GIG FOUNDER

Toan Lam

A former broadcast reporter, Lam founded Go Inspire Go (GIG), after being laid off from his TV reporting GIG in San Francisco. He has turned down many lucrative jobs in and out of the TV industry to startup GIG. He currently shares his GIG blogs and/or videos with The Huffington Post, Deepak Chopra's Intent, Vivanista and Tonic.

Toan was born in Saigon, Vietnam. Just over 30 years ago, his family immigrated to America when he was a baby.

His family risked everything for America's promise of a better life and opportunities.

All ten of them were grateful to be living in the same trailer. They moved from one bad neighborhood to the next. Toan remembers feeling despondent, uninspired and powerless in his community filled with violence, hookers, liquor stores, drive-by shootings and the infamous "barber shop" where you can get a "fade" (haircut) by day, drugs at night and attend church in the parking lot on Sunday.

Books were his passport out of those neighborhoods, but he hid his love for reading and writing because no one validated his voice. Kids would tease him for speaking proper English (must have been all those books he read aloud) .

Funny how life works. Toan grew up without a voice, but is now a determined voice for the voiceless — through a career as a TV reporter, college professor and his passion work, GoInspireGo.com (GIG).

He was invited by Arianna Huffington to be a regular blogger for her website, The Huffington Post, among others.

Toan believes everyone is inspired by someone or something. Given his humble beginnings, he's grateful to create his own dream job title: "Inspirator" — someone who helps people discover their powers to help others.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kavita Gobburi

Kavita Gobburi is an experienced strategy and financial management professional with a passion for developing socially responsible and sustainable organizations. Prior to joining the GIG team, she worked in New York and held a variety of roles in a multinational investment and commercial bank. She has held executive positions in the non-profit sector addressing social issues ranging from economic development and microfinance to education and civic engagement. She has also served on the Boards of domestic violence and educational organizations.

Kavita has worked internationally and graduated with her MBA from Thunderbird, and an undergraduate degree in biology from UC San Diego. She loves spending time with her family and young toddler and enjoys the numerous outdoor adventures the Bay Area offers.

Ashley Lopez

Ashley Lopez hails from San Jose, Calif. Growing up, she was naturally compassionate and enjoyed doing volunteer work around her community and school. While attending San Francisco State University for broadcast journalism, she obtained an internship with KRON 4 News where she met Toan Lam who was a TV reporter at the station. In April 2009, when Toan started up GIG, Ashley was asked if she would join his team. Ashley realized the work GIG does is the best way for her education to benefit the media world and decided to switch career paths. She is now pursuing a teaching credential in mathematics and a Master of Education from National University. In addition to being a GIG board member, she teaches geometry and algebra at Willow Glen Middle School in San Jose.

Jennifer Schumacher

Multimedia specialist with social marketing and agency experience for companies such as Nike, R2C Group and Yahoo, Jennifer is a "Jen of all trades." She can produce, edit and write for broadcast and online. As a producer, editor and writer in broadcast and online, Jennifer strives to inspire people to connect emotionally through innovative technology, sound and storytelling. She is passionate about the connections people create and how they obtain and share their information.

Marcia Estarija Silva

Marcia Estarija Silva thrives on using social media and online tools to build campaigns that encourage participation and strengthen community. She is a client services manager at BlogHer.com, the leading blogger network for women. Previously, she developed and implemented policy advocacy and communications plans for nonprofit organizations at i.e. communications. Marcia oversaw community relations at craigslist.org and worked in public accounting at Deloitte (formerly Deloitte & Touche). When she's not catching up on social media/tech and pop culture news, Marcia is cultivating home improvement skills with her husband in San Mateo, Calif.

Connie Chan Wang

Connie Chan Wang is passionate about using social media for social good — to spark conversations, build community, and inspire change. This has led her to pursue a variety of career opportunities from education to nonprofit to technology. Connie is currently Social Media Marketing Manager at LinkedIn where she leads overall strategy, empowers internal stakeholders, and manages social communities. She also manages the LinkedIn for Good Foundation which connects employee talent to opportunities they can use their skills and talents to make a positive impact on the world. When Connie is not working, she's eating her way around the world.