CAUSE Newsletter: The Year-End Edition

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Special Message from the Board Chair and Executive Director:

On behalf of Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment (CAUSE), we would like to thank you for your support, generosity, and commitment to our organization. This year has marked an important milestone for both CAUSE and the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community, as the community and our organization has seen tremendous growth in number and in influence in the past two decades. Here are some highlights. This year, CAUSE... Celebrated its 20th Anniversary at its largest Annual Dinner to date, with over 500 of the most prominent leaders in the corporate, legal, and political communities in southern California. Inspired more than 300 young women leaders at its Women in Power Luncheon, which featured keynote speakers former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and CA State Attorney General Kamala Harris. Created its first-ever graduate level internship program geared toward international students entitled Civic Engagement Leadership Fellows (CELF). The Fellows were exposed to the democratic process of voting for the first time, providing in-language support to the API community in the General Election and the Los Angeles Mayoral Election. Helped reach over 46,000 API voters throughout Southern California for the General Election and the Los Angeles mayoral election through voter outreach and voter information sessions. ... and much, much more! We invite you to read on for more highlights from the year in this month's special "Year-End Highlights" issue. While we have accomplished much this year, there is still work to be done to help build and empower the API community. As we look forward to the next 20 years, support from friends like you are vital to our growth and the growth of our community. Contribute to CAUSE today to help us start the new year strong! There is still time to make a year-end tax deductible charitable donation. One-time or recurring donations can be made here or can be mailed to: CAUSE 260 So. Los Robles Ave., # 115 Pasadena, CA 91101 Thank you to the sponsors, volunteers, and friends, both old and new, for supporting us throughout the year and being an integral part of the CAUSE family. We hope you join us for another year of success in 2014!

Sincerely,

Charlie Woo Board Chair

Carrie Gan Executive Director

SAVE THE DATES

21st Annual CAUSE Dinner Friday, April 11, 2014 Location: Millenium Biltmore Hotel Women in Power Quarterly Luncheon Thursday, February 6, 2014 Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Location: Westin Bonaventure
Interested in supporting our programs? CAUSE accepts tax-deductible donations for its many programs year-round! You can make a one-time or recurring donation online using www.JustGive.org. For information on
other ways that you can support us, please email us at info@causeusa.org.

20th Annual CAUSE Dinner: Celeb rating 20 years of empowering the Asian Pacific Islander community

Nearly 500 guests attended this year's 20th Anniversary Dinner held on April 19. The dinner was a time for us to not only celebrate our accomplishments, but to also look forward to the next 20 years of empowering the Asian American community. The most prominent leaders in the corporate, legal, and political communities in Southern California were present at the dinner, in addition to close to 50 local and state elected officials. 20th Annual Dinner Honorees:

This year's honorees included a group individuals and organizations that have worked to greatly enhance the civic participation of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community (from L-R): Mark Takano, U.S. Representative, 41st District of California (shown with presenter Congresswoman Judy Chu) was honored with the Inspirational Leadership Award Anne Shen Smith, CEO, Southern California Gas Company (shown with presenter CA State Senator Carol Liu) was honored with the Corporate Leadership Award Asian Pacific American Legislative Staff Network (APALS), represented by Mike Fong, (shown with presenter Mike Eng) was honored with the Community Impact Award Not Pictured, b ut recognized: Mazie K. Hirono, U.S. Senator, State of Hawaii was honored with the Norman Y. Mineta Legacy Award

Women in Power Annual Luncheon: Inspiring women leaders through leadership, inspiration, and mentorship

CA State Attorney General Kamala Harris This year's Women in Power Annual Luncheon, held on July 26th, featured Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and CA State Attorney General Kamala Harris. Over 300 guests attended the luncheon to hear the two keynote speakers give inspiring talks that encouraged young minority women to pursue careers in politics and public service.

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis shown with U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu

In case you missed it...

Photos View more photos from our event by visiting our Flickr page Feel free to download and share your photos on the web. If you are uploading to Facebook, be sure to tag us (search for CAUSE Empowerment)!

