Staff
Diem Ly (Editor in Chief), 30, is the Vietnamese American Editor in Chief of the International Examiner (IE), the only non-profit pan-Asian American publication in the country. She both serves as a pseudo-executive director of a non-profit as well as the editorial lead of the paper. She has been asked to speak at numerous events, workshops, and panels sharing her experiences in community media, ethnic youth leadership, and in expressing the IE’s active vision to collaborate and partner with people, organizations, and businesses in meaningful ways to uplift the Asian Pacific American community.
Before serving as Editor in Chief for the last three years, Diem worked as the Assistant Editor for the IE; a freelance writer and researcher; the Morning News Writer for Northwest Cable News; and an Assignment Desk Assistant at King 5 News. She earned a Bachelors of Science from the University of Washington, minoring in neuroscience, before re-discovering her appreciation for writing.
Alan Lau (Arts Editor) is a grocer, artist, and poet. He served the Asian American arts community as the IE Arts Editor for over 30 years. He ‘s a published poet and author and is the editor of the nation’s most comprehensive Asian Pacific American book review, the Pacific Reader. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and national and international shows.
Ellen Suzuki (Business Manager) is a former Seattle Japanese Community Queen and has contributed as the IE Business Manager for over 12 years. She has two granddaughters she loves very much, loves to garden, cook and bake delicious goodies.
Abe Wong (Production Designer) grew up in Portland and attended the UW, studying graphic design. He worked in corporate design before pursuing more community-oriented projects. He recently came on-board the IE as a Production Designer. His hobby is playing bass guitar in an indie-rock band.
Collin Tong (Staff Reporter) is a Seattle freelance journalist and former senior director of communications for Washington State University, where he was a guest lecturer at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. He also is the northwest stringer for the New York Times bureau in Seattle and a frequent contributor to Crosscut and the Seattle PostGlobe. Collin was the former public affairs director for the Alliance for Education, and news and features editor for the African Forum News. Collin has received awards from the Washington Press Association and Fund for Journalism on Jewish Life. He was a Jefferson Award nominee, World Affairs Council Fellow, and Michele Clark Fellow at the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in 1976.
Collin has served on the boards of various nonprofit organizations including CityClub, National Peace Corps Association, United Nations Association, Washington Refugee Resettlement, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Denise Louie Early Childhood Education Center, International Association of Business Communicators, and University of Redlands Alumni Association. He also was membership coordinator for the Seattle chapter of the Asian-American Journalists Association. Earlier in his professional career, Collin taught east asian history at Laney College in Oakland, Calif. and Lone Mountain College in San Francisco, and Asian-American studies at City College of San Francisco. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand and is a native of San Francisco, California.
