Hosted by the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) & Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
November 3, 2025 | 5 – 6 PM ET
A training that will equip participants with the knowledge and advocacy tools needed to advocate on issues that directly impact them, such as the China Initiative, research security, fundamental rights and academic freedom in our country.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Edgar Chen | Special Advisor | NAPABA
Edgar Chen brings nearly two decades of legal and advocacy experience in the private law firm, government, and non-profit sectors. He is responsible for developing and advancing policies that support NAPABA’s strategic goals, as well as working with affiliates, organizational allies, and executive branch and congressional offices to promote NAPABA’s work. Before joining NAPABA, Edgar served in three different federal agencies during administrations of both parties, including as Chief of Staff at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury; as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); and as attorney advisor for oversight matters in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Joanna YangQing Derman | Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights and National Security | Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
Joanna YangQing Derman is the Director of the Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights, and National Security program at AAJC. Joanna’s primary responsibility is developing and executing advocacy, research, and coalition-building strategies on national security and civil rights issues as they pertain to anti-Asian hate and discrimination. She crafts and advances policy solutions especially aimed at combatting the profiling of Asian Americans and immigrant communities based on race, religion, ethnicity, and/or national origin.
Gisela Perez Kusakawa | Executive Director | Asian American Scholar Forum
Gisela Perez Kusakawa is the Executive Director of the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing belonging, freedom, and equality. A civil rights attorney admitted to practice in D.C. and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Kusakawa is a nationally recognized expert in anti-profiling, national security, and civil rights policy. She led the charge to end the Department of Justice’s “China Initiative” and has been the lead legal strategist on landmark cases, including those of Dr. Xiaoxing Xi and Dr. Feng “Franklin” Tao, and has shaped national advocacy efforts on behalf of immigrants and scholars.
Kelvin Lum | Director of Federal Policy | Stop AAPI Hate
A Capitol Hill veteran, Kelvin Lum previously spent 12 years as a Congressional staffer for Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), the longest serving South Asian American Member of Congress. He most recently spent the last 6 years as Congressman Bera’s Legislative Director, where his portfolio included education, appropriations, civil rights, immigration, and transportation. For over a decade, Lum served as Rep. Bera’s liaison to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community stakeholders. He also spent seven years in the leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association (CAPASA), where he focused on expanding the pipeline of AA & NH/PI congressional staff.
Dr. Peter Michelson | Luke Blossom Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and Professor of Physics | Stanford University
Peter Michelson is The Luke Blossom Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and Professor of Physics at Stanford University. The focus of his research for the past decade has been on the development and operation of a new orbiting observatory for observing high-energy gamma radiation generated by cosmic sources that include supermassive black holes and neutron stars. He is the Spokesperson for the Large Area Telescope investigation on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. This international collaboration has more than 200 members from 14 countries. His other research interests include gravitational wave detection.
MODERATOR
Dr. Xiaodong Zhang | Robert M. Critchfield Professor in Engineering | Ohio State University
Xiaodong Zhang is a University Distinguished Scholar and the Robert M. Critchfield Professor in Engineering. He joined the Ohio State University in 2006 as the Chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department. Before the current position, he was the Lettie Pate Evans Professor and the Chair of the Computer Science Department at the College of William and Mary. He is a member of the AASF Board and an AASF Fellow.