COUNTDOWN TO GALA

DAYS
HOURS
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We’re honored and deeply grateful to share that the 34th Inspiration Awards Gala is officially sold out.

What began as a vision to IGNITE possibility for low-income Asian American youth has grown into an evening that turns belief into opportunity. We are humbled by the outpouring of support and can’t wait to gather on April 16 at Cipriani South Street to celebrate.

While tickets are no longer available, there are still meaningful ways to support Apex for Youth:
• Make a donation to help us reach more youth
- Sponsor or purchase tickets to our Gala After Party at NoFlex NYC and continue the celebration of possibility

Please reach out to events@apexforyouth.org with any questions or inquiries.

Every act of belief fuels a young person’s future. Thank you for being part of this movement.

This year, we’re celebrating and igniting possibility by empowering low-income Asian American youth. Through mentoring programs and access to critical resources, we are able to spark confidence, unlock opportunity, and create a deep sense of belonging.​

When mentorship ignites courage, potential begins to grow. From the spark of one young person's belief to the impact of our community, we can light the way forward together. Help us create that spark.​

GALA HONOREES

Lana Condor

Actriz y productora

From making her acting debut in a blockbuster Marvel feature film, to breaking the mold as the first Asian American leading lady in a YA romantic comedy, award winning actor and producer Lana Condor has quickly become one of the most in-demand talents in the entertainment industry today. 


In 2026 Condor is poised for a major year in film, led by her upcoming Amazon MGM Studios thriller
Pretty Lethal, debuting March 25 globally on Prime Video. The action-packed feature follows five ballerinas—barely on speaking terms—who are forced to weaponize years of brutal training when their bus breaks down and they seek shelter at a remote roadside inn run by a mysterious former ballet prodigy (Uma Thurman). As the situation turns deadly, rivalries become survival instinct, and grace and discipline become their greatest weapons. Condor stars alongside Thurman, Iris Apatow, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, and Maddie Ziegler. 

Michael Chung

Global Co-Head of Equities at Millennium Management

Michael Chung is Global Co-Head of Equities and a member of the Senior Management team at Millennium. Prior to this role, Michael served as Millennium’s Deputy Global Head of Equities. He is responsible for the daily oversight and management of the firm’s equity portfolio managers and teams globally, including fundamental equity, volatility, convertible bond arbitrage and event driven strategies. For these strategies, Michael is responsible for portfolio manager selection, capital allocation, evaluation of transactions and risk exceptions, and management of the global firmwide equity aggregated risk. He has nearly 25 years of experience in trading and risk management.

Prior to joining Millennium in 2016, Michael led investment teams across various distressed, credit and event driven strategies at Arrowgrass Capital Partners, where he was a Founding Partner, and at Deutsche Bank’s proprietary trading unit, Omnis.  He started his career at Lehman Brothers as a research analyst for the firm’s Distressed Debt business.

Michael received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University, where he currently serves as a member of the Advisory Council for the McCormick School of Engineering.
co-Chairs
Aya Kanai
Melody Lee
Raymond Chan
HOST COMMITTEE
Aditi Shah
Adrianne Wright
Allison Chou
Allister Chan
BD Wong
Big Dragons Little Dragons Junior Host Committee
Chloe Flower
Christine Shin
Christine Su
Conray Tseng
Daniel Martin
David Henry Hwang
Gilbert Liu
Isiah Magsino
Jennifer Prosek
Jennifer Saesue
JiaJia Fei
Jihan Lee
Justin Eng
Katherine Yang
Laura Kim
Lauren Kim
Mark Xu
Michelle Lee
Robert Lee
Russ Chong
Simon Kim
Ti-Hua Chang
FEATURED SPONSORS
Become a Sponsor.
Be a Champion for Asian American Youth.
CHAMPION

KAREN AND ROBERT LEE

MICHAEL LI

Thomas and Leanne Chin

LEADER

KATHY YANG AND RAY CHAN

KEVIN D. ENG & UN HAE SONG FOUNDATION

KEVIN D. ENG & UN HAE SONG

JOE AND LILY WONG

BENEFACTOR

Alex Chi and Margaret Jan

ANDREW AND LAUREN KIM

Angela and Allister Chan

Ann and Peter Chung

BD WONG

BEN XIAO AND TRACY KWAN

Diana Hung-Jar y David Jar

GIL AND LING LIU

Peter y Shirley Ma

Russ Chong

So-Chung Shinn and Tony W. Lee

THE SRIRATANA FAMILY

SPONSOR
FRIEND

Michelle Kleger

LISA QI

Patrick Lo y Natasha Wattel

ACERCA DE LA GALA

Through the years, Apex for Youth’s Inspiration Awards Gala has become the premier Asian American gala in the United States.

Last year, with 600 guests in attendance, we collectively raised over $3.1 million — a testament to the power of Apex’s mission. As we head into our 34th Annual Inspiration Awards Gala, Apex remains committed to ensuring our youth can access the resources, mentorship, and opportunities they need to help them break down the barriers they face.

NUESTRO IMPACTO

Did you know Asian American youth ..?

1 in 2

Asian American youth live in or near poverty in NYC.

Less than 6%

of the city’s funding goes to Asian American programs, creating significant challenges due to lack of resources, despite making up 18% of the city’s population.

1 in 4

Asian American youth in NYC live in homes where no one over 14 speaks English proficiently or at all.

Suicide

is the leading cause of death for Asian American young adults.

About Apex for Youth's Reach

Apex for Youth addresses the ongoing pervasive needs of low-income Asian American Youth in New York City and across the country.

