Honorees

Lisa Ling - AWE Social Justice Visionary
Lisa Ling is the Executive Producer and host of THIS IS LIFE on CNN, now in its eighth season. For the show, Lisa has embedded with a notorious biker club and explored the medicinal use of psychedelics in psychotherapy. For five seasons prior, Lisa executive produced and hosted Our America on OWN. She was also a field correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and contributor to ABC News’ Nightline. For these shows she reported from dozens of countries; covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India and the Lord Resistance Army in Uganda, among other issues that are too often ignored. She will be honored as the AWE Social Justice Visionary, for her trailblazing career as a journalist and outspoken advocacy for issues of importance to the AAPI community. Full Bio

The An Family - AWE Culture Visionaries
Helene An is a native of Vietnam who arrived in the U.S. in 1975 after the fall of Saigon. She initially worked with her mother-in-law Diana to open San Francisco’s first Vietnamese restaurant, Thanh Long, and now works with her five daughters, Hannah, Elizabeth, Monique, Jacky, and Catherine, and granddaughter Bosilika, to run a full portfolio of restaurants. Along with Thanh Long, still in operation in San Francisco, the House of AN restaurant empire includes Crustacean, Crustacean San Francisco, AnQi by Crustacean, Tiato, and Đà Lạt Rose, a unique “gastro biography” tasting menu concept which opened in 2019. The An family will be celebrated as AWE Culture Visionaries for their inspiring American success story and tremendous impact on the Los Angeles culinary scene and beyond. Full Bio

Chun-Yen Chen - AWE Catalyst Visionary
Chun-Yen Chen is the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Community Fund. She directs operations and grantmaking for the organization. Previously as project-based Development Director, she cultivated major donors to grow its Donor-Advised Fund as well as the scholarship program. Chen has over 20 years of professional working experience in non-profit executive management and fund development, state government budgetary analysis, and academic faculty fields. She will be honored as the AWE Catalyst Visionary for her extraordinary leadership and  career-long investment in the AAPI community. Full Bio