This past Annual Dinner, we were privileged to award three inspirational honorees: Jenny R. Yang, An-Ping Hsieh, and Preet Bharara. We invite you to view the video playlist of the friends and colleagues that were kind enough to share the stories, successes, and journeys.
Jenny R. Yang
Chair, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Women’s Leadership Award
An-Ping Hsieh
Vice President & General Counsel, Hubbell Incorporated
Corporate Counsel Leadership Award
Preet Bharara
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Public Service Leadership Award
Thanks to all those who attended the Annual Dinner in person and celebrated the strides that AABANY has made in getting a seat at the table, meeting amazing trailblazers such as the ones honored, and changing the game. Special thanks to all those featured, videographer Peter Chin, Lotas Productions, and the Annual Dinner Video Committee, chaired by Marianne Chow: Diane Gujarati, Naf Kwun, Amy Ngai, Ligee Gu, and Irene Tan.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Thank you for attending our 2015 Annual Dinner!
Thank you to all those who charted new frontiers with us at Cipriani Wall Street on February 25, 2015. With moving words from each of our amazing honorees, the joy of announcing the inaugural Don Liu Scholarship award recipients, laughter, tears, and not to mention delicious food, our 2015 Annual Dinner was truly a night to remember. More photos are forthcoming but in the meantime enjoy the slideshow above. (Photo credit: Yang Chen.)
Honorees:
Jenny R. Yang
Chair, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
AABANY Women’s Leadership Award
An-Ping Hsieh
Vice President, General Counsel, Hubbell Incorporated
AABANY Corporate Counsel Leadership Award
Preet Bharara
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
AABANY Public Service Leadership Award
Press Release: AABANY Congratulates NAAAP-NY’s 2014 Most Influential APIA New Yorkers Glenn Lau-Kee and Sandra Leung
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2014
Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director
(718) 228-7206
NEW YORK – November 5, 2014 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is proud to announce that AABANY Past President and current New York State Bar Association President Glenn Lau-Kee and AABANY Advisory Committee Member Sandra Leung have been announced as the National Association of Asian American Professionals – New York Chapter (NAAAP-NY) 2014 Most Influential Asian Pacific Islander American New Yorkers. Mr. Lau-Kee and Ms. Leung will be honored at NAAAP-NY’s Moon Festival Honoree Gala at the Harvard Club of New York City on November 7, 2014.
NAAAP-NY has selected Glenn Lau-Kee (Partner, Kee & Lau-Kee PLLC) as its Public Service Honoree. Mr. Lau-Kee assumed office in June 2014 as the 117th President and first Asian American to lead the New York State Bar Association, an organization with over 75,000 members. NAAAP-NY has named Sandra Leung (General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Bristol-Meyers Squibb) as its the Corporate Legal Honoree. As legal advisor to the Board of Directors and company executives, Ms. Leung is responsible for shaping Bristol-Meyers Squibb’s legal strategy, as well as the company’s Environment, Health & Safety, Corporate Security, and Philanthropy groups.
“AABANY is delighted that NAAAP-NY has chosen to recognize Glenn Lau-Kee and Sandra Leung among New York’s most influential Asian Pacific Islander American New Yorkers,” says Executive Director Yang Chen. “Both Glenn and Sandra have made major impacts in the legal profession through their work and leadership, and have paved the way for generations of APIA lawyers and professionals. We congratulate Glenn and Sandra and all the honorees at this year’s Moon Festival Gala.” AABANY President Clara Ohr adds, “We strongly support NAAAP-NY’s decision to honor such Asian American trailblazers in the legal profession as Glenn Lau-Kee and Sandra Leung, and we appreciate its past recognition of our own Executive Director, Yang Chen, whom NAAAP-NY named its 2013 Community Excellence Awardee.”
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For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (718) 228-7206, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].
The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).
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METROPOLITAN BLACK BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY (“MBBA”) ANNOUNCES ITS 2014 ANNIVERSARY AWARDS GALA HONOREES
CONTACT: Dionne Gill FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TELEPHONE: 212.964.1645 Wednesday, February 5, 2014
EMAIL: [email protected] www.mbbanyc.org
METROPOLITAN BLACK BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY (“MBBA”) ANNOUNCES ITS 2014 ANNIVERSARY AWARDS GALA HONOREES
MBBA President, R. Nadine Fontaine, announces that the MBBA will hold its Thirtieth Anniversary Awards Gala on Friday, May 16, 2014 at Pier Sixty in New York, NY. The theme of the Gala is “The Power of Us: Celebrating 30 Years of Leadership, Innovation and Community.” Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the New York Public Library and Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Partner and Co-Chair of the Litigation Department, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of the MBBA Gala.
