AHA 2008 Voting Ballot
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2008 Asian Heritage Awards Voting Ballot 
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2008 - 1.) HUMANITARIAN OUTREACH - VOTE::*

American Chinese Culture and Education Foundation - ACCEF is a leading public non-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. ACCEF is committed to promoting culture exchange in US and supporting underprivileged children in the rural areas of China. In the past four years, ACCEF have built 12 elementary schools, sponsored more than 300 poor children to continue their fundamental educations and established 5 libraries. A special fund to help AIDS/HIV children was recently established. ACCEF has been working to build a strong volunteer network in China to further its outreach in the vast mountainous regions of western China.
 Americans Helping Asian Children - Americans Helping Asian Children—serving the disabled and disadvantaged children of Southeast Asia since 1993. Founded  by R.B. Johnson, a medical doctor. Volunteers from the United States team with those in Asia in providing services and equipment, with 97 percent of all donations going directly to those in need. One of the volunteers, Tom Hoang, took a family of five in Vietnam under his wing. Reduced to one parent after their mother had been killed in a lightning storm, the family will be forever grateful to Hoang and AHAC. Hoang provided them with a thatch-roof home and a small Chinese wooden boat, called a sampan. AHAC volunteers, who span all age groups, often travel to remote villages in Vietnam, sometimes in trying conditions. Most squeeze their visits around full-time jobs. So far, 10,000 children provided with hearing aids.Some of their works are: Providing wells to provide clean and safe water.Providing bridges to provide access to schools.Providing scholarship support to over 600 children so they may stay in school.Provide school buildings and other special projects where needed
Global Children's Foundation - Responding to an economic crisis in Korea, Korean American mothers in Los Angeles formed the Global Children Foundation in 1998. Its mission: to alleviate hunger and poverty, along with related social problems. In the ensuing decade, the organization has expanded nationwide, including a San Diego branch. It also has extended its outreach beyond Korea. “We strive to do all we can to help children of the world whose daily needs for food, housing and education are unmet,” reads the organization’s website, www.globalchildren.org. With members contributing at least $10 monthly, the nonprofit organization seeks to team with embassies and charitable groups worldwide to help the needy.
Toys for Thailand - Toys for Thailand is a lot more far-reaching than its name implies. Think education. Think basic necessities. Think widespread philanthropy. This group of volunteers, many of them affiliated with Palomar College in San Marcos, seeks to address the needs of orphaned, abandoned and refugee children living in remote villages of Thailand. In June, the group is scheduled to make its fourth trip in as many years to the Southeast Asian country to provide instructional supplies, vocational training equipment, food and, yes, toys – which are considered a luxury item in Thailand. In 2005, members of Toys for Thailand visited the country after a devastating tsunami and delivered about 800 pounds of stuffed toys. They also adopted a school, sponsored families and provided children such basic needs as shoes
KU Alumni Association of USA - The Kasetsart University Alumni Association is a non-profit organization with multi-faceted goals. They work to promote and encourage close relationships among alumni and their families. Aside from this, they support humanitarian causes by hosting annual fundraisers. They are heavily involved in the Thai community and organize Thai cultural activities, coordinate funraising for under-privileged children in Thailand and the U.S., and promotes educational and cultural activities for Thai children in Thailand and the U.S.
2008 - 2.) COMMUNITY SERVICE - VOTE::* Asian American Drug Abuse Program - As the Asian American Drug Abuse Program has evolved over three decades, it has retained a defining philosophy that resonates more than ever today: People need people.Formed in 1972, after a summer in which 31 Asian American youths died of drug overdoses in the Los Angeles area, AADAP is one of two such programs in the nation targeting Asians and Pacific Islanders. The organization recognizes the stresses generations of Asian immigrants face in adapting to a new culture, learning a language and gaining acceptance. Its message: drugs and alcohol only exacerbate the problem. In serving Los Angeles County, AADAP addresses such issues as water conservation, HIv/AIDS outreach and cross training, drug court services for the Inglewood Municipal Courts and tobacco education. It also promotes a for-profit business venture, MTC Construction.
Chinatown Service Center -In 1971, the Chinese Methodist Church in Los Angeles hired a bilingual worker to assist Chinese immigrants. By 1975, the Chinatown Service Center had taken root. Today, it is the largest community-based Chinese American health and human service organization in Southern California.Focusing on Los Angeles County, CSC encompasses six departments: social service, counseling, family health, community economic development, workforce development and youth development. With a staff of about 90, CSC offers service in a variety of Chinese dialects, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Toisan and Chiu Hou. Vietnamese, Spanish and Khmer (Cambodian) also are spoken.
Little Tokyo Service Center - The Little Tokyo Service Center is doing big things. Founded in 1979, the nonprofit, charitable organization addresses the cultural, financial and health needs of Asian and Pacific Islanders throughout Los Angeles County. With a paid staff of more than 100, along with hundreds of volunteers, the center aids clients in seven different languages as well as Spanish and English. Its agenda includes counseling programs, student help lines, crisis hotlines and consumer education. It also has sponsored several major community development projects in the Los Angeles area, including more than 300 apartments, child-care centers and more than $100 million in service-oriented real estate projects.
