2024 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Kenneth Kiyul Lee

Kenneth Kiyul Lee is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The U.S. Senate confirmed him on May 15, 2019, making him the nation’s first Article III judge born in the Republic of Korea.  His family settled in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles and later moved to Orange County.

 

Prior to his appointment, he was a partner at Jenner & Block in Los Angeles, where he handled a wide variety of complex litigation matters and had a robust pro bono practice. He earlier served as an Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush and as Special Counsel to Senator Arlen Specter, then-chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He started his legal career at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York.

 

Judge Lee is a 2000 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1997 summa cum laude graduate of Cornell University. He clerked for Judge Emilio M. Garza of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2000 to 2001.

2024 EMCEE

Hetty Chang

Hetty Chang is an Emmy Award-winning reporter for NBC4. She covers stories across the Southland, with emphasis in the Orange County, Long Beach and South Bay communities. She can be seen weekdays on NBC4 during the 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m. newscasts. Chang joined the station in 2013.

Chang, a Southern California native, is honored to report alongside the most respected journalists in the Southland. She returns to NBC4 after serving a digital media fellowship at the station through a pilot program between NBC4 and the Asian American Journalists Association in 2011. Under the fellowship, Chang worked closely with the station’s digital media team and gained valuable experience across multiple media platforms. Previously, Chang reported for the NBC stations in Reno and Las Vegas, and LA Cityview Channel 35.

Chang is passionate about the diversity and culture in Southern California and believes that many of the most intriguing stories come out of such communities. She feels responsible for reporting timely and accurate news and is privileged to be in a position to deliver information that has an impact on viewers.

2024 HONOREES