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Greetings From Our ABL-SF President Victor K. Shin
Dear ABL-SF Members and Friends,
2019 has been an exciting year, with numerous exciting events and ABL-SF continuing to deliver some amazing events. I am honored to announce that I have been elected as Chairman and President of the Board for the next term. Mike Pyon, who recently served as our Board President, stepped down on June 3, 2019, to embark on a new journey with his family, as they are moving out of the San Francisco Bay Area and establishing roots in San Diego. On behalf of the board and the community, we want to thank Mike for his years of service, dedication and most of all being a friend.
As Chairman and President, I am very committed in building relationships that will engage the communities that we serve, by delivering opportunities for all to connect and meet leaders throughout the Bay Area. I believe that the more we communicate, stay engaged, share knowledge, listen and actively seek opportunities for growth, the relationships that we develop will stay strong.
We are also very excited that we have added 4 new board members in 2019, starting with Garland Xu, Victoria Wang and most recently Stephanie Lee and Teresa Rabenberg Grobecker. Their entrepreneurial spirit, passion, energy and most of all being wonderful people, will be a huge asset to the organization.
On May 21st, we celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by co-hosting an event with The Asian Health Services themed, 'Where Food Meets Culture' in San Francisco at ETC Labs Accelerator. The panel discussion moderated by Crystal Lee, host of CBS 'This is SF' and former Miss California & 1st Runner Up to Miss America 2014, brought together Andrew Chau, co-founder of Boba Guys, Deuki Hong, chef and co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, Koreatown: A Cookbook, and Hanson Li, who is an owner and investor of Humprhey Slocombe, Brown Sugar Kitchen and numerous Michelin Starred restaurants, spoke about how they are achieving their current success and their journey to get there.
I have so much to share, but the best way to find out what we are doing is to attend our events! I hope to continue the traditions and brand that ABLSF has developed in the San Francisco Bay Area since our founding in 1980, and that all of you will help us along this path.
See you at our next event!
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ABL-SF NEWS
New Logo Contest for ABL-SF
ABL-SF is looking to revamp its look with your help! We will be hosting a contest from now until Friday, July 5th. Submissions should be sent to info@ablsf.org with the artist's contact information. Open to the public, share this opportunity with your artistic friends for a feature in our next newsletter and grand reveal as well as a small prize!
New Board Members
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Garland Xu has been with Wells Fargo for over 5 years and is now a Branch Manager in San Francisco. As an experienced Business Banker with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry, Garland is always looking to leverage financial knowledge and management skills to help clients financially succeed and build lifelong relationships.
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Victoria Wang is currently the Head of Compensation and Payroll at Hitachi America where she consults on M&A, HR (Performance Management, Employment Law, Total Rewards), Big Data Analytics, Corporate Affairs, Management, I/O Psychology, and all things Operations. Victoria has worked with companies like Tesla and Johnson & Johnson supporting their HR and Stock / Equity teams. In her spare time, Victoria likes to adjunct teach at colleges and dog sit.
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Stephanie Lee is a licensed psychotherapist, dating coach, and community organizer. She is the founder of Miss Hitch Dating Coaching for Asian American Men and Bay Area Relationship Support for Asian Americans. She is currently working on launching a third business dedicated to teaching AAPIs how to overcome toxic invisibility through owning and embodying a new Pan Asian American identity. She hosts monthly parties for AAPIs and their allies to bond over dumplings and creative passion projects.
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Teresa Grobecker is a CEO of two portfolio companies and partner at US Capital Global (USCG). Teresa is CEO of Real Estate Consortia (REC) which has the patent pending blockchain title token for every piece of real estate in the United States. REC is in the National Association of Realtors REach Accelerator class of 2019. Teresa founded Grobecker Holland International, the first online real estate brokerage in San Francisco, in 2012. In June 2018, Teresa merged GHI into USCG, an investment bank where she also performs investment bank duties.
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ABL-SF Upcoming Events
Holiday Party - November
Please join us as we celebrate the spirit of the season with good friends and good food. Details will be forthcoming.
ABL-SF 40th Anniversary Gala - Celebration in 2020
ABL-SF will turn 40 years old in 2020. We will be planning a major celebration of that milestone next year. Please watch this space later in the year for more news on this upcoming gala!
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ABL-SF Recap of Past Events
Annual Holiday Party - November 15
The ABL-SF Annual Holiday Party returned this past year at the Toy Soliders in SF! We celebrated the end of a phenomenal 2018 amongst friends and distinguished colleagues. On a cozy winter night, we gathered to drink and eat to establish new relationships and even reconnect on some old ones.
Our outstanding speakers - such as California State Treasurer-Elect, Fiona Ma - gave us a detailed insight about their pathways to success. Each shared a unique and original story that talked about the importance and benefit of being involved in community, networking, and giving back!
