AAPI Trailblazers Honored at TAAF’s Heritage Month Awards Dinner

On May 14 and 15, TAAF brought the AAPI community together for its annual Heritage Month Summit at the Javits Center in New York City. This year’s theme, “Together We Are the Asian+American Dream,” centered stories of how the AAPI community has helped shape this nation, and explored how to continue moving forward together for the next 250 years. The programming included two days of thought-provoking panels and energizing discussions featuring AAPI changemakers in tech, entertainment, the military and more.

One of the highlights of Summit is always the TAAF Awards Dinner, where individuals who have broken barriers, and whose Asian+American dreams have inspired the community, are honored. The first TAAF award of the evening was presented to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, for his leadership in transforming entertainment, tech, and media. As he shared in his acceptance speech, technology is a means for outsiders to become creators. "I saw early on that connecting technology and media could democratize storytelling and empower creators who have historically been left out of the conversation."

Next, Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Co-Founder, CEO of Ohai.ai and Founder of Care.com—and TAAF Board Member Emeritus—received an award for her incredible entrepreneurship and leadership. The third award of the evening was presented to NBA champion Jeremy Lin, who in addition to breaking barriers on the court has also lifted up the community through the Jeremy Lin Foundation.

“Doors don’t close forever. Sometimes they just need the right people to kick them open.”  – Ke Huy Quan

The final award of the night went to Academy Award Winning Actor & Author Ke Huy Quan, whose artistic excellence and embodiment of the Asian+American dream serves as an inspiration to so many. And to remind us of the importance of forging a path for others to follow, he remarked, “Doors don’t close forever. Sometimes they just need the right people to kick them open.”  

Previous recipients of TAAF Awards include:

2023:

Dr. Harpreet Singh & the co-founders of the Sikh Coalition

Congresswoman Grace Meng

Bain & Company CEO Manny Maceda

Prabal Gurung, Laura Kim, Tina Leung, Phillip Lim, and Ezra William of the House of Slay

Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh

2024:

Congressman Andy Kim

Chairman of Netflix Film and Founder & Board Chair of Rideback RISE Dan Lin

Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Rajiv Shah

Angela Chao Legacy Award honoree and CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim Wen Zhou

Oscar-nominated actor Steven Yeun

2025:

Actress, advocate, director, producer, and artist Lucy Liu

Owner and Chairman of the Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadivé

Academy Award nominated actress and producer Stephanie Hsu

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