The Bill Imada Top 50 Unsung Heroes 2024

The first time Alice Shikina stepped into a Muay Thai ring, the moment felt bigger than the fight itself. The gloves were heavy, but what weighed more was everything she had been carrying in the months before.

She was in her late thirties, newly divorced, and raising two young children on her own. Her kids were just two and five years old, and the life she had carefully built no longer looked the same.

At the same time, she was trying to establish herself as a mediator and build her own business from the ground up. She didn’t know it yet, but the self-trust she was about to forge in that ring would become the foundation of how she led others through their own conflicts.

The Fight Before the Fight

Kickboxing began as a way to cope during a season that felt completely overwhelming. It gave Alice a physical outlet when her thoughts wouldn’t quiet down and her emotions felt too heavy to carry.

A few months later, Alice’s coach asked if she would consider competing. The idea unsettled her because she had never fought before and had never faced someone trained to strike back. For two months, she wrestled with the decision. What frightened her most was not losing, but the possibility of doubting herself under pressure.

When she finally committed, her routine became disciplined and demanding. She trained three hours a day, carving out time in the early mornings and late evenings while continuing to care for her children and grow her work.

The night before her first fight in Iowa, a coach told her that the real fight was already over because it happened during the grueling months of preparation. Once she realized that, her nerves calmed and a quiet steadiness took over. Even as she approached the ring to step in and fight, she felt unusually calm. She didn’t win that match, but she stayed on her feet until the final bell, and for a woman rebuilding her life, that was more than enough.

What the Ring Taught Her About Pressure

Alice went on to fight three more times. Afterwards, Alice turned her sights to competing in triathlons and even placed first in her age group at the Alcatraz Duathlon. While the medals were nice, the real reward was the quiet discipline she built through the discomfort of training.

She came to understand that fear does not simply fade with time. It softens only when you decide to move toward it.

She also learned that preparation changes how you carry yourself in difficult moments. When you put in the work, you stand differently, breathe more steadily, and think more clearly under pressure.

Today, those lessons shape how she sits with couples navigating divorce and teams facing workplace conflict. When emotions rise and conversations begin to unravel, she remains steady, drawing on the same discipline that once kept her composed in the ring.

Building Her Practice on Her Own Terms

Alice now runs Shikina Mediation and Arbitration full-time, helping divorcing couples, families, and organizations reach agreements they once thought were out of reach. Most clients come to her when communication has broken down and trust feels fragile.

Early in her career, she tried building her business by networking with attorneys, but quickly saw the bias against non-attorney mediators in a field long dominated by older white men. Instead of forcing herself into a system that did not fully welcome her, she shifted her focus to working directly with couples and workplace clients, growing her practice into a thriving full-time business over the past decade. In 2025, Alice was awarded the prestigious Raymond Shonholtz Visionary Peacemaker Award by San Francisco’s Community Boards.

Her work has expanded beyond the mediation room. She hosts the podcast, Negotiation with Alice, now over 100 episodes strong. She authored the book Negotiating with Your Kids, and continues to teach communication and conflict resolution to executives and C-Suite staff. As a second-generation Okinawan American whose parents survived the Battle of Okinawa as children, resilience runs deep in her story. 

Nothing in business, she says, will ever feel as intimidating as stepping into a ring to face an unknown opponent. In that ring, she rebuilt her confidence. At the mediation table, she now helps others rebuild their lives with clarity, courage, and peace.

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What started as a small tribute from a mother turned into a two year journey filled with patience, rejection, and hope.

Elenor Mak simply wanted to honor Michelle Yeoh and show her daughter that Asian girls can be the hero of the story too.

No one expected that the journey would end on the red carpet at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Image source: Elenor Mak

The Childhood Inspiration

Elenor Mak grew up watching Michelle Yeoh on Cantonese VHS tapes at home. Seeing an Asian woman lead films and command the screen made a deep impression on her as a child. It showed her that someone who looked like her could be strong, fearless, and at the center of the story. That belief stayed with her for years.

When Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award for Best Actress, Elenor listened closely to the speech. Michelle spoke about being a beacon of hope for children who were waiting to see themselves represented. The moment felt personal to Elenor. That was when she decided to create a doll that captured that historic win.

Image source: Elenor Mak

A Two Year Mission

Creating the doll was a careful process that took five months. A professional stylist in Los Angeles helped shape the look, while a supporter in Hong Kong hand sewed the detailed feathery gown. Each part was made slowly and thoughtfully. Everyone involved wanted the doll to reflect Michelle Yeoh’s iconic Oscar moment.

At the center of it all was Elenor’s mother. She sat at the kitchen table attaching the final accessories with crazy glue and steady hands. When the doll was finished, the real challenge began. For two years, Elenor tried to find a way to get the doll into Michelle Yeoh’s hands.

