Board
Executive Board:
Justin Ruaysamran is Vice President, Corporate Counsel at Jennison Associates LLC, a registered investment adviser offering active investment management services to institutional investors and collective investment vehicles. Prior to this role, Justin served as counsel at PGIM, where he advised on cross-business initiatives within the asset management businesses of Prudential Financial. He has also spent time in Prudential’s International Insurance and International Investments businesses. Justin began his legal career as a bank finance and corporate associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, where he specialized in acquisition finance and syndicated lending. He is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, where he co-founded and co-leads the Financial Services Network. Justin earned his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law (Pritzker) and his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago.
Contact Justin at president@tabalawyers.org
Panida Rzonca is Directing Attorney at Thai Community Development Center. Panida oversees social and legal services at Thai CDC; including the Thai CDC legal unit that provides family based immigration and naturalization services. Panida’s experience includes advocating for Thai victims of human trafficking at Thai CDC since 2007. Currently, Panida is primarily assisting victims of sex trafficking from what may be the largest Thai sex trafficking enterprise to date. She provides counsel to victims who are called upon to be federal witnesses, provides immigration legal services and also case manages comprehensive social services including reporting trafficking cases to law enforcement and assisting victims in navigating the legal system to obtain immigration status, restitution, and ultimately, justice. In addition to her work in anti-human trafficking, Panida has been involved with both labor and housing rights advocacy. She is dedicated to workers’ rights advocacy within the Thai community working on public awareness campaigns and direct services to help workers navigate governmental agencies for wage and fair labor standard claims. Panida is also a board member of the California Access to Justice Commission and was the 2018 President of the Thai American Bar Association. Panida finished her J.D. at Southwestern School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science with a focus on International Relations at the University of California at San Diego.
Contact Panida at presidentelect@tabalawyers.org
Christopher T. Sukhaphadhana is senior intellectual property counsel for Becton, Dickinson and Company. His practice primarily includes client counseling, freedom-to-operate analyses, and domestic and foreign patent preparation and prosecution. Chris has experience working for a major consumer products company, a large IP boutique law firm, and examining patent applications for the federal government. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Chris served as the treasurer for the Asian and Pacific American Law Student Association while at the University of Virginia, and as an advisor to the University of Illinois’ Thai American Insight undergraduate student organization while at UIUC. He is a founding board member of the Thai American Bar Association and served as its president from 2014-2015. Chris currently serves on the governing boards for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Thai American Samakkee Coalition.
Contact Christopher at treasurer@tabalawyers.org
Panida (Anna) Pollawit was born and raised in Queens, NY. Anna grew up speaking Thai at home and learned how to read and write in Thai at the local temple. She went to Trinity College in Hartford, CT and majored in biochemistry when she found her calling in law. After graduating from Georgetown Law, she practiced commercial litigation at BakerHostetler in New York. She joined the Thai American Bar Association to get to know other Thai attorneys and assist the greater Thai community.
Contact Panida (Anna) at secretary@tabalawyers.org
Governors:
- Tanya Kiatkulpiboone
- Tammy Sumontha
- Juthamas Judy Suwatanapongched
- Phatchara Udomsin
- Tonya Vachirasomboon
Past Presidents:
- 2012-2013: Juthamas Judy Suwatanapongched
- 2014: Tanasawat Jacob Satayaviboon
- 2014-2015: Christopher T. Sukhaphadhana
- 2015-2016: Tanya Kiatkulpiboone
- 2016-2017: Sam Puathasnanon
- 2017-2018: Panida Rzonca
- 2018-2019: Jane Kespradit
Founding Members:
- Mann Bunyanunda
- Michelle Bussarakum
- Into Champon
- Steve Chariyasatit
- Wareewan Tina Charoenpong
- Win Chevapravatdumrong
- Luci-Ellen Chun
- Gary C. Eto
- Hon. Alan Friedenthal
- Maria Harrington
- Terry Huttayananont
- Srivitta Kengskool
- Jane Kespradit
- Kathy Khommarath
- Tanya Kiatkulpiboone
- Edward W. Lew
- Nedrudee Liu
- Alisa Manasantivongs
- Don Nghiem
- Sam Puathasnanon
- Panida Rzonca
- Raymond Sakai
- Tanasawat J. Satayaviboon
- Vasudhsiri T. Sathienmars
- Sanya Sukduang
- Christopher T. Sukhaphadhana
- Tammy Sumontha
- Edmond Sung
- William Sung
- Juthamas J. Suwatanapongched
- Lisa D. Tanner
- Sirithon Thanasombat
- Tonya Vachirasomboon
- Phunphilas Viravan
- Connie Charoonsrisavasd Wood
- Lorraine Yu