The International Leadership Foundation (ILF), along with the Coalition of Asian American Business Organizations (CAABO), will host the 2022 ILF Leadership and Business Conference. The conference will be held on Thursday, July 28, 2022.

Featured speakers include Secretary Elaine L. Chao, Ambassador Christopher Lu, Dr. Henry C. Lee, and Governor Larry Hogan. Approximately 350 guests will attend, including distinguished Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, and ILF Civic Fellows. The Gala seeks to recognize leaders in the AAPI community who have contributed significantly to the advancement and representation of AAPIs. Honorees include:

Person of the Year Award:

• Dr. James S. C. Chao, Foremost Group Honorary Chairman and Founder

Business Leadership Award:

• Charles Liang, Supermicro CEO

Public Service Leadership Award:

• The Honorable Christopher Lu, U.S. Ambassador to the UN
• Erika L. Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President & AA and NHPI Senior Liaison
• The Honorable Lily Qi, Maryland State Delegate

Civic Leadership Award:

• Dr. Ray Chen, Emeritus Professor of San Jose State University
• Shelley Ding, Honorary President of Lung Kong World Federation
• Robin Mui, CEO of Sing Tao Newspapers USA

The Leadership and Business Conference & Gala aims to create opportunities for AAPI small business owners. To that end, the global awards ceremony serves to recognize outstanding members in the AAPI community who have provided exceptional services to their communities. Awardees also serve as positive role models for next generation AAPI leaders. The conference includes a fireside chat between the Honorable Elaine L. Chao and ILF founder Chiling Tong, where Secretary Chao will share her inspiring and uplifting story.

The list of distinguished speakers including: U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, the Honorable Elaine L. Chao, Ambassador Christopher Lu, Erika Moritsugu, Dr. Henry C. Lee, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), U.S. House of Representative Judy Chu (D-CA), U.S. House of Representative Kaiali’i Kahele (D-HI), U.S. House of Representative Andy Kim (D-NJ), U.S. House of Representative Young Kim (R-CA), U.S. House of Representative Grace Meng (D-NY), U.S. House of Representative Amata Radewagen (R-AS), U.S. House of Representative Michelle Steel (R-CA), Fremont Mayor Lily Mei.

The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) hosted the 2021 ILF Virtual Leadership and Business Conference on July 24, 2021.

Featured speakers included Hon. Elaine L. Chao – the 24th U.S. Secretary of Dept. of Labor and 18th U.S. Secretary of the Dept. of Transportation, Ambassador Katherine Tai, William Wang – CEO of Vizio, and Rep. Judy Chu. The conference brought together distinguished Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, and ILF Civic Fellows with over
1,000 unique views on social media. Since 2020, many in the AANHPI community have faced difficulties and challenges, whether due to the Covid-19 pandemic, economic downturn or anti-Asian violence and hate. But as vaccines have become widely available, the economy has opened back up, businesses are re-opening, and more measures are being put in place at the local and national levels to combat anti-Asian hate, we are hopeful for a brighter future. Together as a community we will move forward and thrive.

Additional VIP speakers included: Rep. Grace Meng, Rep. Amata Radewagen, Rep. Young Kim, Rep. Michelle Steel, Solomon Chen – CEO and Founder of Superior Communications Inc., Dr. Paul Hsu – ILF Chairman, Erika L. Moritsugu – Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Senior Liaison, Chiling Tong – ILF Founding President, and Linh Hoang – ILF Executive Director.

The International Leadership Foundation (ILF), along with the Coalition of Asian American Business Organizations (CAABO), hosted the 2020 ILF Virtual Leadership and Business Conference on July 25, 2020.

Featured speakers included Secretary Elaine L. Chao, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and Olympian Nathan Adrian. The conference brought together distinguished Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, and ILF Civic Fellows with over 1,000 guests in attendance and reached over 6000 unique views on social media. The conference also highlighted 300 AAPI organizations to pay tribute to the AAPI community’s efforts to provide COVID-19 relief.

Additional VIP speakers included: Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Grace Meng, Rep. Amata Radewagen, Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan, Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Daniel McKee, Dr. David Ho – Director & CEO of Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Dr. Paul Hsu – ILF Chairman, Chiling Tong – ILF Founding President, Linh Hoang – ILF Executive Director, Tina Wei Smith – Executive Director of the WHIAAPI, and Award-winning actress/singer Mary Millben.

The 20th anniversary of the International Leadership Foundation (ILF) was the highlight of this year’s Annual Awards & Scholarship Gala. The Honorable Elaine L. Chao returned once more as the acclaimed keynote speaker, in which she congratulated ILF on its special anniversary. She acknowledged how over the past 20 years, ILF has made tremendous contributions to the professional and personal development of Asian Pacific American (APA) youth in the mainstream American society. In her speech, she also recognized the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion, shared her and her father’s personal experiences with racial discrimination, and gave words of encouragement to the Asian American community.