2,700

jóvenes atendidos de los 5 distritos y 11 estados del país

40,000

horas de participación de los jóvenes

1,000

voluntarios que apoyan a los jóvenes

Join us in IGNITING

what's possible for our youth!

Every donation to Apex for Youth helps us light new pathways of possibility for low-income Asian American youth. Your support fuels programs that spark confidence, unlock opportunity, and create a sense of belonging.

FEATURED PRESENTERS

Connie Chung

Periodista, escritor

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Connie Chung

Periodista, escritor

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2025 APEX FOR YOUTH GALA

Revive los momentos más impactantes de la 33ª Gala Anual de los Premios Inspiración de Apex

flecha anterior
siguiente flecha
PAST HONOREES
Gemma Chan | 2019
Actress, Producer, Activist
Jon M. Chu | 2021
Filmmaker
Eileen Gu | 2022
Olympian, Model
Suni Lee | 2025
Olympian
Phillip Lim | 2009
Creative Director, 3.1 Phillip Lim
Olivia Munn | 2019
Actress, Author
Daniel Dae Kim | 2021
Actor, Producer
Lisa Ling | 2021
Periodista, escritor
Ocean Vuong | 2023
Autor, Poeta
Constance Wu | 2024
Actress, Author

Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre este acto, póngase en contacto con events@apexforyouth.org.

SIGUE PARTICIPANDO

Deep gratitude to Gina Shin for this year’s design concept.

es_ESSpanish

Lana Condor

From making her acting debut in a blockbuster Marvel feature film, to breaking the mold as the first Asian American leading lady in a YA romantic comedy, award winning actor and producer Lana Condor has quickly become one of the most in-demand talents in the entertainment industry today. 

In 2026 Condor is poised for a major year in film, led by her upcoming Amazon MGM Studios thriller Pretty Lethal, debuting March 25 globally on Prime Video. The action-packed feature follows five ballerinas—barely on speaking terms—who are forced to weaponize years of brutal training when their bus breaks down and they seek shelter at a remote roadside inn run by a mysterious former ballet prodigy (Uma Thurman). As the situation turns deadly, rivalries become survival instinct, and grace and discipline become their greatest weapons. Condor stars alongside Thurman, Iris Apatow, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, and Maddie Ziegler. 

Later this year, she showcases her comedic range in Coyote vs. Acme (August 28, Warner Bros and Ketchup Entertainment), opposite Will Forte and John Cena, in the live-action/animated courtroom comedy following Wile E. Coyote’s lawsuit against the Acme Corporation. She will also headline the survival thriller Devil’s Mouth (Amazon MGM Studios) alongside Kathryn Newton, which follows college friends trapped in an underwater cave system with a bull shark. 

Condor recently wrapped production on the romantic comedy Whodunnit, directed by Nora Kirkpatrick, where she stars as Tess Klein—a woman forced to rethink everything after a spectacularly derailed proposal and an unexpected rebound weekend—with Jack Whitehall, Robbie Amell, Lizze Broadway, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Randall Park. 

Condor became a household name in 2018 with the release of Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which quickly became a global sensation. Based on Jenny Han’s New York Times best-selling novel, the film cemented its place in pop culture and helped redefine on-screen representation—showing that Asian American teens could finally see themselves as complex, romantic leads worthy of the full love story. Critics and outlets praised Condor’s star-making turn as Lara Jean Covey, with Vanity Fair writing, “Get ready to be charmed by Lana Condor,” and Vulture declaring, “Condor is a ready-made star,” among many others. Condor reprised her role in the hit sequels To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) and To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021). She earned a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Drama Movie Actress in 2019 and received the HCA Award: Next Generation of Hollywood at the 2020 Hollywood Critics Association Awards. 

Additional credits for Condor include starring opposite Chase Stokes in Valiant One; the romantic comedy Worth the Wait for Tubi alongside Andrew Koji and Ross Butler; and a guest-starring arc on the critically acclaimed, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody Award winning hit series Abbott Elementary opposite Quinta Brunson. Her film and television work also includes HBO Max’s sci-fi romantic comedy Moonshot opposite Cole Sprouse, James Cameron’s Alita: Battle Angel (Twentieth Century Fox), Netflix’s limited comedy series Boo, Bitch (which she also executive produced), the Russo brothers’ action series Deadly Class (SYFY), and her feature film debut as Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse opposite Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy. In animation, she starred as the title character in DreamWorks/Universal’s Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken opposite Jane Fonda, Toni Collette, and Colman Domingo. 

Originally from Can Tho, Vietnam, Condor was adopted by her parents at four months old (along with her brother, Arthur) and spent her early years in the Chicago area. As a child she lived in both Washington state and New York City, training in classical ballet in both locations. She took classes at multiple prestigious dance academies including The Joffrey School of Classical Ballet, The Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. As a high school freshman living in New York, Condor took her first acting class and was hooked. During her sophomore year, Condor and her family moved to Los Angeles where she danced alongside apprentices at The Los Angeles Ballet and continued to develop her passion for acting by joining the theater department at Notre Dame Academy and studying at the Yale Summer Conservatory for Actors. While going out on a handful of auditions her senior year, Condor booked “X-Men: Apocalypse.” She has been working ever since. 

On the digital front, Condor’s social media following skyrocketed in 2018 soaring to over 10 million dedicated fans internationally (and growing). She has used her newfound platform to generate awareness for causes near to her heart, including The Asia Foundation where she established a scholarship to send underprivileged girls and women to school in Vietnam.