GABRIELA Network - Formed nearly 20 years ago by a group protesting the continued presence of United States military bases in the Philippines, GABRIELA Network has evolved into a multi-racial women’s organization. Its national network of chapters ranges from San Diego, Los Angeles and Irvine on the West Coast to New York and New Jersey on the East Coast. Of special concern to GABNet, as it is called, are the following issues: sex trafficking, globalization, militarism, labor export and programs imposed by international finance agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. GABNet, an all-volunteer organization, works in conjunction with GABRIELA Philippines, an alliance of more than 200 women’s groups. GABRIELA is an acronym for General Assembly Binding women for Reform, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action.
Kalusugan - Filipino Americans in the San Diego area consider Kalusugan Community Services a home away from home. Continued education. Health and social programs. Better coordination of services. They all fall under the KCS umbrella. Of particular emphasis at the KSC Wellness Center in National City is a healthy eating campaign to address obesity. The campaign concentrates on improving access to healthy food in neighborhood settings, especially Filipino American restaurants and grocery stories in National City. Rizalino Oades, who has written and taught extensively about Asian culture and Philippine history, heads the wellness center with his associate, Dr. Ofelia Dirge. Oades, a former Fulbright scholar at Cornell University, recently retired from the San Diego State University faculty.
Herald Community Center - Just as it did at is inception 25 years ago, Herald Community Center serves immigrants with limited English proficiency and financial research. But while its roots are firmly intact, the center has grown as substantially as the Chinese Americans that it targets. Founded in New York Chinatown as a subsidiary of Chinese Christian Herald Crusades, the center opened a Los Angeles chapter in San Gabriel in 1994. It has expanded to include a branch office in the San Gabriel Valley community of Rowland Heights and a San Diego Herald Center Committee. The services cover application assistance, legal consultation, cancer screenings, support groups, family counseling and low-cost medical care.
Chinese Service Center - The goal is simply defined: working toward a better future for San Diego’s Chinese American community. The task, on the other hand, is daunting. Under the leadership of Sally Wong-Avery, the Chinese Service Center has devised guidance and resources for immigrants, support and recreational activities for seniors and bilingual programs. Plans also call for training in house cleaning and restaurant cooking. The multilingual Avery was hired as a case worker for the Chinese Social Service Center in 1974. She became its executive director in 1983 and opened Chinese Professional Services in 1987. After opening a private law practice, she went on to formally register Chinese Service Center in 2003 as a nonprofit organization.
Buu-Van A.J. Rasih - He’s fluent in five languages. He has assisted in the resettlement of thousands of Indochinese refugees in San Diego County. And he spearheaded efforts to establish the Indochinese Community Storefront to promote public safety and reduce crime in Mid-City and East San Diego. To many Asian Americans, Buu-Van Rasih is as much a hero as he is a community servant. He has balanced a litany of volunteer duties with a business career that includes heading the Indochinese Mutual Assistance Association, which he founded as a nonprofit, community-based organization. He has touched many lives through work with the Indochinese Council, the Indochinese Chamber of Commerce, the Lao Cultural Center and the San Diego Coalition for the Homeless.
2008 - 3.) MEDIA/FILM - VOTE::* Sasha Foo - By the time Sasha Foo began winning Emmy and Golden Mike awards at KUSI-TV in Los Angeles, she already had established herself as a force in broadcast journalism. Her breakthrough was at CNN in Atlanta, where she was the network’s first Asian American news anchor. Subsequent career stops brought her to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Boston. In San Diego, the Chicago-born Foo has won Emmys for a series about a cancer patient’s battle for life and for breaking news coverage in documenting police intervention in National City gangs. She is also the recipient of a prestigious Golden Mike Award for reporting on the conditions of migrant farm workers in Southern California.
Marcella Lee - Marcella Lee was all set to go into business after graduating from the University of Michigan Business School. Instead, responding to an inner voice, she took a $5-an-hour job as a videographer/reporter at a Lansing, Mich., television station. From that first taste, broadcast journalism has become her bread and butter. Lee, the mother of 2-year-old twins, excels as a consumer reporter and weekend anchor of News 8 in San Diego. Viewers also are familiar with her work in weekly Adopt 8 segments, in which she profiles children who are awaiting a permanent home. Lee, a Detroit native of Asian American heritage, is a supporter of such organizations as the Union of Pan Asian Communities.
Steve Loh - Steve Loh is leaving his own distinctive footprints on a trail blazed by such Asian film figures as Ang Lee, Chow Yun Fat, Jacky Chan and Ziyi Zhang. Loh, a writer, director and producer, has had a hand in more than 15 independent films. One of his most recent, “Pope Dreams, written by professional partner and former University of Southern California classmate Patrick Hogan, has won a series of awards. Among them: the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the Atlanta Film Festival and the Special Recognition Jury Prize at the Stony Brook Film Festival. Another Loh project, “Not Too Tart, Not Too Sweet” won best comedy short at the 2003 Sedona Film Festival. A creative writer who added directing and producing to his repertoire, Loh laid the groundwork for his career by majoring in communication studies at UCLA and interning at film production companies. Graduate studies in film led him to USC, where he further refined his skills.
