Our Staff
Nancy Yap
Executive Director
Pronouns: She/Her
Nancy Yap is the Executive Director of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing civic and political engagement through leadership development, education, and coalition-building. With more than 20 years of experience in community leadership, Nancy brings deep expertise in strategic planning, program design, and community collaboration.
She also serves as Vice President of the Los Angeles City Board of Building and Safety Commissioners, appointed by Mayor Karen Bass, and as Chair Pro Tem of the L.A. County Government Reform Task Force, where she helps strengthen transparency, accountability, and community participation in local governance.
Nancy’s leadership is grounded in innovation, entrepreneurship, and the belief that meaningful change happens when people work together. As a small business owner, she managed spoken word and hip hop artists and led a social enterprise connecting low-income communities to essential phone services. A dedicated advocate for Little Tokyo, she has served as President of the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council and co-founded Community Feeding Community and Haunted Little Tokyo, two initiatives that bring people together to celebrate and sustain the neighborhood’s cultural and economic vitality.
Across all of her work, Nancy builds spaces where civic engagement, imagination, and community connection thrive together.
Heather Sit
Director of Strategic Operations
Pronouns: She/Her
As the Director of Strategic Operations, Heather plays a critical role in driving organizational effectiveness, adaptability, impact, and innovation. She oversees CAUSE’s operational strategies and day-to-day operations functions, ensuring alignment with CAUSE’s mission and vision. She is excited to work with CAUSE to scale the organization, leveraging its strengths and developing staff to build greater access to opportunities for APIs and their advocates.
Heather brings over 15 years of strategic leadership, corporate governance, and operational expertise. Her track record includes founding and scaling multiple organizations across industries, including consulting, tech, law and policy, and media and entertainment. Prior to CAUSE, she was the founding Head of Product at United Talent Agency and COO of rheli.co, Inc., spearheading internal effectiveness, productivity, and staff development efforts. She is a former advisor to the board of Innovate@UCLA, an organization connecting IT industry leaders with UCLA faculty and students to inspire innovation and positive disruption. She has built teams from 0 to 100 and secured multi-million dollar revenues.
She is also a trained poll watcher through the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a legal observer through the National Lawyers Guild, and a lifelong member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. In law school, she interned with the Massachusetts Tax Fairness Commission, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue, and the Boston Municipal Court.
Beyond her work at CAUSE, Heather serves as a facilitator and planning committee member for Women in Product’s PM Cooperative for Mid-Career Growth. She is a leadership coach and consultant to SMBs. Additionally, she holds Advisory Council positions with UCR’s Women in Leadership program and Harvard Business Review.
Andrea Mac
Programs Coordinator
Pronouns: She/Her
Andrea is a passionate advocate for addressing accessibility issues and fostering civic engagement among AAPI communities in Los Angeles. Born and raised in LA, Andrea has actively collaborated with multiple nonprofit organizations to uplift underrepresented and marginalized voices—whether by tabling for voter registration in AAPI communities or conducting her undergraduate thesis on the geospatial and racial distribution of 2024 primary election vote center locations across LA County. Andrea is excited to continue this work with CAUSE, where she will explore the intersection of policy, data research, leadership development, and community engagement to drive impactful change and foster stronger, more informed communities.
Beyond her work with CAUSE, Andrea dedicates her efforts to the Ivory Bridges Foundation, where she assists in paving a pathway to an equitable future for first-generation college students through 1-on-1 coaching in wellness, financial literacy, and professional career development.
Andrea graduated from Pomona College with a BA in Public Policy Analysis-Economics.