APCF Annual Gala

15th Annual Giving for All Seasons Fundraising Gala


 

Honorees

 

Corporate Philanthropy Award

South Coast Plaza

Philanthropy Leadership Award

Julia Gouw

Community Hero Award

Korean American Scholarship Foundation

 

Visionary Leadership Award

Marissa B. Castro-Salvati is influential to a number of programs and groups being started in the API community, but she has a very special place in APCF’s history.  In the late 80s, she and a handful of API community activists saw the need to establish the Asian Pacific Community Fund because of the need for alternative funding for Los Angeles-based non-profit organizations serving API communities. Marissa served on APCF’s Board of Directors from 1990-1991 and 1993-2004, serving as the Board Chairperson from 1994-1997. She is also a proud Founder of the first domestic violence transitional housing in the Asian Pacific community for women and their families – Asian Pacific Women’s Center (APWC).  She currently serves on APCF’s Emeritus Board as well as the Boards of Asian Youth Center and current Chair of East Los Angeles College Foundation.  Marissa has been awarded numerous achievements for what she has accomplished, such as one of the 2014 Business Life Magazine Women Achievers and one of the inaugural “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the Nation” in 2007 by a national organization (Filipina Women’s Network). Marissa is currently Government Relations Manager for Southern California Edison’s Local Public Affairs.  

Marissa Castro-Salvati

Catherine Endo Chuck is president of McBirney & Chuck, PC, a boutique law firm where she has primarily practiced corporate, real estate, and nonprofits law for over 35 years.  She specializes in complex corporate and business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions and operational matters for diverse businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely held corporations, nonprofit organizations and public entities.  She handles litigation matters and advises clients on employment law, intellectual property and tax exemption issues.  She also handles commercial leasing matters as well as other real property transactions.

 

Ms. Chuck is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles and Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.  Prior to commencing her legal career, she was an analyst for the Los Angeles Community College District.  Ms. Chuck served as an appointee to the Committee on Nonprofit Corporations and Unincorporated Associations of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar.  She also served on the Executive Committee of the Business & Corporations Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and is a past Editor-in-Chief of the Business Law Update, a publication of the Business & Corporations Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.  

 

Ms. Chuck currently serves on the board of governors of the Japanese American Bar Association and is its immediate past president.  She also is a former president of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance and the California Association of Nonprofits.  She formed the Japanese American Bar Association Educational Foundation and served on its board of directors.  She also served on the Japanese American National Museum Audit Committee.  She is the recipient of the 2004 Difference Makers Award from the American Bar Association's General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section and the 2005 Service Award from the Japanese American Bar Association.

 

Catherine Endo Chuck proudly served as a board chair of the Asian Pacific Community Fund.

Catherine Endo Chuck

Bill Watanabe was the founding Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) in downtown Los Angeles.   For 32 years, he guided its growth, in conjunction with the Board of Directors, from a one-person staff to a multi-faceted social services and community development program with 150 paid staff, many of whom are bilingual in any of eight Asian Pacific languages and Spanish.  Bill retired from LTSC in June 2012.

 

While at LTSC Bill helped to establish several key service organizations such as the Asian Pacific Community Fund, the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, the Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Center, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, and the Little Tokyo Community Council.   Bill is also the founder of the API National Historic Preservation Forum.

 

Bill has an MSW from UCLA, is married and has one daughter and lives in Silver Lake near downtown Los Angeles.  While formally retired, Bill is currently the President of a new project called the Little Tokyo Community Impact Fund, a community-based real estate investment fund aimed to help heritage small businesses in Little Tokyo.

Bill Watanabe

Robert Yap is the CEO of Gen Mobile, Inc., a telecommunications company which provides wireless services to consumers starting at just $5 per month.  Gen Mobile bridges the digital divide in the U.S. by providing consumers a low-cost alternative for staying connected.  Prior to founding Gen Mobile, Mr. Yap was an executive at several telecommunications companies and was a corporate attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery. 

 

Mr. Yap has served on several nonprofit boards including as chairman of the Asian Pacific Community Fund ("APCF"), a non-profit that has raised over $5,000,000 for distribution to non-profits that serve communities in Los Angeles; and as a current board member of Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment (“CAUSE”), a non-profit dedicated to politically empowering the Asian Pacific American community.  He has also served in leadership positions at Project by Project (“PBP”) and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (“NAPABA”).

 

Mr. Yap received his B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and his J.D., with honors, from George Washington University School of Law.  

Robert Yap

Michael has over 30 years’ public relations and communications experience, encompassing consumer, corporate, business-to-business, healthcare, large scale infrastructure, public affairs and high-profile crisis and issues management. In his current role, Michael is in charge of the City of Montebello’s external media and communications for all operations and departments, including Police, Fire and Montebello Bus Lines.  His duties encompass public information and spokesman duties, media relations, issues management, providing strategic counsel to City Manager and City Council and management of all social media content.  The City’s active communications reach nearly 65,000 residents daily.

Just prior Michael served as the Director of External Communications for AECOM, the largest publicly traded infrastructure design and construction firm in Los Angeles.  While there he supported the communications, crisis and issues management needs of the company’s U.S. and international Design and Consulting services. Michael’s experience includes an array of high-profile crisis situations in healthcare, business, financial and community situations.  He has developed and executed successful large-scale communication campaigns for clients including AECOM, Bank of America, Blue Cross/WellPoint, the iconic LA County Fair, and delivered community engagement programs for clients in healthcare delivery and financing, state and municipal governments, and non-profit community-based organizations.