In addition to the President, the MBBA Gala Committee members include Christine Appah, Richard D. Boyd, Jason M. Clark, Paula T. Edgar, Luwick Francois, Hon. Cheryl J. Gonzales, Co-Chair of the Gala Committee, Y. Gail Goode, Taa Grays, Andrew Hannibal, Deborah L. Martin, Moya O’Conner, Francesca J. Perkins, Yamicha Stephenson, Allison B. Tomlinson and Hon. Alvin M. Yearwood, Co-Chair of the Gala Committee.
The 2014 MBBA Annual Gala Honorees are as follows:
Trailblazer of the Year:
Raymond J. McGuire, Global Head of Corporate and Investment
Banking Citigroup, Inc.
Corporate Counsel of the Year:
Duane L. Hughes, Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
Private Practitioner of the Year:
Carmen J. Lawrence, Partner
King & Spalding, LLP
Jurist of the Year:
Hon. Sheila Abdus -Salaam, Associate Judge
New York State Court of Appeals
Public Servant of the Year:
Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO & Executive Director
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
Co-Chair, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Transition Team
Member of the Year:
Shirley Stewart Farmer, First President (Posthumously)
Metropolitan Black Bar Association
For more information on this event, or to schedule an interview with MBBA President R. Nadine Fontaine, please contact Francesca J. Perkins at [email protected]. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Paula T. Edgar at [email protected].
From AALDEF: 2014 Justice in Action Awards
March 26, 2014 – Mari Matsuda, Professor of Law at University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show, and John G. Chou of AmerisourceBergen Corporation were honored with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) 2014 Justice in Action Awards on March 25, 2014, at AALDEF’s 40th Anniversary Celebration.
Since 1987, AALDEF has presented the Justice in Action Awards to exceptional individuals for their outstanding achievements and efforts in advancing social justice.
The awards were presented by Charles Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law School professor and former Justice in Action Award honoree and Judge Ida Chen, the first Asian American female to serve as a judge in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Juju Chang, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News Nightline, and Cindy Hsu, Emmy Award-winning anchor for CBS 2, were the co-emcees for the banquet of over 800 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of AALDEF.
Among the guests at Pier Sixty in New York City were U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Karen Korematsu, the daughter of the late civil rights icon Fred Korematsu, and AALDEF founders Loida Lewis, Arthur Soong, and Ira Glasser. Past Justice in Action Award recipients in attendance included Art Chong, Sandra Leung, Don Liu, Parkin Lee, and Alice Young,
For the 40th Anniversary, AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung and Board president Tommy Shi shared the story of the creation of AALDEF 40 years ago. “Our first office was on the second floor of a tenement building in New York’s Chinatown,” said Fung. “We were passionate about our work and believed we could change the world one case at a time.”
Among the challenges ahead for the Asian American community, Fung pointed to the glass ceiling faced by many Asian Americans, the attack on affirmative action programs, the standstill of immigration reform in Congress, and the continuing struggles of human trafficking survivors and immigrant workers seeking to earn a living wage.
AALDEF client Hong-Mei Pang, now organizer of AALDEF’s undocumented youth group RAISE, spoke about the lack of options she had faced prior to garnering AALDEF’s legal representation and joining the movement for immigration reform. “My call to AALDEF became a turning point in my life,” said Pang.
Judge Ida Chen introduced honoree John Chou by thanking AALDEF “for recognizing John Chou for advancing the status of Asian Americans all over the country.” Chou said that by receiving the Justice in Action Award, he was “following in some really big footsteps.” He described AALDEF as representing “lawyers at their best.”
Former honoree Charles Ogletree Jr. introduced honoree Mari Matsuda as a “living legend.” Matsuda shared her advice for young people seeking to stand up for their beliefs. “If you were sitting still and doing nothing, you would get no pushback,” she said. “We need to do the work to make this a better, stronger country for everyone.”
The evening came to a close with honoree Aasif Mandvi taking a rare break from satire to describe the impact of his hit political comedy show The Daily Show on addressing racism and bias. “What AALDEF does in a real way, I do in a very small way, by pointing out the absurdity,” he said.
Past Justice in Action Award recipients include Rep. John Lewis, David Henry Hwang, Fareed Zakaria, BD Wong, Sandra Leung, Mira Nair, Deval Patrick, George Takei,Salman Rushdie, Seymour Hersh, Harry Belafonte, Margaret Cho, Yoko Ono, and the late civil rights icons Fred Korematsu and Gordon Hirabayashi.
