Date and Time
May. 19, 2022 • 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
Harborview Restaurant - 4 Embarcadero Center, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94111
Proof of vaccination will be checked at the door.
Join us at our annual fundraiser and celebration, where we will honor James W. Head, a leader who has inspired many in our philanthropic community to be fearless. James Head is the former President and CEO of East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) who has led the organization for almost 7 years and spent over 40 years devoted to advancing social justice and increasing public, private, and philanthropic resources to communities of color. James has been a strong partner and advocate of New Breath Foundation.
We will also spotlight API RISE, Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI), and Survived & Punished, a few of our 2021 We Got Us grantees who represent New Breath Foundation’s core pillars of Hope & Healing, Keeping Families Together, and Movement Building.
We hope you’ll attend the event as we recognize these fearless warriors’ dedication to the community.
Honoring
James W. Head
James W. Head is a seasoned & entrepreneurial leader with executive-level managerial and legal experience in the fields of philanthropy and grantmaking; nonprofit management and technical assistance; community and economic development; public/private/philanthropic partnerships; and social justice and public interest law.
James served as President & Chief Executive Officer of the East Bay Community Foundation for nearly 7 years, a Community Foundation that partners with donors, social movements, and the community at large to eliminate structural barriers, advance racial equality, and transform political, social, and economic outcomes for all who call the East Bay home. Prior to that, he served for 10 years as Vice President of Programs for the San Francisco Foundation, where he spearheaded regional initiatives on race, equity, poverty, housing, economic development, and youth development.
James is a nationally known speaker and resource in philanthropy and law, with special expertise in economic development, racial diversity/inclusion, and racial/gender equity. James holds a Juris Doctorate law degree (J.D.) from the University of Georgia School of Law, and bar memberships in Georgia, Florida, and California. James has lived in Oakland, CA with his wife, Bernida Reagan, and son Chris, for more than 30 years.
Grantees
Duc Ta
API RISE
Duc Ta, at the age of 16, was charged as an adult and sent to adult prison. He was driving a car from which gunshots were fired. Although no one was physically injured, he was charged and convicted under gun and gang enhancement laws for attempted murder and sentenced to 35 years to life. Duc was released from prison after serving 15 years. While in prison, he obtained his college degree in Business Management, a Paralegal Certification, and was actively involved in a variety of self-help programs.
From 2013 to 2014, he worked with the Amity Foundation as the Prop 36 Coordinator at Stanford University Law School. Duc assisted newly released Three Strikers in finding jobs and housing. Upon leaving Amity, he decided to pursue his culinary dreams and enrolled in LA Kitchen, a culinary program empowering at-risk community members and returning veterans. He has worked for numerous celebrity chefs and is currently pursuing his entrepreneurial ambitions.
If he’s not in the kitchen or office, you’ll find him in search of that perfect wave somewhere on the coastline or setting up camp somewhere in the mountains.
Elijah Chhum
Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI)
Elijah Chhum is a Co-Director of the New Light Program at the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants. Elijah is passionate about his service in strengthening families, Queer support programs, and anti-deportation coalition building, where he hopes to center Khmer protective factors and joy as his guiding light. Elijah is an Ethnic Studies Major at UC Berkeley.
Aminah Elster
Survived and Punished
Aminah Elster is the Associate Director of Restorative Reentry Programs with Community Works, a co-organizer with Survived and Punished and the CA Coalition for Women Prisoners, and co-founder of Unapologetically HERS. She comes to this work with a gender-specific lens and a commitment to centering incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in her advocacy, research, and system change work.
Moderator
Christine Chun-I Ni
NBC Bay Area
In Christine Chun-I Ni’s more than 20-plus year career in television news, she’s produced so many newscasts and shows—it’s impossible to count. She is a 7-time Emmy award-winning journalist, was part of a team that earned a national and regional Edward R. Murrow award, and most recently covered her first Olympics in Beijing for NBC’s local news team. But, her true love for the job is the people—the people she gets to meet and the great stories she gets to tell. Christine has had the honor of interviewing civil rights icons, activists, entrepreneurs, sports heroes, Olympians, celebrities—then, there are those people we don’t know about—everyday people—the unsung heroes that are doing the work on the ground, in the communities and helping those communities thrive.
Co-emcees
Michelle Sugihara
Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE)
Michelle K. Sugihara is the Executive Director of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). She is also an entertainment attorney, film producer, and adjunct professor for the Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies. She co-leads #GoldOpen, is on the leadership team of Time’s Up Entertainment Women of Color, and is a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theater. She is also an associate member of Cold Tofu, the nation’s premier Asian American comedy improv and sketch group. An avid public speaker, Michelle speaks and teaches across the country on various topics including Representation in Media, Women in Entertainment, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, and Improv for Non-Actors.
Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright
Hillman Grad Foundation
Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright is the Executive Director of Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Foundation working to expand opportunities for creatives from marginalized communities.
Most recently, Lacy served as the Associate Director of BLD PWR, Kendrick Sampson’s nonprofit initiative to mobilize the entertainment industry in support of grassroots organizations, launching the organization’s #Hollywood4BlackLives campaign. Additionally, she has worked for Creative Artists Agency Foundation, Color Of Change’s #ChangeHollywood initiative, Range Media Partners, and Michael B. Jordan’s ObsidianWorks.
Lacy is currently a member of Asian American Women’s Political Initiative Advisory Board, GoFundMe’s AAPI Community Fund Advisory Board, and Asian American Futures’ Movement Leaders Circle.
Music
DJ ‘Davey D’
Deejay
Dave ‘Davey D’ Cook is a nationally recognized journalist, adjunct professor at San Francisco State, Hip Hop historian, political commentator, syndicated talk show host, radio programmer, media justice, and community activist.
He has been featured in over 35 documentaries and TV shows, including Hip Hop Evolution, Letters to The President, and the award-winning PBS Rap City Rhapsody. He’s also been featured on CNN, BET, VH1, Fox News, Nightline, and numerous other outlets.
Davey D is a strong proponent of media justice and has spoken around the country at conferences, FCC hearings, Congressional briefings, and at the Congressional Black Caucus. He’s the co-founder and host of several media projects, including Hard Knock Radio (HKR), an award-winning syndicated prime time afternoon show focusing on Hip Hop culture and politics.
Our Sponsors
Quinn Delaney & Wayne Jordan
Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, San Francisco
All Home
Cruise
East Bay Community Foundation
Germaine Wong
Keith Carson, Alameda County Supervisor
Minami Tamaki LLP
Roselyne Swig
Warriors Foundation
Young Community Developers
Event Host Committee