Read to
Respond
Board of Advisors
Our Board of Advisors guides Read to Respond’s work, providing crucial expertise and critical representation from various stakeholder groups. Each member brings a unique perspective—educational, literary, youth empowerment, or community service—that informs our day-to-day operations and ensures our impact is aligned with our mission and those we serve.
Ilona Yim
Ilona Yim, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine, where she studies how stress affects our health and well-being. Her research explores how stressful experiences can shape our health and well-being across the lifespan. She is also Co-Founder of The Global Academic, where she brings her experience as a professor and mentor to helping students navigate college and academic life.
Tiana Day
Tiana Day is an award-winning activist, speaker, and Founder and Executive Director of Youth Advocates for Change (YAFC). Through YAFC, she has led initiatives advancing youth leadership, advocacy, and community change, reaching thousands of young people and educators across the country. Her work has earned national recognition, including being named a CNN Young Wonder, Golden State Warriors Impact Warrior, and Kean University Outstanding Human Rights Activist. Tiana attended the University of Southern California’s Iovine and Young Academy and completed Harvard Business School’s Foundry program, further developing her approach to leadership, innovation, and organizational growth. Today, she continues to use her platform to champion young people as leaders and create opportunities for the next generation of changemakers.
Joshua Wood
Joshua Wood is the Director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts, where he has fueled collaborative, immersive, and literary events for a quarter century. His work appears in various anthologies and journals. Honors include the John Fowles Award for Fiction, as well as finalist placements for Glimmer Train's Emerging Writers Award, The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry, and the James Hurst Prize for Poetry from The North American Review.
Yusheng Chen