4th Annual Youth Program Career Day Panel Discovery - February 22
We inspired future trail blazers through a combined venture between Chinatown YMCA, Vietnamese Youth Development Center (VYDC), ABL-SF, and Salesforce. In a massive collaborative effort, we were able to host an engaging event at the Salesforce Tower, where over 80 high school students from across the San Francisco School District got together for one afternoon with the purpose to discover and learn the different possible avenues of career success!
Our focus this year primarily revolved around offering the other point of view on success, the success that can be achieved through non-traditional routes. It was personified through our outstanding speakers, such as news anchor Kenny Choi from KPIX 5, angel investor Tiffany Wang, drone pilot Reiner Von Weber, and many more! It was an inspiring event, as we got to see gleeful students engage with our speakers in a genuine conversation about what amazing careers they have and how they can get there as well!
Annual Lunar New Year Party - March 14
Welcoming the Year of the Pig by pigging out! Thanks to our sponsor,
Bank of West
, we brought everyone back together and welcomed the Year of the Pig at
Lefty's Buffet & Giants Dugout Store!
It was a grand slam of an event that was made even more special with attendance from fantastic guests like Founder of Kalon SF and Former Miss Asian California, Katie Melanie Lam, and Miss Chinatown USA 2019, Katherine Wu.
This year's theme continued from our wonderful holiday party and focused on "Building Relationships and What it Means to You". Games were played, friends were made, and good times were had. Wish you all good health and wealth for this year and many years to come!
APA Heritage Month Kickoff Reception - April 23
For 15 years, CBS Bay Area has collaborated with local businesses, non-profits and community leaders for after-work receptions at its studios in San Francisco to celebrate the diversity of the Bay Area. ABL-SF is so proud to be a part of a network that continues to champion that mission.
This year the collaboration continues with a focus and emphasis on gathering Asian Pacific American business, professional and community organization leaders who are influencers and experts in their respective fields, both for networking with each other and being a resource to the news station for stories as experts and sources.
Where Food Meets Culture - May 21
From deep insights into the food and beverage industry to business and life advice, Deuki Hong, Andrew Chau, and Hanson Li engaged a sold out crowd at our 'Where Food Meets Culture' event. A special thanks to all of those who attended the event in support of both Asian Health Services and the Asian Business League of San Francisco - you helped to make the event a wonderful success!
Our appreciation goes out to Crystal Lee for moderating our esteemed panel of guests. We would also like to thank Ethereum Classic Labs for hosting the event, and to 더부스 The Booth Brewing Co., Boba Guys, and Bleu Ribbon Catering & Events for the delicious boba, beer and food.
This is NOT the last time that Asian Health Services and Asian Business League of San Francisco will be teaming up, so be on the lookout for our upcoming events on Facebook!
AABA, ABL-SF, and Nakayoshi Hike in to Spring! - June 1
In collaboration with the Asian American Bar Association (AABA) and Nakayoshi Young Professionals, we hosted a joint hiking event at the wonderful Mori Point in Pacifica on Saturday, June 1
st
.
Hiking events have been an integral part of building relationships in the Asian Pacific American community since 2015. It is a great way to exercise both the mind and the body, as we go to greater heights together! There is no better way to kick off the summer than a relaxing hike and an opportunity to meet some new friends!
Thank you for joining us at Mori Point and for beers at Pedro Point Brewing!
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SILICON VALLEY INSIDER
Our very own board member
Keith Koo has recently started
a local radio show - Silicon Valley Insider and
podcast
on KDOW 1220AM (Fridays
1-2pm
) and now also on 860AM KTRB (Saturdays
10-11am
).
The show is about technology's interaction with business and topics have included: 1) Innovation & Branding 2) Risk Management and Cyber Security, 3) Blockchain (Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc...and 4) Cross Border.
Check it out via:
iTunes:
Android and other Platforms:
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OPEN CALL FOR ABL-SF BOARD MEMBERS
ABL-SF is actively seeking new board members that have a strong desire to serve the Asian Pacific American community. We're seeking individuals that are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get to work on the initiatives that can make a positive impact. If you have a desire to help set the vision and direction of ABL-SF for the future, please reach out to ABL-SF's Board of Directors at info@ablsf.org to express your interest in being considered for the board.
LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER MARKETING MANAGER
ABL-SF is seeking a highly motivated, creative individual with experience and passion for creating a social media presence (e.g. engaging blog and media content). The volunteer would manage ABL-SF Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. The volunteer would also create and implement campaigns to market ABL-SF and increase membership engagement. The volunteer will have an opportunity for leadership exposure and to attend all events. ABL-SF is looking for a one-year commitment that can turn into a more involved position based on interest. Please reach out to ABL-SF's Board of Directors at info@ablsf.org for more information.
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ABL-SF aims to:
- INSPIRE leaders with its youth and adult leadership programs;
- CONNECT leaders through its lifelong network and mentoring activities; and
- ENGAGE leaders with matters of interest to the business community.
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