@Feb 25 2003, 09:34 PM
I really admire Aung San Suu Kyi too.

On a related note, have you guys and gals seen Beyond Ragoon?

It was a great movie, a must have for my DVD collection.
she my nominee for the next role model. :)

[Cipherous]

Originally posted by Elizabeth A.@Feb 25 2003, 07:42 PM
Originally posted by Shuriken@Feb 16 2003, 05:38 PM
http://www.gesuiti.it/popoli/anno2001/immagini/20010803.jpg

If you're interested in role models from the continent of Asia, there's

Aung San Suu Kyi
I second this nomination. Aung San Suu Kyi is the first women who came to my mind when "Asian Female Role Model" was mentioned. Unless this is strictly for Asian-Americans.
Can't go wrong with her, she faces death at any moment yet she persists.

[kasia]

i just had a new idea.

i have a couple of role models in mind - but would like a YW female member to interview them personally and write an article for the forum. would anyone be interested? i could match the interviewers/interviewees by career interests. for example, if you're an aspiring lawyer, i could set an interview up with you and a successful asian female attorney that has made an impact on the APA community. i could do the same for those interested in business, medicine, and so on. this would also be a great way - for those of you who are younger - to learn how to network.

[tapestrybabe]

i just had a new idea.

i have a couple of role models in mind - but would like a YW female member to interview them personally and write an article for the forum. would anyone be interested? i could match the interviewers/interviewees by career interests. for example, if you're an aspiring lawyer, i could set an interview up with you and a successful asian female attorney that has made an impact on the APA community. i could do the same for those interested in business, medicine, and so on. this would also be a great way - for those of you who are younger - to learn how to network.
OMG,
i just read this...
and i'm just SO TOTALLY GAME to this!!!
TOTALLy count me in...

[kasia]

OMG,
i just read this...
and i'm just SO TOTALLY GAME to this!!!
TOTALLy count me in...

hey tj,

would you like to start? who would you like to interview? (i.e., is there anyone in particular or perhaps a particular field of interest?) maybe i can set something up.

[tapestrybabe]

hey tj,

would you like to start? who would you like to interview? (i.e., is there anyone in particular or perhaps a particular field of interest?) maybe i can set something up.
OMG!!!
COOLNESS man... i get to be the VERY FIRST...
and yeah, OMG... okay... there's Helie Lee... korean american author who wrote In The Absence of Son... http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0609609343
i actually got to meet her this summer at the korean heritage camp... read her book and everything... i hardly think she would remember me tho... but yeah, she ROCKS!! lives on the west coast tho... and OMG, yeah... there's Soyoo Park [http://soyooart.com/] she's a korean american artist that lives on the east coast RIGHT HERE in NJ!!!! a tapestry artists... she's become my personal instructor... i visit her every thursday now... she's also really involved in the korean american community... has taught korean art classes at the korean school here in nj... and yeah, she ROCKS too... but yeah, i'd be open to other ppl...

COOLNESS!!!
i love this new idea...

[kasia]

OMG!!!
COOLNESS man... i get to be the VERY FIRST...
and yeah, OMG... okay... there's Helie Lee... korean american author who wrote In The Absence of Son... http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0609609343
i actually got to meet her this summer at the korean heritage camp... read her book and everything... i hardly think she would remember me tho... but yeah, she ROCKS!! lives on the west coast tho... and OMG, yeah... there's Soyoo Park [http://soyooart.com/] she's a korean american artist that lives on the east coast RIGHT HERE in NJ!!!! a tapestry artists... she's become my personal instructor... i visit her every thursday now... she's also really involved in the korean american community... has taught korean art classes at the korean school here in nj... and yeah, she ROCKS too... but yeah, i'd be open to other ppl...

COOLNESS!!!
i love this new idea...

i know who helie lee is - ab and i have seen her here in l.a. as well.

i would love to learn more about your personal instructor, though - since tapestry is what you do. i'll pm you.

[SunWuKong]

this is a good idea. by using women that are not vastly famous, people feel like they are closer to them, and can feel that their status is achievable.

[achtungbaby]

i nominate sui sin far

love,
prof. frink

http://www.english.upenn.edu/~yoonmeec/todir/ssfone.html

http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/engl462/far.htm
would you like to interview her and write an article for our series?

[tapestrybabe]

i know who helie lee is - ab and i have seen her here in l.a. as well.

i would love to learn more about your personal instructor, though - since tapestry is what you do. i'll pm you.Oh man, way cool...
helie lee... she's awesome...
she actually plans on returning next year to the korean heritage camp to do another writing workshop here in nj... she does a lot of speeches nationwide... and i think she's just a great public speaker... soyoo is really cool too... last semester she visited my university... when she gave a presenation of her works... thats how i first met her... and i currently have started to meet with her every thursday at her personal studio in closter, nj...

and i'm looking forward to the interview with soyoo... and being able to write a little article about her and her accomplishments...

