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 | 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!

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | Adam Peir

Adam Peir is a 1.5 generation Taiwanese American who was born in Taipei and raised in Austin, Texas. He has degrees in mechanical engineering and economics from the University of Texas and currently works in data analytics at a government agency. He had his first taste of AAPI activism as an APAPA intern at the office of a U.S. Senator. Recently, he was the President of TAP-DC from 2020 to 2022, and founded the Pan Asian Network Affinity Group at his agency. He enjoys watching sports, trying new restaurants, traveling, hiking, and playing the cello.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | Sarah Lin

Sarah was born and raised in Asian immigrant communities in New Jersey. Most recently, Sarah staffed the Shapiro-Davis gubernatorial transition in Pennsylvania and directed grassroots outreach and political engagement as the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s statewide AAPI Coalitions Director. She holds a bachelor’s degree with highest honors from Rutgers University and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she studied democracy and politics as a Gleitsman Fellow; co-founded/co-chaired the Taiwan Caucus; and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Asian American Policy Review. Prior to her work in PA and MA, Sarah was a campus minister and affiliate chaplain at New York University and has also volunteered on mayoral, gubernatorial, and presidential campaigns. Currently, Sarah lives in Philadelphia where she works as the Deputy Organizing Director and PA State Director for IMPACT.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | 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, IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT | Sarina Chow

Sarina was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She grew up primarily speaking Taiwanese Hokkien at home and helping out at her parents’ Taiwanese restaurant. Through this, Taiwanese food became a significant part of her cultural upbringing and an anchor to her heritage. During her time at the University of Pittsburgh, Sarina founded the Taiwanese Student Association and also worked as a content marketing editor for OFTaiwan, a nonprofit organization that strives to educate others on all topics surrounding Taiwan, such as political atmosphere, history, and current events. She went on to receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Marketing and currently works as a Business Systems Analyst developing technology at PNC bank. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with friends, exploring new places (cafes, museums, bookstores), reading books, doing sudokus, cooking, baking, and snuggling with her cat.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY | Eric Chang

Eric Chang spent his childhood in Taiwan, before moving to California to pursue secondary and higher education. After spending a decade in California, he moved to Seattle for work, and spent an additional decade in Seattle. Before serving as the Director of Technology on TACL, he served as President of TAP-Seattle for many years, and helped organize the first Seattle Taiwanese-American Film Festival. As Director of Technology, Eric is responsible for managing the TACL website, as well as the infrastructure for many TAP chapters (email, Google drive maintenance, websites, etc.). In addition, he helped out with visualizing and presenting data on the Census 2020 Fill in Taiwanese project. Eric is a software engineer at his full-time job and is an avid snowboarder.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT | Kelly Lin

Kelly is a Maryland native and studied Political Science and Economics at Emory University. She now resides in NYC working in the crypto industry. Kelly has been involved in the Taiwanese American community for several years post college, serving on the TAP-NY board from 2019 to 2023. In her free time, Kelly enjoys baking, playing tennis, artsy activities, and music excursions.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, HEALTH INITIATIVES | Lynn Chou

Lynn spent her early years in the Midwest before moving to the Boston area, where her involvement in the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association (GBCCA) sparked her cultural curiosity. After receiving her BA in English Literature and Master’s degree in Business Management from the University of Michigan, Lynn now works in product marketing for a tech startup. Seeking a deeper connection with her Taiwanese identity, Lynn served as Professional Development chair and Wellness chair for TAP Boston, before joining TACL National Board as Director of Health Initiatives. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, pilates (currently getting certified), afternoon tea, and trying new hobbies!

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS | Franklin Cheng

Franklin Cheng was born and raised in Southern California. His first exposure to the Taiwanese American community started at UC San Diego, when he took part in ITASA conventions. Franklin served previously as Membership chair, External Vice President, and President of TAP-OC. Franklin is currently working as a project manager for Kaiser Permanente and enjoys exploring new restaurants and concerts.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS | Belle Lee

Belle was born and raised in California and grew up spending many of her fondest summers visiting family in Taiwan. Belle studied History with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy and completed her Master’s degree in Higher Education at Harvard and is currently working towards her PhD in Education at University of California, Los Angeles. Belle has been involved in the Taiwanese American community for several years, serving on the Taiwanese Cultural Society during college and on TAP-Boston board as the 2020 Census Rep, Social Cultural Chair, and President of TAP-Boston. In her free time, Belle enjoys bullet journaling, trying new vegetarian restaurants, playing board games, traveling with friends who also find joy in planning, reading at the beach, and watching TV shows on 2x speed with her golden retriever, Chance.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, FUNDRAISING | Christopher Teng Balmaseda

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.