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.
#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!
4th Annual Groundbreakers Speak Added New Flavor to NAAAP National Conference
DALLAS (Aug. 10, 2015) – Asian American leaders gathered together Saturday to share their motivating personal stories to success at Against The Grain Productions’ 4th Annual Groundbreakers Speak Event during the National Association of Asian American Professionals National Convention at the Hilton Anatole. In TED-inspired presentations, question-and-answer lightning round and round robin-style intimate audience discussions, a record 200 attendees from the Convention and the Dallas community listened to each speaker’s individual takes on the Convention’s theme “Resilience: Power of the Asian Leader.” NAAAP President Fabian De Rozario opened with encouraging remarks along with 2014 Groundbreakers panelist, Partner at Ernst & Young, ATG Ambassador and previous NAAAP 100 winner Thear Sy Suzuki, whose comment on courage as a key trait of great leaders rang true throughout the afternoon.
ATG President and Founder Tammy Nguyen Lee Recognized as a NAAAP 100 Honoree
The ATG family is excited that the NAAAP 100 committee has selected our very own President and Founder Tammy Nguyen Lee to be recognized at the upcoming National Convention in Dallas, at the evening Gala on Aug. 8! The NAAAP 100 Award, Presented by Buick recognizes the most exemplary leaders in the Asian community. NAAAP, as the premier leadership organization for Asian professionals, offers these awards annually to the most influential leaders who have made significant contributions to their profession and the Asian community. Previous award winners include the late Senator Daniel Inouye, Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi, Superbowl MVP Hines Ward, and playwright David Henry Hwang.
NAAAP members, chapters, and members of the public nominate candidates for NAAAP 100 consideration. These nominees are reviewed by individuals and a committee in a highly-selective process with final approval by the NAAAP National Board of Directors. Typically, only three to four individuals each year are recognized as honorees, who are celebrated at the NAAAP National Convention culminating in a Saturday evening awards gala. For more information on the NAAAP 100 program, please visit www.naaap.org/programs/naaap-100/.
Tammy was inducted alongside Ronald W. Chang (President of UPS Capital and advocate for Asian Americans) and Lieutenant Commander Albert Wong (a judge, diplomat and community leader).
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.
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
Vietnamese Heritage Camp 2015 a Great Success!
by Jennifer Devany | Co-Director of Community Outreach | Any mention of camps in relation with Vietnamese would generally conjure up images of the re-education camp in Vietnam back in 1975 after the Fall of Saigon. No. This is not the case here. On Thursday, July 23rd through Saturday July 25th, Against The Grain Productions’ board members and ambassadors Tammy Nguyen Kee, George Lee, Tien Truong, Jennifer Devany, Nikki Duong Koenig, Carol Nguyen and Hue Dao Miner packed their bags and flew to the Vietnamese Heritage Camp in Denver, Colorado to teach and present Vietnamese dances to students as well as prepare and cook banh xeo (Vietnamese crepes) for the parents. Read more
Congratulations to Our 2015 ATG Artistic, Groundbreaker Leadership & #LiveLikeLyly Scholarship Finalists!
Through our Scholarship Program, ATG proudly awards Artistic, Grounbreaker 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!
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.
Going Against The Grain: Angry Asian Man (Phil Yu) & Ben Smithee
Phil Yu is the founder and editor of the popular Asian American news/culture blog Angry Asian Man. He is also co-host of the web talk show Angry Asian America on ISAtv, and host of Sound and Fury: The Angry Asian Podcast. Building a steady, loyal readership since 2001, Angry Asian Man has been called “a daily must-read for the media-savvy, socially conscious, pop-cultured Asian American.” – Jose Antonio Vargas. Mixing humor with criticism, Phil’s commentary has been featured and quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times, National Public Radio, CNN, Wall Street Journal and more. He also appears in the Sundance documentary Linsanity, about the rise of NBA superstar Jeremy Lin, and is executive producer of the action/comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guys.