Color of Success

Today, I'm joined by Matthew Veland, President of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Metro DC and Dyanna Volek, proud Filipina American and native San Franciscan who during the day, works in government affairs and is a champion of the Filipino community. We discuss:

• Biggest challenges that Filipino business owners face
• Need to address mental health and business owners' relationship to money
• Ent...

Today, we welcome Elizabeth Akua-Nyarko Patterson to the show. Following an accident and a skull fracture, she advanced her education. She is the founder and executive director of
the Girls education initiative of Ghana (GEIG), providing
academic and financial support for girls including applicants with special needs, so they may access higher education, and professional opportunities. We discuss: 

• De-stigmatizing special need...

Jackie Dallas followed her passion, which led to her break-out role in Season 1 of "Stranger Things," as 'Jen,' Mr. Clarke's girlfriend, Jen Woo. In the Netflix series, The Hunting Wives, starring Dermot Mulroney, Malin Akerman, and Brittany Snow, she plays Jia-Yi. In this episode, we dive into:

• Career Transition from Medicine to Acting
• Her break-out role in Stranger Things and how it jump started her acti...

Hannah Ryu is a storyteller, AI Strategist, and the co-founder of Oak Theory, a creative technology studio specializing in UX/UI, web, application design, and development. We explore:

• Co-founding a creative technology studio, aiming to address the lack of diversity in UX design firms. 
• Confronting negative self-talk/narratives when building a business
• The role of perfectionism in Korean culture
• The exciting utility of AI in cr...

Joe Daru is no stranger to thriving in new environments. From living in various countries to playing professional baseball, and now acting and directing, Joe shares how he continues to navigate his life and career. He highlights:

• How he developed skills through baseball, such as competitiveness, motivation, and work ethic, which he now applies to his career in Entertainment.
• The importance of open-mindedness and flexibility, p...

We are fortunate to have Producer, Winnie Cheung and actress, Celia Au on the show to discuss their short film, Last Call which premiered at the 2025 SXSW Midnight Short Program. This short fantasy thriller takes you on the psychological journey of a traumatized motorcyclist who daydreams about a sultry serpent woman and is haunted by her enchanting voice. 

Winnie’s credits include being a co-producer on the SXSW Audience Award Win...

In Season 7's premiere, Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa and Dr. Stephanie J. Wong engage in an important conversation addressing:

• Dr. Oriuwa's experience being the only Black student in her medical class at University of Toronto
• Racial trauma in psychiatry to treat patients
• Challenges of connecting with friends and self-care in professional and personal settings
• Being honored with a Barbie made in her likeness and the impact this has o...

I sat down with fellow Bay Area native, David Lim, one of the stars S.W.A.T. on CBS. He shares his personal experiences, career journey, and challenges he faced in the mortgage industry, acting, and modeling. We discussed the importance of resilience, self-belief, and adaptability in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in various fields. David shares the story of how he met his wife, and how they co-founded a jewelry company...

Dr. Samuel Jamier, Executive Director of the New York Asian Film Festival/Foundation (NYAFF), tells me about his childhood, growing up as a Korean adoptee in France and how his experiences led him to his current role of promoting stories from around the world.  He shares his thoughts about reducing stereotypes and advancing representation in film, including: 

• Supporting quality films with multi-dimensional characters vs. blank...

In an emotionally raw interview, actress, Peggy Lu opens up about her family's immigration story, her parents' emphasis on earning a doctorate (which she did), and how following her dream of being creative and having fun led her to work with Tom Hardy in the Venom trilogy. Peggy discusses her mother's wisdom, working as a pharmacist, and how crying is a release for her. I was lucky to connect with Peggy who is charismatic, fun, and...

In collaboration with renowned activist, Malala Yousafzai, Director & Producer, Sue Kim presents “The Last of the Sea Women,” an extraordinary band of feisty grandmother warriors who wage a spirited battle against vast oceanic threats. Often called real-life mermaids, the haenyeo divers of South Korea’s Jeju Island are renowned for centuries of diving to the ocean floor—without oxygen —to harvest seafood for th...

In this episode of the Color of Success Podcast, Dr. Stephanie J. Wong welcomes Theodoric Chew, the co-founder and CEO of Intellect, Asia Pacific's leading integrated mental health care service provider. Theodoric shares his personal journey with mental health, which inspired him to create Intellect—a platform that now serves over 3.5 million members globally. He discusses the challenges and nuances of providing culturally relevant...

In this episode of the Color of Success Podcast, Dr. Stephanie J. Wong sits down with Shauntel Murphy, a corporate leader and the founder of Wishing You Well in Life. Shauntel shares her powerful journey through the challenges and triumphs she faced as a woman of color in corporate America. Together, they dive deep into:

Highlights:

1. Overcoming Bias in Corporate America: Shauntel reveals the persistent biases she enco...

In this episode of the Color of Success Podcast, Dr. Stephanie J. Wong sits down with the remarkable BAND!T, a Grammy-nominated engineer and two-time Billboard charting producer. BAND!T, born in Queens, New York, and now residing in Los Angeles, shares his journey as a first-generation Korean American making a significant mark in the music industry. From dealing with panic disorder as a child to working with some of the biggest nam...