ABOUT ILF

The International Leadership Foundation

(ILF) hosted its 2015 Leadership and

Business Conference and the 16th

Annual

Awards Gala on July 30th at the Capital

Hilton in Washington, D.C. Co-sponsored

by the Coalition of Asian American

Business Organizations (CAABO), the one-

day event attracted 500 attendees, including

Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI)

business and community leaders, Civic

Fellows, and international business

delegates. The Honorable Elaine Chao, 24th

U.S. Secretary of Labor, was the featured

speaker during the gala. ILF was honored

to have renowned leaders in the AAPI

community like Congressmembers Judy

Chu, Mike Honda, Ed Royce, Ted Lieu,

and Amata Radewagen show their support

by attending this year’s awards gala. ILF

presented the Organizational Award to Dr.

James S.C. Chao for the Ruth Mulan

Chu Chao Foundation. ILF also honored

Angela Chao, the Deputy Chairman of the

Foremost Group, with the Inspirational

Leader Award. Stephanie Yonekura, U.S.

Acting Attorney of the Central District of

California; Maryland State Delegate,

Kumar Barve; and Connecticut State

Senator, Tony Hwang were presented with

Public Servant Awards from ILF. For their

personal dedication and efforts towards the

AAPI community, these individuals

Dr. James Chao & The Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Foundation and Angela Chao, honored as Philanthropic Trailblazers by ILF

each received a 2015 Leadership Award:

President & CEO of APAICS, Floyd Mori;

CEO of Benefit Tomorrow, Chun-Ya Chen;

Vice Chairman of Revenco, Edward Dong;

President of Marietta Management Serivce

Corps, David Ho; Founder of NY Senior Care

Group, Cherry Huang; President of the Rhode

Island American Chinese Association, Sunny

Ng; Founder of Trust Air Cargo, Russell Wu;

Owner of Stone Mountain Properties, James

Birney; and Grandmaster of the Jhoon Rhee

Taekwondo School, Jhoon Rhee.

ADDRESS:

Ronald Reagan Building

&

International Trade

Center

1300 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20004

PHONE:

(202) 204-3019

FAX:

(202) 351-0575

E-MAIL:

ilf@ileader.org

WEBSITE:

www.ILFnational.org

ILF is a combined federal

campaign approved non-

profit organization (#24372)

The International

Leadership Foundation

(ILF) is a non-profit

organization that promotes

civic awareness, public

service and economic

effectiveness in the Asian

American Pacific Islander

(AAPI) community. Since

ILF was founded in 1999,

its mission has been to

develop young leaders in

the United States and other

Pacific Rim countries in

the fields of public service,

entrepreneurship and

international relations.

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, makes keynote remarks on behalf of her family at the ILF 16

th Anniversary Gala.

24th

U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, and Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Allan Fung, with ILF Founder, Chiling Tong and ILF Advisory Board: Merry Cheng, Jeff Hwang, Grace Huang, Pedro Cheng, Leeshan Birney, David Jian, Derek Chen, Chair of the Global

Advisory Council; Eric Kung, Hank Chao, Howard Li, Pei Da Yan, Louis Yip, Lily Han.

International Leadership Foundation 16th Anniversary Newsletter

TESTIMONIALS

Thank you ILF leadership for your

kindness and expertise this summer.

At USAID Office of Inspector

General - Investigations, I learned so

much about anti-fraud and anti-

corruption work and truly realized the

role of oversight in the international

development arena. I was able to see

different management styles and

apply lessons from my time as a Civic

Fellow. In addition to my summer

internship, I appreciated ILF for

planning wonderful programming,

speakers, and events. The conference

and gala for this summer's fellowship

really made a tremendously positive

impact on my outlook towards public

service and public office. More than

ever before, I am inspired to follow

the legacies that have been set by

these leaders.

-Karim Farishta

2015 U.S. Agency for International

Development

My ILF experience allowed me to

explore and develop a passion for

public policy. It helped me build my

leadership skills, think

introspectively, and meet other

incredible, like-minded students from

across the country. Though I am not

studying political science, working in

DC has inspired me to take policy

classes and learn more about the

public sector.

- Emily Zhen

2015 Department of Treasury

My time in Washington DC has been

an eye-opening experience into the

Department of Defense and a

wonderful opportunity to learn from

senior military and foreign service

officers, who have been able to

provide critical insight into the many

paths to foreign service and all that

life as a public servant entails. The

most significant lesson I take away

from my time as an intern at National

Defense University this summer is the

importance of taking the initiative to

step out of one's comfort zone, to ask

for guidance and ultimately learn

from the experience of others. My

experiences so far have been

humbling but at the same time,

empowering, and I look forward to

returning to my school and

community to share what I have

learned during my short time here.

- Jung Ju Lee

2015 National Defense University

International Leadership Foundation 16th Anniversary Page 2 of 4

Maryland State Senator, Susan Lee; Congressmembers Ed Royce, Judy Chu, Ted Lieu, Amata Radewagen, Mike Honda; U.S. Acting Attorney of Central District of California, Stephanie

Yonekura; Maryland Delegate, Kumar Barve; Connecticut State Senator, Tony Hwang & all of the Leadership Awardees

(from left to right) Dr. James S.C. Chao, Angela

Chao, The Chao Family honoring

their wife and mother, Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao

Deputy Secretary of Labor, Chris Lu, receiving an appreciation plaque from ILF and CAABO leadership.

