R.E.D. Talks

Stephen Cheung is the President of World Trade Center Los Angeles (WTCLA). The WTCLA supports the development of international trade and business opportunities for Southern California companies as the leading international trade and foreign direct investment attraction organization in the Los Angeles region.
Prior to his current role, Stephen was the Secretary General of International Trade and Foreign Affairs for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and was responsible for managing policies and programs related to the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports, International Affairs and Global Trade. In this role, he was the lead organizer for Mayor Garcetti’s previous international trade missions to Mexico, China, Korea and Japan.  Furthermore, Cheung implemented the city’s strategic plan to make Los Angeles a global capital of clean technology by building the infrastructure to support research, development and manufacturing with key partners.
Concurrently, Cheung was the Director of International Trade for the Port of Los Angeles – the busiest container port in North America, and was responsible for developing programs to increase trade through the Port of Los Angeles, and facilitate goods movement through the Southern California region.
Cheung currently sits on the Board of Advisors of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and Sister Cities of Los Angeles, while also serving on LA Metro’s Sustainability Council and Biz-Fed’s International Trade Committee. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Regional Export Council and the Los Angeles Business Council.
Stephen was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Los Angeles where he received both his Bachelor of Arts in Psychobiology and Master of Arts in Social Welfare from UCLA.

Peter Lee is the CEO and Co-Founder of URB-E (Urban Electric).  URB-E is a leader in developing foldable personal electric vehicles for safe and convenient multimodal commuting. With over 13 patents issued around foldable electric mobility, URB-E partners with universities, cities and business to launch next generation micro transportation products and systems.  Peter has a background in tech manufacturing and product development.  He is a graduate of Middlebury College and received his MBA from the University of California.  Raised in Southern California, Peter is working to make LA the global epicenter for innovative urban transportation solutions.

Tyler Laferriere is a research analyst at the Institute for Applied Economics at LAEDC. He joined LAEDC in December of 2017 directly after finishing graduate studies at Washington State University. His work portfolio at IAE includes data management and analysis; model building and forecasting; drafting economic reports; copy editing IAE drafts; and performing economic impact analyses. His research focuses include data management, economic forecasting, economic policy studies, labor and occupational research and economic impact studies.
Before joining LAEDC, Mr. Laferriere was a graduate student at Washington State University pursing joint degrees in applied economics and statistics. His graduate education also included internships with the Federal Reserve Board and USDA Economic Research Service in Washington, D.C., focusing in the former on consumer spending patterns and the latter on technological adoption models. Mr. Laferriere received his Master of Science degrees in Applied Economics and Statistics from Washington State University. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Gonzaga University.