Booyeon Lee - Technology and Korean issues are her specialty. Booyeon Lee is a writer for the Los Angeles Business Journal. She writes news, special features and weekly columns about L.A.'s technology sector as well as monthly narratives on the Koreatown district. In addition to keeping tabs on the burgeoning digital media and high-tech industry in L.A., she strives to tell stories of Korean businesses from the inside. Previously, she was a metro reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune, covering cities in North County. She got her first break in print journalism at the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, an English daily in Tokyo, where she wrote stories about North Korean schools in the city, stateless children in Japan, and Korean celebrities enjoying unprecedented popularity there. Booyeon graduated summa cum laude from University of Pennsylvania, with a major in International Relations and minor in Japanese.
2008 - 4.) EDUCATION - VOTE::* Judy Ki - Judy Ki has combined the roles of community activist and educator as deftly as she speaks two languages – Chinese and English.During 27 years with the San Diego Unified School District, from which she retired last summer as a middle-school science instructor, Ki applied her five teaching credentials to a wide range of specialties. She has taught the developmentally disabled and the gifted and talented. And she has developed a sub-specialty in environmental education, earning a certificate in 1997 from then-Vice President Al Gore and studying climate change under Richard Somerville, a 2007 Nobel Prize winner.Known for volunteer work in her Poway neighborhood, Ki planned and helped implement Neighborhood Watch meetings, championed voter registration and served as a precinct leader. As a Chinese American, she took a keen interest in registering Asian Americans to vote. On the national front, Ki acts as a citzen lobbyist for the Humane Society, a role that took her to Washington, D.C., last summer.
Jaye Van Kirk - Jaye Van Kirk is a mentor with a mission: to promote diversity in education. Her efforts were recognized last October, when the veteran San Diego Mesa College psychology professor was honored nationally by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. The recognition came in the form of the 2007 Community/Tribal College Mentor Award. Van Kirk is the first Chinese American to serve as national president of the Psi Beta honor society for psychology students at community colleges. She also has served as national chairwoman of the Diversity Project 2000 and Beyond, a leadership mentoring program for ethnic minority students in psychology. On the international level, Van Kirk was among 35 speakers from the United States invited to speak at the Oxford Round Table, a think tank in England for educational policies in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. She has championed psychological research on Capitol Hill and has published papers ranging from psychological research to the challenges faced by ethnic minorities in education.
Alex Khalil - A search for musical enlightenment provided a cultural immersion for Alexander Khalil. When he began studying the musical traditions of Bali in 1990, he found a new home and learned to speak Indonesian. For the past eight years, Khalil has taught in the gamelan (gong-chime orchestra) program at the charter Museum School in the San Diego Unified School District. The program has spawned a group, Giri Nata, that has performed at the request of the consul general of Indonesia in Los Angeles and at venues including the educational vessel Semester at Sea. At the University of California San Diego, Khalil has taught a course on qin (silk-stringed zither) and founded the Qin Club, whose 35 members include many Chinese Americans and Chinese students. He also has found time to study Japanese music and teach Shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown bamboo flute to students in San Diego.
Chinese Scholars Association - The Chinese Scholars Association – Southern California is a non-profit, non-political, and community benefit organization. Founded in 1998 by professors in Southern California, it is dedicated to promoting intellectual exchange, collaboration, and amity among Chinese scholars in the United States, China, and the rest of the world. The association is an advocate for development of science, technology and higher education along with the enhancement of Sino-American friendship and mutual understanding
Asian American Studies-Cal State Northridge - Asian American studies is no longer an afterthought at Cal State University Northridge. Established as a separate department in 1990, nine years after the first such courses were proposed, Asian American studies have become a fixture in the academic curriculum at the San Fernando Valley campus. In 2006, 23 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the discipline, which analyzes the experience and contributions of people of Asian ancestry in the United States. Out of the many CSU campuses, Northridge may be the only one with a formal Asian Studies department. Touted by faculty as a multi-disciplinary field, professors from various departments teach courses- including anthropology, urban studies and sociology. Although the department is not as large as its UC counterparts, the motivated students and dedicated faculty make them just as important as any other. A smaller department also has benefits of its own. In this case, this means the faculty is able to build stronger mentoring relationships with their students.
Don Nakanishi & UCLA Asian Studies program - As it approaches middle age, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center is justifiably proud. Paralleling the dramatic growth of the Asian American and Pacific Islander population, the center represents one of the oldest programs of Asian American studies in the nation. It also considered among the best. Don Nakanishi is the driving force behind the center’s laudable success. With undergraduate and graduate political science degrees from Yale and Harvard, respectively, Nakanishi is now a professor and director at the center. He joined the center 3 years after it was founded in 1969 and has been director since 1990. He has written nearly 100 books, studies and articles on the presence of Asian American and other ethnic groups in the U.S. Nakanishi was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Civil Liberties by former President Bill Clinton. The board receives and reviews proposals for projects that would enhance Americans’ understanding of what happened to incarcerated Japanese-Americans during WWII. A recipient of numerous achievements, one of the more notable ones for Nakanishi was being named one of the “100 Most Influential Asian Americans in the United States during the Decade of the 1990s” by A. Magazine.
