Lia Chang
Gwynne Chow Tuan
The 2012 Inspiration Awards will be presented to Ben and Emily Huh of Cheezburger Network, Aasif Mandvi of “The Daily Show,” Chad Troutwine of Veritas Prep, Dr. Alexander Tsui, and fundraiser Gwynne Chow Tuan.
APEX enables underserved children from Asian American communities in New York City to become well-rounded, productive members of society through programs that meet their academic, social and personal needs. The honorees for the evening have demonstrated an equal commitment to serving the Asian American community.
APEX was founded in 1992 and today serves more than 200 youth from almost 50 public schools, and provides over 6,000 hours of volunteer service a year within New York City’s five boroughs. The youth can participate in a variety of after-school programs that build academic skills to help them overcome achievement gaps, engage them in a larger community, and instill a lifelong commitment to volunteerism and service. These programs address a population that is often assumed to be well positioned for success. However, one in four Asian American youths live in poverty, one out of three do not graduate high school on time or graduate at all, and 65 percent in high-need areas are not college or career-ready upon graduation. Despite these statistics, only one percent of New York City’s social service budget and foundation grants to New York charities go toward organizations focused on Asian American communities. APEX’s programs fill the void of the underserved in this community and young people who complete its programs have a 99% college attendance rate. After 20 years, APEX’s youth alumni number in the thousands..
2012 Inspiration Award Honorees
Gwynne Chow Tuan, Fundraiser
Born in Shanghai, Gwynne moved to Washington, D.C., in 1949 with her family. During her 30-year professional career, she was a development executive for Regional Plan Association, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, Asian American Federation and China Institute in America and the development director for the Committee of 100′s. Additionally, Gwynne volunteered extensively in the Asian American community through the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Renwen Society and helped to raise critical millions that enabled the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), a small, grassroots community museum in Chinatown that tells the vital story of the Chinese diaspora and more than 160-year history of the Chinese in America.
Ben and Emily Huh, Co-founders of Cheezburger Network
In 2007, Ben and Emily Huh started Cheezburger, one of the largest online humor publishers in the world where millions of people come every month to get their 5-minutes of happiness. Cheezburger counts a passionate fan base of 25 million people who upload more than 500,000 pictures and videos as well as view 500 million pages and 110 million videos each month.
Aasif Mandvi, Actor, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
Aasif Mandvi is an Indian-American actor who is currently a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Aasif’s other television credits include “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Sex and the City,” “Sleeper Cell,” “The Sopranos,” and “OZ,” among others. His film credits include The Proposal, Spiderman 2, Analyze This, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender. Aasif received the 1999 OBIE award for his critically acclaimed play, Sakina’s Restaurant, which was performed and conceived by Aasif as a one man show and inspired his feature film, Today’s Special, which he co-wrote and stars.
Chad Troutwine, Co-founder and CEO of Veritas Prep, Producer, “Freakonomics”
Chad Troutwine is a decorated entrepreneur, trained attorney, and education pioneer. He is the co- founder and CEO of Veritas Prep, the largest privately-owned GMAT preparation and graduate school admissions consulting company in the world. Chad is also the co- founder of Spectrum Station, one of the Midwest’s largest early childhood education centers. Since 2003, Chad has produced ten feature films starring more than a dozen Academy Award winning actors and directors. He is also the co-founder of Freakonomics Media, a digital partnership with author Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Levitt.
Alexander Tsui, DMD, Founder of APEX
Dr. Alexander Tsui served as Founding President of APEX from 1992 through 2007. Along with four others, Alex laid the groundwork to start the organization that would become APEX in 1991. Alex maintains a private practice in New York City with an emphasis on restorative and cosmetic dentistry. His professional career has included teaching positions, extensive continuing education, and published articles. Continuing to dedicate much of his time to the community that he works and lives in, Alex has been recognized over the years for his work by the media and community organizations. He is currently a member of the Multicultural Advisory Committee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Visiting Faculty at Spear Education, a continuing dental education center.
For more information about the Inspiration Awards Gala Dinner or APEX’s work with undeserved youth please visit www.apex-ny.org.
Other articles by Lia Chang:
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