Asian American Coalition of Chicago Announces 2023 Community Service and Youth Awardees

“Celebrating Four Decades of United Leadership and Service”

CHICAGO, IL – – The Asian American Coalition of Chicago (AACC) plans to award the significant contributions of Asian Pacific American community leaders and outstanding youth at its 40th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration and Forum, “Celebrating Four Decades of United Leadership and Service” on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 West Bryn Mawr Avenue in Rosemont. Every year a different Asian community takes turn playing host of the Lunar New Year gala. This year it is the Vietnamese American Community, which has four times before (1989, 1997, 2005, and 2013) held the gavel for the Asian Pacific American community’s most important event of the year.

AACC is proud to host a half-day Forum preceding the gala, where business, education and governmental leaders will convene to highlight government services and share resources with AAPI communities. The activities kick off at 1 p.m. with Business and Education Forums followed by an afternoon interfaith prayer session, exhibition fair, and concluding with the evening black-tie optional gala featuring Daphne Kwok as Keynote Speaker.

Following the afternoon Forum, cocktail reception begins and exhibits and silent auction will be open at 4:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies are at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner, entertainment and awards ceremonies until approximately 9:00 p.m. Tickets are expected to be sold out for this popular event and are available on a first-funded, first-seated basis. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Program and ticket purchase information are available on the website www.aacchicago.org.

Previously the Coalition announced that it will award its prestigious Pan Asian American Ping Tom Memorial Award – its highest award – to Grace B. Hou, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) since March 2019. The Coalition renamed its Pan Asian Award in 1996 after the late legendary Chicago civic leader Ping Tom, one of the original founders of the Asian American Coalition. Darryl Tom, on behalf of the Tom family, will make a special appearance for the award presentation.

The Coalition also announced that NBC 5 Chicago will receive the Grand Asian American Sandra Otaka Memorial Award, in recognition for its diverse news coverage and human interest stories important to AAPI communities. The Grand Asian American Award is periodically presented to a non-Asian Friend of the Asian Community. The Coalition renamed its Grand Asian Award in 2010 after the late Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sandra Otaka.

The Coalition also announces the awardees of the 2023 Exemplary Community Service Awards and the Youth Who Excels Awards. “We are especially honored to recognize the significant accomplishments of our community heroes,” said Doug M. Nguyen, 2023 Chair of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago. Exemplary Community Service Awardees:

• Ben Lau, Executive Director, Chinese American Museum of Chicago – Chinese American Community

• Richard Felicelda, President and CEO, StarLab Corporation – Filipino American Community

• Gladson Varghese, Founder and President, American Association of Engineers of Indian Origin (AAEIO) – Indian American Community

• Jeamly Gran Manuel Ticoalu, Senior Pastor, Chicago Indonesian Foursquare Church – Indonesian American Community

• Anne Lani Shimojima, Professional Storyteller on the Japanese American Citizens League’s (JACL) Our Story Committee – Japanese American Community

• Karen Hwang, Attorney and President, Korean American Coalition of Chicago – Korean American Community

• Lei San Tan, Committee member, Malaysian Club of Chicago (MCC) – Malaysian American Community

• Ebrahim Valliani, Entrepreneur and real estate investment advisor – Pakistani American Community

• Jutarut Suntharanund, Co-Founder, Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute of Illinois – Thai American Community

• Belyinda Phan, IT Project Manager, Sterling Bay Real Estate Developers – Vietnamese American Community

Youth Who Excels Awardees:

• Megan Tran, Junior at Whitney M. Young High School, Chicago – Chinese American Community

• Kayla Mendiola, Freshman at Illinois State University (Nursing) – Filipino American Community

• Kiran Kaur Bhalla, Senior at Warren Township High School, Gurnee – Indian American Community

• Erin Dhiyandrea Rachmadiyanto, Freshman at the University of Illinois in Chicago (Biomedical Engineering) – Indonesian American Community

• Michael James (“MJ”) Ichiro Olszewski, Junior at Amundsen High School, Chicago – Japanese American Community

• Alina Chie, Junior at Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook – Korean American Community

• Milasia (Mila) Christensen, Junior at Hoffman Estates High School – Malaysian American Community

• Shiza Dawood, Junior at Glenbrook South High School, Glenview – Pakistani American Community

• Nisara Sripraram, Senior at Hinsdale Central High School – Thai American Community

• Katelynn Phan, Freshman at Carl Sandburg High School, Orland Park – Vietnamese American Community

Vi Nguyen, reporter at NBC5 Chicago TV, has been named a celebrity host for the evening. This is Vi Nguyen’s second time hosting this annual event, with last year being her first. Prominent national civic leader Daphne Kwok of Washington, D.C. was named the Keynote Speaker. Kwok, who has a long and distinguished career spanning business, the not-for-profit world, advocacy, service and government, is currently Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Asian American & Pacific Islander Audience Strategy at AARP. “AARP and AARP Illinois State Office look forward to working with the Chicago AANHPI community to ensure that our AANHPI community elders and family members are able to have the information and resources needed to choose how they live as they age,” Kwok had said in a January 13 statement. (Full profile available upon request.)

An event held on this grand of a scale only once a year, Lunar New Year is traditionally the single largest organized annual event in Chicago’s Asian American community. Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities together constitute the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. According to the 2020 Census, the Asian Pacific American population in Illinois numbers over 781,000, or 6.1% of the statewide population.

“For 40 years, the mission of the Asian American Coalition has been to promote educational excellence, economic development, and increased government participation and access to all Asian Americans – this year’s conference theme reflects our historic accomplishments,” said Khanh Tran, President of the AACC 2023 Board of Directors.