AS-USA Leaders

Executive Director

Yeh Ling-Ling is a naturalized citizen born in Vietnam of Chinese parents. She had approximately 20 years of education abroad (Cambodia, Taiwan and the University of Paris-Sorbonne). Ms. Yeh immigrated to the United States in 1980. She was featured as a leader advocating sustainable immigration on page one of the Washington Post on 5/11/2006.
 
After working 10 years preparing immigration applications, Ms. Yeh realized that, although some immigrants are assets to the U.S., problems that concern natives and legal immigrants - including energy shortages, unemployment, homeland security, sprawl, gridlock, overburdened infrastructure and rising ethnic tensions - cannot be solved without also addressing rapid population growth driven mainly by record levels of immigration.
 
More than 200 of her articles have appeared in many publications across the U.S., such as Los Angeles Times, Harvard Law School's Record, Christian Science Monitor, Asian American Policy Review of Harvard University, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, Newark Star Ledger, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal- Constitution, San Francisco Chronicle, Rocky Mountain News, Providence Journal, Omaha World-Herald, Salt Lake Tribune, Seattle Times, Union-Leader, Sun Sentinel, Denver Post, New York Newsday, Helena (Montana) Independent Review, St. Paul Pioneer-Press, Honolulu Star- Bulletin, Lexington Herald-Leader, San Diego Union-Tribune, Idaho Press-Tribune, Des Moines Register, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Birmingham News and USA Today magazine. Her scholarly article entitled, "Mexican Immigration and its Potential Impact on the Political Future of the United States," appeared in the Winter, 2004 issue of the Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies.
 
Two opinion pieces by Ms. Yeh have been reprinted in a college text book, California Dreams and Realities: Reading for Critical Thinkers and Writers. Excerpts of her article, "Legal Immigration Must Be Curbed, Too" from USA Today magazine were reprinted in the national Sixth Edition of Prentice Hall Literature, "The American Experience." Another article of hers, "Inside Asian America," which originally appeared in A. Magazine, was reprinted in American Government.
 
Yeh Ling-Ling has been interviewed by numerous media, such as CNN, Associated Press, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Austin American-Statesman, Manchester Union-Leader, and Deseret News. She has appeared on more than 300 talk shows nationwide. AsianWeek published a positive cover story about her work in the February 17, 2000, issue. Jonathan Alter of Newsweek wrote a column about her on MSNBC on 8/17/2001 entitled, "Immigration: Worth a Second Look." Ms. Yeh was featured in an article in the November/December 2004 issue of the Sierra Magazine entitled, "A Tale of Two Immigrants." She has also been on a number of immigration panels, such as those sponsored by the Commonwealth Club of California, Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and World Forum of Silicon Valley.

The leaders of AS-USA have diverse racial, ethnic and political backgrounds, as well as broad expertise in many fields relating to the impact of U.S. population growth and immigration.

 
Dr. FRANK MORRIS (Chairman) Former Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; has testified as an expert on many occasions before U.S. Congress on impact of immigration on native blacks; was featured in a front page story in the New York Times in 1992 in which Dr. Morris reported that the numbers of foreign Ph.D.s rose much faster than those of U.S.-born minorities.
 
Professor Morris, former Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Morgan State University, has received three awards from three different local NAACP chapters. He has served on the Executive Dean's Committee of the African American Institute, the NAACP National Educational Advisory Board, and the Minority Committee of the Council of Graduate Schools.
 
 

 
PETER NUNEZ (Vice Chair) Mr. Nunez was appointed by President George Bush as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Enforcement) and served from January 1990 through January 20, 1993. He also was a Partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, and worked as a U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. He is currently a lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of San Diego.
 
 
HUEY D. JOHNSON (Secretary) Mr. Johnson is a former California Secretary of Resources (1978-82) where he began and implemented a comprehensive resource management program, called Investing for Prosperity. The program succeed in environmental protection as well as job creation, with increased employment in fisheries, forestry and alternative energy.
 
Mr. Johnson also founded and was president of the Trust for Public Land, and was the Western Regional Director of The Nature Conservancy. He is currently the president of Research Renewal Institute, located in San Francisco. He is the author of the book, Green Plans: Greenprint for Sustainability.
 
In late 2001, Mr. Johnson received the only annual international award for the environment given by the United Nations, the UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize. The award is considered one of the most prestigious in the world.
 
 
PETER SCHAEFFER In 1986, Mr. Schaeffer co-founded MVS Software, a privately held software development company, and was VP of Technology for MVS Software until April 1990. At MVS Software he was the author of OPS/MVS -- the industry and technological leader in mainframe automation. MVS Software was acquired by GOAL Systems International, Inc. in early 1990. From June 1990 to June 1991, Mr. Schaeffer was employed with GOAL Systems where he authored the second-generation version of Runtrac software. In 1991 Mr. Schaeffer founded NEON Systems, Inc. a leading provider of Enterprise Access and Integration software. He served as the President and CEO from 1991 to 1995, and served as the CTO for NEON Systems up through 2001. NEON Systems went public in 1999 and was acquired by Progress Software in 2006. In addition, Mr. Schaeffer encourages the development of non-profit organizations through his considerable philanthropic support, which includes the Fort Bend ISD Education Foundation, Oakland Ballet, and the Western Ballet. Mr. Schaeffer was also one of the founders of HSVP (Houston Social Venture Partners), the Houston affiliate of SVP (Social Venture Partners). Mr. Schaeffer holds a BS degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Chicago. He is on the board of Houston Children's Chorus.

 
CARL ASHE - Historian for the Intertribal Council of American Indians
 
HARRY BERNSTEIN - Retired Labor Union Columnist, Los Angeles Times
 
CHEREE CALABRO, Co-founder, Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement
 
MARIA HSIA CHANG Ph.D. - Foreign-born Chinese American, Professor Emeritus at University of Nevada, Reno
 
JONETTE W. CHRISTIAN - Founder, Mainers for Immigration Reform
 
PETER GADIEL - President, 9/11 Families for a Secure America
 
J.C. HERNANDEZ - Founder and of Americans for Zero Immigration
 
BILL KING - Chief Patrol Agent, retired, U.S. Border Patrol
 
LUPE MORENO - Co-founder of Latino Americans for Immigration Reform
 
EVAR NERING, Ph.D. - Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University
 
DAVID PIMENTEL Ph.D - Professor of Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Cornell University
 
REV. DR. JOSEPH VREDENBURGH - Patriarch, St. Thomas Christians
 
JACK WOO - Retired School Administrator, San Juan Unified School District, Carmichael, California