MN Asian Pacific Leadership Awards Announced

Congratulations to the 2010 Asian Pacific Leadership Awards recipients: Mali Kouanchao, Excellence in the Arts, Mao Heu Thao, Leadership, Kaimay Yuen Terry, Leadership and Dixie Lee Riley (posthumously) for Lifetime Achievement. The results were recently announced by the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.


The awards will be presented at the annual dinner this month. For this year, the Council has put together a program that will explore the roots of the Asian American & Pacific Islanders community.

Noted scholar Dr. Franklin Odo, formerly director and founder of the Asian Pacific American Program at the Smithsonian Institution and a curator with the National Museum, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner.

Karen Lyu, the nationally renowned jazz singer, will perform and end the evening. The evening will also see the presentation of the Leadership Awards to deserving local heroes who dedicated so much of their time and talent to bettering and advancing the community.

The Annual Dinner is Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront, 11 East Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN. Dinner is $40.00 per person.

For inquiries or to RSVP contact the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans at 651-757-1740 or kao.ly.her@state.mn.us. (Parking in the Crowne Plaza ramp is complimentary on a first come first serve basis).

A profile of Mali Kouanchao appears at Asian American Press this month.

Congratulations, everyone!