AABA Officer and Board of Director Candidates 2019-20

Vice President/President-Elect

John Hamasaki

AABA was founded on the principle that our Asian American community must stand together to ensure equal access to justice and opportunity. Although we have come a long way in the 42 years since our founding, the events of the past few years remind us that our work is not yet complete.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” However, it doesn’t bend on its own. Only together, through hard work, dedication, and resilience, can we bend the arc.

I hereby submit my application to be your Vice President in 2019. As an AABA leader, I intend to carry on our founders’ work in fighting for civil rights, justice, and equality for all Asian Americans and our allies. I look forward to working together with our members, our board, and the community, to continue to bend the arc for all Asian Americans and our allies.

Treasurer

Michelle Park Chiu

AABA’s role in our community is even more critical now than ever, considering the challenges facing our nation. AABA is a leader among bar associations that speaks up when it perceives injustice, acts to support underserved communities, and mentors its members to achieve the career success they hope to attain. In the last year, AABA has redoubled its efforts to fight for justice, equality and opportunity. I would be proud and honored to assist AABA in continuing its important work by serving as its Treasurer.

As AABA’s Board Secretary last year, I assisted in AABA’s efforts to evaluate and provide endorsements regarding the San Francisco Superior Court judicial elections in June 2018. I was proud that AABA’s Board voted to endorse the four incumbent judges, including our members Judge Andrew Y.S. Chang and Judge Cynthia Ming-Mei Lee. I also created AABA’s inaugural Pathway to Partnership Program to assist senior associates in the Bay Area who are interested in making partner at their firms, as I am committed to increasing the diversity of our legal community. Prior to serving as Secretary, I was a Director-at-Large on AABA’s board for two years and an Education Committee Co-Chair before that. AABA is an important part of my life and it would be an honor to continue serving AABA as Treasurer. Thank you for your consideration.

Secretary

Lisa Mak

As a long-time AABA leader, I am excited to seek your support to continue serving AABA as next year’s Secretary. As an AABA officer, I will continue to lead the organization to promote advocacy, service, and professional development on behalf of our membership.

Since 2015, I have served as a Director-at-Large on AABA’s Board of Directors, contributing to the organization’s growth, programming, and strategic direction. Due to my concurrent leadership roles in other organizations, including the Minority Bar Coalition, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and API Legal Outreach, I increased AABA’s collaborative efforts and visibility within the legal community.

Prior to joining the AABA Board, I served as Co-Chair of AABA’s Community Services Committee, which oversees our pro bono legal clinics and provides our members with service opportunities beyond the legal arena, including food bank events and environmental clean-ups. I also expanded our annual prelaw conference for minority high school and college students, an event which I still help organize each year.

In my day job, I am an attorney at Minami Tamaki LLP handling plaintiff-side consumer and employment litigation. This experience reinforces my commitment to service and civil rights, which informs the work that I do for AABA.

I am proud of AABA’s voice on issues affecting our community, especially now. I will continue collaborating with our board and specialty committees to amplify our voice and represent the different perspectives among our membership. I would be honored to have your support.

Board of Director Candidates

Elizabeth Castillo

I am a Senior Associate at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, where I chiefly litigate antitrust class actions against cartels. My proudest achievements thus far are (1) receiving the American Antitrust Institute’s 2016 Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer Award for my work on In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, which has recovered over $1 billion for consumers to date and (2) representing a former Major League Baseball pitcher injured while trying to protect his home in a trial that resulted in a $2.3 million jury verdict. In the same manner that I have dedicated myself to my work, I have and will continue to dedicate myself to AABA.

I currently serve as a Co-Chair of the Mentorship Committee. Before that, I served as a Co-Chair of the 42nd Annual Gala Planning Committee. I have been an AABA member since I was a law student at UC Hastings. I am interested in serving as a Director at Large because I am invested in our community and would like to lead the AABA’s community service efforts. My community service ranges from representing an inmate who alleged a violation of civil rights, to working with high school students on college applications, to volunteering at the local food bank. I firmly believe that volunteerism can be big or small, and everyone should partake in it. A vote for me is a vote for giving to others.

Roland Chang

As a longtime AABA member, former Education Committee co-chair, and former Mentorship Committee member, I am honored to submit my name as a candidate for a Director-at-Large position. AABA is an incredibly important organization within the Bay Area legal community and nationwide. I want to continue building upon the strong foundation created by our current AABA Board, as well as expand and grow AABA’s programs and initiatives.

As a Committee co-chair and member, I personally witnessed the impact and importance of AABA for bringing together our community. For instance, I helped plan the last two AABA MCLE Mini-Marathons, which is our largest CLE event every year. It brings together distinguished practitioners who can share their expertise and experience on critical and timely legal topics with all our members. As a Board member, I want to grow our educational and mentoring initiatives by targeting topics specific to our community and increasing funding for these programs.

Finally, I am running for the Board so that I can ensure the strong sense of community and family created by AABA flourishes. Through AABA, I have developed invaluable and lifelong mentoring relationships and friendships for my professional and personal development. My experience has not been unique – I have heard multiple stories from friends and colleagues about the importance of AABA in their own careers. I want those opportunities to continue for future generations of AABA members, which is why I am asking for your vote.

Thank you for your support and consideration.

Claire Choo

I was the first in my family to become an attorney. Fortunately, I started my legal career in the Bay Area and had the opportunity to be a part of AABA, to meet API trailblazers, and give back to the API community. I also met amazing people who have dedicated so much of their time and life to serving the API community and those amazing people have become very good friends.

I am currently an incumbent Director at Large, running for re-election. Previously, I had served as co-chair of the Community Services Committee for three years and as a committee member for four years prior. I’m immensely proud of the work that I was able to do with my CSC co-chairs and loyal committee members. CSC has done an incredible amount of work in the community, including monthly pro bono clinics, planting trees, weeding community gardens and parks, cleaning up our beaches, making thousands of cards for Meals on Wheels, sorting tons of food at SF-Marin Food Bank, and packaging holiday gifts for at-risk teenage girls and women with Project Glimmer.

I believe in AABA’s mission and would like to continue my service to AABA as one of your Directors. As a Director, I would like to Thank you for your support!

Angel Garrett

After having served as the co-chair and a member of the Employment Committee for several years, I am excited at this opportunity to run for Director at Large.

Returning to the Bay Area after having relocated to the Midwest for law school and to practice for a period of time, I was concerned about how I would be able to meet and connect with my peers in the Bay Area. Fortunately, I was introduced to AABA. As I became more involved with AABA, I joined the Employment Committee and eventually became co-chair. During my time with the Employment Committee (n.k.a the Professional Development Committee), I helped plan and organize the annual Summer Diversity Reception, speed networking events, and career workshops. I also worked with the Women’s Committee in hosting a leadership skills workshop. Through all these events, I have had the opportunity to support the membership as they pave their career paths and to help them connect with their peers.

Because of AABA, I have learned more about our community, how we can help one another, and build genuine relationships. I am running for Director at Large because I would like to give back to AABA what I have received and to have the opportunity to play an even more active role in advocating and supporting our community.