:)

[tapestrybabe]

i know who helie lee is - ab and i have seen her here in l.a. as well.

i would love to learn more about your personal instructor, though - since tapestry is what you do.
i got the chance to see soyoo today...
one of the questions that was suggested that i ask was... were there any obstacles that she had to overcome... and to be honest... while talking to her... the word obstacle doesnt seem to be a part of her vocabulary... but she's just like the most POSITIVE person one could ever meet... anyways, it was cool to learn interesting stories about her... i'll submit a brief article about her... sometime in the beginning of next week...

[tapestrybabe]

hey all...
i just wanted to say i havent forgotten about submitting the article about soyoo park... i saw her again today... and she knows about yw and the asian female role model series... and how i have plans on writing an article about her... so yeah...

i'm currently working on a tapestry weaving... that has to do with what the different korean colors symbolize... well... i havent actually started weaving... since she wants me to wait until i see her next time... she's seen my previous works, knows my technical mistakes... and wants to guide me from the very start...

anyways, i enjoy visiting her studio every thursday. i'm unable to afford her classes... so in return for her services... after my afternoon session with her... i just help out with the maintanece of the studio... and she actually allows me to stay for the entire day... in the afternoon, theres only a few of us... and the students are adult females- white... and quite elderly... like they gotta be over 60 years of age... like retired ppl... but they do amazing tapestry works... and its cool... during lunch time... we all have korean lunch together...

and than during the evening... she teaches drawing classes to younger kids, and high school students... mostly all korean speaking students... Closter, NJ is actually very well known for its korean community...

anyways, i'll be seeing her this monday... visiting her house this time... so she wont be so busy with other students... so it will be easier for me to have more of an indepth conversation with her... and me, i'm excited that i've gotten to know this korean american woman and artist... i see a lot of promise when it comes to what i see myself accomplishing when it comes to having her as my intructor... so i'm still excited about writing an article about soyoo... and having her get the chance to read what i end up having to say...

[LCY]

i just had a new idea.

i have a couple of role models in mind - but would like a YW female member to interview them personally and write an article for the forum. would anyone be interested? i could match the interviewers/interviewees by career interests. for example, if you're an aspiring lawyer, i could set an interview up with you and a successful asian female attorney that has made an impact on the APA community. i could do the same for those interested in business, medicine, and so on. this would also be a great way - for those of you who are younger - to learn how to network.

I'm interested, but I'm not sure who I'd like to interview. I'm currently in Hawaii, by the way.

[kasia]

I'm interested, but I'm not sure who I'd like to interview. I'm currently in Hawaii, by the way.

are you working already or do you have a particular career path in mind?

[tapestrybabe]

i remember in college, i took this woman studies course and we ended up having to interview our own mothers... or grandmothers... and during that time... we had to tape record the conversation... and if you have a tape recorder... i think thats actually a good idea when it comes to interviewing someone for this asian female model series... that way... you dont have to stumble on taking notes... and interrupt the person... to ask them a question about what you may have missed... but you can just let it ripp and have the person tell their story...

Also, just from experience with this project... plan out your questions that you want to ask. In addition, make sure you schedule the interview when theres flexibility with the time... so the interview/conversation can run at least an hour or so... which has been kinda my mistake... i'll be seeing soyoo again this monday... but there wont be any students involved in her home... so, there wont be so much of a distraction...

and i think telling them about yw and how its for the asian female role model series... and how your interested in writing an article about them-- and knowing that the person that your interviewing will be reading what you have to say about them.. just makes it all the more exciting... when it comes to involving yourself in this project...

[LCY]

Kasia, I sent you an email.

Thanks for the tips, tapestrybabe. I used to have a tape recorder, but someone else has it now.

[Korean Hunk]

Andrea Jung-CEO of Avon.

[SunWuKong]

Andrea Jung-CEO of Avon.

i second that.

[amietron]

i second that.
http://goldsea.com/WW/Jungandrea/andrea.jpg

http://goldsea.com/WW/Jungandrea/jungandrea.html

[younggiftedandblack]

Hmmm I never noticed this thread before.

Here's one I did in the biz section a few months ago

Loida Nicolas Lewis (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?t=13799)

[amietron]

Hmmm I never noticed this thread before.
did my name attract you to it?