2015 LEADERSHIP & BUSINESS

CONFERENCE

Master of Ceremonies:

Mark Keam

Featured Speakers: Howard Li, Chairman and CEO of

Waitex Group

William H. Overholt, Senior Fellow,

Harvard Asian Center

PANEL I: UNITED STATES - ASIA

GLOBAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

Moderator:

David Hinson,

CFO and Chief of Mergers &

Acquisitions, MicroTech, LLC

Panelists:

Anthony B. Kim, Research Manger,

The Institute for Economic Freedom and

Opportunity at the Heritage Foundation

Laurie Farris, Executive Director for

Asia, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary

for Asia International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of

Commerce

Henry Levine, Senior Director,

Albright Stonebridge

PANEL II: ADVOCACY OF ASIAN

AMERICAN BUSINESSES &

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Moderator:

David Do, Director, DC Mayor’s Office

on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs

Panelists:

Jimmy Rhee, Special Secretary,

Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs

Albert Shen, National Deputy Director,

Minority Business Development Agency,

U.S. Department of Commerce

Sach Takayasu, President & CEO,

Asian Pacific Islander American

Chamber of Commerce &

Entrepreneurship

International Leadership Foundation 16th Anniversary Page 3 of 4

The 2015 Leadership and Business

Conference featured two key discussion

panels below. ILF and the Coalition of Asian

American Business Organizations (CAABO)

sponsor the event.

U.S.-Asia Global Strategic Alliance As

dynamic East Asian economies continue to

develop through technological

advancements, growing skilled workforce

and investments in foreign markets, it is self-

evident that Asia will continue to be a driver

of global economic growth in the foreseeable

future. It is crucial for both the United States

and Asia to strengthen their partnership in

order to move forward and find solutions to

global issues, particularly as the economies

of the United States and China become more

interdependent.

Advocacy of Asian American Businesses &

Entrepreneurship: In today’s society, many

Asian American businesses have reached

unprecedented levels of growth in the US

economy. Not only has such expansion

benefitted individual communities, but it has

also bridged cultural gaps, creating

opportunities for nations to increase global

trade and capitalize on other significant

ventures. To highlight these recent patterns,

we compiled an expert panel to address

issues facing Asian American businesses and

their role in national business growth. The

panel focused on global competitiveness, and

methods to advance Asian American

interests.

Maryland State Delegate Kumar Barve

receiving the Public Servant Award from

Congresswoman Amata Radewagen and ILF

Founder Chiling Tong

2015 Leadership & Business Conference

All of the conference moderators & panelists from the 2015 ILF/CAABO Business and Leadership Conference

Maryland Delegate, Kumar Barve, with Congresswoman Amata Radewagen

Connecticut State Senator, Tony Hwang, receiving the Public Servant award

U.S Acting Attorney Stephanie Yonekura makes her acceptance speech on behalf of Public Servant Award honorees at the

Gala.

Deputy Secretary of Labor, Chris Lu, makes his keynote speech at the

ILF/CAABO Luncheon

Photographs by Gino Wang, Eugene Lau, Bob Luo, the World Journal & Justin Lee. Editing by Polina Tai

International Leadership Foundation 16th Anniversary Page 4 of 4

For the past 16 years,

ILF is proud to have

provided scholarships

and leadership training

for over 1,200 Asian

Pacific American college

students.

This year’s Civic Fellows were

placed in the following U.S.

government organizations:

Department of the Treasury

Department of Commerce

Department of Agriculture

Department of Transportation

Department of State

U.S. Agency for International

Development (USAID)

Department of Health and

Human Services

Center for Public Consultation

Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA)

White House Initiative on AAPI

Department of Education

Federal Aviation Administration

National Defense University

Capitol Hill

Pew Research Center

For the past decade and a half, the International

Leadership Foundation has provided

scholarships and leadership training for over

1,200 select Asian American Pacific Islanders

(AAPI) 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 AAPI 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 CORO, an organization that

provides leadership skills training to assure that

our democratic government can more

effectively meet the needs of its citizens.

ILF is the only organization that sponsors

fellowships for both Asian Americans and

young leaders from Asia, and unite them

2015 Civic Fellowship Program

together to form a strong global network.

The 2015 ILF Civic Fellows: Aaron O’Hoyt,

Aaron Huang, Adya Jain, Andrew Wang,

Andre Luu, Calvin Su, Emily Zhen, Grace

Chang, Henry Xu, Jessica Liu, Jessica

Liang, Jing-shuan Chen, Jocelyn Lai, Joyce

Kim, Jung-Ju Lee, Karim Farishta,

Michelle Mui, Samuel Kim, Selina Jan, Sofi

Sinozich, Stella Huang, Tiffany Yue,

William Yang, Jonathan Nguyen, Vy Luu,

Wayne Chen

Special thanks to Steven Redfield & Kenny Chen of the CORO Organization.

Congressman Ed Royce speaking at the Gala

Congressman Ed Royce speaking at the ILF Awards Gala

Former Secretary of Labor, The Honorable Elaine Chao, with ILF Leadership & 2015 Civic Fellows at the 2015 ILF Awards Gala

Congressmembers Mike Honda, Judy Chu, and Ted Lieu speaking to the Gala attendees