U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy M.D. Keynote Speaker at 21st Annual APAICS Awards Gala

Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President & U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy M.D. and newly appointed Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders at the 21st Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies APAICS Annual Gala Awards Dinner celebrating Asian Pacific Heritage Month in Washington, D.C.

May 18, 2015 Washington DC – Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy M.D., M.B.A. was confirmed as the 19th U.S. Surgeon General on December 15, 2014. Dr. Murthy oversees the operations of the U.S. Public Health Services USPHS Commissioned Corps, comprised of over 6,800 uniformed health officers who serve in global locations to promote, protect and advance the health and safety of our nation. Moreover, Dr. Murthy’s announcement during the first ever White House Summit on AAPIs as Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders WHIAAPI stressed the importance of connecting and mobilizing the AAPI community for collaborative goals.”We need to learn from communities across the country to make sure we’re lifting up all communities together,” Murthy remarked.

Dr. Murthy is the son of immigrants from India and discovered a love for the art of healing early in his childhood while spending time in his father’s medical clinic in Miami, Florida. He has devoted himself to improving public health through service, clinical care, research, education and entrepreneurship. Caring for patients he considers the greatest honor in his life and served thousands of patients and trained hundreds of residents and medical students as a clinician-educator.

Dr. Murthy has over two decades of perspective improving health in communities across the country and the world. He co-founded Swasthya, a community health partnership in rural India to train women to be health providers and educators. Moreover, he co-founded VISIONS, an HIV AIDS education program in India and the U.S.

Seen as a progressive leader who can use 21st century approaches and technology to modernize the role of Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy focuses efforts on building cross-sector community partnerships to resolve health issues including obesity and tobacco-related disease, reduce the stigma related to mental illness, improve vaccination rates and promote preventative health strategies. Dr. Murthy strongly believes our American nation’s greatest strength comes from its peoples. Improving the health of our peoples means strengthening our communities and our country. Unite Learn Prosper!

Konrad Ng, Director of the Asian Pacific American Center at the Smithsonian Institution, Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President and Monica Pham, Esq., U.S. House of Representatives Senior Policy Advisor celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month and the White House Summit on Asian American Pacific Islanders in Washington, D.C.

 

Pulitzer Prize Award Winning Journalist José Antonio Vargas states, “Our Equalities are Tied to Each Other” #EmergingUS #DefineAmerican

China Millennium Council President Mary Ho, Pulitzer Prize Award Winning Journalist José Antonio Vargas and ROC the film Entrepreneur Tom Crane at the University of Rochester Diversity Conference Discuss Social Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for a Modern America #EmergingUS #DefineAmerican

NYS LT Governor Kathy Hochul Reports Updates on 2015 Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Program Initiatives

China Millennium Council President Mary Ho and New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Discuss the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders WHI-AAPI Vital Business Presence and Issues Concerning AAPI involvement with the Upstate New York Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council and Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2015 New York Opportunity Agenda. AAPIs are the fastest growing minority group in America with enormous consumer impact, yet under-represented and overlooked in areas of leadership and governance.

City of Rochester Office of the Mayor, Del Smith, Commissioner of Neighborhood & Business Development, Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President and Ken Sato, City Design Lab CEO Review Submission Proposal for Urban Revitalization to boost Upstate New York's economic opportunity to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, strengthen communities and enhance tourism and quality of life. Sato is a city resident and operates an urban fermentory business.

BHG Beijing Hualian Group Investment Holding Co., LTD. Chairman Ji Xiao An Visits Wegmans Food Market USA Headquarters

Beijing Hualian Group BHG Chairman Ji Xiao An and China Millennium Council President Mary Ho Discuss the Importance of Global Innovation in the Ever-Evolving Consumer Retail Marketplace and Business Enterprise Development at the Wegmans Food Market Flagship Store in Pittsford, New York, USA

Wegmans Food Market flagship store in Pittsford New York recently launched a series of healthy home-style Chinese foods in collaboration with China’s leading hypermarket retail enterprise, the Beijing Hualian Group Investment Holding Co., LTD. BHG Chairman Ji Xiao An and his innovation team led by Frank Ji oversaw the development and training of Chinese culinary dishes for the chefs at Wegmans. Ready to eat foods emphasize authentic, nutritious and tasty dishes including Shiitake Mushroom Congée, Sichuan Style Dandan Noodles and Chinese Barbequed Pork. Catering to the ever-growing international palate of Wegman’s customers, their newly renovated Asian foods pantry now stock a wide variety of fresh Chinese youchoy and bokchoy greens, Daikon icicle radishes and select varieties of bulk long-grain and short grain rice.

