Board of Directors

Erika Lee Executive Director

erika@activecompassiontransforms.org

Erika holds a bachelors degree in Economics and Asian Pacific American Studies from New York University. Her passion for Africa was ignited while studying abroad in Prague. There, she learned of the socioeconomic relationship between Africa and the rest of the world. Her studies on African culture along with AIDS and its impact on the world economy were the catalyst for her world vision. In 2008, she visited students in Cape Town, South Africa and was inspired to bridge the socioeconomic gap between their country and ours. Upon returning to New York, she started Active Compassion Transforms.

Although Erika has worked in and achieved success in a vast array of industries; from finance, IT consulting, hospitality and tourism, to fashion and entertainment, her passion for volunteering has always come first. She is a certified mentoring supervisor through Big Brothers Big Sisters and Fordham University. In July 2008, she was honored by the City Council of New York for her team’s work in leading a children’s reading program in Corona, Queens with NY Cares. She is also currently a member of the NY Cares Queens Leadership Council, serves as a tour guide for youth groups for Joshua Expeditions, and trains teams of people to volunteer in South Africa.

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Carol Liu Marketing Director

marketing@activecompassiontransforms.org

Carol’s interest in mentoring began when she spent a summer with underprivileged high school students on a Navajo Indian reservation in Chinle, Arizona. Through that trip, she saw the importance of role models in the lives of youth, especially for those surrounded by poverty, drug abuse, high drop out rates, and broken families and relationships. Since that experience, Carol has served as counselor at a camp for inner city youth with Chinese Christian Herald Crusades, volunteered with youth and immigrant families through Hope for New York, led community service projects at work, and mentored and taught English to college students at Xiamen University in China. She was also a mentor to a high school junior through Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, and was one of the mentors in the first year of the interACT program. She leads Vision Church’s global missions team, which supports missionaries and relief organizations in the U.S., China, India, and Guatemala. Carol holds a B.S. in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a M.S. in Management of Risk from St. John University’s Tobin School of Business. She is currently an associate in the risk management department at Goldman Sachs.

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Maryknoll Tauro Education Director
education@activecompassiontransforms.org

Maryknoll came to New York from Manila, Philippines in 2004. She was swept off of her feet by ACT’s mission. Her passion stems from the fact that she is a product of mentoring herself. Hailing from a poverty-stricken background, she has seen and experienced first-hand the value of having a guide to help walk unknown paths and unlock one’s potential. She is also involved with Gifted Hands, a non-profit organization based in New York City, geared towards assisting and improving lives through art. She serves as the director of a weekly scrap-booking program for Clinton Family Inn (a woman’s shelter in Manhattan). At the same time, she is assisting in the development of a mentoring program for women in crisis situations living in shelters and crisis pregnancy centers. Maryknoll holds a Bachelors Degree in Nursing from the University of the Philippines and currently works as a rehabilitation nurse at the New York Presbyterian Hospital -Weill Cornell.

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Michael Harris Development Director
development@activecompassiontransforms.org

Michael grew up in Detroit during a period when it was known as the most violent/dangerous city in the world. His life, however, was positively impacted by caring people and he seeks to make a similar impact on others. He ardently believes in mentoring due to a particular high school mentor that profoundly affected his life. Michael brings extensive volunteer/non-profit leadership experience to ACT. During his undergraduate studies he was elected National Communications Chair for the National Society of Black Engineers (nation’s largest student-run organization) and served in leadership roles in campus organizations. For the past four years, Michael has been the NY Cares Team Leader for a laptop tutoring program at a Harlem charter school. Michael holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. He obtained his MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and says, Go Heels! Michael also completed graduate studies at Handelshögskolan (Stockholm School of Economics) in Sweden. He is a CFA Level III Candidate with work experience in equity portfolio management and corporate asset/business valuation for M&A transactions.

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Tinia Merriweather Community Relations Director
ideas@activecompassiontransforms.org

Tinia has been passionate about South Africa since her first trip there in 1999. She has made 4 trips in total, including a stint teaching at the American International School of Cape Town in 2004. She has supported the mission of ACT since she first heard about it and did some initial consulting before the launch. She is thrilled to now be a member of the board. Tinia is an educator with 15 years of teaching experience, and she is currently writing her dissertation to complete her degree in Applied Developmental Psychology.

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