2008 - 5.) LEGAL AFFAIRS/GOVERNMENT - VOTE::* Asian Pacific American Legal Center - Finding a bilingual law office is one thing. But how many legal services are conversant in Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Khmer, Indonesian and Vietnamese as well as English and Spanish? In Los Angeles County, you need look no further than the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, now in its 25th year.APALC, as it is called, is considered the nation’s largest legal organization serving the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. It combines traditional legal services with civil rights advocacy and leadership development. Its staff and volunteers enable the center to communicate in a variety of languages to meet the needs of minorities. One of its priorities is building multiracial coalitions through youth, parent and community-based leadership development programs. APALC prides itself on supporting the rights of garment workers and hate crimes prevention, causes that are central to its civil-rights orientation.
Rebecca Leister - Rebecca Leister, originally from New York, graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Communication, with a minor in Political Science, from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She now volunteers as the Co-Chair for the University at Buffalo Alumni Association, San Diego Chapter planning events for the 1000+ alumni here. During her college experience at UB, Rebecca served as President of the University at Buffalo's Women's Rugby Team. After graduation, Rebecca moved to San Diego where she served as a volunteer on the Leslie Devaney for City Attorney campaign and the Cheryl Cox for Chula Vista Mayor Campaign.Joining Supervisor Roberts' staff in fall of 2003, Rebecca proudly serves as Supervisor Roberts' liaison to the communities of Adams Avenue, City Heights, Azalea Park, Fox Canyon, North Park, University Heights, Redwood Village, Mira Mesa, Mission Valley and Kensington-Talmadge. Rebecca also represents the Supervisor in the Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Vietnamese, Filipino and Taiwanese communities. Rebecca oversees issues pertaining to Community Projects Funding, Community Enhancement Funding, appointments to Boards and Commissions, special projects/programs proclamations, adjournments, and Health and Human Services constituent matters.As an Asian-American, Rebecca serves on the Board of Directors for the Asian Business Association and the March of Dimes-San Diego/Imperial Chapter, while also being an active member of the Lincoln Club of San Diego County, the Young Republicans Federated of San Diego, the Chula Vista/Bonita Republican Women Federated and the San Diego Chapter of the California Women's Leadership Association.Rebecca currently resides in Otay Ranch, Chula Vista, where she is a Commissioner for the City of Chula Vista's International Friendship Commission. Rebecca enjoys traveling, snowboarding, sailing and ocean kayaking during her free time.
Southwest Center for Asian Pacific American Law - Navigating a convoluted legal system is a daunting task for anybody. For the economically disadvantaged, it can be an impossible task. That’s where the Southwest Center for Asian Pacific American Law Inc. comes in. Based in San Diego, SCAPAL primarily focuses on the Asian Pacific Islander community. It offers a range of education programs in its mission to empower and enlighten, including a Law and Education Program Series for high school students and adult community groups to inform them of their legal rights.
Jerrilyn Malana - While growing up in San Diego’s South Bay, Jerrilyn Malana soon discovered that practicing law was not a traditional career for Asian Pacific Americans. No matter. Role model or not, she was determined to make it happen. Now, after a decade in law, she is the first Asian Pacific American to serve as president-elect in the 109-year history of the San Diego County Bar Association. As a shareholder in Littler Mendelson's San Diego office, she has represented national Fortune 500 clients and San Diego businesses in employment-related court cases involving claims of discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment and wage and hour violations. She also finds time to mentor aspiring lawyers – many of her Filipina-Japanese heritage – and serve on the board of directors of the San Diego Opera.
2008 - 6.) ART, PHILOSOPHY, LITERATURE - VOTE::* Kirby Wright, Lemon Shark Press - The name is Kirby Wright, as in write. It’s something he does with distinction – and with a Pacific Island theme. Wright’s novels, “Moloka’i Nui Ahina” and “Punahou Blues” reflect adventures of his hapa haole (part Hawaiian) grandmother. Based in San Diego County, Wright explores the complexities of multicultural Hawaii, including the hardships of Asian immigrants hired to work in the pineapple fields. Wright also examines prejudices against and within island high schools and the ramifications of interracial dating. A former English instructor at the Art Institute of California, Wright delights in infusing his work with local Creole language and a pidgin English peppered with Hawaiian and Asian words. He has scheduled book signings and readings throughout San Diego County.
