LYF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission to guide youth toward a deeper understanding of Taiwanese-American identity and culture and to nurture curious, open minds to actively engage in the community.
Established in 1983, as Taiwanese American Youth Leadership (TAYL), the camp originally started as a place where first generation Taiwanese parents could pass on their culture and values. Over the years, the camp has evolved to help the youth of all generations build skills to handle the challenges they might face as Taiwanese-American citizens and their everyday life.
The primary event through which we strive to accomplish our mission is through our annual LYF Camp. LYF Camp is a mashup of the typical American summer camp experience and traditional Taiwanese culture. Outside of LYF Camp, our organization also plays host to a number of community events. We proudly hold development workshops such as college admissions, and community building events such as reunions and festivals.
Meet the 2019-2020 Board of Directors
LYF is run by a board of directors who guides the overall organizational direction and oversees aspects such as marketing, fundraising, camp logistics and programming, design, and community relations.
Shereen Lee, Program Director
Shereen first joined camp in 2008 as a Group A camper. With the help of many years of involvement at camp, she has grown both personally and professionally. Camp has always been a place where campers and staff alike are able to better themselves, learn from others, and let go of whatever stresses they might have in life. She is super excited to bring this — and more — to LYF Camp 2021.
shereen.lee@tacl.org
Josh Chiu, Program Director
Josh is a 5 year veteran of camp attending throughout his high school career as a camper and volunteering for two years as a counselor. His fondest experiences from LYF stem from the spontaneous, unplanned shenanigans he participated in as a camper with close friends that he had just met a couple days prior. In his year as Program Director, he plans to not only create a fun and memorable week for campers, but also create a tight-knit community of staff members who spend time with each other outside of camp. In his spare time Josh likes to sleep in.
josh.chiu@tacl.org
Patrick Chenglo, President
Patrick has been involved in camp since 2004, starting off as a camper and now staff, has shaped him into who he is today. He graduated from UC Berkeley in Computer Science and currently works as a software engineer at Dropbox and is living in SF. His involvement in camp has driven his love for mentorship resulting in him driving the internship program for Dropbox in 2019.
patrick.chenglo@tacl.org
Amy Shieh, Vice President
Amy was born in Taiwan and moved to the Bay Area when she was 8. Her first year at TACL-LYF was in 2015, and quickly found some of her closest friends there. Her favorite part about this organization is its inclusive culture where everyone is accepted for who they are but are encouraged to constantly grow to be their best self. As a third culture kid, she hopes to connect and empower other members of the community in finding their identity within this world of mixed cultures.
amy.shieh@tacl.org
Curtis Fan, Staff Development
Curtis started his experience with LYF Camp as staff in 2015. Before then, he has had several mentorship and leadership roles involving youth and service learning. His dream as a leader is to foster the growth of the next generation, so that they can find their place in the world and be able to guide those around them as well. Curtis believes people can learn and change no matter what age or walk in life, and has dedicated himself to understand the experiences of as many around him as possible.
curtis.fan@tacl.org
Michael Chen, Events
Michael first joined LYF two years ago as a counselor, but didn’t expect it to be such an inclusive and fun experience that challenges everyone to grow to their fullest potential. He’s looking forward to another week of small groups, clinics, and workshops this year! Outside of LYF, Michael is an avid dancer, photographer, and traveler and is a software engineer at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, working on education initiatives.
michael.chen@tacl.org
Emily Chou, Secretary
Emily joined LYF staff in 2015, and surprised herself with how much she enjoyed the experience of planning and participating in camp. Like the campers, she looks forward to the new workshops and clinic activities this year. Outside of camp, she works for an engineering consulting company in the public transportation sector.
emily.chou@tacl.org
Christie Neo, Creative Director
Christie been at camp for a while, both as a camper, as a staff member, and as part of leadership. Underneath all the lanyards and yearbook pages, LYF was where she first found a love for design and people. She enjoys challenging others to think holistically and act intentionally. Currently, she is a product designer at an early stage startup in SF.
christie.neo@tacl.org
Our LYF Officers
The LYF Officer team is an extension of the board and helps out with various on-going projects such as archive management, social media development, website, promotional design, alumni and first generation involvement, etc.
Eugene Chou
Designer
Jonathan Chen
Designer
Christopher Lee
UX Researcher
Rosette Su
Tech Lead
Anton Lee
Media Lead
Bianca Wu
Social Media Lead