The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) has announced the recipients of its 2015 Justice in Action Awards: 

• Jessica Hagedorn, novelist, poet, and playwright; 
• Neal Katyal, partner at Hogan Lovells, Paul Saunders Professor at Georgetown University, and former Acting Solicitor General of the United States; and 
• John W. Kuo, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Varian Medical Systems. 

They will receive the awards at AALDEF’s Annual Lunar New Year Gala on Monday, February 23, 2015 at PIER SIXTY, Chelsea Piers, in New York City.

AALDEF is offering AABANY members tickets at $250. To purchase tickets, email Lillian Ling at [email protected] or call (212) 966-5932 ex. 202. For more information, click here.

Over 800 leaders of the civil rights, legal, business, and arts communities are expected to attend AALDEF’s 2015 Lunar New Year Gala. The evening begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by the Justice in Action Awards ceremony and a banquet dinner.

Since 1974, AALDEF has been protecting and promoting the civil rights of Asian Americans across the nation through litigation, advocacy, organizing, and community education. All proceeds from the Lunar New Year Gala will go directly towards supporting AALDEF’s legal and educational programs in immigrant rights, economic justice for workers, voting rights and civic participation, educational equity, and the elimination of hate violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking.