Unity Against Hate: A community Forum Exploring the Intersection of AAPI and LGBTQ+ Identities

Wednesday, January 25, 2023
5:30 PM 7:30 PM

APAPA Headquarters 4000 Truxel Road Sacramento, CA, 95834 United States (map)

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Join us for a Unity Against Hate Community Forum where we will explore the intersection of LGBTQ+ and AAPI identities. The event will consist of a short cocktail hour, keynote speakers, and a panel for community members to share their nuanced perspectives on the topics.

Name

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Job Title & Company/Nonprofit Affiliation

Keynote Speakers

Thien Ho

Thien Ho was elected Sacramento County District Attorney in June 2022.

Prior to being elected District Attorney, Thien Served as Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. A proven prosecutor with 20 years of experience, Thien Ho will ensure our system of justice is fair to all and doesn’t leave women, children, and victims of crime behind.

In 1998, Thien began his career as a prosecutor in the Bay Area and in 2004, he was sworn in as a Deputy District Attorney for the people of Sacramento County.
Throughout his career, Thien has successfully prosecuted sexual assault, gang, and homicide cases.

Thien successfully prosecuted the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer, one of the nation’s most prolific and notorious serial killers who committed 13 murders and upwards of 50 sexual assaults in 11 different jurisdictions throughout California.

In 2017, Thien was awarded “Prosecutor of the Year” by both the Sacramento District Attorney’s Association and the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association (NAPIPA). And, in 2011, he received the Sacramento County Victim Services Award.

Assistant Chief Ho currently serves in executive management at the D.A.’s Office and oversees the Justice and Community Relations Bureau. That bureau includes the Community Prosecution Unit, the Justice, Training and Integrity Unit, as well as community relations and media outreach.

As the Assistant Chief in charge of community relations and prosecution, he works every day with County’s diverse community-based organizations as well as the many Property Business Improvement Districts in Sacramento County.

Thien has also been a leader in the Sacramento community against the rise of Asian hate. As Assistant Chief, Thien is the lead prosecutor to engage in outreach regarding hate crimes to vulnerable members of the AAPI community and other groups, including elders and immigrant communities. Additionally, he previously supervised Sacramento’s Gangs and Hate Crime Unit.

For the last 15 years, Thien has been an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where he was instrumental in building a national award-winning trial advocacy program.

Marsha Aizumi

Marsha is an author, speaker, educator and advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community, a cause she embraced due, in large part, to the harassment and bullying her son experienced throughout high school. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Marsha moved to Southern California at an early age. She earned her BA from California State University at Los Angeles, majoring in American Studies and minoring in English. She went on to receive her secondary teaching life credential.

Marsha has worked in human resources and was president of an insurance agency. She has held various director and consulting positions at a charter school for over 20 years.

Her areas of focus as an advocate are staff trainings, bringing greater visibility and support to the Asian Pacific Islander (API) LGBTQ+ community, as well as to the transgender and the faith communities. Marsha continues to bring resources on bullying and harassment through district trainings, consulting with schools on how to increase visibility and support to LGBTQ+ students and has organized symposiums for district superintendents and their cabinet called Courageous Conversations.

Panelists