Michael is a previous recipient of PR Week’s “Best Corporate Communication Teams” award, an active contributing mentor and professional instructor with the Asian American Professional Association and devotes time outside the office to numerous Asian Pacific Islander social justice and community issues. Michael is a native of Los Angeles, CA.

Michael Chee

Tony Yu is the Managing Attorney of DSG Wealth & Trust Law (an estate planning law firm), and also the 2nd Generation Owner of DSG Insurance Services, his family’s insurance brokerage.  Tony specializes in advising high net worth clients on Wealth Protection and Succession.  Tony is an Attorney, CPA, Certified Financial Planner™, CPCU, ACI, CLU, ChFC, PFS, CFS, AEP®, and TEP.  Tony studied Business-Economics, Communications, and Accounting at UCLA, and completed his Juris Doctor (with Tax Specialization) from the University of California - Hastings College of the Law.  Tony was formerly a Trust Attorney at Holland & Knight LLP, the largest trust law firm in the US, and was also a clerk at the Los Angeles Probate Court.  Tony is the current President of the Asian Pacific CPA Association.  Tony was the Chairman of the Board for the Asian Pacific Community Fund 2015-2017. 

Tony Yu

Featuring

 

John Chiang serves as a member of the board of directors of Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc., Zeuss Technologies and Aegis Systems. In addition, he serves on the corporate advisory boards of Pasadena Private Finance, Calyx Peak, Adept Development and Faraday Future.

 

From 2015 until 2019, John Chiang served as California's 33rd State Treasurer. As the state's banker, he oversaw trillions of dollars in annual transactions, managed a $75 billion investment portfolio and was the nation's largest issue of municipal bonds.

 

Prior to being elected Treasurer, Chiang served as State Controller from 2007 through 2014. During the Great Recession, he took steps to preserve cash to meet obligations to education and bond holders. His cash management decisions  - which included delaying payments and issuing IOUs - were instrumental in keeping the state's credit rating from plunging into junk status, and his actions saved taxpayers millions of dollars. Additionally, Chiang aggressively used his audit programs to identify more than $9.5 billion of fraud, waste and abuse in government programs, the most by any Controller in California's history.

 

In 1998, he was elected to California's Board of Equalization and served two terms, including three years as Chair.

 

John Chiang serves as Co-Chair of California Forward, member of the Board of Councilors at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Treasurer of the California State Guard Foundation and Chief Financial Officer of the Committee of 100.

 

Chiang served as an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow, Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow and USC Center for the Political Future Fellow.

 

Chiang is a graduate of the University of South Florida and Georgetown University Law Center.

John Chiang
Emcee

Currently based in Los Angeles, Cheryl K is a public figure, singer-songwriter, and actress from Malaysia and Singapore. Cheryl is most known for her work on "Crazy Rich Asians" for singing the song, "Money (That’s What I Want)” which is both the Opening Title Screen & Ending Credits Song (remixed with Awkwafina) of the Warner Bros. Pictures blockbuster movie. You might also recognize Cheryl as one of the contestants from this season’s American Idol 2021. She has now released three (3) original singles, “Here to Stay”, “who are you”, and “Better.” Her songs are currently available on all major music platforms such as Spotify and iTunes.

 

Growing up, she posted music covers and short comedy skits on YouTube and Facebook which have garnered over 100M views to date. Cheryl has also worked with industry limelights such as David Foster, Director Jon M. Chu, Eric Benet, and American Idol Ruben Studdard. Cheryl has numerous press features such as in The New York TimesGlamourBillboard, and more.

Cheryl K
Performer

Malea Emma is a 9 year old singer and actor. Her national anthem video at the LA Galaxy game went viral in 2018. She has been singing the national anthem in more than 30 events afterwards (including the MLS Cup Final with the record breaking 73K attendance at the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta). She was invited to perform on American Idol in front of the celebrity judges (Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan) and was awarded with the Golden Ticket even though she was too young to compete. She was also invited to sing a duet with the Tony and Grammy award winner, Jennifer Holliday, in Good Morning America.

As an actor, she was cast as Molly in the star studded Annie musical at the Hollywood Bowl in 2018 which she worked alongside the Broadway stars like the Tony award winner Lea Salonga, Megan Hilty, Ana Gasteyer and David Alan Grier. Her performance gained great reviews from media such as LA Times and Broadway World. She had a recurring role in Disney Channel’s show Coop and Cami Ask the World and she had guest starred in Disney Channel’s show Raven’s Home. She will also be a lead in an A24’s feature film, After Yang, which will be released this year. In this film, she will be acting opposite Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner Smith, Justin H Min and Haley Lu Richardson.

For more information about Malea Emma, you can go to her website www.maleaemma.com or follow her on Instagram/Youtube/Twitter/Facebook/TikTok @MaleaEmma.

Malea Emma
Performer

 

Sponsors

Diamond Sponsor

 
 

Platinum Sponsors

 
 

Gold Sponsors

 
 
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Silver Sponsors

 
 

Emerald Sponsor

 
 
 

Bronze Sponsor

 
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Community Sponsor

 
 
 

Other Supporters