Category: News

September 4, 2015

Going Against The Grain: 2015 ATG Scholarship Winners

The ATG Scholarship Committee is proud to announce the 2015 Scholarship Winners. Scored based on strength of GPA, leadership/community involvement, portfolio/video submission, essays, letters of recommendation and a final phone interview, we again chose TEN students who are brilliant, shining examples of what it means to go Against The Grain. We are truly proud of this exceptional group and all that we know they will accomplish for their vocation and for the Asian American community in the future. We are also grateful to the family of Lyly Koenig Mendez and Bruce & Pat McRae for generously donating so that we could give three special scholarships this year!

And the winners are:

#LiveLikeLyly Memorial Scholarship

Lauren Padilla
Tiffany Piko

ATG Artistic Scholarship

Elizabeth Chung-Brown
Katherine Del Rosario
Evan Harris
Rialin Jose
Suttinee Hannah Sansavath
Shine Wu
Angeline Young

Bruce & Pat McRae Scholarship

Sophie Chien

September 4, 2015

Tammy Nguyen Lee featured as “Angry Reader of the Week”

ATG President/Co-Founder Tammy Nguyen Lee is featured as the Angry Reader of the Week on iconic blog Angry Asian Man founded by 2015 Groundbreakers Speak panelist Phil Yu.

August 28, 2015

#FinalistFriday: Meet Our ATG Scholarship Finalists!

Through our Scholarship Program, ATG proudly awards Artistic, Groundbreaker Leadership and #LiveLikeLyly scholarships to a select group of amazing Asian American high school seniors, college undergraduate and graduate school students who are shining examples of what it means to go Against The Grain. Since 2011, we have awarded 20 scholarships. In 2014, we awarded a record ten to deserving students across the country – and look forward to doing the same in 2015!

August 5, 2015

Orphanage/Underprivileged Children Aid Report: The Philippines

by Jennifer Devany | Co-Director of Community Outreach |After searching long and hard, the wait is finally over. On Sunday, July 15, ATG’s Philippines Aid Advisor Stephen Tan, ATG’s Vice President Renea Virata, and Co-Director of Community Outreach Jennifer Devany met and discussed making the very first disbursement to an orphanage in the Philippines. With the assistance of Jennifer’s family in the Philippines, ATG will be providing assistance to Lady Fatima Orphanage located in Iriga City in Buhi Camarines Sur, approximately 20 kilometers away, where Jennifer was raised.

August 5, 2015

Announcing Our 2015 Heritage/Culture Camp Winners!

Following our support of orphanages in Asia, ATG also provides scholarships here at home to ten young Asian American adoptees each year to attend culture camps such as Catalyst Foundation’s Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families and Vietnamese Heritage Camp. Last year, we raised $1,000, allowing ten youths to spend a few days in the summer connecting with their heritage, bonding with new friends and participating in enriching activities for this year’s Heritage and Culture Camps. Announcing our 2015 Winners! Read more

August 4, 2015

Vietnamese Orphanage/Underprivileged Children Aid Report

With your generous support, ATG is proudly able to send aid for basic needs in the form of food, clothing, medicine, recreational toys, and cultural celebrations to nourish their body, mind and spirit of these children in need. With the help of the local “Education Promotion Association (Hội Khuyến Học) and the local school districts, we now identify underprivileged children who demonstrate academic merit, rewarding them with books, rice, school supplies and bicycles to invest in their education so they can have a future. #beCAUSE

Many thanks to ATG’s Advisor Aileen Nguyen and our hard working volunteers on the ground who visited five orphanages/organizations and helped give words of encouragement and distributed study awards (clothes, shoes, backpacks), food, hot meals, mattresses and rice to 335 orphans and children with disabilities.

We provided aid to the following orphanages/organizations:

Ưu Đàm (Huế) – 60 children
Street Children Program of Da Nang (SCP-DN) Houses #2 and #3 – 63 children
Quan Chau orphanage (Da Nang) – 120 children
Huong Duong (Tam Ky) Center for the Blind and with Down’s Syndrome – 22 children
Thanh Tam Center for Disabled Children (Da Nang) – 70 children

The children will go back to school within the next week. We have selected and will start to distribute more aid according to our program “Giúp Em Đến Trường” (Helping You to School) for underprivileged children (orphans, children who have lost one parents, those with disabled parents and those from extremely poor families). We will distribute rice, clothes, school books and/or bicycles to those who do not have one and live far from school. If you would like to help and support this important cause, please donate today.

Check out some of the highlights from our last disbursement trip below and see the rest on our FB page.

July 9, 2015

Announcing the 2015 Fashion for a Passion Designer Line-Up

Against The Grain Productions is proud to announce the presenting designer line-up for its 7^th Annual Fashion for a Passion charity event presented by Audi Dallas, taking place Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 for Parties in Dallas’ Design District. Handpicked by the ATG board, these designers represent an exciting mix of backgrounds, Asian American origins and design aesthetics.

“We are excited to host our 7^th annual event at a fabulous new venue, 7 for Parties on Nov. 7th along with seven amazing designers. We really feel the energy of that lucky number and are preparing for an exciting show that will delight our audience,” said Against The Grain President and Co-Founder Tammy Nguyen Lee. “We have a number of returning Asian American designers showing their new lines as well as a few new designers, plus a few surprises up our sleeve – all coming together to bene fit the causes we support.” Read more

June 16, 2015

ATG Presents 4th Annual Groundbreakers Speak at NAAAP National Convention

June 17, 2015 (DALLAS) – Back by popular demand, non-profit Against The Grain Productions will host their 4^th Annual Groundbreakers Speak: A Conversation with Movers and Shakers – a diverse panel of remarkable Asian American industry leaders brought together to share their inspiring personal stories and paths to success. For the first time ever, this year’s event, which promotes leadership and mentorship, will be co-hosted with the National Association of Asian American professionals of DFW (NAAAP-DFW) at the NAAAP National Convention to be held in Dallas (another first) under the theme “Resilience: Power of the Asian Leader.”

June 14, 2015

Going Against The Grain: Jack Yang

Jack Yang is an actor, writer, producer and director. He has been seen on various televisions shows, movies and video games over the past 17 years. Jack started early-on as a model and commercial actor while doing extra work on television shows. He studied Directing and Photography at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and then transferred over to Theatre and Film Studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and South Coast Repertory Theater. He has guest-starred on Law and Order: SVU, CSI Miami, Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy. He has written many movie scripts, directed small budget projects and is currently working on his own personal project that has taken over a decade of research and preparation. He plays the leading man in indie film, A Leading Man, which has been doing well in festivals from Taipei to Philadelphia. He just wrapped up ADR for the new Jesse Eisenberg/Kristen Stewart film, American Ultra, which opens on August 21st. (Look for him in a fun part at the end!)

May 11, 2015

Going Against The Grain: Larry g(EE)

We are excited to include Dallas-based soul singer-songwriter Larry G(ee) on our 4th Annual Groundbreakers Speak panel August 8th! His career has taken him from LA to New York and back here to Dallas for audiences to enjoy locally. Most recently, he released his highly anticipated single “Days Like This” with a video release party on March 5 at Three Links in Deep Ellum. Chosen to be one of Red Bull Sound Select’s emerging artists, a Chevy Music Showcase artist for North Texas and the “Best Funk/R&B Act” at the 2013 Dallas Observer Music Awards, Larry released his four-track album “Weekends,” backed by his 10-member band of bass, percussion and horn.