Margaret Kimura - Getting face time with celebrities is routine for Margaret Kimura. Her cosmetic fine tuning, as a Hollywood-based beauty expert and makeup artist, has attracted an A-list clientele: actor-turned-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp and Kirsten Dunset. Her most memorable client, though, was the late Audrey Hepburn, for whom she did the makeup when the actress was a touring ambassador for UNICEF. As a Japanese American, Kimura is especially sensitive to the needs of Asians. Her views are reflected in her book “Asian Beauty.” She also has written fashion commentary for Vogue and other magazines. She operates MKC Beauty Academy in Hollywood and is developing the Margaret Kimura Cosmetics makeup line. But true beauty, she says, comes from within. It’s known as self-confidence.
C.Y. Lee - At age 90, C.Y. Lee has stopped counting the years. “I always say I’m 69,” he says with a laugh. Lee has made the most of his longevity, continuing to be creative and productive some 50 years after his novel, “The Flower Drum Song,” spawned a Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical and a movie of the same name. His specialty: adapting some of his 12 novels and short stories for the stage, he’s even worked as a scriptwriter for 20th Century Fox. The overriding theme of his work seems to be the Chinese American experience. In addition to the popularity of his novels, his short stories and articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Theater Arts, Writer's Digest and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, among others.Chin Y. Lee was born in Hunan, China and received his B.A. from the National Southwest Associated University in Kunming, China in 1940. He came to the United States in 1943 and attended Yale University, graduating in 1947 with his M.F.A. in playwriting. To promote modern Chinese music and drama, Lee established The Bright Moon Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. He also offers dance and musical training at the center, which was inspired by a similar organization that his brother, Lee Jinhui, founded in China 80 years ago. When he’s not involved in his center, you’ll find him swimming, ballroom dancing and writing – especially the latter.
Carina Montoya - Carina Monica Montoya added a new meaning to Filipino American history and culture as she launched her new book, Filipinos in Hollywood. Montoya, a native of the Hollywood area, collected these vintage images from the early Filipino families who settled in Hollywood, the Filipino community, and Los Angeles historical organizations. These remarkable photographs capture the spirit of and challenges faced by Filipinos in America, as well as their triumphs, recognition, and success in Hollywood. Montoya’s father, Tommy, was one of the first Filipino men to leave the Philippines to come to America. He found work as a waiter in LA and found ways to enjoy his life there until U.S. immigration laws changed in the 1940s, allowing Montoya’s mother access to come to America.
Khmer Books of Mark Twain Library - The Mark Twain Neighborhood Library is situated in Long Beach, commonly known as “Cambodia Town,” but is also one of the most diverse cities in the United States. It’s only fitting then that the library features an extensive collection of Khmer books. The quest to provide new Khmer language materials to this large community pushed librarian Susan Taylor to go to Cambodia to purchase Khmer language books. She returned with more than 1,100 brand new books that more than doubled the size of the libraries' existing collection. This batch of books has won the hearts of the Cambodian people living in the area. The books are especially valuable since stores in Cambodia do not have on-line or catalog ordering. The trip was the culmination of two years of research. These new additions to the library’s previous stock make the Mark Twain Cambodian collection the largest public/popular collection of its kind in the United States. Taylor was born and raised in Long Beach. Her 40 years of public service with the Long Beach Public Library reached its pinnacle with the completion last August of the new Mark Twain Library.
2008 - 7.) PERFORMANCE: DANCE, MUSIC, THEATER - VOTE::* Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company.- In the Hawaiian language, Mo’olelo means story. And producing original stories by playwrights is what Mo’olelo performing Arts Group of San Diego is all about. Its mission is to create, produce and educate, thereby enhancing the San Diego region’s cultural environment. A major focus is providing a forum outside the parameters of mainstream theater while serving a diverse audience. Mo’olelo draws much of its inspiration from San Diego communities. By applying the artistic and technical elements of performing arts, it seeks to bring human drama to life on stage. Its most recent works were “The Adoption Project” by Kimber Lee and “Permanent Collection” by Thomas Gibbons.The latter also served as an educational tool. Mo’olelo is committed to educating youths in technical theater and design, exposing them to potential careers and grooming them to tell stories on stage with integrity.
East West Players - East West Players of Los Angeles has history and tradition on its side. One of the nation’s pre-eminent Asian American theater organizations, it is committed to providing a voice for the Asian Pacific American experience. Since its inception in 1965, the organization has premiered more than 100 APA-themed plays and musicals and conducted more than 1,000 readings and workshops.More than 75 percent of Los Angeles-based Asian Pacific performers who are affiliated with actors unions have worked at EWP, and its audience is 56 percent Asian. Its main stage is the David Henry Hwang Theater in downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo district, where it has served more than 10,000 patrons each year. Admission is often free to low-income patrons, and discounted admissions are offered to the deaf, who are invited to EWP’s shows interpreted in sign language. Another component of the EWP experience is education. Its educational programs train more than 200 multicultural artists each year. A touring Theatre for Youth has reached an estimated 50,000 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade pupils and their families via in-school performances and festivals.
