Who We Are?

Our Mission

MotivAsians for Cleveland is a non-profit organization established to cultivate a vibrant Asian community for Greater Cleveland by promoting the attraction and retention of Asian-American professionals. We also welcome people of all backgrounds to join us to learn about the Asian culture!

Professional Development

Our organization is consisted primarily of students and young professionals, with more established professional generally transitioned to our community partners. Therefore, professional development is a core aspect of the organization. Some development events we hosted are Inter-Organization Speed Networking, Personal Branding / Skill Workshops, and Local Business Showcasing Tours.

Social Networking

We believe that the best way to network with others is to engage in social activities. Therefore, we regularly host affordable group outings such as the DiscoverCLE tours, Playhouse Square musical performances, NBA Cavs games and Dragon Boat racing!

Civic Involvement

Cleveland AsiaTown is a close knitted community with many organizations working together promote our Asian heritage. Being the younger and more energetic members of the population, we often engage the public in community events such as the MotivAsians Annual Lunar New Year Dinner, Cleveland Asian Festival, International Film Festival and Cleveland Museum of Art – Cherry Blossom Picnic / International Community Day. We also provide community service opportunities for our members to give back to society.

Our Board members

Cynthia Bellian - President

A marketing professional of Filipino heritage, on the Marketing Team for Visa, Inc. Cynthia has served as adjunct faculty and professor of Marketing, at Cleveland State University and worked in NE Ohio for companies such as Avery Dennison, Alcoa, Akzo Nobel, GE Lighting, and Visa. She attended, John Carroll University and the University of Pittsburgh, Katz Graduate School of Business.

John Daters - VP of Marketing & Communications

John Daters is Vice President of Client Services at a B2B digital marketing agency in the Cleveland Area. He’s been a longtime member of MotivAsians Cleveland and joined its board in 2024. Professionally, John is an award-winning digital marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience across diverse industries and various areas of focus. Additionally, he has authored or co-authored four books on US travel and marketing. He grew up in Hawaii and along the West Coast. John moved to Cleveland in 2010. He is a father of two children and spends much of his time outdoors.

Linh Huynh - VP Of Development

Linh joined MotivAsian in 2023 as a member and was elected to the board of directors in 2024. She serves as an Assistant Director of Prospect Development at The University of Akron, leveraging her expertise in nonprofit development and digital marketing. Linh co-founded a nonprofit organization in her home country Vietnam in 2017, and currently volunteers with the College Now of Greater Cleveland. Linh is a graduate of John Carroll University and Case Western Reserve University. She enjoys social dancing, traveling, and honing her language skills in her free time.

Sean Periyathamby - Director of Membership

Sean joined MotivAsians in 2022. He is currently a senior engineering manager at an aerospace company and an alumni of The University of Akron. Sean also serves on the board for the Ohio Invention League, a K-12 STEM program to promote innovation. In his free time, Sean likes traveling & sight-seeing, attending various festivals, experiencing different cuisines & cultures, photography, and volunteering. Sean has organized and hosted numerous events with the different organizations he serves.

Greg Tchou - VP of Partnerships

Gregory is a Lead Research Technologist at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, where he studies the genetic basis of atrial fibrillation through CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing of stem cells in the lab of Dr. Jonathan D. Smith, Ph.D. He has a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Rice University in Houston. He is originally from Detroit, MI and comes from Filipino, Chinese and Hungarian heritage. When not in the lab, Greg enjoys bicycling in the Cleveland Metro parks, playing board games and consuming science fiction and murder mysteries.

Flora Mark- Treasurer & VP Of Programming

Flora, a nonprofit professional, connects MotivAsians to the Greater Cleveland community and beyond through a variety of programs, events, and activities. She brings to MotivAsians leadership experience in executing signature & public community events, volunteer development, partnership engagement, diversity bridge-building, and professional consulting. Flora has a Master’s of Nonprofit Administration degree from John Carroll University, and a BA from Emory University. She’s the Director of Community Outflow & Outreach at GarfieldChurch.org and a nonprofit consultant & speaker. Although Cleveland is home, Flora was born and raised in Philadelphia by Cantonese-Chinese immigrants. Proud to be called a cool mom of two sons, she’s also very likely watching K-Dramas (“Crash Landing on You” is her favorite) in her spare time.

Stephy Gao - Co-Secretary

Stephy joined MotivAsians as a board member in 2019. She is an advisory director at KPMG LLP specializing in internal auditing. She is originally from Guangzhou China and is a Notre Dame alumni. In her free time, Stephy likes to watch Asian dramas and variety shows, listen to music, and travel the world with her friends and family.

Ayşe Selen Zarrelli - Co-Secretary

Ayşe Selen Zarrelli has collaborated with MotivAsians since 2023. She is a first-generation immigrant from Türkiye. She serves as the Director of the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, an instructor at John Carroll University, and a diversity consultant.

She aims to continue celebrating the diverse backgrounds of our community and amplify the voices of underserved populations in Northeast Ohio and beyond. Selen is a graduate of John Carroll University, Ege Universitesi, and Universiteit van Ghent. She enjoys the outdoors with a photo camera, a quick weekend trip with her family, and learning a new language.

Yu Hin Hau (Billy) - Director of Technology

Billy Hau is a STEM educator who specializes in aerospace engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, game development and robotics. He was formerly the President of MotivAsians and a project Principal Investigator at NASA Glenn Research Center before returning to Hong Kong in 2021 for caregiving duty. Billy attended Lehigh University for his BS & MS in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing an online degree in Computer Science at Georgia Tech. In his free time, Billy likes to travel and part-take in outdoor sports, especially with sailing and windsurfing now that he is surrounded by the ocean!