Art & Action Benefit Dinner

Dian Dong is a 4th generation Chinese American and a proud New Yorker. In 2022, she was appointed as Artistic Director/Executive Director of Chen Dance Center, following the passing of her late husband H.T. Chen.

Ms. Dong graduated from The Juilliard School and danced professionally with companies in NYC before joining her husband in establishing Chen Dance Center. She attended the Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders-ARTS at Stanford Graduate School of Business, participated in the Kennedy Center’s Capacity Building Program led by Michael Kaiser, and helped lead Chen Dance Center through a series of expansion and renovation projects from 2009-2013.  

In the capacity of Education Director, Dian designs the education programs for CDC’s award-winning home based and residency programs. In 2021, she and H.T. developed a K-12 curriculum through Dance Education Lab for the NYC Dept of Education’s Tracing Footsteps Series titled Into the Heart of Chinatown – Hidden Voices.

Dian recently led the company through the restaging of company repertory, performances at the Ailey Theater, LaMaMa Theatre, touring to TN, MS, MA, CT, NJ, citywide in-school performances and follow-up workshops, and Early Childhood Dance classes at PS42M in Chinatown. In 2024, she received the Carmen DeLavallade Award presented by the New York Institute of Dance and Education.

Christine Toy Johnson is a Tony and Obie honored, Rosetta LeNoire, JACL, Actors’ Equity Foundation, and Asian American Arts Alliance award winning writer, actor, and advocate for inclusion. Her written work has been produced and/or developed by the Roundabout, Lortel, O’Neill, Abingdon, Greater Boston Stage, Florida Studio Theatre, Ars Nova, Barrow Group, Prospect, Weston Playhouse, Musical Theatre West, Goodspeed Opera House, and more, and is included in the Library of Congress’s Asian Pacific American Playwrights Collection. Published by NoPassport Press, Smith & Kraus, Rowman & Littlefield, Applause Books. Treasurer of the Dramatists Guild and host of the Guild’s podcast "Talkback" on Broadway Podcast Network. BMI, Writers Lab, Sarah Lawrence College alum, co-founder of AAPAC (Asian American Performers Action Coalition), founder of the Asian American Theatre Artists Collective, Inaugural Catalyst for Change fellowship through the Dramatists Guild Foundation. As an actor, Christine has appeared extensively on Broadway, Off-Broadway (“Shanghai Lils” with Pan Asian!), in regional theatres across the country and on television and film. Highlights include Season 2 of the Marvel/Netflix series “Iron Fist”, recurring as Linn Gaad on “The Americans”, as well as the First National/North American tour of “Come From Away”, the Broadway revival of “The Music Man”, the Guthrie, Williamstown, Huntington, Bucks County Playhouse. Insta/Threads: @CToyJ Details: www.christinetoyjohnson.com

George Takei is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, Takei spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in United States incarceration camps along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans.

He now serves as chair emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to US-Japan relations.

Stephanie Chun danced with H.T. Chen & Dancers from 2010-2015 and taught at Chen Dance Center from 2014-2021. She led master classes across the country and had the honor of helping Mr. Chen set his work on students at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. She appeared in Mr. Chen’s work on The Kennedy Center’s “Arts Across America” and joined Chen Dance Center’s Board of Trustees in the Fall of 2023. She is the Head of Ballet Academy East’s Children and Teen Division, an Adjunct Professor of ballet at NYU and a pianist at Juilliard and American Ballet Theatre.

Elizabeth McPherson, PhD, is a Professor, Dance Division Head and MFA Dance coordinator at Montclair State University. Executive Editor of the journal Dance Education in Practice, she has written numerous articles and reviews for several publications. Her books include: The Contributions of Martha Hill to American Dance and Dance Education,The Bennington School of the Dance: A History in Writings and Interviews, and Milestones in Dance in the USA, an award-winning collection designed for dance history courses. She is currently researching the life and career of Helen Tamiris. Elizabeth holds degrees from Juilliard, The City College of NY, and NYU.

Pun Bandhu is an award-winning Actor/Producer. He has acted on Broadway (WIT) and Off Broadway (THE TREASURER at Playwrights Horizons, PLENTY at The Public Theater and MOM, DAD, I'M LIVING WITH A WHITE GIRL at Pan Asian Rep to name a few). Awards include CTG's Henry Award for Best Supporting Actor and New Dramatist’s Bowden Award. He can be seen in the Academy Award-nominated films MICHAEL CLAYTON, the Coen Brother's BURN AFTER READING and CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? among others. Most recently, he co-starred opposite Oscar winner Riz Ahmed in RELAY. Pun is also a frequent guest star on the small screen. Series include ELSBETH, FBI, BLUE BLOODS, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and many others. As a producer, Pun has won multiple Tony awards through his shingle ZenDog Productions. As an advocate, Pun is proud to have co-founded the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) and is the recipient of an Obie Award and Tony Honor in recognition of the group's success in increasing diversity within the theatre industry. www.PunBandhu.com 

Ron Nakahara is an actor/director based in New York City.  He has acted in Theater, Film and TV in the United States and London. He is a Senior Artist with New York’s Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. His production at Fulton Opera House (Lancaster, PA) of MISS EVER’S BOYS won him a best director award.  He has served on several NEA panels and was one of the first recipients of an NEA/TCG Directing Fellowship.  He is a member of SDC, SAG-AFTRA, and AEA.  Ron attended the University of Hawaii where he studied with acting teachers Glenn Cannon from NY and Terry Knapp from The Royal Shakespeare Co., as well as with Kikunobu Onoe (Kabuki acting and dance) and National Treasure of Japan in Kyogen, Nomura Mansaku.  In Hawaii he also trained with noted voice teacher Kristen Linklater, and in NY with Sandra Antognazzi in Tango.