History
The Asian American Bar Association of Kansas City (ˇ°AABAKCˇ±) was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in March of 2005 and had been operating on an unofficial basis for more than a year prior to that time. AABAKC's mission is to promote justice, equality and opportunity for Asian Americans, and to foster professional development, legal scholarship, advocacy and community involvements in the metropolitan Kansas City area.
Last year, AABAKC served as the primary sponsor in the inaugural kick-off for The National Association of Asian American Professionals - Kansas City. In furthering its commitment to supporting regional law students, AABAKC served as a sponsor for Kansas University Law School's (KU) inaugural program, Journey to J.D., which encourages underserved students to attend college and pursue a legal degree; served as a sponsor for the annual dinner of the Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Association at the University of Missouri - Kansas City Law School; and assisted KU law students in mock interviews.
AABAKC's founding board consisted of: Yabo Lin, Veronica Chang-Peshoff, Peter Chung, Christopher Javiollonar, David Kim, Hansin Scott Kim, Lisa Westergaard and Neal Patel. Past and current Presidents are:
| Yabo Lin |
2005-2006 |
| Veronica Chang-Peshoff |
2006-2007 |
| Christopher Javillonar |
2007-2008 |
| Peter Chung |
2008-2009 |
| Judy Yi |
2009-2010 |
| Seema Chawla |
2010-2011 |
| Greg Wu |
2011-2012 |
In 2009, AABAKC hosted the Central Region Conference for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). The Fourth Annual Dinner, the final event of the conference, featured Sprint General Counsel Chalres Wunsch. The event was well attended by AABAKC members, members from other NAPABA affiliates, the Kansas City legal community and the NAPABA Board of Governors.
AABAKC, in conjunction with KC LEGAL, hosted a "Meet the Leaders" luncheon with Senator Jolie Justus on June 18, 2010. Past "Meet the Leaders" luncheons have featured former Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, presidents of bar organization, as well as prominent local judges and attorneys. In August 2010, AABAKC hosted its firth Annual Dinner with guest speaker Wendy Shiba, Exective Vice-President and Special Counsel to the CEO of KB Homes.
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