Brooklyn Law School APALSA Honors Alumni at Annual Alumni Dinner

Francis Chin, Susan Leung, Hon. Karen Lin, Hon. Christopher Chin, Karen Kim

Brooklyn Law School’s APALSA honored 3 alumni at their annual Alumni Dinner held on March 22, 2023 at the school’s Forchelli Conference Center.

Hon. Karen Lin, Queens Civil Court Judge, received the AAPI Community Service Award. She emphasized studying unsung but pivotal Asian Pacific American cases in legal history, such as U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, and Yick Wo vs. Hopkins. Judge Lin is an AABANY member and past Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee.

Hon. David K.S. Kim, U.S. Immigration Judge, received the Public Service Award. He remarked that you should think about what kind of person you want to be before thinking about what kind of career you want, and that there is always something new that you can learn every day.

Ona Lu, Product Lead Counsel at Meta, received the Achievement Award. She talked about the support she received from friends and family during the pandemic in making a career change, and in giving yourself the grace to believe in yourself. Ona is a former AABANY Legal Intern, and we congratulate her on her career achievements.

AABANY board members and Brooklyn Law alums Karen Kim, incoming President, and Francis Chin, Technology Director, joined in the celebration, which featured food from Nom Wah Tea Parlor.

Board Member Margaret Ling Featured in Asian Columbia Alumni Association’s May 2021 Newsletter

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Asian Columbia Alumni Association (ACAA) is featuring prominent Asian alums and honoring their contributions to Asian and Pacific Islander communities in North America. In the May 2021 Newsletter, ACAA featured AABANY Board Member and Real Estate Committee Co-Chair Margaret Ling (Barnard College ’78) for her actions in speaking up against anti-Asian hate crimes and educating others to respect the AAPI community. In the feature, Margaret is quoted:

“Since 2020, Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have been intensely affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, and recently the Atlanta, Georgia killings. Throughout this time, the AAPI community has been faced with racism, xenophobia and anti-Asian hate crimes and violence. As an AAPI attorney and Fourth Generation American Born Chinese, I have been active in speaking up and speaking out with other Asian and ally organizations to educate others to respect the AAPI community and afford all of us equity, fairness and just treatment under the law. We are all Americans and are rooted in our immigrant and cultural heritages which make us stronger together.”

Please join AABANY in congratulating Margaret on her recognition by the Asian Columbia Alumni Association for her work in supporting the AAPI community!

In the News: Executive Director Yang Chen and Board Director Chris Kwok Featured in The Spectator

AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen and Board Director Chris Kwok were recently mentioned in the April 28, 2021 edition of The Spectator, the Stuyvesant High School newspaper, in an article titled “Alumni Association Hosts Community Discussion on Anti-Asian Violence.” Both alumni of the school, Chris (’92) served as the moderator and Yang (’83) was one of the speakers in the April 15 community discussion. Other panelists included Joanne Kwong (’93), President of Pearl River Mart; Soo Kim (’93), President of the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association; U.S. Representative Grace Meng (’93); Seung Yu, Principal of Stuyvesant High School; and current Stuyvesant juniors Christopher Liu, Xiaoshen Ma, Laura Xia, and Alice Zhu. During the discussion, panelists shared with over 200 attendees their personal experiences with race and their opinions on the recent increase of hate crimes and racism against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Yang presented the findings and solutions outlined in AABANY’s report on anti-Asian violence and spoke about how AABANY is supporting the AAPI community. He stated: “One thing we’re pushing hard on is to make sure the NYPD Asian Hate Crimes task force is being fully funded. We’re very much supportive of any effort by law enforcement to bring attention to this issue and we’re trying to put as much word out as possible especially to the Mayor’s office. Mayor de Blasio denounced Asian-American violence a year ago but we’re still waiting for someone who is arrested for the crime to actually face criminal sanctions for it.”

To read the full coverage of the program on The Spectator, click here.

In the News: President-Elect William Ng Featured in Binghamton University’s Alumni Newsletter

William Ng, President-Elect of AABANY, was recently featured in Binghamton University’s April 2021 Alumni Newsletter. In the article titled “Alumnus Leads Bar Association, Combats Racism,” William discussed AABANY’s mission of ensuring meaningful participation of Asian Americans in the legal profession. He also highlighted AABANY’s leadership in addressing the rise of hate and violence against the Asian American community. As President-Elect, William looks forward to prioritizing fundraising and ramping up virtual programs to position AABANY for success in a post-pandemic environment. Speaking about his time at Binghamton, William ’04 credits his experience serving in the Student Association and as a Student Conduct Board Member to furthering his interest in law.

The newsletter also acknowledges other Binghamton alumni who have served or currently serve on the AABANY Board:

  • Yang Chen ’87, Executive Director
  • Linda Lin ‘00, Past President
  • William Wang ’00, Past President
  • Bobby Liu ’93, Former Board Member
  • Christopher Bae ’10, Secretary
  • Beatrice Leong ‘06, Membership Director

To read the full article on Binghamton University’s Alumni Newsletter, click here.

Binghamton University Presents: “China’s Super Consumers”

Binghamton University Presents: “China’s Super Consumers”

AABANY Congratulates Rio Guerrero

rio guerrero

AABANY congratulates Rio Guerrero, Founding Chair of AABANY’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, on recently being appointed to serve as a Co-Chair of the NAPABA Immigration Committee. Also, as a 1998 Brooklyn Law School alumni, Rio has been invited as a guest speaker for the April 4th APALSA 25th Annual Dinner at Brooklyn Law School. 

AABANY at the AAAYA Dinner at the Golden Unicorn on 3/9

Past President Rob Leung is being honored by the AAAYA (Association of Asian American Yale Alumni) on Saturday, March 9, at the Golden Unicorn. AABANY will be taking a table. AABANY members who wish to join can do so at the subsidized rate of $50 per person. You don’t have to be a Yale alum to attend. If interested, please send email to [email protected]. Seats are limited.

Here are the details:

The Association of Asian American Yale Alumni and the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance

Cordially invites you to

 

WELCOME THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE!

 

Join your fellow Yale alumni at AAAYA’s 5th Annual Lunar New Year Banquet!

Connect and re-connect at the cash bar Happy Hour with dim sum!

Savor a sumptuous 10 course Chinese banquet featuring traditional New Year dishes!

Enjoy the lucky Lion Dance performed by students from P.S. 124, The Yung Wing School!

Honor your fellow Yalies:

Julie Otsuka, YC ’84, National Book Award-nominated author

Robert Leung, LAW ’94, Partner, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP

Ken Chen, LAW ’05, Executive Director, Asian American Writers’ Workshop

TICKETS

Individual Ticket $100

Tables            *All tables seat 10

Unicorn Table $1000

Bulldog Table $1250

Dragon Table $2000