The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area (AABA) will host its 15th Anniversary Celebration and Installation Reception, featuring the return to Chicago of newly-appointed U.S. Attorney of the Central District of California (which includes Los Angeles), Debra Yang (nee Wong), to serve as keynote speaker, on Thursday, June 27, 2002 at the Chicago Athletic Association, 12 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, beginning at 6 p.m. The Honorable Debra W. Yang was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles on April 22, 2002. Nominated by President George W. Bush, the long-expected nomination was sent to the Senate by the President in March. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the U.S. Attorney of the Central District of California is responsible for a seven-county area larger than many states. The office serves 15.4 million people, the largest populous of any United States Attorney's office. Yang, 42, the granddaughter of Chinese immigrants, is a Los Angeles native whose grandfather emigrated from China. She is the first Asian American to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles and is believed to be the first Asian American woman to become a U.S. Attorney. Yang is a 1981 graduate of Pitzer College in Pomona, and a 1985 graduate of Boston College Law School. Between 1985 and 1988, she was an associate at two law firms, including Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon in Chicago. Yang was a founding member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area. She served as the organization's first treasurer during the years 1987-1988, under the leadership of AABA's first president, Young Kim. (Please see below for full story on Debra Yang's historic appointment.) The AABA 15th Anniversary Celebration will feature a keynote address by U.S. Attorney Yang; the awarding of AABA's 2002 Spirit of Fellowship Award to Cook County State's Attorney Richard A. Devine; the installation of the 2002-2003 AABA officers and board of directors; with special thanks to AABA's outgoing 2000-2001 officers, directors and committee chairs; and a special acknowledgment of all AABA boards from 1987 to the present. Local jazz stars bassist/composer Tatsu Aoki and pianist/composer Ron Surace (straightahead CD "Trio City - Ron Surace with Tatsu Aoki and Dave Pavkovic," SOUTHPORT Records S-SSD0091) are the featured musical guests for the evening. In conjunction with marking its 15th Anniversary, AABA will release the results of an important historical study that evening - - the first comprehensive survey of Chicago's Asian American legal community. Conducted in 2002 by the Association, the study analyzes the demographics of the community, as well as explores attorney attitudes of the profession. The following people will be installed as AABA's incoming board for 2002-2003: President: Linda Lu; Vice President: William Yu; Secretary: Michael Cho; Treasurer: Rishi Agrawal. Board of Directors: Michael Chu, Israel Desierto, Maria Kuriakos, Aru Rao and Neera Walsh. To be honored for their service to AABA as outgoing board members and committee chairs: President: Vida Gosrisirikul; Secretary: Thad Chaloemtiarana; Director: Shobha Mahadev; and Committee Chairs: Suzanne Chung, Jennie Hur and Ben Lumicao. The 15th Anniversary Celebration Chair is Linda Lu. For further information, contact (312) 226-8887 June 15, 2002 info@enericom.net. (Irene Cualoping, ENERI).