BHG Beijing Hualian Group Investment Holding Co.,Ltd. is a leading multinational global enterprise as one of the 15 largest retail enterprises supported by the China Ministry of Commerce including primary membership in the International Association of Department Stores (IADS), and two publicly listed companies and several holding companies. BHG Group’s business is focused on hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores and commercial properties. BHG is established in more than 80 hypermarkets in 35 key cities and 23 provinces across China and the Pacific Rim countries. The Beijing Hualian Group values customers first and foremost. Their core business principles include integrity in all relationships — with employees, customers, suppliers and cooperating partners. “We seek to maintain and grow our company’s high recognition and reputation, and made “Beijing Hualian” a prestigious brand in the country” and now earmarked as a prestige global brand.

China is now the fastest growing global economy, ranked second only to the U.S. as the world’s largest economy. The new visa accord established between U.S and China will enhance trade, investment, and business ties by facilitating travel and ease access to both economies.  Extended validity visas for students and exchange visitors will foster the bonds between U.S. and China and facilitate travel for outstanding students from around the world who attend U.S. institutions of higher education.  As a result of this arrangement, the U.S. hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travelers, inject billions in the U.S. economy and create demand to support hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs. Global growth of outbound travel from China represents an unprecedented opportunity to foster job creation across the country. China is the fastest growing outbound tourism market in the world, and Chinese visitors have accounted for 20 percent of the growth in overseas travel to the U.S. As incomes in China continue to rise, the number of Chinese citizens able to afford international travel and tourism is projected to more than double over the next few years, reaching the hundreds of millions.  Close to 7.3 million Chinese are projected to travel to the U.S. by 2021, contributing nearly $85 billion a year to the economy and supporting 440,000 jobs.

 

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist José Antonio Vargas and Actor Maulik Pancholy Welcome AAJA Media Institute Fellows

AAJA Media Institute W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fellow Mary Ho and White House Initiative Asian American Pacific Islander AAPI Commissioner and Actor Maulik Pancholy Reminisce Their Camaraderie at the 25th Annual Scholarship & Awards Gala at the National Convention in Washington, D.C.

2014 AAJA Media Institute Fellows, President of Asian Chamber of Commerce Linda Toyota, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist José Antonio Vargas, China Millennium Council President Mary Ho and YALSA Director-at-Large Candice Mack at the 25th AAJA Annual Scholarship & Awards Gala

Asian American Journalists Association proudly celebrated their 25th Annual Scholarship and Gala with keynote speakers Pulitzer Prize award winning journalist José Antonio Vargas and Presidential Advisory Council Commissioner and actor Maulik Pancholy.

José Antonio Vargas spoke of his dilemma of his recent detainment at the Texas border as an undocumented immigrant and coming out of the closet as a gay man to his grandmother. He is a highly acclaimed and controversial journalist and documentary film writer, producing visual and editorial commentary impacting AIDS and immigration policies in the U.S. Vargas’ national and international appearances include Nightline, The O’Reilly Factor and The Colbert Report.

Maulik Pancholy’s accolades include the popular roles he portrayed as Jonathan in the award winning comedy tv show 30 Rock and Showtime’s award winning Weeds as Sanjay. His recent appointment as Commissioner on the President’s Advisory Council of the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders brings to focus the social disparities and stereotypes AAPI still encounter and address the issue of bullying in new social media.

AAJA also launched their inaugural Media Institute Fellows Program led by renowned media experts Pamela Wu, Emmy nominated former news anchor & television host; and Ellen Lee, freelance journalist and former staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. Distinguished speakers included Jan Yanehiro, Emmy award winning national broadcast journalist and author; Sharon Pian Chan, associate opinions and digital editor of the Seattle Times; Cefann Kim, general assignment, live newscast reporter, broadcast journalism NYC; and Chris Nguyen, anchor and breaking news reporter, Sacramento CA. The Media Institute Fellows Program was sponsored by Gannett, General Motors, and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Small Business Administration and U.S. Department of Commerce Business Roundtable

Audrey Buehring, Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President Discuss Meeting the Needs of the Asian American Pacific Islanders Businesses and Entrepreneurs Held at the U.S. Department of Commerce Business Roundtable in Washington, D.C.

Meeting of the Minds, Cornell Alumni Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President and Kenneth Jarrett, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai AMCHAM Cross Paths at the WHIAAPI U.S. Department of Commerce Reception in Washington, D.C.