Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL) was officially established on July 13, 1985, with the mission to help improve the quality of life of Taiwanese Americans in the United States.

The mission of TACL is to enhance the quality of life for Taiwanese Americans. Our work is largely devoted to Leadership, Identity, Networking, and Citizenship.

The professional chapters of TACL, branded Taiwanese American Professionals (TAP), make up the largest network of Taiwanese American young professionals in the United States. TACL’s TAP chapters span the country from coast to coast, with events and programs focused on pillars of culture, community service, professional, social, and leadership. TAP chapters serve as the local voice and leadership of TACL in each region.

TACL’s programs serve to benefit all ages, but have all emphasized on leadership and identity development programs for youth, encouraging involvement and development in areas that Asian Americans lack adequate representation. Signature programs include the Leadership Identity Development (LID) and Leading Youth Forward (LYF) Camps, Political Internship (PIP), Journalism Internship (JIP), Entertainment Internship (EI), High School Scholarship, and Junior Taiwanese American Students Association (JTASA).

TACL is a 501(c)3 non-profit run entirely by unpaid volunteers.

National Board

NATIONAL PRESIDENT | Peter Han

Peter was born in Taiwan and grew up in the Netherlands until he moved to California when he was 12 years old. He first experienced the Taiwanese American community when he joined TSA during his freshman year at the University of California, Riverside. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, he started his career in SoCal at Western Digital before moving up to NorCal to work at Intel. During his time in SoCal, he joined the TAP-OC board as the Secretary, Cultural Chair and Treasurer. In his free time he enjoys playing table tennis and snowboarding.

NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT | Cindy Lee

Cindy was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and moved to Los Angeles when she was eleven years old. She has a degree in hospitality administration from Boston University and has always been active in serving the Mandarin-speaking community, from volunteering at a local Chinese school to leading school clubs that celebrated Asian culture. She has been involved in different chapters of Taiwanese American Professionals (TAP) across the country. She currently works as a sales data analyst, helping local communities benefit from economic impact. In her spare time, she likes to travel, camp, watch movies, and play with her dog as well as exploring new places and meeting new people.

NATIONAL TREASURER | Stephen Liu

Stephen was born in Tucscon, Arizona and grew up Fremont, California. ​He received a BA in Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts from the University of California, San Diego, as well as an MS in Information Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and is currently a Product Designer at Visa. He became involved with the Taiwanese American Cultural Festival, initially as a volunteer and later as the director, before serving as VP of Finance (and later Operations) for TAP-SF. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, making music, playing games, and spending time with his cat.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, MARKETING | Sabrina Sun

Sabrina Sun, born and raised in New Jersey/New York, proudly identifies as Hong Kong-nese and discovered TAP-LA a few years ago after moving to Los Angeles. She’s worn many hats—Marketing Director, Tech Chair, and External Vice President—helping the community grow and thrive. Fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Sabrina loves connecting with people from all walks of life. When she’s not busy with TAP-LA, you can find her traveling, exploring new foods, diving into the latest anime, cosplaying, or curating her next fashion look—always bringing a little creativity and a lot of energy wherever she goes! 

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY | Eric Yang

A former TAP-SD board member, Eric has found TACL and its programs provide a positive environment to connect with Taiwanese culture and community.  Motivated by opportunities which create welcoming and valuable experiences for this community and beyond, Eric is excited to help drive TACL initiatives.  In his free time, Eric takes full advantage of San Diego’s weather, in the ocean, the desert, or anywhere under the sun.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS | Jeff Kuo

Jeff serves as the Director of Alumni Relations at TACL, supporting efforts to engage and celebrate the organization’s vibrant network of former leaders and members. He got his start in the Taiwanese American community through TAP-SF, one of TACL’s regional chapters, where he developed a passion for community-building and advocacy. Born in New York and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jeff currently splits his time between SF and Los Angeles. Outside of TACL, he enjoys traveling, motorcycling, snowboarding, wrenching in the garage, and exploring new food spots as a dedicated foodie.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, HEALTH INITIATIVES | Gloria Hou

Gloria is a third generation Taiwanese American who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In college, she first got involved with Taiwanese American organizations through the planning committee for the ITASA national convention. Prior to joining the TACL National Board, she has served on the boards of TAP-LA and TAP-OC. Gloria now resides in San Diego, and in her free time she enjoys biking and playing with her dog.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, CAMP RELATIONS | Joel Cheng