Here's one I did in the biz section a few months ago

Loida Nicolas Lewis (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?t=13799)
your pictures aren't working anymore. =(

"I run the company like a household, with fairness and clear expectations."
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/4485/loida1.html


i like that.

[haku]

Did anyone notice the announcement: Maya Lin was just nominated for induction into the Hall of Great Women, where I think she will be the only living Asian American woman. Patsy Mink was inducted posthumously.

Anyone up for an organized Yellowworld Trip to view the induction and support Maya? This will happen October 7-8, 2005.... email me!

http://www.greatwomen.org/news.php?action=view&id=37

HALL NAMES 2005 INDUCTEES
FORMER FIRST LADY, ARCHITECT/DESIGNER AMONG NEXT CLASS OF INDUCTEES TO NATIONAL WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME

SENECA FALLS, NY, July 14, 2004 ñ As the nation prepares to commemorate the 156TH anniversary of the first womenís rights convention, the National Womenís Hall of Fame announces its 2005 Inductees.

Included in the group of ten outstanding American women are health advocate Betty Bumpers, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, scientist Dr. Rita Colwell and renowned architect Maya Lin. These women, along with six historic figures, will be inducted during a weekend of ceremonies October 7-8, 2005.

ìThese ten women embody the fulfillment of the 1848 conventioneerís vision of womenís potential. Each of the inductees represents her own version of the American dream. None of their achievements would have been possible without the work of the brave women and men who convened the first womenís rights convention. We are honored to share their stories of perseverance and accomplishment with the nation and the world,î said the Hallís President, Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker......

Maya Lin (1959 - ) Lin, an architect who gained fame at the age of 21 as creator of the Vietnam Veteranís Memorial, is a Chinese-American who draws on a variety of culturally diverse sources for her inspiration. Some of her well-known works include the Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL and The Wave Field at the University of Michigan.

[younggiftedandblack]

I came across Ms. Ming in a magazine I was reading. I'm not sure if she's been metioned yet.

Jenny Ming

Jenny Ming is President of Old Navy, a division of Gap Inc., a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products. As part of the executive team that introduced Old Navy in 1994, Jenny helped Old Navy make history as the first retailer ever to reach $1 billion in annual sales in less than four years.

Jenny joined Gap Inc. in 1986 as Merchandise Manager of Gap brand activewear. Since then, she has held the positions of Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager for Gap brand activewear, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Old Navy, and Executive Vice President of Merchandising. As President of Old Navy since 1999, Jenny also is a member of Gap Inc.'s Executive Leadership Team.

In 1998, she was featured on the cover of Working Woman magazine. In 2000, she was named by Business Week magazine as one of the nation's Top 25 Managers. Jenny has been on the Board of Epiphany since 2001 and sits on the nonprofit Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula.

http://www.pbwc.org/conf_2004/images/jenny_ming.jpg

[nola]

Old Navy and Gap make cute clothes but are very high on the shitlist for using sweatshop labor.

One of the worst for sweatshop labor is Asian-owned Forever 21.

[mrazntre]

If white people say that they can talk shit on asians because "some of their best friends are asians."
Asians should have the right to enslave their brethren to sewing machines JUST BECAUSE WE'RE ASIAN.

Anyhow, I didn't know that an Asian woman headed Old Navy. That's actually kind of cool. I wonder if any of their clothes are fashioned to Asians. It's geared towards young people, that's for sure.

[younggiftedandblack]

Le Ly Hayslip

http://www.wic.org/pic/lhayslip.gif
Biography (http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/bio/hayslip_l.htm)

[younggiftedandblack]

Dr. Kathryn Au

http://static.flickr.com/31/99440378_43ced52d82.jpg

Kathryn Au is professor of education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently directing a teacher education program aimed at increasing the number of Native Hawaiian teachers in schools in their own communities. Her research interest is the school literacy development of students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Professor Au has published more than 70 articles on the topic in addition to a textbook, Literacy Instruction in Multicultural Settings. She has served on the editorial advisory boards of Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, and Journal of Literacy Research, among others. Professor Au served on the board of directors for the International Reading Association, and she has been elected to the Reading Hall of Fame.


