- Serica Initiative
- Jun 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 9
What an evening! This year’s Serica Trailblazers Gala, held at the beautiful space at 583 Park Ave in Manhattan, honored and celebrated the contributions of Asian and AAPI leaders across generations.
Thank you to our generous table sponsors and donors that were in attendance and watching from afar! We couldn't do this without you!
The Serica gala opened with a delightful cocktail reception in the arcade, mingling, enjoying delicious bites, posing for photos, and checking our the silent auction before guests headed to dinner and awards ceremony.
Sofronio Vasquez, a winner on The Voice, delivered an energetic performance of “Unstoppable,” by Sia over a beautiful sand art display showcasing the many landscapes of Asia that these women have come from– trailblazing in their fields and all cumulating in New York to make their impact.
Fabulous co-emcees Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer-Prize winning author & 2024 Serica Trailblazer Honoree, and Curtis Chin, Former US Ambassador & now Asia Fellow at Milken Institute, took to the microphone to thank Sofronio and the crowd for coming, giving delightful jokes while introducing the honorees, rising stars, and of course our next powerhouse speaker, Serica Initiative Founder & CEO, Anla Cheng to the mainstage to welcome over 320 guests.
Serica Programming Update!
Anla not only gave highlights about the importance of this kind of event, now more than ever given the current climate, she gave introduction to Serica's work and impact to support Amplifying AAPI, not only with our Trailblazer's Conference & Gala, but also with our narrative change programming through our partnership to make films on Asian Americans experiences working and building in this country. The more we can amplify Asian voices and communities, the more understanding and collaboration we can encourage.
Executive Director Andrea Louie and Deputy Director Daniel Tam-Claiborne
also briefly took stage to introduce the guests to Serica's current & upcoming programs, like our just kicked off AAPI Women's mentorship program, and upcoming Voices Rising: What's Next for AAPI Athletes in Motion? in October 2025, another exclusive event during #CLIMATEWEEKNYC that will feature our Climate Artist series done in collaboration with WNET/All Arts, and another documentary feature in the works about the Wong Kim Ark landmark birthright citizenship case. Lots of amazing programming in the works to support our community!
Rising Star Awards
Next, In the spirit of boosting the next generation of changemakers, a video recap of the Rising Star Ceremony WuDunn and Chin welcomed to the stage the three winners of the Rising Star Award, which recognizes exceptional AAPI women under 40 who are shaping the future of their industries and economies. This year, they were
Entrepreneur Winner: Yanyi Li, founder of Nuwa Marketing,
Non-profit Winner: Ngoc-Tran Vu, founder of Tran Vu Arts, a
Corporate Winner: Tiffany Zhou, Creative Director of Oleada.
Trophies were awarded by Rising Star judges Sheryl WuDunn (far left), Shau Zhang (third from left, red dress), and Amy Chua (far right), as well as by past Rising Stars & now Serica Board Members, Karen Mu (left, white dress), Di Cai (center, gray dress) and Eden Cai (third from right, blue dress).
Honoree Award Ceremony
The brilliant Amy Chua started off the ceremony celebrating these fabulous evening by announcing the honoree video for the Chao family and their legacy achievement in philanthropy.
All honorees videos can be viewed on our YouTube.
The Trailblazer honorees of this years' gala where
James S.C. Chao Chao & Ruth Mulan Chu Chao & Family
Elaine, Jeanette, May, Christine, Grace & Angela
*Legacy Award for years of dedication to leadership, philanthropy, and public service...
Maria Ressa: Nobel Laureate and CEO of Rapper/ journalist
Fei-Fei Li “Godmother of AI”, Computer Stanford University
Kathy Hirata Chin: Distinguished retired attorney and trial reenactment activist in law and school communities
Woraphanit “Please” Ruayrungruang: Reignwood Group CEO and owner of Voss and distribution rights owner of Red Bull China
We heard moving speeches from Dr. James S.C. Chao about cultivating female leadership among his six daughters from a young age, and Maria Ressa, who flew in from the Philippines and spoke to the importance of acting as cells in a larger, communal body during these ever-shifting times.
To raise the stakes, Bonhams auctioneer, Coco Li, led a live auction featuring a trip to Mongolia and a group dinner with renowned playwright David Henry Hwang–all in support of initiatives such as Serica’s new AAPI mentorship program, which pairs experienced mentors across sectors with mid-career mentees to level them up in their careers.
Award winning Violinist, SoHyun Ko, and accompanying award winning pianist, Yadi Liang closed out the evening with a spirited rendition of Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25, based on themes from Georges Bizet’s Carmen.
Beyond spotlighting the remarkable achievements of Asian and AAPI innovators, trailblazers, and community builders, the Trailblazers Gala served as an opportunity to recognize the resilience, persistence, creativity, and mutual support found in the broader community. The evening raised instrumental funds to enable the Serica Initiative to forge ahead in its mission to amplify AAPI voices and leverage stories, encouraging dialogue through our convening power.
Thank you all who attended to uplifting our AAPI community to energize, inspire, and empower us all.
Please enjoy the entire photo album here and get in touch with us at events@sericainitiative.org if you'd like to be a part of next year's celebration!
