Speaker: Justina Chen Headley
Justina Chen Headley knew she wanted to be a writer since she was seven years old. Her debut young adult novel about a half-Taiwanese, half-white teen, Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies), was sold at auction between 4 major publishers, resulting in a 2-book contract with Little, Brown. Chicago Public Library named that novel as the Best of the Best of 2006. Additionally, it was selected as one of Borders' Original Voices, was a Book Sense top pick, and received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Justina's picture book, The Patch, was selected as one of the Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2007. After graduating from Stanford University with honors, Justina worked as a marketing executive at Microsoft where she was responsible for the PR of the then $1 billion Microsoft Office business. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. Please visit her website at www.justinachenheadley.com and her blog at www.myspace.com/justinachenheadley.
Speaker: Controller John Chiang
Controller John Chiang was elected in November 2006 to serve as California’s Chief Financial Officer. As State Controller, he presides over the Franchise Tax Board and is a member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) Board. These two funds have a combined portfolio of $300 billion. As one of California’s twelve constitutional officers, John is the highest-ranking Asian-American officeholder in the continental United States. John graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a degree in Finance, and received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. He began his career as a Tax Law Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service and served as an attorney with the Office of the State Controller.
Keynote SpeakerSpeaker: Dr. Larry Diamond
Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, co-editor of the Journal of Democracy, and co-director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies of the National Endowment for Democracy. He is also professor of political science and sociology (by courtesy) and coordinator of the Democracy Program of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. His books include Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq (2005) and Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation (1999). In addition, he has edited or co-edited 25 books on democratic development around the world, including Nigeria, Korea, Greater China, and the Middle East. He has been an advisor to many governmental and non-governmental organizations. He served during the first three months of 2004 as a senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and he was a visiting scholar at the Academia Sinica in Taipei during 1997-1998.
Interactive Keynote SpeakerSpeaker: Teddy Liaw
Teddy Liaw has been an active member of the Asian American community and various youth leadership programs. Currently, he is the Managing Director of TEK-Pacific Enterprises. He is also a motivational speaker who travels around the country to speak to high school and colleges students at conferences, camps, and school assemblies. He was the student body President at UC Berkeley, where he produced a record amount of programs and led many Multicultural Initiatives. He was also the founder and three-time President of the Asian American Association, which is still today, the largest pan-Asian American collegiate organization in the nation. He conceived Project SMILE, a multicultural mentorship and tutoring program between UC Berkeley and Berkeley Unified School District. His recent community involvements include serving as the president of the Taiwanese American Professionals (TAP). He is currently the coordinator of the TACL Political Internship program, which assigns Taiwanese American students to internships with over 15 various Congressional, Senatorial, and State legislative offices each summer.