Board of Directors
Mark Calaguas | Mark J. Calaguas is an attorney practicing at the intersection of law and technology, with interdisciplinary experience in non-profit leadership and public service. As a co-founder and legal director for Tayo, he provides legal and strategic support for an innovative data hub that originally launched as an online help desk delivering vital, culturally tailored information to underserved communities navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark also performs data privacy consulting and management services for startup founders, small businesses, and institutional clients. Additionally, he sits as a federal appointee on the Illinois State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and has worked as a staff attorney in the litigation group of an AmLaw 100 firm. Mark is a member of the working group for the Privacy and Safety Framework (PSF 2.0) at the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI), an organization promoting privacy, security, and ethics in immersive environments (virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality). In addition to serving on the AABA board, Mark is a past president of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago (FALA Chicago), a founding board member and current Central Regional Governor of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA), and executive council member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP). He also presides as board chair of the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), a grassroots non-profit that organizes the Filipinx/a/o community around issues of social, racial, and economic justice. Mark is an alumnus of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), the U.S.-Mexico Leaders Initiative, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Leadership Advancement Program, and is a former NCBP Diversity Scholar. Previously, he served as a community representative on the local school council of Skinner North Classical School. Mark holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and English from the University of Michigan and a J.D. with Certificate in International Law and Practice from Loyola University Chicago. |
Jane Funk | Jane is a former practicing litigation attorney. For the past 12 years, Jane has successfully worked with corporate in-house legal departments and law firms to design and implement legally defensible and cost-effective processes for collection, processing, managed review review, and production of electronically stored information (ESI) utilizing AI technology. Additionally, Jane assists her clients with non-litigious legal data initiatives, including M&A Due Diligence, Data Privacy, Cyber Security, Government and Internal Investigations, Bankruptcy, and Contracts Review. At Consilio, Jane is responsible for managing relationships with a portfolio of strategic accounts spanning numerous highly regulated industries. In addition, she is responsible for driving the use of value- based business development strategies specific to the Pharmaceutical vertical. Jane draws upon her litigation experience and her years of industry experience put her clients’ needs first. |
Belle Katubig | Belle Katubig is a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney where she focuses on defending physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals employed by John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital and its affilated institutions and clinics. Prior to joining the State's Attorney's Office, she was a trial attorney and partner at a mid-sized law firm speciailzing in complex civil litigation. Throughout her career, Belle has mentored associate attorneys and recently, law students involved with the Diversity Scholarship Foundation. She also volunteers and supports local schools and community organizations that promote the health and safety of the underserved population. She is an active member of the Filipino American Lawyer's Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Women's Bar Association of Illinois, North Suburban Bar Association, and Chicago Bar Association. Belle received her law degree from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and her undergraduate degree from University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. |
Greg Lamorena | Greg is a Senior Associate at Malman Law. He has devoted his whole career representing people who were injured through no fault of their own. He concentrates his practice in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, including medical malpractice, automotive negligence, and nursing home abuse. Greg has been recognized as a Rising Star by the Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2019. He is an experienced trial lawyer and has obtained millions of dollars for his clients. Greg is a Past President of the Filipino American Lawyer’s Association of Chicago. He also served as the Central Regional Governor for the National Filipino American Lawyer’s Association. Greg also serves on the Diversity Committee for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. He received his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
Ivy Lee |
Ivy Lee is an Assistant General Counsel at CompTIA, Inc. Prior to CompTIA, she worked as an attorney at Hlustik, Huizenga, Williams & Vander Woude Ltd., where she served as outside general counsel for middle market companies. Her practice includes commercial contracts, corporate governance, M&A, real estate, and counseling U.S. businesses on cross-border transactions. She is a regular volunteer at the Chinatown Pro Bono Clinic, where she provides free legal consultation related to landlord tenant, wills & trusts, divorce, and immigration. Ivy is a graduate of Chicago Loyola School of Law and the University of Michigan.
|
Stephen Lee | Stephen Lee was a federal prosecutor in Chicago for 11 years, senior counsel for the Chicago US Attorney Office's health care fraud unit, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and a partner at a mid-sized firm. He is now a solo practitioner focusing on health care fraud defense and data analytics in complex litigation. He is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School. He has researched and written about cases involving Asian American legal history, created the website "Our APA Heritage," which provides resources for Asian Americans to interview their parents and relatives, and was featured on This American Life talking about a "coindence bombshell" involving his family. |
| Melanie graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2015. She has been an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office since 2015. As an ASA, Melanie has worked in the Child Support Enforcement Division, conducting hearings all over the county. Melanie has been assigned to the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, where she has prosecuted a litany of crimes, handling misdemeanor and felony cases, including reviewing and investigating Sex Crimes against children. Melanie has served as the Central Regional Governor of the National FIlipino American Lawyers Association. Melanie is the current president of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago. Currently Melanie is assigned to a Felony Courtroom at the Markham Courthouse. |
Jaz Park | Jaz Park is an Illinois-licensed attorney with a litigation practice in employment law, representing employees and small businesses. Jaz assists executives and high-level employees in disputes, including race and gender discrimination, wage and hour issues, non-competes, and whistleblowing. Jaz also advises employers on diversity and inclusion, EEO matters, and investigations. She has served as a faculty lecturer in Employment Litigation at Chicago-Kent College of Law, in its preeminent Labor and Employment Law program, where she also received her JD. She attended Brown University for her BA, and is admitted to the Northern District of Illinois. Jaz’s latest initiatives have been focused on diversity in the legal profession, through her appointment to the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)’s Steering Committee on Racial Inequality, as well as on the exemplary passage of a bipartisan 2021 non-compete bill in Illinois with the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and the IL Chamber of Commerce. She currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Minority Bar CLE (MBCLE) Conference, and Vice President of the Korean American Bar Association (KABA). Previously, she served as a Vice President of the Korean American Association of Chicago (KAAC), and Chair of the Advisory Council on Equity for the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations. Jaz values her longstanding Chicago roots. As a Chicago Public School (CPS) K-12 alum, she now participates on racial equity matters for her children in CPS. |
| Samuel Park is an associate attorney at Smith von Schleicher & Associates where he focuses his work on ERISA/Employee Benefits litigation representing Fortune 500 insurance companies. Samuel also has extensive experience in complex commercial litigation, consumer rights litigation, and non-profit advising. In addition to serving on the AABA Board, Samuel is the Pro Bono Director of the Korean American Bar Association and the Pro Bono Legal Clinic Director at HANA Center. Samuel received his J.D. from University of California, Irvine School of Law, and his B.S. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |