On Wednesday, April 26th, we gathered with our closest friends and supporters to celebrate our 31st Inspiration Awards Gala at Cipriani South Street. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we raised a record-breaking $3.2 million to empower Asian American and immigrant youth in New York City and beyond! These funds will go towards expanding our programs into the borough of Queens, where currently half the population of New York’s low income Asian American youth reside.
Proprietor ng Gracious Hospitality Management
Si Simon Kim ang may-ari ng Gracious Hospitality Management, ang tatak sa likod ng Michelin-starred na COTE Korean Steakhouse sa Flatiron district ng Manhattan, COTE Miami, at pasadyang cocktail lounge Undercote, na may mga kapana-panabik na bagong proyekto sa pipeline.
May-akda, Makata
Pianist, Composer, Activist
May-akda, Makata
Sally Wen Mao is the author of two poetry collections, Oculus, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Mad Honey Symposium. The recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, her upcoming works include The Kingdom of Surfaces at Ninetails.
Si Simon Kim ang may-ari ng Gracious Hospitality Management, ang tatak sa likod ng Michelin-starred na COTE Korean Steakhouse sa Flatiron district ng Manhattan, COTE Miami, at pasadyang cocktail lounge Undercote, na may mga kapana-panabik na bagong proyekto sa pipeline.
Ipinanganak sa Seoul, sinimulan ni Kim ang kanyang hospitality career sa MGM Grand Hotel and Casino sa Las Vegas, habang nag-aaral ng Hotel Administration sa University of Nevada. Magpapatuloy siya sa pamumuno sa mga front-of-house team para sa mga kilalang chef, kasama sina Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Thomas Keller, at bubuksan ang kanyang unang Michelin-starred restaurant, Piora, sa murang edad na 31.
Sa pagtupad sa isang panghabambuhay na pangarap, binuksan ni Simon ang COTE noong 2017, ang unang Korean steakhouse ng New York City at ang nag-iisang Michelin-starred na Korean tabletop grill restaurant sa mundo, isang karangalang ibinahagi ngayon ng COTE Miami kasunod ng pambihirang tagumpay nito sa unang taon sa Design District ng lungsod. Mabilis na nakakuha ng maraming parangal ang COTE sa loob ng unang ilang buwan nito, kabilang ang Mga Pinakamahusay na Bagong Restaurant ng GQ sa America, dalawang bituin mula sa The New York Times at New York Magazine, mga nominasyon ng James Beard Foundation Award, at mga semifinalist na nod para sa Best New Restaurant at Outstanding Wine List.
An Associate Board Member of the National Restaurant Association, EY Entrepreneur of the Year New York 2022 winner, Crain’s 40 under 40 honoree, and recipient of the Next Generation Award from the NYC Hospitality Alliance, Simon is not only a leader in the industry known for his creative and polished execution but one that is passionate about supporting local Asian American communities. In 2021, Simon founded Taste of Asia, an annual tasting event celebrating New York City’s AAPI communities. Featuring a curated selection of 40 restaurants serving Asian-inspired bites in Madison Square Park, this event honors the diversity and vitality of AAPI culture and cuisine in New York City and beyond, raising $1.2M in its inaugural year and $1.4M in 2022 for three organizations: City Harvest, where Simon sits on their Board of Directors and is an active participant on their Food Council, Apex for Youth and Madison Square Park Conservancy. Simon is also a Board member of the National Restaurant Association and a father of two.
Ocean Vuong is the author of The New York Times bestselling poetry collection, Time is a Mother (Penguin Press 2022), and The New York Times bestselling novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (Penguin Press 2019), which has been translated into 37 languages. A recipient of a 2019 MacArthur “Genius” Grant, he is also the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2016, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Whiting Award, the Thom Gunn Award, and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. A Ruth Lilly fellow from the Poetry Foundation, his honors include fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, The Elizabeth George Foundation, The Academy of American Poets, and the Pushcart Prize.
Vuong’s writings have been featured in The Atlantic, Granta, Harpers, The Nation, New Republic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Village Voice, and American Poetry Review, which awarded him the Stanley Kunitz Prize for Younger Poets. Selected by Foreign Policy magazine as a 2016 100 Leading Global Thinker, Ocean was also named by BuzzFeed Books as one of “32 Essential Asian American Writers” and has been profiled on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” PBS NewsHour, Teen Vogue, Interview, Poets & Writers, and The New Yorker.
Ipinanganak sa Saigon, Vietnam at lumaki sa Hartford, Connecticut sa isang working class na pamilya ng nail salon at factory laborers, nag-aral siya sa malapit na Manchester Community College bago lumipat sa Pace University upang mag-aral ng International Marketing. Nang hindi nakumpleto ang kanyang unang termino, huminto siya sa Business school at nag-enroll sa Brooklyn College, kung saan nagtapos siya ng BA sa Nineteenth Century American Literature. Pagkatapos ay natanggap niya ang kanyang MFA sa Tula mula sa NYU.
Kasalukuyan siyang nakatira sa Northampton, Massachusetts at nagsisilbing isang tenured Professor sa Creative Writing MFA Program sa NYU.
Chloe Flower is a pianist, composer, activist, fashion icon, and so much more. She is bridging the gap between classical and pop with her self-created genre — POPSICAL — which is showcased in her 2021 eponymous debut album, Chloe Flower. Born in Pennsylvania, Chloe first reached for piano keys at the age of two.
By twelve, she was studying at the Manhattan School of Music followed by London’s Royal Academy of Music.
The multi-hyphenate star has become music and fashion’s go-to creator as she
intertwines her personal couture style and unique sound into something the
industry has never seen or heard. Serving as an Official Steinway artist, over the years Chloe has grown into a musical powerhouse — from her show-stopping 2019 GRAMMY® Awards performance with Cardi B to her featured performance with Lil Baby on Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Aside from her own music, Chloe has co-produced and composed for Céline Dion, Johnny Mathis, 2 Chainz, Swae Lee, NAS, Babyface, and more. Additionally, she has scored Misty Copeland’s documentary, A Ballerina’s Tale, numerous works for Kevin Hart including Hart to Hart (NBC), On the Come Up for Paramount+, and
original compositions for champagne house, Krug.
Chloe is an ardent advocate of anti-human trafficking and a champion of music education and therapy. She serves as an Artist Ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime and the youngest board member of The Liberace Foundation.
www.chloeflower.com
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