Tina Guo - Tino Guo’s musical versatility defies categorization. Classically trained in the cello, she also sings, plays keyboard and composes. Her career, fueled by a hunger for adventure and originality, can change directions at the drop of an octave. Breaking from her conventional roots, she formed a progressive metal band, Off the Deep End, and toured with Metaphor, an ensemble that combines elements of the metal, rock and classical genres. San Diegans are familiar with Guo’s talents on the cello from her solo performances with the San Diego and La Jolla symphonies. On electric cello, she has performed in the Los Angeles area at the Playboy Mansion, The Knitting Factory, The Roxy and the Whiskey. Just 22, Guo has plenty to look forward to. A trip this summer will take her to Brazil, where she will showcase her skills in a concerto on electric cello, which she was commissioned to write and perform. Recently, she won a series of competitions for young artists, topped by a “Most Promising Talent” award at the California Young Artists Competition.
San Diego Taiko - When Kathy Fuller settled in San Diego in 2004, she brought a new set of Japanese taiko drums. Before long, she was joining John Iverson and flutist Akiko in forming a group to celebrate and build on a Japanese percussion tradition. Handmade by professional drum makers, taiko (a Japanese word meaning drums) are believed to embody the spirit of the trees from which their wood was derived. Fuller and Iverson brought the ensemble, San Diego Taiko, to the WorldBeat Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park last year for its first concert, which was billed as DrumSTRONG. The group holds bi-weekly rehearsals and private beginners’ workshops. It also has performed at community functions, festivals, sporting events, corporate events and private engagements.
Lindsey Yung - Steadily become a prominent singer-songwriter in the San Diego music scene known for her undeniable vocal gift and lyrical ability to inspire and connect her to her audience. She has been featured in several local as well as national publications like the music magazine “Inside Connection” and “TheCelebrityCafe.com." Her music also continues to receive airplay from both local and national internet radio stations. Lindsey won the 2006 Los Angeles Music Award for the category: Female Singer/Songwriter of the Year, was nominated by popular vote for a 2007 "Honoring Acoustic Talent Award" (H.A.T. Award) in the category of "best vocalist", and was hand-picked to be a part of the “Musicians for Stroke Awareness” compilation released April 2008. The powerful appeal of Lindsey’s music is two-fold: first her melodies are haunting and emotionally captivating, and secondly her lyrics are insightful and poetically rich. Craig Yerkes of the San Diego Troubadour wrote, “Yung’s voice is a beautifully refined and powerful instrument.” Kirsten Hubbard of 944 Magazine wrote, “…the passion of her voice induces chills.” Lindsey is currently recording a new album, which she considers her finest work yet. She wrote each and every song on the album independently and is very excited to share what she has been working on for more than a year now. The album is anticipated to be released Summer 2008.
Takae Ohnishi - Takae Ohnishi discovered her musical voice on the harpsichord. She shares her talents in concert and her knowledge in the classroom, teaching courses on the harpsichord and Baroque chamber music at the University of California San Diego. Ohnishi performed extensively in her native Japan, where four years ago she was featured soloist at the prestigious Ishihara Hall 10th Anniversary Concert series. An interpreter of both Baroque and contemporary music, she has appeared in many United States venues as a soloist. In 2007, she performed solo recitals at the Boston Early Music Festival and the Gardner Museum in Gardner, Mass., northwest of Boston. After settling in Southern California, Ohnishi has established herself as an artist/educator. For the past several years, she has been commissioning Asian composers to write new works for the harpsichord. Her goal: to integrate Asian influences and Western musical traditions.
Chinese Folk Dance Ensemble - The San Diego Chinese Folk Dance Ensemble is a vehicle for about 20 women who were raised in either China or Taiwan to keep in touch with their cultural roots. Representing a wide range of professions, the group shares one important ingredient: a passion for Chinese folk dance. Members also share their enthusiasm and art at various community events and fund-raisers. They’ve performed at the Nations of San Diego International Dance Festival, the San Diego Annual Music and Art Festival and several Chinese New Year and Chinese National Day celebrations, as well as participating in the annual Holiday Bowl Balloon Festival Parade.
2008 - 8.) CULTURAL PRESERVATION - VOTE::* Chinese School of San Diego - In an age of globalization, the value of learning languages can be as great commercially as it is culturally. With that in mind, the Chinese School of San Diego is on the cutting edge. It is the only school in San Diego offering accredited classes in both Cantonese and Mandarin, according to Vice Principal Natasha Wong.Students are required to complete 93 hours of classroom instruction, which includes learning brush painting, crafts and Chinese history. Because of limited hours compared with conventional high-school classes, three years of Chinese is required to fulfill the two years of language required for high school graduation.Accreditation is provided by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, San Diego Unified School District and Escondido Union High School District. Grades compiled at CSSD are forwarded to wherever a student goes to graduate. A faculty of 33 instructors teaches 10 to 20 students in each classroom, creating an intimate and learning-friendly atmosphere.