Dr. Lilly Wong Fillmore

http://www.carla.umn.edu/conferences/past/LTE2003/fillmore.gif

Dr. Lily Wong Fillmore

Professor, Department of Language and Literacy, Society, and Culture,
University of California-Berkeley


Lily Wong Fillmore is the Jerome A. Hutto Professor of Education, at the University of California - Berkeley. Much of her research has focused on issues related to the education of language minority students in American schools. Her professional specializations are second language learning and teaching, the education of language minority students, and the socialization of children for learning across cultures. Over the past thirty years, she has conducted studies of second language learners in school settings. Her most recent study is of the language resources of Alaskan Native children in several Yup’ik villages along the Yukon River. She is currently engaged in studies of the academic language demands of high stakes tests such as California’s High School Exit Examination and the SAT-9, and considerations of what kind of instructional support is needed by English language learners and speakers of English dialects (e.g., African-American English, Alaskan Village English, Chicano English, etc.) to deal successfully with such tests and other uses of academic language. Another area of work that has engaged Fillmore in the past decade is the revitalization of indigenous languages in the Southwest. She has been working with leaders in several pueblos in New Mexico in support of language programs for the teaching of heritage languages to the children in those communities. Her recent publications include "What Teachers Need to Know About Language" (with C. Snow); "Language in Education"; and "The Loss of Family Languages: Should Educators Be Concerned?" She recently received an award from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in recognition of her work promoting the learning and use of Spanish by Spanish speaking children in the United States.

Also here's a cool website I came across while researching something for a paper.

Some Noteworthy Americans of Asian or Pacific Island Heritage (http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/asiabio.htm)

[n3bulous]

so we can post instead of PM'ing kasia?


Yen Le Espiritu
http://www.ethnicstudies.ucsd.edu/Images/yenvn.031.gif

Professor of Ethnic Studies, UCSD.

Don't know much about her, other than her book Home Bound: Filipino American Lives across Cultures, Communities, and Countries.
(have it, but stopped reading halfway through and never finished)

What's her story, ethnic wise, and with her last name? My guess is she's Viet with a Filipino husband.



hmmm...i wonder if she posts here already?

[kasia]

i'ts actually better to PM me, so i can do the features.

[nola]

n3bulous, she's a role model of mine too. She wrote Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws, and Love. Viet married to Filipino. She's only 45 or something. http://www.ethnicstudies.ucsd.edu/faculty/espiritu.shtml

[Sunflare]

A surgeon builds a business by believing in herself
Cleveland.com
Posted by Marcia Pledger July 30, 2008 16:16PM
Categories: Breaking News, Impact, Medical, Women in business

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/07/medium_feng.jpg
Dr. Lu-Jean Feng says you have to believe in yourself first, before you can get other people to believe in your dreams. Eight years after she started Pepper Pike-based Lu-Jean Feng Clinic, sales have climbed to more than $5 million.

( Note: Full image too large for post. Click here (http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/07/feng.jpg) for full 2037 x 3055 pixel image. )

Dr. Lu-Jean Feng says you have to believe in yourself first, before you can get other people to believe in your dreams. Eight years after she started Pepper Pike-based Lu-Jean Feng Clinic, sales have climbed to more than $5 million.Dr. Lu-Jean Feng needed a new location as the Mt. Sinai Medical Center was closing in 2000. It seemed like the perfect time for the surgeon to start her own outpatient center. Her accountant advised her to find another job instead.

As the hospital's head of microvascular plastic surgery, Feng had spent the previous 10 years focusing on breast reconstruction. She wanted to move into more facial and elective cosmetic surgery, so she wasn't fazed when her new accountant told her that other plastic surgeons with outpatient surgery centers ended up selling or redirecting their businesses.

"He said, 'So what makes you think you can make a go of it?'" Feng recalled of the meeting they had before she opened The Lu-Jean Feng Clinic in Pepper Pike.

"I told him that we can make every component of the surgical experience better by creating a wholesome, nice atmosphere. . . . He didn't get it," Feng said.

About Lu-Jean Feng

Title: Medical director, The Lu-Jean Feng Clinic, Pepper Pike.

How to build a business: Surround yourself with exceptional talent. "You're only as good as the people on your team."

Her biggest challenges: Coming to America from Taiwan to start a new life at the age of 12 and building a health and wellness center from scratch.

Her best advice: "Don't ever compromise on your principles or ethical values, no matter what."

Even though the accountant had good intentions, Feng's reality is different from most people's. It takes a lot more than a pessimistic conversation to dissuade someone who entered Yale at age 16. At age 12, she and her mother moved to the United States from Taipei, Taiwan to join her father.

"I could read English when I moved to the United States, but I had no comprehension," she said. "It's hard for a Chinese person to learn the language. I just studied really hard because I've wanted to be a doctor since I was five."

Feng, 53, hasn't stopped studying and working hard, and it's paid off. Sales have climbed to more than $5 million since she opened the clinic in January 2000. What started as an outpatient surgery center on one floor has evolved into a three-story, total health and wellness center incorporating a variety of services, among them skin care, laser treatments, acupuncture, massage, reflexology and a 3,500-square-foot fitness center.

