Tag: katherine tai

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2023 NAPABA Awards: Announcing the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award Honorees

NAPABA Awards Logo
The Trailblazer Award honors outstanding attorneys and organizations that make an impact in the legal profession and within the AANHPI community. This lifetime achievement award is NAPABA’s highest honor and recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other AANHPI attorneys.

Trailblazers have demonstrated vision, courage, and tenacity in their practice. They have also made substantial and lasting contributions to the AANHPI legal profession, as well as the broader AANHPI community.

We’re proud to recognize these deserving honorees of the 2023 NAPABA Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award and look forward to celebrating their achievements at the 2023 NAPABA Convention in Indianapolis.

2023 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award Recipients


Director Kiran A. Ahuja
U.S. Office of Personnel Management		Kiran A. Ahuja serves as the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). After more than two decades in public service and executive nonprofit work, she was nominated by President Joe Biden for her current role before being confirmed by the United States Senate on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Director Ahuja is the first South Asian American and first Asian American woman to lead OPM. Learn more about Kiran.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta
U.S. Department of Justice		Vanita Gupta is the 19th United States Associate Attorney General and has served as the third-ranking official at the Department of Justice since her confirmation by the Senate on April 21, 2021. Associate Attorney General Gupta supervises the Department of Justice’s civil litigating divisions. She also oversees the grantmaking components of the Department. Learn more about Vanita.

Lisa Loo
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Lisa S. Loo, as Vice President for Legal Affairs and Deputy General Counsel at Arizona State University, focuses on special projects and initiatives, commercial transactions, procurement, real estate and immigration matters. Lisa is a founding board member of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association. Learn more about Lisa.

Florence T. Nakakuni
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii		Florence T. Nakakuni is the former United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii. She was appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama, replacing Edward H. Kubo Jr. who left to become a Judge on the Hawaii First Circuit Court. She is the first female United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii. Learn more about Florence.

Ambassador Katherine C. Tai
U.S. Trade Representative		Ambassador Katherine C. Tai was sworn in as the 19th United States Trade Representative on March 18, 2021. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, Ambassador Tai is the principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on U.S. trade policy. Prior to her unanimous Senate confirmation, Ambassador Tai spent most of her career in public service focusing on international economic diplomacy, monitoring, and enforcement. Learn more about Katherine.

Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission		Mark T. Uyeda was sworn into office on June 30, 2022, after being nominated by President Joseph Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Commissioner Uyeda has served on the staff of the SEC since 2006. He most recently served on detail from the SEC to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs as a securities counsel to the committee’s minority staff. He is the first Asian Pacific American to serve as a Commissioner at the SEC. Learn more about Mark.
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NAPABA Congratulates Katherine Tai on Confirmation as U.S. Trade Representative

For Immediate Release: Date: March 18, 2021

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) celebrates Katherine Tai’s confirmation to be U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the Biden-Harris administration. Tai is the first Asian American woman and woman of color to lead the agency.

“We congratulate Katherine Tai on her historic confirmation today,” said A.B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “Ambassador Tai’s confirmation by a 98 to 0 vote to lead the Biden-Harris administration’s trade policy shows that she is the most qualified person for this position. We look forward to Ambassador Tai serving as a voice for our community in the Cabinet, especially in the wake of increased acts of hate against Asian Americans.”

Tai formerly served as Chief Trade Counsel and Staff Director of the Trade Subcommittee in the Ways & Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and clerked for Judge John D. Bates, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Tai is the first AAPI to be confirmed to serve in President Biden’s Cabinet. She was first nominated December 2020. NAPABA advocated for Ambassador Katherine Tai’s nomination. We thank President Biden and the Senate for nominating and confirming her.

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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. 

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NAPABA Congratulates Katherine Tai on Nomination for U.S. Trade Representative

For Immediate Release: December 10, 2020

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) congratulates Katherine Tai on her nomination to be U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the Biden-Harris administration. If confirmed, Tai will be the first woman of color to lead the agency.

“Katherine Tai has been a valued member of our NAPABA community, and we are thrilled that President-elect Biden has nominated her to be U.S. Trade Representative,” said A.B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “Her background is a story that many AAPIs can relate to—like many of us, Katherine is the daughter of immigrants who came to this country to embark on a better life. Since then, she has excelled in her illustrious career, counselling our nation’s leaders on trade policy in past administrations and in Congress. NAPABA congratulates Katherine and urges the Senate to confirm her as Trade Representative.”

Tai is currently Chief Trade Counsel and Staff Director of the Trade Subcommittee in the Ways & Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. She formerly served as Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and clerked for Judge John D. Bates, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

NAPABA advocated for Katherine Tai’s nomination. We thank President-elect Biden for nominating her to the position.

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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.