STAFF & VOLUNTEERS
Project: VISION’s staff and volunteers are the core of the organization. Their hard work and dedication make it possible to serve our community.
OUR STAFF

Karen Chiu
Executive Director | Co-Founder
While taking time off from medical school in 2003, Karen took a part-time job tutoring at-risk teens, an experience that ignited her passion for youth development. Realizing there was a need in the community for a safe place that youth could call their own and get the support and guidance they need, Karen founded Project: VISION with a few fellow volunteers. In 2009, she assumed the role of Executive Director on a volunteer basis, managing many facets of operations including administration, fundraising, and board development. However, her favorite part of this experience continues to be working directly with the students whether it be tutoring, teaching ACT, or doing service projects alongside them. She believes that positive after school programs go a long way in helping kids succeed, and she looks forward to helping PV continue to grow in order to bring these programs to even more students in the coming years.

Sandy Ruan
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Sandy has a degree in Public Relations/Advertising and Psychology from DePaul University. She joined Project: VISION in 2013 as Development Intern and has since taken on the role of Director of Development and now the Director of Strategic Initiatives. She uses her past experiences with the Red Cross and other nonprofit organizations to help Project: VISION secure the resources it needs to support its growing youth programs. Sandy’s role also allows her to work directly with PV’s youth, watch their growth firsthand, and better tell their stories. She is proud to be able to provide students an important part of growing up: chances to learn something new every day.

Elvina Ng
Operations Manager
Elvina graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2012. During her 4 years working at the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Elvina developed a passion for helping the community. After working at the Chamber, she realized the impact that nonprofits have within the community. She joined Project: VISION in 2018 because she felt that her experience at the Chinatown Chamber was meaningful and that it could be used towards her position as the Operations Manager at PV. Elvina is excited to be able to watch the PV youth not only grow academically, but to become leaders of their generation.

Yana Nudelman
Youth Program Coordinator

Eva Nip
Youth Program Coordinator

AJ Reinhardt
Youth Program Coordinator

Gibs Smolsky-Gibson
Youth Program Coordinator

Tammy Wen
Parent Engagement Coordinator
Tammy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and joins us as a 2020 graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Previously, Tammy has worked at the Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection, the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Spurlock Museum. Her work-study as a Special Collections Assistant fortified her desire to continue serving the public beyond the academic and artistic community. As a first-generation graduate and former ESL student, Tammy believes current and future generations of students should be able to attain higher education and upwards mobility without barriers of affordability or accessibility. At Project: VISION, she looks forward to developing programs and improving her Cantonese to bridge students and their communities closer towards their personal, academic, and professional goals.

Karen Zeng
Office Coordinator

Peter Xu
Case Manager
OUR TUTORS

Celoa Adriatico
Staff Tutor

Raunel Albiter
Staff Tutor

Ernesto Angulo
Staff Tutor

Jasmine Benitez
Staff Tutor

Will Blodgett
Staff Tutor

Erin Boyle
Staff Tutor

Alexis Cain
Staff Tutor

Ashley Cain
Staff Tutor

Zepei Cen
Staff Tutor

Nim Yan Chan
Staff Tutor

Zoe Cheever
Staff Tutor

Haley Deem
Staff Tutor

Aware Deshmukh
Staff Tutor

Angel Estrada
Staff Tutor

Heidi Friedeck
Volunteer Tutor

Tim Gietl
Volunteer Tutor

Eli Ginsburg-Marcy
Volunteer Tutor

Monica Gomez
Staff Tutor

Evelyn Gutierrez
Staff Tutor

Jake Hoang
Staff Tutor

Alessi Horsley
Staff Tutor

Ilona Huang
Staff Tutor

Michelle Ji
Volunteer Tutor

Hongjie Jiang
Staff Tutor

Basma Khazal
Staff Tutor

Zoe Knight
Staff Tutor

Jenny Lee
Staff Tutor

Jerry Lee
Staff Tutor

Willie Li
Staff Tutor

Alice Liu
Staff Tutor

Samuel Long
Staff Tutor

Ethan Nakashima
Staff Tutor

Christine Ngô
Staff Tutor

Geovanni Pallares
Staff Tutor

Emily Park
Staff Tutor

Christopher Powell
Staff Tutor

David Ren
Volunteer Tutor

Kamila Russ
Staff Tutor

Kevin Saalwaechter
Staff Tutor

Adhira Shanmuganathan
Staff Tutor

Gibs Smolsky-Gibson
Staff Tutor

Johanna Taylor
Staff Tutor

Emma Troy
Staff Tutor

Tanmayee Vegesna
Staff Tutor

Dean Welby
Staff Tutor

Rachel Wisniewski
Staff Tutor

Darren Wu
Staff Tutor

Fu Kang Wu
Staff Tutor

Yesha (Alexa) Yu
Staff Tutor

Ying Yue
Staff Tutor

Lisa Zhou
Staff Tutor

David Zhu
Staff Tutor

Shannon Chan
Volunteer Tutor

Elliot Choi
Volunteer Tutor

Jieyi Kuang
Staff Tutor

YaoTing Li
Volunteer Tutor

Liren Liang
Staff Tutor

Emma Lynch
Staff Tutor

Sara Lynch
Staff Tutor

Joseph Minardi
Volunteer Tutor

ZiBin Tan
Staff Tutor

Catherine Tang
Staff Tutor