NAPABA Applauds the Nomination of Lisa Wang to the U.S. Court of International Trade

For Immediate Release: 
Date: June 28, 2023
ContactRahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy 

WASHINGTON – June 28, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lisa Wang to serve on the United States Court of International Trade. She would be the second individual from the AANHPI community to serve on this Article III court if confirmed.

“NAPABA congratulates Lisa Wang on her nomination,” said Sandra Leung, President of NAPABA. “A dedicated public servant, Assistant Secretary Wang immigrated to the United States when she was five years old and built a successful career in international trade. We applaud President Biden for nominating her to the court and urge the Senate to confirm her swiftly.”

Lisa Wang is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance. She is the U.S. Department of Commerce’s delegate on the Interagency Working Group for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. In this role, Assistant Secretary Wang supports the Administration’s whole-of-government agenda to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AANHPI communities.

Before her appointment, she was a partner at Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP where she focused on international trade law matters, including antidumping, countervailing duty litigation, and trade policy issues. Assistant Secretary Wang also served as Senior Attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance at the Department of Commerce, as Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and as Senior Import Administration Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where she was awarded Commerce’s Bronze Medal Award for Distinguished Performance. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2006 and her B.S. from Cornell University

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds

2023 NAPABA Convention| Early Bird Registration Opens June 15

2023 NAPABA Convention

November 9-12, 2023 | Indianapolis, IN

Register Now

Building relationships. Connecting with old friends. Finding inspiration. The NAPABA Convention is more than a conference. It is a critical platform to learn about cutting-edge areas in the law and to explore your unique path to professional success.

Join us in Indianapolis this year, where we will also act on core NAPABA values, such as supporting the LGBTQ+ community, the immigrant community, and opposing ill-advised policies that adversely impact the broader AANHPI community.

Early bird registration, housing, and scholarship opens June 15, 2023, and this is your chance for the best deal you will not want to miss.

Housing and A La Carte Options
Early bird registration lets you be first in line to take advantage of our special hotel rates and lets you purchase a la carte plenaries and gala tickets! A room block has been secured at the JW Marriott Indianapolis, the Convention host hotel, and Courtyard Indianapolis Downtown from November 9-12, 2023 for Convention attendees. The unique booking link will be provided to you AFTER you register for the 2023 NAPABA Convention.

To enhance your Convention experience and put you in control of your schedule, the Friday and Saturday Plenary Luncheons and the 35th Anniversary Gala will be available for purchase a la carte. To attend these ticketed events, you must add them to your registration for an additional fee.

Questions?
You can find additional resources about the Convention and Indianapolis on our website, but if you have additional questions, contact us at [email protected].

AABANY Members Visit Capitol Hill for NAPABA Lobby Day

On May 22 and 23, 2023, AABANY members Yen-Yi Anderson, Vishal Chander, Chris Kwok, Rachel Lee, and Nandar Win Kerr converged on Washington D.C. for National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Lobby Day. Each year, NAPABA organizes the event to educate members of Congress on issues of importance to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. NAPABA Lobby Day is scheduled to coincide with AANHPI Heritage Month in May of each year.

AABANY members met with the legislative staff of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. They discussed issues such as support for the LGBTQ+ community, protection of the right to counsel in immigration, mental health support for AANHPI and other diverse communities, profiling persons of Chinese ancestry, state passage of alien land laws, and AANHPI judicial and executive nominees.

Rachel Lee, an associate at Allen & Overy LLP, shared, “I am happy to have participated in NAPABA Lobby Day this year. It was an educational and eye-opening experience to learn about different issues impacting the AANHPI community and be able to advocate for our community on Capitol Hill at various congressional offices with fellow NAPABA members. I highly recommend the program and would participate again in the future.”

NAPABA is the nation’s largest Asian Pacific American membership organization representing the interest of 60,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA Lobby Day activities include a 3-Part Training Event, Congressional office visits, and an AANHPI Heritage Month Congressional Reception.

Written By: Vishal Chander, active AABANY member and Co-Chair, Solo & Small Firm Practice Committee

2023 NAPABA Lobby Day Wrap-Up

Reflecting on a Day of Advocacy and Engagement

NAPABA’s 12th annual Lobby Day, held on May 22-23, 2023, brought together a diverse group of AANHPI attorneys, law students, and community leaders from across the country to advocate for meaningful policy changes and address key issues affecting our community. Together, we engaged in productive discussions, shared compelling stories, and sought to create lasting connections with lawmakers and their staff. 

Highlights of our Lobby Day achievements include:

Robust Representation: With nearly 90 participants taking part in 52 meetings with congressional offices, NAPABA demonstrated its strength and its commitment to amplifying AANHPI voices in the halls of power.

Advocacy Training: Prior to the meetings, we organized targeted training sessions to equip our participants with the necessary tools and strategies to effectively communicate our policy priorities. 

