My SGV Podcast
Welcome to the My SGV Podcast. A show where you will hear personal stories of triumph over failures, and how others successfully navigated the unique landscape that is the San Gabriel Valley. What makes us different? Well, just like you, we have chosen the San Gabriel Valley for our home or businesses, or both. We believe it is the people and small businesses that make this community great and we love to share their stories with you. We always encourage your questions and feedback and you can find all of our contact information at sgvmasterkey.com.
Episodes
Karen Cheung Lee grew up in the San Gabriel Valley alongside her three sisters, raised in the community where her family built the local restaurant Sam Woo. In her early adulthood, she worked in the events and hospitality industry and helped launch the restaurant's San Gabriel location. She later transitioned into a corporate career for ten years to focus on raising her two daughters. Now, as her father prepare...
Paramveer Bedi is an entrepreneur in the San Gabriel Valley and one of the owners of Bhanu Indian Cuisine & Market. Located in San Gabriel, the business was originally established by his father and aunt with the goal of providing authentic Indian food and culture to the local community. The establishment operates as both a sit-down restaurant and a specialized marketplace, offering a wide range of traditional In...
Thee Sawadwid is the chef and owner of Fillet Sushi, located in Old Town Monrovia. Raised in Thailand, he transitioned into the culinary world through a deep respect for Japanese discipline and craftsmanship. His path into the profession was defined by hands-on practice and experience in high-level kitchens, including training at Matsuhisa Beverly Hills, rather than formal culinary schooling. Together with his wife ...
George Dera is the owner of Wahib’s Mediterranean Express, a restaurant located in San Gabriel, California. Born in Zahle, Lebanon, Dera moved to Glendora, California, at the age of 14 and has remained a resident of the city since his arrival. Today, he operates his business while residing in Glendora with his wife, Aileen, and their two children, focusing on traditional hospitality and fresh ingredients.
This episod...
Armando De La Torre Jr. is a Los Angeles–born restauranteur, entrepreneur, and artist known for creating and developing Guisados, Georges Burger Stand, and Playita Mariscos. A graduate of Loyola High School and Loyola Marymount University, where he studied Business Law and Marketing, he began his career path toward law before shifting into the restaurant industry. In 2011, he co-founded Guisados in Boyle Heights wit...
Aaron (Phu) Luong was born in Hong Kong under British rule and immigrated to the United States at a young age. He grew up in Rosemead and Monterey Park, later attending San Gabriel High School, where he balanced academics, extracurriculars, and Taekwondo, earning his black belt in his sophomore year. He went on to graduate with a double major in Business Management and Supply Chain Management. Today, he owns and ope...
Marcel Rene Michel is a Southern California native born in Bellflower and raised in Hacienda Heights, with roots in Guadalajara and Colima, Mexico. A first-generation Mexican American, Marcel attended Don Bosco Tech Institute and later built a career in corporate recruiting, working with major companies including ARYZTA, Hasbro, Red Bull, and Disney. His professional journey spans sales, recruiting, and leadership, ...
Shelly Lin is the co-founder of Coconut & Co., a San Gabriel Valley business built around natural, high-quality drinks and desserts that are inclusive, health-conscious, and made for everyone. Born and raised in Medan, Indonesia, Shelly grew up surrounded by rich culinary traditions and a family that instilled in her a deep sense of discipline, independence, and compassion. She co-founded Coconut & Co. along...
T.D. Tran, also known as Thuy Dan Tran, is the Yelp Community Director for the San Gabriel Valley, where she helps connect people, spotlight local businesses, and celebrate the depth and diversity of SGV. She has become a recognizable force in the region through community building, local partnerships, and curated experiences that bring residents and business owners together in meaningful ways. Yelp’s own community c...
Sandra Y. Gomez is the co-owner of Moffett's Chicken Pie Shoppe, a beloved San Gabriel Valley restaurant with over 50 years of history in the community. A Baldwin Park native and graduate of Baldwin Park High School, Sandra brings a background in Human Resources from her time at Alhambra Unified School District to her role running the family business. In 2024, she made the decision to step away from her HR care...
Yamato Miura is a Tokyo born entrepreneur and restaurateur whose path to hospitality has been anything but ordinary. Before building one of the most respected Japanese restaurant groups in Southern California, he moved alone to the United States as a teenager, trained in performance and action work, and later competed in kickboxing. That background of discipline, risk, and precision now shows up in the way he builds...
Anthony Ma is an award winning actor, filmmaker, and voiceover artist from Arcadia, California whose career spans television, film, animation, dubbing, and directing. On screen, he has appeared in series including Scandal, S.W.A.T., This Is Us, Mom, Dear White People, NCIS: LA, The Mentalist, Castle, Shameless, and more. Beyond acting, he has built an impressive voice career across animation, Korean and Japanese dub...
On this episode of the MySGV Podcast, I sit down with a Temple City raised creative who turned a lifelong love of food and travel into a full time career behind the camera and on the page. We talk about how growing up in the San Gabriel Valley shaped his palate, his point of view, and the way he tells stories that feel both personal and cinematic.
He shares the pivot from advertising art direction and digital design ...
Deja Fabro brings big energy, sharp observations, and fearless vulnerability to this episode of the MySGV Podcast. She is a stand up comedian and expressive storyteller who uses self deprecating humor to talk about mental health, infertility, everyday struggles, and the weird little moments of modern life that somehow hit all of us at once. If you love comedy that makes you laugh and think, this conversation deliver...
In this episode, I sit down with David Marquez, a San Gabriel Valley native who grew up in San Gabriel and built a career around the thing he has always loved most, food. We talk about how the SGV shaped his palate, why Los Angeles is one of the best food cities in the world, and how travel and culture keep pushing his curiosity.
David shares his path from more than 15 years in digital marketing to betting ...
In this episode, I sit down with Thomas Liu, an entrepreneur whose story includes the messy parts people usually skip. He talks openly about growing up bouncing between schools, dealing with bullying and identity struggles, and how he made wrong turns that eventually forced him to look in the mirror and decide who he wanted to become.
Thomas walks me through the shift from chaos to clarity and what it looke...
In this episode, I sit down with D. Michael Hamner, FAIA, an architect, educator, and longtime community leader whose story starts in East Los Angeles and runs straight through Montebello and the University of Southern California. We talk about what it means to build a career that blends design, teaching, and service, while staying rooted in the communities that shaped you.
Michael shares his journey as a p...
In this episode, I sit down with Emanuel Griffin, the founder of Heart2Soul Legacy, an organization built to help people navigate life’s toughest transitions through coaching, facilitation, and leadership development
Emanuel shares how his background in theology and his real world work inside the prison system, treatment centers, and with at risk youth shaped the way he communicates. He has a gift for makin...
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alex Cheah, a plastic surgeon who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and took a long road through elite training before bringing his work back to Southern California. We talk about his early years in the SGV, how sports shaped his discipline, and why he always felt pulled toward a career that combined precision, results, and service.
Alex walks me through the evolution of...
In this episode, I sit down with Manuel “Mano” Agulian, known to many as Pastor Mano, a Pasadena based pastor who leads the Armenian Christian Outreach at PazNaz and serves in Armenian Ministries.
We talk about his story of leaving Beirut, Lebanon and coming to the United States during the civil war, and how that journey shaped his faith, his family, and the way he thinks about purpose. We also get into wh...
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