Videos For inspiration and words of wisdom, look no further. We have created full-length videos of both Ms. Solis' and Ms. Harris' keynote speeches, in addition to a video overview + Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis + CA State Attorney General Kamala Harris + Women in Power Annual Luncheon Overview

Women in Power Speaker Series: A Round Conversation with CA State Labor Commissioner Julie Su

CA State Labor Commissioner Julie Su On August 16th, CAUSE presented "A Round Table Conversation with CA State Labor Commissioner Julie Su." Featuring Ms. Su, the round table focused on how labor laws and regulations affect the community. Moderator and CAUSE Board Chair Charlie Woo also guided the discussion toward best practices for small businesses, protection of employee rights, and career development for young professionals interested in working in state government.

In case you missed it...

Photos Check out photos from our Round Table Conversation with CA State Labor Commissioner Julie Su by clicking here .

Video Check out the video overview by clicking here . .

Leadership Academy Internship: Training the next generation of leaders

Leadership Academy (L-R): Edward Truong, Jonathan Chen, Chee "Danny" Kwan, Jimmy Tran, Kim Yamasaki, Tanya Edmilao, Katrina Lei, Mengyuan "Christine" Sun, and Lauren Richardson The 22nd class of Leadership Academy interns consisted of a group of nine extremely talented students.Throughout the course of eight weeks, from June 17th to August 9th, the interns not only worked at their respective legislative offices, but also participated in professional development workshops with esteemed members of the community, attended numerous networking events, and tackled a group research project. The intensive internship program concluded with a trip to Sacramento, for the Annual Legislative Leadership Conference, and a graduation ceremony. The Leadership Academy Internship Program welcomed its first veteran intern:

Chee "Danny" Kwan, a Malaysian-American served two tours as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kwan is deeply interested in Veterans Affairs issues and giving back to AAPI service members. He interned at U.S. Congresswoman Grace Napolitano's office, where he worked side-by-side with Veterans Liason/Field Representative Hector Elizalde. Kwan will matriculate at UC Irvine and plans to use his experience as a Marine to prevent military suicides like the ones he saw during his service. Kwan was interviewed by KPCC's Frank Stolze in an interview that was broadcast nationwide. Read the story here.

In case you missed it...

Photos Get an inside look of our internship program with the following photo sets: + Kickoff Luncheon + Workshops and Events

Videos Check out videos from our internship program: + Kickoff Luncheon + Graduation Ceremony

+ Sacramento + Graduation Ceremony

CAUSE Creates Civic Engagement Leadership Fellows (CELF) Program:

The Inaugural Class of CELF Fellows (L-R): Lan Chen, Hailing Wang, Wenyi Zhang, and Xiuzhi Wang The inaugural class of fellows were exposed to the democratic process of voting for the first time. They have been recognized by the City of Los Angeles for their work in providing in-language support, in the forms of phone banking, poll monitoring, and the translation of voter education materials, to the API community in the General Election and the Los Angeles Mayoral Election. Read more about the CELF program here. Voter Outreach CAUSE helped reach over 46,000 API voters throughout southern California for the General Election and the Los Angeles mayoral election through poll monitoring, phone banking, and voter information sessions.

CAUSE provided voter information session for the senior citizens of the Grand Plaza Senior Center. Volunteers and staff registered and re-registered individuals to vote, in addition to providing in-language translation of ballot measures and initiatives.

CAUSE Honored with a Historymaker

Historymakers (L-R): Carrie Gan, Charlie Woo, AAA President & CEO Thomas McKernan, and CAM Board Chair Gay Yuen On September 12th, CAUSE was honored with a "Historymaker" Award for Excellence in Community Service at the Chinese American Museum's 17th Annual Historymakers Awards Gala. The award was presented to CAUSE by AAA President & CEO Thomas McKernan.

Volunteer Appreciation:

This year, we recruited over 200 volunteers to assist with events and programs. We would like to take the time to thank all the volunteers who have walked through CAUSE's doors. Their dedication and selflessness has truly made an impact on our organization.

