The CAUSE Annual Gala is the premier event for those interested in politics and community and boasts the largest attendance of APA elected officials. Attendees came together to celebrate the achievements of CAUSE and recognized those who have advanced the needs of the APA community. The gala also served as the largest fundraiser of the year for the organization. Funds raised will support the organization’s many programs and services, which include non-partisan voter outreach, training, and education programs as well as leadership development programs.
This year, we honored the 70th Speaker of the California State Assembly, Anthony Rendon, and Principal of Lam Consulting Group, Annie V. Lam, with the Partners in Public Service Award; John Kobara, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at the California Community Foundation with the Community Championship Award; and Mr. Patrick Niemann, Managing Partner- Greater Los Angeles Ernst & Young with the Corporate Citizenship Award.
The theme for this year was “Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders.” As our country enters a new era of leadership, it is more important now than ever to empower the future leaders and change-makers of the APA community. It takes a community of passionate and committed advocates to mentor, nurture, and empower our next generation. All of the honorees and speakers of the night spoke to this.
The Honorable Fiona Ma of the California Board of Equalization and Tami Bui of Southern California Edison served as the evening’s Mistresses of Ceremonies.
Congressmember Judy Chu delivered bold remarks about how 2017 has been a year of many historic election firsts for Asian American women, including U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Congressmember Pramila Jayapal, and U.S. Congressmember Stephanie Murphy.
“In politics, they say that you find out who your friends are after you lose an election…the first member of the California state legislature to reach out after my loss in 2014 was none other than Speaker Rendon,” Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi recounted as he and Assemblymember Ed Chau presented the Partners in Public Service Award to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Annie V. Lam, Principal of Lam Consulting Group.