Filipino American Library - For a detailed account of the history and culture of Filipino Americans, look no further than the Filipino American Library. Based in a Los Angeles neighborhood officially known as Historic Filipinotown by virtue of a 2002 City Council proclamation, the library boasts a collection of more than 6,000 titles. Many provide the foundation for the library’s educational mission: exploring Filipino heritage and promoting multicultural awareness and pride. The library, one of the largest repositories of Filipino works in the country, was founded in 1985. The Filipino American population has mushroomed over the years, reaching more than 1 million in Southern California. With its reference materials, leadership development and cultural events, the library has proved to be an invaluable community resource. Last month, for example, FAL sponsored the Children’s Reading Program, featuring Dan Manalang, author of the book “Ambrosia,” which is recommended reading for children 3 to 8.
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center - When Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo was redeveloped in the early 1970s, the need for a cultural and community center topped the priority list. Vision became reality in 1980 with the opening of the revamped Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, one of the largest resources of its kind in the United States. Its mission is to present, perpetuate and promote Japanese and Japanese American arts and culture to diverse audiences and to further community projects. In addition to presenting performing and visual arts productions nationally, JACCC provides office space for a variety of nonprofit cultural, educational and community-based organizations in Los Angeles. In 1983, it expanded to include the Japan America Theatre and JACCC Plaza.The center traces its roots to 1971, when first-and-second-generation Japanese Americans began to create a permanent center for the community where arts and culture could flourish for generations.
Lao Community Cultural & Community Center - The Lao Community Cultural Center shares joys, cultural insights, memories and traditions of San Diego’s fast-growing Lao community through a variety of programs conducted at various locations throughout San Diego, the largest being the annual New Year festival, held this year at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park & Recreation Center. The center is also a true resource for anyone wanting to know more about the San Diego Laotian community or the history of Laotian migration to the United States. This year, two days of festivities marked the New Year celebration with the Nang Sangkhan “Angel of Mercy” Parade, a fashion show with traditional Lao dress, the release of doves and classical song and dance.
2008 - 9.) SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH - VOTE::* Robert Yae and Thinkout Solutions - San Diego’s Korean community owes a debt of gratitude to Robert Yae. Joining fellow Korean American leaders in 2006, he was instrumental in creating the San Diego Korean Foundation to revive a long-standing but dormant community tradition: the San Diego Korean Festival. For Yae, it was an example of the kind of initiative that has distinguished his career in the world of business and media as founder of ThinkOut Solution LLC (Fun & Educational Online Game Portal) and eLearning Soft Inc. and as a pioneer in the development of three-dimensional image analysis and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems). Through ThinkOut, he introduced Kidsland TV, an educational, multilingual, flash video and game portal for children ages 2 to 7.Yae, who earned a doctorate in medical computer science from the University of Minnesota, has published many papers in various science and technical journals and recently added a master of distance education certificate from the UCLA Anderson Business School to his resume.
Sino-American Biomedical Pharmaceutical Professional Association (SABPA) - What began in 2002 as a resource for Chinese American professionals in San Diego has become a Southern California fixture with more than 1,000 members. The Sino-American Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Professional Association has a lofty goal: to become the most valuable professional association of its kind. In its first three years, SABPA expanded to Orange and Los Angeles counties. With Hui Li and Ying Zhao providing leadership, SABPA invites the membership of scholars, professionals and entrepreneurs of any origin working in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. The Orange County/Los Angeles chapter of provides training and advanced programs in career development, research development and entrepreneurship for the life sciences community. Other features of the SBPA agenda are annual conferences along with biomedical and science and technology forums.
Dr. Jicheng Wang, City of Hope/Beckham Research Institute - As a postdoctoral research fellow in molecular genetics, Jicheng Wang delves into the complex world of disease. He is equally dedicated to improving postdoc training at an international level. To that end, he has served on two postdoc committees, including one at the City of Hope/Beckman Research Institute where he is based in Durate. He shared information with fellow postdoc researchers at the Chinese Student and Scholar Association seminar and at the U.S. Environmental Mutagen Society in 2003. Meanwhile, Wang is concentrating his laboratory efforts on animal studies involving such diseases as breast cancer, hepatitis B infection and hemophilia.
Dr. Y.C. Fung- UCSD - If ever there was a founding father in the field of bioengineering and biomechanics, Yuan Cheng “Bert” Fung would be it. The UCSD professor emeritus is often hailed as such for his extensive work in related areas of study. Experienced colleagues and novice students alike look up to the native of China for his brilliant thinking. Fung studied at the National Central University in China before coming to the United States in 1946 after the Japanese invasion in China. After hearing about the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena from several professors, that school became his destination. He received his Ph.D. from the prestigious school in 1948 and has since authored several books on biomechanics. He has received several prestigious awards in the past, including the Timoshenko Award and Russ Prize.
2008 - 10.) MEDICINE AND HEALTH - VOTE::* Dr. Charles S Lee - For Asian Americans in the Los Angeles area, Dr. Charles Lee is usually the first choice for facial plastic surgery. A pioneer in applying Asian plastic surgery procedures in North America, Lee has written on such topics as nose surgery, eyelid surgery and jaw shaving for Asians. Lee, who is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, became interested in Asian plastic surgery in medical school at Washington University in St. Louis and as early as 1999 began the use of the now-common Botox as a cosmetic enhancement.