Photo Credit: Lia Chang
Photo Credit: Corky Lee
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Thanks to everyone who came out on February 26, 2014, to celebrate AABANY’s 25th anniversary with us at Cipriani Wall Street. More than 850 guests registered to attend, setting a new record. AABANY also reached its goal of exceeding 1,000 paid members. Mike Huang, in his Outgoing President’s speech, publicly announced the Don Liu Scholarship to award $15,000 to APA law students who apply and meet the requirements. Significant pledges have already been rolling in.
Congratulations to our 2014 honorees: AALDEF, recipient of the Public Advocacy Award; Randal Milch, GC of Verizon, recipient of the Corporate Counsel Leadership Award; and Vernon Jordan, recipient of the I4 (Icon, Ideals, Impact, Inspiration) Leadership Award. Congratulations also to Julie Kwon, our Mentor-Mentee Program Coordinator, for winning the AABANY MVP Award.
AABANY was joined by about 30 past honorees from past annual dinners. Each was brought up to the stage during the dinner for special recognition.
MSNBC reporter Richard Lui once again expertly took us through the proceedings as MC.
Guests continued to celebrate upstairs in the mezzanine during the after-party, with open bar and live DJ.
Happy 25th anniversary, AABANY, and we are looking forward to 2014 and the next quarter century!
PRESS RELEASE: AABANY To Honor Vernon Jordan and Other Honorees at 25th Annual Dinner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director
February 24, 2014 (718) 228-7206
AABANY TO HONOR VERNON JORDAN WITH “I4 LEADERSHIP AWARD” AT 25TH ANNUAL DINNER TO BE HELD AT CIPRIANI WALL STREET
NEW YORK – On Wednesday, February 26, 2014, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) will hold its 25th Anniversary Annual Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street. Attendees of the 2014 AABANY Annual Dinner will include prominent federal and state judges, elected officials and dignitaries, attorneys from large and small law firms, corporate law departments, prosecutors’ offices and government agencies. AABANY’s 2013 Annual Dinner attracted more than 750 members of the legal and business communities from New York and beyond. This year AABANY is pleased to announce that its 2014 Annual Dinner honorees will be:
- Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director Lazard Frères & Co. LLC
- Randal S. Milch, Executive Vice President, Public Policy, and General Counsel Verizon Communications Inc.
- AALDEF (Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund)
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. will receive the AABANY I4 Leadership Award. The I4 Leadership award is presented to a leader who is an ICON, embodying the highest IDEALS and INSPIRING others while making a real and lasting IMPACT in the community and society. Mr. Jordan, a Senior Managing Director at Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, the financial advisory and asset management firm, also remains Senior Counsel at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he practices general, corporate, legislative and international law in Washington, D.C.
Randal S. Milch is Executive Vice President, Public Policy, and General Counsel of Verizon Communications Inc. He leads the company’s public policy, legal, regulatory, government affairs and security groups. From 2006 until being named to his current position in October 2008, Mr. Milch served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Verizon Business, responsible for all legal services and external affairs support for the company’s global enterprise carrier. Before that, Milch served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Verizon’s domestic telecom business. He was appointed to the latter position in 2000, upon the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. He sits on the Verizon Leadership Council, the corporation’s senior operating and policy making body. At Verizon, Mr. Milch has championed diversity through the creation of a supervisory diversity council within the legal department. Mr. Milch will receive AABANY’s Corporate Counsel Leadership Award.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), which was founded in 1974 and is celebrating its 40th anniversary, is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all. AALDEF focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans, including immigrant rights, civic participation and voting rights, economic justice for workers, educational equity, housing and environmental justice, and the elimination of anti-Asian violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking. AALDEF will receive AABANY’s Public Advocacy Award.
“We are deeply honored and humbled that such a legendary defender of legal rights as Vernon Jordan will be helping AABANY commemorate our 25th anniversary at our Annual Dinner, along with such notable leaders in their respective corporate and community legal spheres as Randal Milch and AALDEF,” said Mike Huang, AABANY President.
For more information about AABANY, or this event, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (718) 228-7206, or direct any media inquiries to [email protected].
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The Asian American Bar Association of New York was formed in 1989 as a not-for-profit corporation to represent the interests of New York Asian-American attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, paralegals and law students. The mission of AABANY is to improve the study and practice of law, and the fair administration of justice for all by ensuring the meaningful participation of Asian Americans in the legal profession.