Policy Priorities: Throughout our meetings, we passionately advocated for key issues at the forefront of our community’s concerns, which included the fair treatment of immigrants, the equal rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and the ability of the AANHPI community to pursue their livelihood. Our collective advocacy efforts ensured that these critical topics received the attention they deserve.

Meaningful Engagements: We met with several influential lawmakers and their staff, fostering meaningful dialogues and building relationships that will continue to be instrumental in advancing our policy objectives. Our Lobby Day participants skillfully articulated our positions, presented compelling arguments, and shared personal stories to humanize the issues we face.

Looking ahead, we will maintain our momentum and continue our advocacy efforts beyond Lobby Day. Learn more about NAPABA’s advocacy at napaba.org/page/advocacy 

NAPABA Partners With Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum to Address COVID-19 Through CDC Grant Funding Opportunity

For Immediate Release:        

Date: April 27, 2021

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – NAPABA is proud to announce that the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) has awarded it grant funding under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Engaging AANHPI Communities in Adult Vaccination (EVAC) program. Under this award, the first received in its history, NAPABA will leverage its nationwide network of nearly 90 affiliate organizations and its expertise at the intersection of language access and anti-Asian hate violence to enhance vaccine confidence and uptake of COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.

“The nearly 4,000 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate, and the countless acts of hate that go unrecorded, has had an impact on our communities to live safely, including getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Community members are scared to leave their homes and are not making appointments for the vaccinations for fear of being targeted,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “In this environment, we especially want to ensure that the most vulnerable AANHPI persons are able to receive the vaccine: the elderly, those with limited English proficiency, recent arrivals, undocumented persons, those on the unconnected side of the digital divide, and others who lack access to COVID-19 information and vaccinations. We are honored to collaborate with APIAHF and over 20 partners nationwide to ensure vaccine confidence, access, and equity.”

In recognition that vaccine messaging will be conducted in the same communities experiencing increased threats and attacks based on the falsehood that AANHPIs are responsible for the pandemic, NAPABA and APIAHF have developed a ground-breaking collection of Combat Hate Crimes Toolkits translated into 25 different AANHPI languages – the largest compilation of its kind. These toolkits provide critical information for victims, community-based organizations, and community leaders on how to report attacks to law enforcement and how to help AANHPI communities deter future threats. NAPABA supports vaccination efforts by deploying these legal and advocacy educational resources in tandem with COVID-19 vaccine information so that AANHPI community members feel safe to leave the house, obtain their vaccines, and return to normalcy without suffering the additional threat of bias motivated attacks.

“NAPABA and its membership has THE largest nationwide boots on the ground reach of any AANHPI organization in the country, including in discrete and hard to reach areas where little infrastructure exists for the community,” said Juliet K. Choi, President and Executive Director of the APIAHF. “This historical and innovative strategic partnership with NAPABA will increase COVID-19 vaccination education by leveraging their members who are trusted civic leaders in their local communities that work to address community needs across a wide spectrum of issues.”

NAPABA plans to mobilize its nationwide network of nearly 90 affiliates and our members’ substantive legal expertise across a range of areas, drawing especially on its innovative work in linguistic access, and will be hiring an Education Coordinator for COVID-19 Vaccination Equity to help fulfill this mission.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of approximately 50,000 legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

NAPABA | 1612 K St. NW, Suite 510 | Washington, DC 20006 | www.napaba.org

AAJC Media Advisory: Advancing Justice and Asian American Federation to Present New Data on Asian American Community in the Northeast

Please go here if you would like to register
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
November 18, 2013
CONTACT: Kimberly Goulart

Presentation of findings will discuss population growth, economic diversity, and implications for policy makers
WHAT:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Asian American Federation will present key findings from the New York section of a new report that
documents the social and economic diversity of two of the fastest-growing racial groups in the region:
A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the Northeast, 2013 Members of the media are asked to RSVP to Dana Malone at [email protected]

WHEN:
Thursday, November 21, 2013
12:00pm – 2:00pm  

WHERE:
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021

WHY:
The AANHPI community is experiencing explosive growth in the Northeast, which is fueling a host of policy concerns including economic access and language barriers. At the same time the growth is leading to unprecedented levels of civic participation, making the AANHPI community a key electorate in metropolitan New York. A Community of Contrasts profiles this incredibly diverse population.

ABOUT:
A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the Northeast, 2013 compiles the latest data on growing Asian American and NHPI communities in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. This is the fifth in a series of reports that strive to make disaggregated data more accessible in order to promote better understanding of our communities, and to help policy makers, government agencies, service providers, and other stakeholders better respond to and serve the needs of Asian American and NHPI communities.
The following sponsors made the report and launch event possible: the
Asia Society and Museum, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, the Chung Ying Tang Foundation, and Bank of America.
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice
 (www.advancingjustice.org) works to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other underserved communities. We comprise Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (www.advancingjustice-aajc.org), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Asian Law Caucus (www.advancingjustice-alc.org), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago (www.advancingjustice-chicago.org), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Los Angeles (www.advancingjustice-la.org).