Image source: @jonmchu (Instagram)

The Hollywood Moment

When Michelle Yeoh’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony was announced, Elenor knew she had to try again. She flew to Los Angeles with her friend Dion Lim, an Emmy Award winning journalist, hoping for one last chance. They waited behind barricades for hours as the crowd gathered. After hearing no from security several times, they almost gave up.

Then something unexpected happened. Janet Yang, a producer and former head of the Academy, stepped in and helped make the moment possible. Soon after, Michelle Yeoh lifted the doll on the red carpet while Sandra Oh and Awkwafina cheered nearby. For Elenor, the moment meant more than giving a gift. It was for the little girl who once watched Michelle Yeoh on old VHS tapes and believed she could belong too.

At 19 years old, most people are still trying to figure out who they want to become. Jonathan Quach, who also goes by Johny, was already thinking about how he could create space for others to grow.

He did not have investors backing him or access to elite facilities. What he had was a deep love for basketball and a growing frustration with how many talented kids were being left out of high-level programs simply because they lacked money, connections, or visibility. 

The name Team Quachro (TQ) was originally created just to enter his first eight kids into a local youth league. What started as a play on words from his last name, ended up becoming a staple in the Orange County Basketball community, competing with the other heavy hitters in the industry.

Starting at 19 with Nothing but Belief

Starting a program at 19 meant stepping into rooms where almost everyone was older. Johny had to lead coaches and speak with parents who had decades more life experience than he did. When he had only 50 kids in the program, a handful of larger, established programs recognized the early growth and tried to buy him out from the start.

As Team Quachro began gaining attention and players began leaving other programs to join his team, some competing coaches sent negative emails to others behind his back. Instead of responding with arguments, Johny chose to respond with action. He focused on developing his athletes and strengthening the culture of the program.

Now 26 years old, Johny has built one of the largest basketball programs and tournament operations in California. By remaining consistent and treating every family with respect, he gradually turned early skepticism into long-term trust. Team Quachro now serves more than 300 athletes, with thousands of families having come through the program over the years.

Carving a New Lane for Asian Leadership

Building one of California’s largest platforms by age 26 is a feat in itself, but doing so as an Asian founder carries even more weight. In the youth basketball world, Asian founders are rarely seen in leadership roles. Johny understood that reality and wanted younger players to see someone who looked like them leading from the front.

Representation, for him, was not about making statements. It was about building something real and lasting that could create opportunity for others. Every partnership and every opportunity had to be earned through persistence and relationship building.

Over time, that work transformed a small training group into one of the most respected sports organizations in California. Johny proved that leadership is not determined by age, background, or stereotype. It is shaped by commitment, integrity, and care for the people you serve.

Leaving a Legacy Bigger Than Trophies

What began as a handful of local training sessions has grown into a thriving ecosystem of teams, tournaments, and mentorship. The results of that dedication are visible at the next level, with TQ athletes playing at the Division I college level, as well as at JUCO and NAIA programs.

Despite that growth, Johny has worked intentionally to keep the heart of the program intact. He continues to cover costs for athletes who cannot afford to participate and organizes free clinics to make the game more accessible. He believes that financial limitations should never be the reason a child cannot pursue their potential.

Johny did not inherit a platform, and he did not receive a head start. Today, the program stands as more than a basketball organization. It stands as a family built on loyalty, mentorship, and shared belief. For him, that culture is the greatest achievement of all, far greater than any trophy or tournament win.

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Andre Koo Jr. was born into one of Taiwan’s most influential business families, where legacy and leadership have shaped industries for more than a century.

As a fifth-generation heir to a $6.3 billion empire, he had every reason to remain within the comfort and stability of an established dynasty.

Yet instead of staying home, he chose to build something new in New York, placing a focused bet on the future of artificial intelligence.

Image Source: NYU Stern

Honoring a 130-Year Legacy While Charting His Own Path

For generations, the Koo family has played a defining role in Taiwan’s business landscape, building institutions that span finance, infrastructure, and beyond. Growing up within that environment meant understanding both the privilege and the responsibility tied to the family name. Legacy, in this case, was not just inherited wealth but a long-standing commitment to growth and impact.

Still, Andre Koo Jr. believed that honoring tradition did not require standing still. While remaining actively involved in the Koo Family Office, he set his sights on expanding the family’s global footprint. His move to Manhattan marked a deliberate step toward independence, signaling a desire to test his vision in one of the world’s most competitive markets.

Image Source: Private Wealth Institute

Building K8 Capital for the AI Era

That vision took shape through K8 Capital, a firm designed to invest in artificial intelligence and enterprise software. Rather than following typical venture capital models, Andre structured a hybrid strategy that blends private credit with venture investments. This approach allows him to pursue innovation while maintaining disciplined risk management.

The strategy is already delivering results, with gains of over 50 percent achieved through carefully structured short-term loans. K8 Capital has secured five major investors and is actively deploying capital into promising technology companies. By combining the prudence of established wealth with the speed of modern tech investing, Andre Koo Jr. is building a bridge between a historic dynasty and the next generation of innovation.