Meet Our Business Counseling & Management Team

API SBC works with bilingual business counselors who provide workshops, individual counseling, loan packaging and procurement assistance as well as links to other small business services. Most services are free to clients. All services are available to the general public. Business Counselors speak Tagalog, Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai, Korean and English and have real estate, merchandising, retail, restaurant/food services, marketing, import/export, licensing, banking and small business experience.

Johnny (Zifeng) Huang - Business Counselor

Johnny Huang is a first-generation immigrant from China who gained invaluable experience working at his family's restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley. Witnessing the challenges of running a small business firsthand inspired him to pursue a career as a business counselor, where he could assist others in overcoming similar obstacles. As a child of immigrants, Johnny understands immigrants' unique difficulties and is dedicated to helping people navigate the complexities of starting and running a successful business. After earning his marketing degree from Northridge, Johnny continued to manage his family's restaurant while simultaneously growing a successful YouTube channel. In just three months, he accumulated over 55,000 subscribers.

At CSC, Johnny has found a new passion for helping small business owners. He is enthusiastic about providing business and marketing consultations, organizing workshops, drafting business plans, and doing whatever he can to help his clients succeed.

Andy Kim - Business Counselor

Before joining KYCC, Andy Kim has been a veteran small business entrepreneur for 20 years. As a first-generation immigrant entrepreneur, it gave him first-hand experience in understanding the challenges of starting and operating a small business in the States. Andy’s experience working at KYCC as a Business Counselor and an Outreach Specialist has helped him to gain a broader perspective of the needs of the Los Angeles’ Koreatown community.

Andy understands the importance of relationship building when working with the monolingual immigrant community. He helps build a series of workshops for prospective/current business owners to help educate and provide resources and networking opportunities to build meaningful connections.

Don Pin - Business Counselor

Don Pin is a Cambodian-American born in the Refugee Camp in Thailand (Khao-I-Dang) and has been a Long Beach, CA resident for 30+ years. He has a background in sales & customer service. Don is also one of the founders and a brand manager of a clothing brand company for RepCambodia.

Don is fluent in English & Khmer and tech-savvy. His area of specialty is social media marketing. He joined the United Cambodian Community as a Business Navigator in December 2021. Since then, he has helped many struggling small businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the growth of new small businesses. Don enjoys taking road trips, camping outdoors, and spending time in nature, especially when it comes to hiking!

Mouykim Nhean - Business Counselor

Mouykim was born and raised in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Management from Lyon University in France and the Royal University of Laws and Economics in Cambodia. In 2021, she started working as a Trade Marketing Executive in the beer industry at Heineken Cambodia, focused on planning activation for mom-and-pop stores.

After moving to the United States, she started working with the United Cambodian Community as a Business Navigator, helping clients with one-on-one counseling for small business owners who have language barriers (Khmer-English), providing entrepreneur training program workshops, and technical assistance. Mouykim likes to play badminton and is passionate about exploring new places to travel.

Mariko Lochridge - Business Counselor

Mariko Lochridge moved to Los Angeles from Tokyo, Japan in 2016. She was previously a news journalist, covering stories for Reuters and working for the Japanese national network Nippon Television as a breaking news producer. In addition, Mariko was an online video and special events consultant for adidas, Volvo, Rakuten and Le Cordon Bleu.

Mariko works with small business clients across LA County. Her areas of specialization are video production coordination, business plan creation, community outreach, social media marketing, time management and public relations. Her favorite Japanese foods are natto and mame daifuku.

Adul Doheng - Business Counselor

Adul was born and raised in Narathiwat, Thailand. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Khon Kaen University, Thailand. After graduating, he worked as a Pharmacist at a Bangkok hospital for five years. In 2016, he moved to the United States to study English as a Second Language at Columbia West College. He graduated with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from International American University in 2020. During his graduate studies, he interned as Chief Marketing Officer assistant at Columbia West College and volunteered at Thai CDC.

Adul loves playing badminton and all kinds of sport in his free time, enjoying a good cup of coffee, and buying a book (without reading).

Ali Taheri - Business Counselor

Ali Taheri, an Iranian immigrant who has called Los Angeles home since 2016, brings a unique blend of academic expertise and practical business acumen to his work. With a background in atomic physics from the University of Shiraz and a Master of Business Administration, along with a post-MBA degree from the University of Tehran, Ali possesses a solid foundation in both science and business. Before his relocation, Ali held key commercial management positions in major IT companies in Dubai, UAE, where he gained invaluable insights into the complexities of international business.

Driven by a passion for business and marketing, Ali channels his expertise to guide aspiring entrepreneurs at the Pars Equality Center in English and Persian (Farsi). Specializing in entrepreneurship, startups, financial forecasting, and marketing strategies, he offers practical solutions tailored to each individual's needs.

Ali enriches his life and business perspective through his passion for philosophy and history.

Ron Fong - Executive Director

Ron Fong is responsible for API SBC’s overall direction, administration, staff supervision, resource development and program relations. Mr. Fong has over 40 years of community economic development, housing finance and city planning experience. Prior to serving at API SBC, Mr. Fong directed small business assistance, land use and urban planning initiatives for the Little Tokyo Service Center CDC. He previously served as the Community Development Director for the Fannie Mae Western Regional Office. Mr. Fong also directed the Los Angeles office of the California Housing Partnership Corporation, a statewide nonprofit that provides affordable housing financial consulting services, and has worked for redevelopment agencies in Boston and St. Louis. Mr. Fong was elected three times to represent Little Tokyo on the Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council in the City of Los Angeles.

Mr. Fong currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, and on the Community Advisory Board for Cathay Bank. Mr. Fong received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and studied at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.