NASW-CA’s Asian Pacific Islander Social Work Council – North Celebrated its 25th Anniversary

By Nancy Lim-Yee, LCSW 

On Sunday, December 6, 2020, the API Social Work Council hosted a virtual 25th Anniversary event to celebrate its founding in 1995. It was a wonderful event attended by about forty Council members and friends to reflect on the Council’s accomplishments, to reminisce about special events and memories, and to hear from some of our members. One Council member even “zoomed” in all the way from Korea!   

The celebration began with inspirational video greetings from State Senator Scott Wiener and State Assemblymember Evan Low who thanked social workers for the essential work that they provide in our communities every day.  Deborah Son, NASW-CA’s Executive Director, provided welcoming remarks to kick off the event.  The Council had an opportunity to honor Mr. Janlee Wong for his 25 years of unwavering support and guidance to the Council and to wish him well on his recent retirement as the Executive Director of NASW-CA. 
  
Attendees enjoyed watching two outstanding slideshows that were put together by our amazing Event Coordinator and Steering Committee member, Vicky Guan. 
  
One of the slideshows, almost 13 minutes in length, highlighted the many different events and activities the Council has sponsored and hosted in its 25-year history. These events and activities would not have been possible without the hard work and diligence of our many Council “officers”, including chairs, co-chairs, secretaries, treasurers, and Steering Committee members who have played integral roles in the Council’s growth and development throughout the years.  Quite a few of them attended the 25th Anniversary event.  

In addition to Vicky Guan, the core Event Planning Team consisted of outgoing Co-chair Dora Chen, Co-chair Rebekah Gong, Steering Committee member, Janice Huang, and Co-founder, Nancy Lim-Yee. Their amazing teamwork, planning, and coordination made the event possible in a short period of time. 
  
Finally, but not least, a shout-out goes to our current Council Steering Committee members who provide the ongoing support for the important work that the Council does: Council co-founder, Janice Wong; In-coming Co-chair, Fiona Cheung, and Steering Committee members Sunny Choi, Francis Gallego, Julius E. Javier, Victor Jih, Jenny Kwak, and Roberta Naiveli. 

The video slideshow has been posted to our Council website at http://www.apiswc.org/ where you can also find other information about our Council. Please also check out our Facebook page by searching “APISWC of Northern California”. And finally, anyone wishing to contact us can reach us at apicouncilnorth@gmail.com  

The API Social Work Council looks forward to another 25 years of advancing the social issues of API populations through advocacy, consciousness building, education, and political action.   

Photos submitted by Nancy Lim-Yee