AAPI Nonprofit Lunar Accel Appoints Samantha Choi as Newest Board Director

Sam speaking on Female Agency Owners Power Panel at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

AAPI nonprofit Lunar Accel today announced the appointment of Samantha (Sam) Choi, founder and CEO of Manual Labor, to its Board of Directors.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, August 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Lunar Accel, the premier leadership development nonprofit and community for early career East and Southeast Asian professionals, today announced the appointment of Samantha (Sam) Choi, founder and CEO of Manual Labor, to its Board of Directors.

“Sam brings over 25 years of marketing, strategy, and branding experience across consumer and business-to-business,” said Jasper Huang, Co-Founder of Lunar Accel. “Her incredible track record building standout brands reflects the kind of leadership we champion. As Lunar Accel enters its pivotal fifth year in 2026, we are confident Sam will help us continue to shatter the bamboo ceiling.”

Beyond her role at Manual Labor, Choi—an immigrant from Korea—is a vocal advocate for representation in advertising leadership. At the 2025 Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity, the world’s most prestigious global event for advertising, marketing, and creative communications, Choi hosted an independent panel emphasizing the importance of inclusivity to accelerate creativity and innovation. In a recent AdAge article, she explains: “[W]hen diverse creatives are empowered to lead, they build differently. They challenge assumptions. They identify blind spots.”

“The truth is, the system wasn’t built for all of us to win,” said Choi. “Diversity isn't just a ‘nice to have;’ it's essential for real progress. This has been vital to how I’ve built and grown my company. Working with Jasper, Amanda, and the rest of the Board, I’ve seen how Lunar Accel drives real change at the earliest stages of careers, which can drive generational change.”

“From the moment I met Sam, her unwavering commitment to advancing diverse leadership stood out,” said Amanda Xu, Co-Founder of Lunar Accel. “Her philosophy of ‘change won’t happen if we wait for permission’ exactly encapsulates the Lunar Accel spirit – unapologetically focused on making change happen. We are thrilled to welcome someone who embodies this energy.”

Lunar Accel is best known for its flagship career accelerator, a six-week intensive leadership development program. The 2025 program featured keynote speakers Alex Chang, former & first-ever CMO of the San Francisco 49ers, and Katie Soo, COO of DICE, which was acquired by live events discovery platform Fever in June.

This year also marked the launch of Lunar Accel’s First Generation Professional Scholarship, designated for individuals who are the first in their families to hold a white-collar role—in support of Lunar Accel’s mission to expand access and opportunity for all.

About Samantha Choi:

Samantha Choi is the Founder and CEO of Manual Labor, a brand and marketing consultancy driven by the mission to “do great work with good people.” She began her career at Ralph Lauren while studying at Columbia University, where she developed a deep appreciation for the power of storytelling and brand. Born in South Korea and raised in the U.S., Sam named her company Manual Labor as a tribute to the physical and emotional work her immigrant parents undertook to build a better life. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Todd Cadley and dog Sadie, and is always on the lookout for new corners of the city to explore.

About Lunar Accel:

Lunar Accel is the premier 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and community for ambitious, early-career East and Southeast Asian American professionals who want to have an outsized impact on the world. The organization runs an annual flagship career accelerator program featuring speaker events with Asian American founders and business leaders, executive coaching workshops, and mentorship programming for early-career professionals to hone key leadership skills, expand their professional network, and advance their career past the “bamboo ceiling.” Speakers have included Fortune 500 executives, unicorn founders, and Michelin-star restaurant partners.

Jasper Huang
Lunar Accel
jasper.huang@lunaraccel.org
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