About | Soar Over Hate

Our Story

As senseless, violent hate crimes targeting Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) surged since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, co-organizers Michelle Tran and Kenji Jones knew they had to take action. Saddened by this xenophobia and sickened at how many attacks have targeted the most vulnerable, they formed Soar Over Hate to equip folks to better protect themselves and fight back against anti-Asian racism and violence.

Since March 2021, Soar Over Hate has distributed 45,000+ personal alarms, whistles, and pepper spray across New York and California. We have organized "AAPI Care Fairs" and other events, building community and serving thousands with self defense classes, puppy therapy, meditation classes, group therapy, mental health referrals, hepatitis B screenings, and other vital community resources.

Soar Over Hate serves the AAPI community other ways:

Our need-based Bright Futures Scholarship for high school seniors, which has distributed $14.5K worth of scholarships to deserving students.
Our Heal From Hate Therapy Fund that has provided free culturally competent therapy to victims of anti-Asian hate incidents. Our first round has ended, with over $4,000 worth of therapy sessions covered.
Our monthly Free Self-Defense Classes, in collaboration with OCA-NY and Jessica Ng. Through our classes, we've empowered over 300 individuals to stand up against anti-Asian violence and racism.

Soar Over Hate is excited to continue expanding these programs with the help of donors like you.

Our Team

Michelle Tran

Co-President, Co-Founder

A 2nd generation Chinese & Vietnamese American from Los Angeles, Michelle moved to Houston to study at Rice University before coming to New York City to pursue an MD/PhD in cancer immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Passionate about Asian Pacific Islander (API) issues, she helped lead her school's Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) chapter and sat on the hospital system's Committee Against Anti-Asian Bias and Racism. She started this initiative in the wake of the Atlanta Spa Shootings after feeling saddened and angered at hate crimes targeted towards Asians around her. She was recognized as a 2021 L'Oréal Women of Worth Honoree for this work. She enjoys running around the city and exploring boba shops and vegan restaurants in her free time.

Kenji Jones

Co-President, Co-Founder

A third-generation Japanese American, Kenji moved from Seattle, Washington to New York City to study digital marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology. True to their form, Kenji utilized social media to raise money to purchase pepper spray for Asian Americans in NYC. Their first social media post bloomed into a large-scale mutual aid effort to uplift and protect AAPI folks in NYC. They became connected to Michelle through social media along this journey! In addition to serving the AAPI community through Soar Over Hate, Kenji serves as COVID-19 Outreach Manager at APICHA Community Health Center. Through Apicha, they help make culturally competent healthcare more accessible to underserved communities in NYC, namely communities of color and those identifying as LGBTQ+.

Howard Chen

Vice President, Co-Founder

Howard is a first-generation Chinese immigrant who moved to the U.S. at the age of 10 and has since become a true New Yorker at heart. During his free time he loves playing basketball, strolling through the city trying new vegan foods with Michelle, and mentoring Asian youth as an Apex for Youth mentor. As incidents of anti-Asian hate crime rose exponentially around the neighborhoods he calls home, Howard knew he couldn't sit idly by and wanted to take action by getting involved with Soar Over Hate.

Molly Chen

Event Coordination Lead

A California native, Molly moved to New York City to pursue a career in architectural design and fabrication. She currently sits as DEI co-chair for her workplace and has done work in community outreach in the past. Having found comfort away from home in NYC’s Chinatowns and amongst other APIA friends in NYC, she is invested in supporting this community however she can - now including as an Event Coordinator for Soar Over Hate!

Jacy Yang

Mental Health Lead

Jacy is a first-generation Chinese American who grew up in Massachusetts and New Jersey. She then moved to Pennsylvania to study Industrial & Systems Engineering and Finance at Lehigh University. After graduation, she quickly began her career as a technology consultant for financial services at one of the Big Four in New York City. Jacy moved to NYC during the rise of AAPI hate crimes stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking to help out and make a positive impact on the community in any way she could, she joined Soar Over Hate as a mental health lead.

Ana Luo Cai

Research and Policy Co-Lead

Ana is a Research and Policy Lead at Soar Over Hate. She is a first-generation immigrant born in Peru to a Chinese family and moved to NYC at a young age. Currently, Ana works full-time at the Office of the NYC Public Advocate as a Legislative and Policy Associate and sits on the board of the nonprofit OCA-NY. Her deep investment and passion for NYC-based issues, serving Asian/immigrant communities, and advocacy and policy work is what ties all her professional and volunteer experiences together. She is thrilled to be a part of SOH!