CAUSE at the Korean American Political Leadership Conference (KAPOL)

Raphael J. Sonenshein and Charlie Woo discussed how other Asian Americans and other ethnic

communities have gained political influence throughout the years

CAUSE hosted "Community Empowerment, Politics and Lessons Learned from Past Elections," a panel at the third annual Korean American Political Leadership Conference (KAPOL) and Next Generation Leadership Conference held on November 23rd. Raphael J. Sonenshein, Executive Director, the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs, and Board Chair Charlie Woo shared their experiences and observations on community empowerment through the political process. They specifically discussed the recent Los Angeles City Council Election and how the redistricting has affected Koreatown. For more photos, please click here.

Ready to Run: A Nonpartisan Campaign Training for Women

CAUSE is proud to be partnering with Mount St. Mary's College and its partnership with the Ready to Run program, a nonpartisan campaign training program for women, in partnership with the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Created by the Center for American Women and Politics to train women candidates, Ready to Run is a nonpartisan campaign training program to encourage women to run for elective office, position themselves for appointive office, work on a campaign, or get involved in public life in other ways. For more information about the program, please click here. Date:

Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 Location: Mount St. Mary's College 12001 Chalon Road, Los Angeles, CA 90049 Registration: Includes continental breakfast, lunch and parking $35 - Registration by January 17, 2014 $50 - Registration on/after January 18, 2014 $15 - Non-Mount St. Mary's College students Complimentary - Mount St. Mary's College Currently Enrolled Students (MSMC students still need to register by clicking the Register Now button) Register Today!

Thank You to Our Sponsors

This year, we were able to connect with a variety of sponsors who believe in CAUSE's mission of advancing the political empowerment of those in the APA community through a variety of community-oriented efforts. The contributions from these companies and organizations provide the strong foundation needed to support all CAUSE programs.

CAUSE 2013-2014 Sponsors

Annual Dinner Dinner Co-Chair Sponsors Johnnie Giles, Executive Director, External Affairs, Comcast Corporation Southern California Gas Company Presidential Sponsors East West Bank Edison International Jeff Glassman & Wallis Foundation Walmart Charlie Woo Senatorial Sponsors Ernst & Young The Nielsen Company Southwest Airlines Congressional Sponsors Imprenta Communications Group Imuarock Partners IW Group, Inc. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe Korean American Economy Development Center (KAEDC) Southern California Public Radio (KPCC 89.3) Squire Sanders (US) LLP Total Call International Mayoral Sponsors Allied Physicians of California David and Helen Fong Long Family Foundation Time Warner Cable Dr. Albert Young

Community Sponsors Councilmember Ling-Ling Chang (City of Diamond Bar) Councilmember Carol Chen (City of Cerritos) Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) Citizens Choice Healthplan HMO Golden Vision Center Jenner & Block LLP Lee Tran & Liang LLP Councilmember Steven Ly (City of Rosemead) Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) PharMedQuest Anh Tran, President, Marley Coffee Company UCLA Asian Pacific Alumni (APAUCLA) USC School of Architecture Ben Wong Friends of CAUSE Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP Aric Kadosh Dr. Alan Kims Rodriguez, Horii, Choi & Cafferata LLP TemoArjani LLP Media Sponsors LA 18 ZAW | STUDIO Women in Power Annual Luncheon Verizon Nielsen Southern California Gas Company East West Bank Total Call International SEIU 721 Leadership Academy Internship Program Southern California Edison Comcast Corporation Southwest Airlines Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.) Mr. Nelson Tan Mr. Peter Woo Friends of CAUSE James Irvine Foundation Jihee and Peter Huh Helen Kim Microsoft

CAUSE Staff Carrie Gan, Executive Director, carrie@causeusa.org Sophia Islas, Director of Communications, sophia@causeusa.org Victoria Lee, Director of Programs, victoria@causeusa.org Alex Phung, Director of Marketing, alex@causeusa.org

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Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) | 260 South Los Robles Avenue #115 | Pasadena | CA | 91101