On Saturday, December 10, 2016, the Committee of 100 hosted the 2016 Southern California Leadership and Mentoring Program (LMP) Graduation Ceremony at Panda Restaurant Group Inc. in Rosemead, California. Current mentees, LMP alumni, as well as their friends and families, joined the intimate gathering to celebrate the Class of 2016. C100 Members Stewart Kwoh, Edmond H. Pi, Anne Shen Smith, Brian Sun, and Charlie Woo attended the ceremony. The Leadership and Mentoring Program provides young professionals an opportunity for development and advancement in their careers by established C100 Members as mentors and to engage, collaborate and shape the future of Chinese American representation across all industries. Congressman Ed Royce sent his congratulations to the graduating class and a field representative, Lauren Pong, who presented certificates to the mentees in acknowledgement of their achievement and commitment to giving back to the community.
From left to right (back row): LMP mentees Janet Tzou, Kevin Tsai, Leslie Toy, Will Mak, C100 member Stewart Kwoh, Field Representative for the Office of Congressman Ed. Royce, Lauren Pong, C100 members Brian Sun and Edmond H. Pi (Front row): LMP mentee John Zhou, C100 members Anne Shen Smith and Charlie Woo
C100 SoCal Regional Co-Chair Stewart Kwoh, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, gave opening remarks on behalf of the C100 LMP and moderated the graduation fireside chat. The discussion featured C100 members, Brian Sun, Partner at Jones Day, and C100 SoCal Regional Co-Chair, Charlie Woo, CEO of Megatoys, around two major topics including how to maximize a mentorship experience and what to look out for in the post-election time. C100 members and mentors, Anne Shen Smith, former chairman and CEO of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Edmond H. Pi, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine, also joined the event and shared their stories with the LMP graduating class.
Before the conclusion of the event, Stewart opened up the floor for questions. In response to an attendee, Brian shared his hope that the mentees would carry on with the legacy of the program and continue to make an impact on the people around them and the entire community.