Asian Pacific Health Center - At the Asian Pacific Health Center in Linda Vista, San Diego, medicine is multilingual and multicultural. The common thread is a commitment to healing and disease prevention. Dr. Ton Tran, who began treating patients as a medical student in Vietnam, brought his family to the United States after the fall of Saigon. Thus, it is no surprise that the center counts among its patients many Vietnamese Americans who share his memories of a country torn asunder. In 1981, Dr. Tran left the Midwest, where he had continued his medical studies while his wife worked as a pharmacist, and opened a medical practice in San Diego. Twenty years later, he helped found the Asian Pacific Health Center, a clinic providing low-cost care to an Asian-oriented clientele. The center’s staff speaks several Asian languages, including Vietnamese, Chinese and Tagalog. Tran and the center also helped organize the Hepatitis B Prevention Project, which in 2003 began to target adolescents and young adults in the Mid City and Linda Vista neighborhoods.
Dr. Ka-Kit Hui/UCLA Center for East/West Medicine - Combine the holistic tradition of Chinese medicine with Western technology, and what have you got? A prescription for optimal health. That’s the view of Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, founder of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine in Los Angeles. Hui, who opened his center in 1993, was born in Hong Kong and schooled in chemistry and Chinese herbal medicine. He was a pioneer in introducing traditional Chinese medicine, based on the concept of yin and yang, to a Western audience. Each day, he wages a campaign against a mindset that embraces anything pharmaceutical, sometimes to excess, in the name of healing. “Western medicine has made great advances in treating infectious diseases and acute trauma but has been less successful against chronic disease,” Hui told ASIA, the Journal of Culture & Commerce. “On the other hand, Chinese medicine has been found to be effective in many chronic illnesses.”
2008 - 11.) ENTREPRENEURSHIP - VOTE::*

Crawdaddy's Restaurant - On the surface, it seems as strange as Englishmen opening a taco pub. But a trio of Asian Americans has brought a spicy taste of the South to a San Diego community rich in the cuisine of their heritage.Peter Tran, Gary Nguyen and Antoine Huynh launched CrawDaddy’s on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa earlier this year – but not without enough savvy and research to full a Cajun menu. Tran fell in love with New Orleans-style cooking when he visited a friend at Tulane University. He refined his taste by visiting Orange County eateries specializing in crawfish and crab boils.Nguyen, who cultivated a taste for Southern cooking during his childhood in Houston, shared Tran’s dream of opening a Cajun-inspired restaurant. The pair enlisted Huynh, who brought valuable business experience. The result? A niche restaurant that’s well off the chow mein stream in a commercial district popular for its Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese offerings. So far, Asian customers, Cajun connoisseurs and diners looking for a new adventure are convincing Tran, Nguyen and Huynh that they made the right choice.
Min Max Kim - Min “Max” Kim has found a home in the real estate industry. Despite a depressed market, the ever-optimistic Asian American opened SoCal Avalar Feb. 22 in Irvine with associate Chuck Scoble. Kim’s goal is to eventually open three more offices in Orange County and to expand from 15 to 150 agents.A self-proclaimed contrarian, Kim bases his confidence his business model and the availability of experienced agents who may be looking for a new start. After earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of California Irvine, he worked for Northwestern Mutual. In 2002, he co-founded a real estate investment. Two years later, he started Metro Pointe Premier Realty, an independent brokerage. That set the stage for his purchase an Avalar Network franchise. While he hopes to cultivate Asian Americans as clients, he believes most of all in marketing to the general public.
Munky King & Patrick Lam - Toys, art and history come together in cultural harmony at Munky King. Created, in 2003 by Patrick and Chanda Lam, the original Munky King store was in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. A second site on Melrose Avenue was added later to showcase a proprietary line of designer toys. The Lams’ inspiration is the legendary fictional character Monkey King, known for his irrepressible rebelliousness. The Lams stage art shows, artist signings, toy releases and other special events at their Melrose store.
Founded in 2005, James Huang envisioned a company that provided superior market knowledge and exceptional client service through customized financial and operational solutions. Contrary to the industry standard of offering a structured set of options, "Jim" envisioned a partnership culture where BRC's professionals work in tandem with clients to develop the best platform on which to meet their needs. Fundamental to this vision was, and will always be, building a team of professionals who not only have industry expertise, but also exhibit the qualities of integrity, teamwork, innovation and high performance standards. These principles have become the core values of BRC Advisors today. Exposed to many cultures growing up, Jim's vision was to create a company that reflected the landscape of California and America, a company of many different backgrounds working together to deliver the best service for their clients. Currently with over 70 agents from diverse cultural groups in 6 offices in California, the company has made its mark in an industry where minorities were grossly under-represented. Entering its third year, BRC Advisors was ranked in the top 30 "Best Commercial Real Estate Firms in Southern California" by the California Real Estate Journal. 

2008 - 12.) BUSINESS ENTERPRISE - VOTE::*