Tiffany Yuen

Youth Leader, Founding Member

A second-generation Chinese American and native New Yorker, Tiffany is a 9th grader and a mentee at Apex for Youth in Manhattan's Chinatown. Tiffany hopes she can help and protect as many people in the community as possible. She helped start Soar Over Hate as part of a mentor-mentee end-of-the-year project at Apex for Youth with Michelle.

Helen Liu

Social Media Coordinator

A New Mexico native, Helen moved to New York City in 2017 for college and stayed for the diversity, art, and availability of late-night boba. She first got involved in Soar Over Hate at an AAPI Care Fair and is now a Social Media Coordinator. After studying biology at Columbia, she works in HIV clinical research and spends her spare time watering her plants, exploring the city with her dog, studying for the MCAT, and trying out all the yuzu-flavored desserts she can

Eric Mao

Fundraising Lead

Hailing from Houston, Texas, Eric currently lives in Manhattan. Because he is incredibly thankful for the meaningful experiences he has had working with the Asian community in New York, he is excited to help out with Soar Over Hate as a Fundraising Lead. Eric is currently a sophomore at Columbia University studying biology.

Carol Lin

Public Relations (PR) and Partnerships Lead

Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Carol is a first-generation Chinese American and soon-to-be alumni at NYU studying Media, Culture, and Communications with a focus in Entertainment Business. Besides school, she works at Universal Pictures as a Brand Marketing Intern, sits on the e-board of The Women’s Network as VP of DEI, and is a Commuter Assistant. From receiving personal safety devices for herself and her family from Kenji Jones’ graciousness when hate crimes first rose to having a blast at the SOH Care Fair with her dog working in puppy therapy, she has been inspired to give back to the organization that has uplifted her. Her past experiences interning in entertainment marketing and media PR/Partnerships now lends to her devotion for supporting the NYC community that raised her to be the woman she is today.

Janet Mark

Event Coordination Lead

Janet is a second-generation Chinese American born and raised in New York City. She is passionate about bringing awareness to anti-Asian violence and the inequalities that the AAPI community faces. She first got involved with Soar Over Hate by volunteering at their AAPI Care Fair. After seeing the work that Soar Over Hate was doing to protect the community, she knew she had to get involved. Janet is a fulltime student pursuing her degree in Accounting and currently works at the NYC Department of Education.

Janice Wong

Web Development Lead

Brinca Siow

Summer Intern

Brinca is a second generation Malaysian American who grew up in Los Angeles, California. She is currently a medical student at Stritch School of Medicine and is working with Soar Over Hate in NYC this summer. She is interested in serving urban immigrant communities both inside and outside of medicine.

Rebecca Martin

Research and Policy Co-Lead

Rebecca currently lives in Washington DC as a Cybersecurity Data Engineer for a tech company. She is passionate about using data to highlight gender and racial disparities and advocate for policy reform. As a second-generation Chinese American, Rebecca is committed to supporting Soar Over Hate in protecting AAPI community members and calling attention to rising anti-Asian sentiment. She also volunteers with MEASURE Austin, the American Red Cross, as well as organizations supporting women in technology.

Leanne Gan

Graphic Designer

Leanne is from San Gabriel, California and moved to Brooklyn in 2016. She works as a full-time designer for the American Civil Liberties Union and also creates art to support small businesses and nonprofits through print fundraisers. Leanne feels very grateful to get to work with Soar Over Hate on projects that empower and aid the Asian community. My fun fact: she is a certified Washington state Apprentice Beekeeper and loves shih tzus.

Tamara Tran

Former Website Designer

A 2.5-generation Chinese and Vietnamese American and younger sister of Michelle, Tamara originally became involved in Soar Over Hate by creating their website. Since then, she has been involved in spreading their organization's growth to California. Tamara currently in her junior year at Duke University studying Computer Science and Biology.

Derek Kao

Medical Volunteer, Photographer

A second-generation Taiwanese American originally from Southern California, Derek moved to the East Coast for his undergraduate studies at Yale University. He currently is a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai studying to be an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) surgeon. He is passionate about serving the AAPI community in New York City and supporting Soar Over Hate through photography as well as medical volunteering.