FII - National Staff

Maurice Lim Miller, President and CEO
Maurice Lim Miller is Founder and CEO of the Family Independence Initiative. Previously he ran a successful community development agency in San Francisco and Oakland and was honored by President Clinton for his work. Maurice sits on the board of the California Endowment and the Hitachi Foundation.

Michelle Chao, Program and Operations Director, Board Secretary
Michelle Chao has worked at the Family Independence Initiative since 6 months after its inception. During which time, she completed her studies for a Master’s in Business Administration/ Management at Cal State University, Hayward in 2004. Michelle is a native of Oakland, California, where she is a committee member of the Iu Mien Scholarship Fund since 2000. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association (LIMCA) from 2004-2006. Michelle continues to work to help her community preserve its culture and language through various events and projects.

S.F. Pilot Staff

Karen Smith, Family Liaison
Karen Smith is a Bay Area native, mother of 5, and college student. For the past 4 years, she has volunteered as a community leader and worked as a community organizer on social justice issues centered on poverty in the area of welfare rights, economic equality, and education. In May 2006 she received an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts from Chabot College, and is currently attending UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science to pursue her Bachelors Degree in Social Welfare. She plans to complete a Masters Degree in Public Policy to facilitate her work as an agent for social change.

Roberto Aparicio, Family Liaison
Roberto Aparicio is a San Francisco native. He graduated with a degree in International Relations and Politics from University of San Francisco. Roberto has worked with incarcerated youths and their families for the past eight years. He has participated in a number of youth seminars, served as a moderator for the first ever Youth Summit and was also a panelist in a discussion about San Francisco gangs on KALW Radio. Roberto continues to work hard to provide services to arrested youth and to educate society about how to support them more effectively.