Meet the Em·cees
Wayne Wong
Lead MC Wayne Wong is the recipient of the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award. Wayne is the Chief of the Thermal Energy Conversion Branch, Power Division, at the NASA Glenn Research Center where he is helping to develop future high-efficiency space power systems and was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for his work. Wayne is also an artist, actor, and scriptwriter, having pursued comic book illustration in the past and more recently wrote or acted in several films. He is the OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Cleveland Chapter V.P. of Administration, and leads the OCA Dragon Dance Team. He enthusiastically volunteers his time and energy to further the goals of the Cleveland Asian Festival as Executive Committee member, Performance Chair, and Lead MC.
Homa Bash
Born in Calcutta, India, Homa Bash is a reporter at WEWS-TV Channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio. Previously, she worked at KTVZ in Bend, Oregon; KTAB in Abilene, Texas; KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma; WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio; KXAS in Dallas. Homa has a B.A. in Journalism, Middle East Studies & Political Sciences from the University of Arkansas; M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University. Homa is happily married to her husband Daniel Ball and fans can read more about her and their Indian-American fusion wedding in the January issue of Cleveland Magazine. She can be found on Facebook and Instagram
Lynna Lai
Lynna Lai joined Channel 3 News in April 2012 and anchors the weekend editions of Channel 3 News at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. She can also be seen reporting weeknights. Lynna brings to the job her broadcasting experience in major markets across the country. Her aggressive career pursuits began as a reporter at WMBD-TV in Peoria, Ill., which was quickly followed by a year at KGW-TV in Portland, Ore. She then became the first Asian-American television reporter in Cleveland at WJW-TV, but left to pursue anchoring and reporting jobs at WTSP-TV in Tampa, Fla. and WSB-TV in Atlanta, Ga. She has also served as a freelance correspondent for ABC News and the BBC. Lynna can be found on Facebook and Twitter @Lynna_Lai.
Chris Tanaka
Chris Tanaka is excited to be back volunteering at the Cleveland Asian Festival.
He is the Primary Evening Anchor for 19 News, and is passionate about advocating for the Asian American community.
He loves how the Cleveland Asian Festival represents all aspects of Asian culture—especially the food!
Isabel Lawrence
Isabel Lawrence is thrilled to call Cleveland home and join the talented team at 3News. Isabel comes to Northeast Ohio from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was a weekday morning anchor at the NBC affiliate. She graduated Cum Laude from Northwestern, where she majored in broadcast journalism and double minored in sociology and political science. Aside from telling stories, Isabel loves cooking, exploring restaurants and finding good food. One of her passions is traveling and experiencing new cultures, an interest that came from her parents. As the daughter of a woman who was born and raised in the Philippines, Isabel is proud of her Pinoy background.
Syeda Abbas
Syeda Abbas came to this country from as a child that spoke little to no English. That didn’t stop her from dreaming. Abbas knew she wanted to be a Journalist when she was only 10 years old. She pursued her passion at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. There she worked for the University’s Journalism Club called “The Quad.” Even before graduating college Abbas was juggling many different hats. She was working as an on-air model at QVC and modelled for brands such as Becca cosmetics & josie maran. After her internship she was hired as a Traffic Producer for Good Day Philadelphia. In that same time period Abbas was doing freelance traffic reporting at the radio station WXPN in philly. She was soon offered a job at WJET- TV. There she was a General Assignment Reporter and anchored the weekend shows. Currently Syeda works at Cleveland 19 News in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s a reporter and fill-in anchor. She’s been a voice in the community for minorities. Story telling is her passion and in her free time she loves traveling & watching movies.