While Feng has always wanted to be a surgeon, she didn't decide to specialize in reconstructive surgery until she was blown away by another surgeon's skills she witnessed while doing a rotation in plastic surgery during an internship in San Francisco. A surgeon used tissue from a woman's back to make a breast following a patient's mastectomy.

"I thought it was so creative and wonderful to play a part in making a person whole again. It must be very difficult for a person to lose a body part," she said. "When patients decide to come to a surgeon, they're already courageous. They're people who are not going to let breast cancer or losing a body part get them down. They want to continue living life to the fullest. But in order to do this, they first have to have surgery."

Feng is recognized nationwide for her expertise in the field of microvascular breast reconstruction involving transplantation of a patient's own tissue, and facial cosmetic surgery. She's written lots of articles about plastic and reconstructive surgery and cancer, gaining her worldwide attention. A map in her conference room is riddled with pins representing patients from every state and many who came to her from abroad.

Now Feng primarily focuses on cosmetic surgery of the breast or cosmetic surgery on the face for men and women who just want to look better. All her surgeries involve precision in working with tiny blood vessels or sculpting the body and face.

It didn't take long for her to realize that sharing her skills wasn't enough. It doesn't matter how she can transform drooping jowls or sagging stomachs if people don't change the bad habits that caused them.

"If you just know how to make people look good through your skills, that's only part of the picture," she said. "You have to eat right, exercise and have a positive attitude toward life.

"Stop feeling like a victim. Be a victor. Bad things happen to all people. It's how you solve it that counts. The journey to solution deepens our character."

Feng should know; she's hit some bumps in the road. She and her business partner, Linda Haas, took a master lease at their current location and subleased the second floor to a real estate firm. A few years later, that company said it needed out of the lease or it would have to file bankruptcy.

Feng and Haas were in a bind. It didn't take long for them to move from panic mode to problem-solving mode.

If they could get a loan, they were confident they could replace the lost income by adding a new element to their business. They decided to turn the second floor into a skin-care laser center that included massage, a Chinese herb pharmacy, state-of-the art technology and a wellness center.

The two women envisioned a serene environment with relaxing fountains and aromas on each floor, warm colors, textured walls and heated floors, variations in lighting and contemporary furniture. They wanted to hire an interior designer and a staff chef who could prepare organic lunches for their employees each day. Employees who wanted to eat and hang out in a fabulous kitchen would simply be asked to toss $3 in a jar.

Just two problems stood in the way of their grandiose ideas: They didn't have money to renovate and they didn't own the building.

"At first, the landlord wouldn't sell it to us, but we were persistent. We told him that we can't grow our business and keep putting money into your building," Haas said.

That persistence and drive helped them get a series of loans from KeyBank. Antoinette Turner, a financial adviser for Key Private Bank, said she was impressed with Feng's business plan and her management team.

"It's one thing for someone to develop sales goals, but that's not really valuable for a lender," Turner said. "We don't want to see what you hope to achieve, we want to see what you know you can achieve. The business plan they created seemed attainable."

Unlike business banking, private banking allows lenders to take into consideration the individual behind the business, while making credit decisions.

"If you believe in your business, you can convince someone else to believe in you," Feng said, boiling down the relationship with her new bank. "You've got to surround yourself with positive energy. How can you be your best when you're around people who tell you you're not going to do anything?"

Turner initially helped Feng and Haas get a line of credit for working capital and equipment financing. Then, as business grew, she introduced Feng to cash management and depository tools, followed by site visits from loan decision-makers at the bank.

April Sampson, of the accounting firm Sampson & Associates Inc. in Rocky River, has helped Feng with her finances for years. But that's not what impresses Sampson.

"She's the real deal. She and her partner believe in what they're doing and they live it themselves. I think that is part of the success," Sampson said. "Her whole being is involved -- in mind, body, spirit. She's dedicated totally to what she does."

Patients, employees and frequent visitors to the clinic's fitness center are accustomed to seeing Feng's 94-year-old father, Victor. He works out with a trainer three times a week.

Fitness and health are a big part of the business, but Feng is just as excited about her roots in reconstructive surgery.

Susan Barath, of Akron, met Feng three years ago. Since she had a mastectomy in the 1980s, Barath has not been a fan of surgeons, silicone or saline implants. Pain and discomfort followed one disastrous surgery after another.

She said Feng not only gave her hope with a new procedure, but also showed compassion when Barath shared her story. Based on that experience, Barath said she knows why Feng is successful.

"At 60, it's the only part of me that still looks young," she said of her reconstructed breasts. "They look and feel natural, and I feel fabulous."


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