International Leadership Foundation 17th

Anniversary Newsletter

ABOUT ILF

The International Leadership Foundation

(ILF) is a non-profit organization that promotes

civic awareness, public service and economic

effectiveness in the Asian Pacific Americans (APA) community. Since ILF

was founded in 1999, its mission has been to

develop young leaders inthe United States and other

Pacific Rim countries in the fields of public service,

entrepreneurship and international relations.

ILF Honored APA Leaders with their legacy at Awards Gala with

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Secretary Elaine L. Chao

The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) hosted its 2016 Leadership and Business Luncheon, and the 17th Annual Awards Gala on July 13th at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. The one-day event attracted500 attendees, including Asian Pacific Americans (APA) business and community leaders, Civic Fellows, and international business delegates. The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor (2001-2009), and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were the special speakers during the gala. ILF was honored to have renowned leaders in the APA community like Congressmembers Judy Chu and Sheila Jackson Lee show their support by attending this year’s awards gala. ILF presented the Leadership Award to Christine

ADDRESS:Ronald Reagan Building

andInternational Trade Center

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Suite 700Washington, DC 20004

PHONE:(202) 204-3019

E-MAIL:ilf@ileader.org

WEBSITE:www.ILFnational.org

Chen, Executive Director of the Asian PacificIslander American Vote; Ceyan Birney, President of Stone Mountain Properties; Larry Lee, Vice Chairmen China Daily (Holding) Co. Ltd.; Dr. Richard Sun, Vice Mayor of the City of San Marino, California; Claire Wu, Vice President, Sequoia Dental Studio; Pedro Cheng, Chairman Red Rock Asian Capitol Investor Group; Dr. Hon Yuen Wong, Chairman of the Chinese Committee Benevolent Alliance; David Jian, CEO Marketing Director; and Aruna Miller, Delegate of Maryland.

Ted W. Lieu, U.S. House of Representatives,California’s 33rd Congressional District and Grace Meng, U.S. House of Representatives, New York’s 6th Congressional District, received the Public Servant Award. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Chairman Ed Royce, United States House of Representatives, California’s 39th Congressional District, Chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs Committee. Finally the Inspirational Award was presented to the First Lady of Maryland, Yumi Hogan.

ILF is a Combined Federal Campaign

approved non-profit

organization (Donate to #24372)

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made special remarks at the ILF 17th Awards Gala on July

13, 2016 after the introduction about him by the Honorable Elaine L. Chao. He praised ahievements of APA communities and blessed future leaders by

saying, "Never give up."

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and

24th U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao with ILF Advisory Board Chairs

International Leadership Foundation Page 2 of 4

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and24th U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao with ILF Leadership. ILF President Dr. Paul Hsu (far left),

ILF CEO/Founder Chiling Tong (second from right), and ILF President Solomon Chen (far right)

2016 Civic Fellow Testimonials & Memories"This fellowship is our very first introduction to civil service. My ILF experience has taught me one that has been echoed by almost every speaker and panelist we’ve heard: be uncomfortable. Be afraid. Take risks. Learn. Our numerous ILF panels, workshops, and weekly CAPAL discussions have impressed upon us the necessity of an AAPI presence in publicservice."-Victoria Peng, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

"The main theme defining the summer for our ILF Fellowship was “Redefining Public Service.” We discussed avariety of important issues such as how to bring minority groups of color together in order to push meaningful change,..we learned about all the possible ways in which we help others in our lives,..This summer at the International Monetary Fund was an enjoyable and formative experience."-Sean Fisher,International Monetary Fund

George Park with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx

Awardees with Congress Members, local elected officials, and ILF Advisory Board Chairs: Christine Chen (VA), Ceyan Birney (Houston, TX), Dr. Richard Sun (Vice Mayor of San Marino, CA), Claire Wu (Chicago, IL), Pedro Cheng (Miami, FL), Dr. Hon Yuen Wong(Washington, DC), David Jian (Atlanta, GA), Aruna Miller (Maryland Delegate), Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congressman Ted W. Lieu, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Maryland State Senator Susan Lee, and Virginia Delegate Mark Keam

ILF National Advisors sitting with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Honorable Elaine L. Chao

Page 3 of 4 International Leadership Foundation 17th

Anniversary2016 Leadership & Business LuncheonILF and the Coalition of Asian American Business Organizations (CAABO) hosted the 2016 Leadership & Business Luncheon, which featured the two key parts below.Achievement of Present & Future APA Leaders Through the persistent hard work and continuous dedication of our APA leaders, the APA community has made significant impact over time. To extend appreciation, ILF recognized our APA leaders with the prestigious Presidential Volunteer Service Award, an award given to those who have contributed to community development and economic growth through their businesses. Thanks to ILF's Global Advisory Board and U.S.-China Committee, ILF has

