Asian-American legal advocacy organization honors Indian-American with Justice in Action award

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The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) has chosen an Indian-American and two other Asians to receive its 2021 Justice in Action Awards.

Ann Mukherjee, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America in New York City, as well as Juju Chang, co-anchor, ABC News’ Nightline, and Ronny Chieng, Comedian and Daily Show correspondent, were named in a March 1 press release from the organization.

A graduate of the University of Chicago, Mukherjee has been part of advocacy organization such as the Cannes Lions, Chetna, and Effie Worldwide. She has held top level positions in a number of multinational companies including Kraft Heinz,

The awards will be given out at AALDEF’s virtual Lunar New Year Gala and Justice in Action Awards Ceremony on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

The co-emcees for the evening are Sree Sreenivasan, Loeb Innovation Professor, Stony Brook University and CEO, Digimentors, and Cindy Hsu, Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter at CBS2 New York.

The AALDEF Justice in Action Awards recognize “exceptional individuals for their outstanding achievements and efforts to advance social justice” the press release said.

Past honorees include, Preet Bharara, Neal Katyal, Mira Nair, Fareed Zakaria, as well as the late Congressman John Lewis, John G. Chou, A.B. Cruz III, Ivan K. Fong, David Henry Hwang, Viet Thanh Nguyen, , John Kuo, Chan Lee, Sandra Leung, Don H. Liu, Yoko Ono, George Takei, BD Wong, to name just a few.

The evening program starting at 7 PM ET, will be filled with inspiring stories, laughter, and remarks from the Justice in Action award recipients, organizers said. For more details and to register visit aaldef.org

Founded in 1974, AALDEF has striven to protect and promote the civil rights of Asian Americans across the nation through litigation, advocacy, community education, and organizing.

All proceeds from the gala support AALDEF’s programs in immigrant rights, economic justice, educational equity, housing and environmental justice, and voting rights and democracy, the press release said.

Over the past year, AALDEF has focused its attention on the sharp rise in anti-Asian violence as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It has counseled victims of anti-Asian harassment and advocated for more effective law enforcement efforts and community-based solutions to end racially-motivated violence and improve public safety.