Justice in Action Awards
Over 700 leaders of the civil rights, legal, business, and arts communities are expected to attend AALDEF's 2012 Lunar New Year Gala celebrating the Year of the Dragon. The co-emcees for the evening are Juju Chang, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News Nightline, and Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and digital media professor at Columbia Journalism School. Daily Show correspondent, actor, and comedian Aasif Mandvi will deliver the Special Message to the audience.
For ticket information, see below.
The 2012 Justice in Action Award Recipients
Fareed Zakaria has had one of the most illustrious careers in the history of American journalism. At the age of 28, he became the managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine straight out of Harvard University's political science doctoral program. From 2000 to 2010, Zakaria was editor of Newsweek International. He is currently editor-at-large of TIME magazine, host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, a Washington Post columnist, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom, among other critically-acclaimed works. Coverage of Fareed Zakaria's Justice in Action Award at IndiaWest, News India Times, Silicon India, and Pravasi Herald
Renowned children's rights and immigrants' rights scholar Jean Koh Peters began her career at Yale Law School in 1989 after teaching for three years at Columbia Law School. In 2009, she was named the Sol Goldman Clinical Professor of Law at Yale, and she currently supervises students representing clients in the Sol and Lillian Goldman Family Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic and the Immigration Legal Services Clinic. She has authored the book Representing Children in Child Protective Proceedings: Ethical and Practical Dimensions, now in its third edition.Yale Law School: Jean Koh Peters honored with Justice in Action Award
Before joining The Rockefeller Group as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer in 2008, Parkin Lee worked with the New York Life Insurance Company for 20 years in a variety of positions. Throughout his distinguished professional career, Lee has been a pillar of the Asian American legal community, serving as President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Law Foundation, which awards scholarships to law students who demonstrate a commitment to serve or contribute to the Asian American community as future leaders. The Lunar New Year Gala
Since 1987, AALDEF has presented the Justice in Action Awards to exceptional individuals for their efforts in advancing social justice and human rights for Asian Americans. The Justice in Action Award recipients are chosen for their contributions to Asian American communities across the nation, as well as for their singular achievements in their respective fields.
Each year, AALDEF presents the Justice in Action Awards at its annual Lunar New Year Gala, a celebration of Asian Americans in civil rights, law, business, and the arts.
Tony Award-Winning Actor BD Wong at the 2011 Gala on the White House Dinner, Tiger Moms, and "Racist" Cookies
Justice in Action 2012 Social Media Raffle: Do you follow AALDEF on Twitter or Like us on Facebook? This year, in honor of the Lunar New Year Gala, if you can help us reach 1100 Facebook Likes and 750 Twitter followers by February 28th, you will automatically be entered in our free social media raffle! Learn about the prizes here.
Reserve Your Ticket for the 2012 Gala
The Gala begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by the Justice in Action Awards ceremony and a banquet dinner.
Tables of ten, available at $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, and $50,000, include a VIP reception. Individual tickets start at $500. To reserve seating, please contact Lillian Ling at 212.966.5932 ex. 202 or email events@aaldef.org.
Additionally, you may print and fill out the following form and mail it to:
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson St., 12th Floor
New York, NY 10003-2815
All proceeds from the Lunar New Year Gala will go directly towards supporting AALDEF's legal and educational programs in immigrant rights, economic justice for workers, voting rights and civic participation, affirmative action, language access to services, youth rights and educational equity, housing and environmental justice, Census policy, and the elimination of hate violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking.
Highlights from the 2011 Awards honoring A.B. Cruz III and Lillian Kimura
View a photo montage of all Award Winners since 1987
The full list of all past Award Winners