2016 LEADERSHIP & BUSINESS LUNCHEON

Master of Ceremonies:Soo Kyung Koo, ILF Director

Featured Speakers:Howard Li, Chairman and CEO of

Waitex GroupDoua Thor, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

expanded its global presence in various parts of Asia this year. ILF’s future APA leaders, Young Ambassadors and Civic Fellows, gave their testimonials appreciating ILF Advisors.

Business Legacy & Community DevelopmentWith Asian Pacific Americans being the fastest growing group in the United States, their roles as

.consumers, leaders, and representatives of the American population must be emphasized. To addressthis issue, our panelists compromised of prominent business leaders, shared personal and inspirational stories and discussed how APAs can continually make progress in promoting APA members as vital leaders and contributors to society through a better understanding of consumer trends. The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) Executive Director Doua Thor made remarks about the WHIAAPI mission and the promising role of APAs for the nation’s future

Executive Director of White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, Doua Thor,

makes remarks at the ILF/CAABO Luncheon

ILF Global Advisory Board and U.S.-China Committee receive appreciation from ILF for

their leadership

PANEL: Legacy of Asian Pacific American Business and Community

Development

Moderator:Betty Lo, Vice President of Nielsen,

Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement

Panelists:Solomon Chen, President of ILF and

Superior Communications

Paul Hsu PhD, Author, Guardians of the Dream, Chairman of the HSU

Enterprise Group LLC

David Hinson, CFO and Chief of Mergers & Acquisitions,

MicroTech, LLC

Ceyan Birney, President of Stone Mountain Properties

ILF National Advisory Board Chairs and Young Ambassadors meet Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: Ivy Sun, Leeshan Birney,Lily Luo, Gary Ho, Cherry Huang, Pei Da Yan, Shiao-Yen Wu, Louis Yip and Sunny Ng.

Panel discussion of the Legacy of APA Business and Community Development at the 2016 ILF/CAABO Business and Leadership Luncheon

International Leadership Foundation 17th Anniversary Page 4 of 4 Civic Fellowship & Young Ambassadors

Programs

Former Secretary of Labor, the Honorable Elaine L.Chao, and U.S. Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConell with 2016 Civic Fellows and Young Ambassadors at ILF Gala

For the past decade and a half, the International Leadership Foundation has provided scholarships and leadership training for over 1,200 select Asian Pacific American (APA) college students from across the nation. The Washington, DC Civic Fellowship is one of the nation’s most prestigious leadership development programs designed to foster future APA leaders.

This year, ILF sponsored 26 outstanding college students. Each Fellow participated in a supervised training program, including a public service internship and regular seminars, to gain access to government and to learn how to utilize public policy to help strengthen local communities. ILF prepares its Fellows to become future leaders in the academic, cultural, business, professional and public arenas. The Fellows also took part in training sessions with CAPAL, an organization dedicated to building leadership and public policy knowledge within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. ILF is the only organization that sponsors fellowships for both Asian Americans and young leaders from Asia, and unite them together to form a strong global network.

ILF also had 22 Young Ambassadors from Asia for thetwo week 2016 Leadership Program.

Congressman Ed Royce and Ted Lieu recieve the ILF Lifetime Achievement and Public Servant Award respectively at the ILF 17th Gala.

Page: International Leadership Foundation

@ilfnational

Page: International Leadership Foundation

@ilf_national

Photographs by Gino Wang, Eugene Lau, and Bob Luo.

Edited byArah Go and Parishae Adnan

This year’s Civic Fellows were placed in the following

U.S. government organizations.

26 Fellows at 6 Departments,7 Offices/Agencies, 3

Congress offices, and 1 international governmental

organization.

Department of Agriculture

Department of

Transportation

Minority Business Development

Agency

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Department of Health and Human Services

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA)

White House Initiative on AAPI

For the past 17 years, ILF is proud to have

provided scholarships and leadership

training for over 1,200 Asian Pacific American students.

Congresswoman Judy Chu opens the ILF 17th Gala with her reamrks (left). Congresswoman

Grace Meng's acceptance remarks of the ILF Public Servant Award. The Maryland

First Lady Yumi Hogan receives the ILF

Inspiratioal Award (right).