Joy Higa is Vice President, Health Care Reform at United Healthcare where she manages federal health reform policy and implementation.
She previously served as deputy chief of staff to the California State Controller from 2004 to 2006 and chief deputy cabinet secretary in the Office of the Governor during 2003.
Joy Higa received her bachelor of arts degree from Cornell University.
Nikki Daruwala is Director of the Social Responsibility program at American Rights at Work. Prior to this position, she was Manager for Advocacy and Social Policy at Calvert, a leading socially responsible mutual fund company. Daruwala is a founding member of the Child Labor Coalition, and has served as Chairperson of the Indigenous Rights Committee and the Diversity Committee at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and on the Shareholder Advisory and Policy Committee Board of the Social Investment Forum. She currently serves on the Advisory Committee for the Institute for Women's Policy Research. Daruwala is a graduate of Ithaca College and holds an MS in Industrial and Labor Relations from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Linda Choong is Senior VP, Global Retail Development for the National Basketball Association.
As senior vice president of the NBA's global retail development group, Linda Choong manages the global multi-channel retail businesses for the NBA, WNBA, and NBA Development League. Choong oversees the strategy and execution for league-branded retail, e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer channels. Her areas of responsibility include merchandising, traditional and digital marketing, operations and international expansion. Choong joined the NBA in 1998 to help establish and open the flagship NBA Store on Fifth Avenue, the first retail store to be owned and operated by a North American professional sports league. Choong has also been responsible for the completion of the league's e-commerce partnerships and has overseen several site launches and redesigns.
In July 2008, Choong oversaw the opening of the NBA Store's first retail locations outside the U.S., with two stores in Beijing, China. She also introduced a new global retail design with a new store in Shanghai, China during the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Choong has held several positions at the NBA, including vice president of retail, senior director of retail, and director of e-commerce business operations.
Prior to joining the NBA, Choong was the director of planning at A|X Armani Exchange, where she was responsible for merchandise planning for the U.S. business and served as the primary lead for four Asian buying offices. Before that, she held various planning positions at Ann Taylor.
Choong received a bachelor's degree in design and environmental analysis from Cornell University.
Wen-fei Uva is a Senior Extension Associate at Cornell University. Her research interest is in market development for horticultural products and sustainability of horticultural businesses. She is currently developing an extension and applied research program on marketing of horticultural products including fruit, vegetable and ornamental horticulture crops. This program is designed to enhance the competitive position of the New York fruit, vegetable, and ornamental horticultural industry through targeted, curriculum-driven educational programs. Wen-fei Uva received her B.S. from National Taiwan University and her M.P.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.