Karen Narasaki

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[edit] Biography

Official Press Photo for Ms. Narasaki

Karen K. Narasaki is the President and Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center, formerly known as the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC). AAJC is a leading Washington, D.C.-based, non-profit civil rights organization whose mission is to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans through advocacy, public policy, public education and litigation.

Widely respected within the Asian American community, Narasaki is regarded by the media, the public and lawmakers at the highest levels of government as one of the nation's foremost experts on immigrant rights, voting rights, affirmative action, civil rights and other issues paramount to the Asian American community.

Under Narasaki's stewardship, AAJC - which is affiliated with the Asian American Institute in Chicago, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, and the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco - led the successful effort for passage of the reauthorizations of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation since the 1960s. AAJC worked to unite African American, Latino, Native American and other stakeholders to identify the necessary research, while organizing testimony, training organizers and educating the general public about the continuing existence of discriminatory barriers and behavior in voting.

Narasaki and AAJC also monitor hate crimes against Asian Americans on a national level, and respond by offering assistance to victims and their affected communities. In addition, AAJC pressures authorities to pursue hate crimes charges when applicable.

An outspoken advocate for comprehensive immigration reform, Narasaki and her staff have led an organized campaign against the contentious REAL ID Act of 2005, which considerably increased the burden on people seeking asylum in the U.S., and have also successfully helped introduce bipartisan reform into the House and Senate that addresses many of the pressing needs of the Asian American community, 60 percent of which is foreign-born. Meanwhile, Narasaki and her staff champion affirmative action across the board, filing briefs in important judicial cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, Narasaki is an influential figure involving television diversity on behalf of Asian Americans. She serves as a member of the Asian Pacific American Advisory Council, a group of community, civic and business leaders who advise Nielsen Media Research, an international provider of television audience measurement services, on reaching out to Asian Americans. Through AAJC, Narasaki also issues an annual report card on the major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox - on their diversity efforts. These initiatives have led to more than a 20 percent increase for both regular and recurring roles for Asian Pacific Americans on prime-time television shows - both on and off-camera.

In addition, Narasaki serves in a number of important leadership positions in the civil rights and immigrant rights communities. She is Vice Chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation's oldest and broadest civil rights coalition and Vice President of the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Chair of the Rights Working Group, a coalition of more than 200 human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and immigrant rights groups working to address the erosion of civil liberties and the basic rights of immigrants since 9/11. She also serves on the board of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, and is a past board member of the Independent Sector.

Narasaki also serves on the National Commission on Adult Literacy, a project of the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy which promotes adult literacy across the country. immediate past Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans.

[edit] Media appearances

A regular guest on News & Notes with Ed Gordon, Narasaki has appeared on ABC and CBS News, Fox News Channel, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Hardball with Chris Matthews, America with Dennis Wholey and several National Public Radio shows, including Talk of the Nation and Powerpoint. She has also been quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, as well as numerous regional newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Los Angeles Times.

[edit] Awards

Recognized by Washingtonian Magazine in 2001 and 2006 as one of the "100 most powerful women in Washington, D.C.," Narasaki has received numerous awards and accolades. In 2005, she was the recipient of the American Bar Association Spirit of Excellence Award, and has received the Congressional Black Caucus Chair's Award, International Channel We the People Award, and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Asian Americans of the Decade by A Magazine. Along with numerous other awards, she is also the 2004 recipient of the Greater Sacramento Urban League Ruth Standish Baldwin Award, the 2000 U.S. Department of Justice Citizen Volunteer Service Award, the 1999 Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Community Award, and the 1994 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Trailblazer Award.

Narasaki is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Yale University and Order of the Coif, of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

[edit] Trivia

Narasaki's father served in the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the US Army, the all-Japanese American unit that fought in Europe during World War II.

Narasaki graduated 3rd in her class at UCLA Law School.

At Yale, Narasaki was at Davenport College - "Home of the Gnome" Davenport College - "Home of the Gnome"

She has a twin brother, Ken Narasaki, who is an actor and playwright living in Los Angeles.

[edit] External links

• Asian American Justice Center Web site www.advancingequality.org [1]
• American Bar Association Web site [2]
• "U.S. Should Take Leadership Role in Racial Justice," St. Paul Pioneer Press, Aug. 16, 2001. [3]
• "I, Too, Am an Affirmative-Action Baby," Essence, Oct. 1, 1997. [4]
• "The 2002 TV season: what's new, what's black, what's back!," Ebony, Oct. 1, 2002.[5]
• "Handling of Arab-American data blasted," Deseret News, Nov. 10, 2004.[6]
• "Asian-Americans trying to be seen by politicians," Associated Press, Feb. 22, 2004.[7]
• "Advocates mark high point of civil rights movement," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Aug. 24, 2003.[8]
• "Networks plan events to bring more minorities to TV shows," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 24, 2002 [9]
• "Asian population surging," Chicago Sun-Times, March 11, 2001.[10]