American Bar Association Honors Advancing Justice | AAJC President and Executive Director with Spirit of Excellence Award
February 18,
2021—Washington, D.C.—Tonight,
the American Bar Association will honor Advancing Justice | AAJC President and
Executive Director John C. Yang with the Spirit of Excellence Award alongside
four other esteemed civil rights leaders. The Spirit of Excellence Award
celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of lawyers who work to promote a
more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession.
The awards are presented to
lawyers who excel in their professional settings; who personify excellence on the
national, state, or local level; and who have demonstrated a commitment to
racial and ethnic diversity in the law. Sherrilyn Ifill, president and
director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Lori E.
Lightfoot, the first Black female mayor of Chicago, are among the honorees.
"The ABA's Spirit of
Excellence Award is a hard-earned and well-deserved recognition of John Yang's
incredible history of professional success coupled with innovative leadership
for Asian Americans, not just in the legal field, but in community service,
civil rights, and social equity, said Advancing
Justice | AAJC Board Chair Parkin Lee. “We at Advancing Justice
| AAJC are truly fortunate that John had agreed to lead and grow our
organization, enabling it to take on an ever-expanding portfolio of issues
affecting the Asian American community through these tumultuous times."
Yang is an experienced attorney
with over two decades over 25 years of policy, litigation, and corporate
expertise. He served in the Obama Administration as Senior Advisor for Trade
and Strategic Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was the
principal advisor to Secretary Penny Pritzker on issues related to Asia and
worked with the White House and other U.S. agencies on strategic and economics
issues concerning the region. He co-founded the Asian Pacific American Legal
Resource Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the direct
service legal needs of Asian Pacific Americans in the D.C. metropolitan area and
is a former president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
(NAPABA) where he continues to serve as co-chair of NAPABA’s Judiciary and
Executive Nominations and Appointments Committee.
“I’m honored to receive this
award, especially among friends and trusted colleagues with whom we have worked
to advance racial and social equity over the years,” said John C. Yang. “I’m
grateful every day to lead an organization that combats hate and xenophobia,
advocates for a more humane immigration system, and ensures that Asian
Americans are included in advocacy, public policy, and media. Thank you to the
American Bar Association for this distinguished honor.”
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