Joel was born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised in San Jose, California. Growing up, Joel kept a strong interest in Taiwan including attending OCAC’s AIDSummer and Taiwan Tech Trek summer programs, which allowed him to spend a summer teaching English in Taiwan and a summer interning in Taiwan. Joel attended Georgia Tech where he received his B.S and M.S in Mechanical Engineering and after college became involved in TACL-LYF, which he’s been a part of since 2022 and President for since 2024. In his free time, Joel enjoys exploring new places, biking, and anything to stay active.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS | Jeffrey Liu

Jeffrey was raised in Taiwan and the United States, calling New Taipei, California, Georgia, and Taichung home at various times. He was first inducted into the TACL universe as a LYF camper before diving into the world of TAP many years later. Jeffrey served as Programming Chair in TAP-SD and Events & Partnerships Chair in TAP-ATL. Outside of TACL, you can probably find Jeffrey bussing to, waiting for, or riding the MARTA but wishing he were on the Taipei Metro.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ANALYTICS | Alex Shih

Prior to joining TACL, Alex held a number of roles (cultural chair, vice president, and president) on the board of TAP-NY. He works in sales and marketing and lives in New York. Apart from the Taiwanese American community, he is passionate about tennis, StarCraft, reading the news, and mandarin pop music.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMITTEE | Jessica Tan

Jessica was born and raised in Miami, FL. She moved to Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California where she studied Business Administration and International Relations. Jessica got involved with the Taiwanese American Organization and ITASA during her time at USC as well TAP-LA through the Mentorship Program. After graduation, she continued her involvement with TAP through TAP-OC as Social Chair and Committee Member. Jessica currently lives in Atlanta and was TAP-ATL Co-President from 2022-2024. Jessica enjoys reading, traveling, and yoga in her free time. She currently works as an Account Supervisor with an agency that focuses on multicultural marketing.

INTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE | Jeannie Shen

Jeannie is a Maryland native and studied Public Administration at the University of Maryland and currently works as a Auditor at the Maryland Department of Labor. Jeannie has been involved in the Taiwanese American community for several years, serving as the President of TAP-DC from 2022 to 2024. In her free time, Jeannie enjoys traveling, baking, and reading.

COMMITTEE, COMMUNITY RELATIONS | Christopher Teng Balmaseda

COMMITTEE, LEGAL | Charles Chen

Charles Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, Canada. He is a New York-licensed attorney who has built his career as an in-house legal advisor to global consumer and technology companies, including Panda Express, Pokémon, and Uber, while remaining deeply committed to the Taiwanese American community. Charles has actively volunteered with Taiwanese American Professionals in New York and has served in board leadership roles with TAP in Los Angeles and Seattle, including as Philanthropy Chair and Cultural Chair. In his free time, he enjoys badminton and community service.

COMMITTEE, FINANCE | Karen Lin

Karen was born in Alabama and grew up in Connecticut. She received a BS in Management and Accounting at Boston College, where she led the Taiwanese Cultural Organization and became involved with TAP-Boston through the mentorship program. Through this experience, she found a welcoming community that fosters meaningful relationships and allows people to grow personally and professionally. She went on to support the community by serving as the Mentorship Chair, Treasurer, and Co-President of TAP-Boston before joining TACL National Board as Treasurer. Karen currently works on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team at Bain Capital and previously worked in public accounting. In her free time, Karen enjoys yoga, watching reality TV, baking, and chasing sunsets!

COMMITTEE, COMMUNICATIONS | Juliana Yang

Juliana was born and raised in New Jersey and holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and an MS in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University. As a student leader, she organized NJIT’s inaugural multicultural festival, successfully advocated for dental and vision care for graduate students at Vanderbilt, and gained extensive experience managing social media accounts and email newsletters. She is now based in Los Angeles, where she works as a research chemist in aerospace, developing protective coatings for aircraft. Juliana currently serves as the Social Media Chair for TAP-OC and also coordinates the organization’s membership newsletter.

NATIONAL ADVISOR | Wellington Tzou

Wellington is an Atlanta native, born and raised. His first contact with the Taiwanese American community was when he first attended Atlanta Taiwanese American Association events with his parents. He eventually began attending Taiwanese American Foundation summer camp during his middle school and high school years. After high school, Wellington received a BA of Economics from Emory University, where he also founded Emory TASA. After a few years working, he went back to school at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and received his JD in 2012. After law school, Wellington had some free time, so he helped establish TAP-ATL in 2013. He is a member of the GA Bar, and is doing Data Privacy/Risk work for Deloitte Global.