AUGUST WEBINAR
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2021, 7 PM - 8 PM CDT

HOW TO BUILD MULTICULTURAL SOLIDARITY AGAINST VIOLENCE AND HATE CRIMES

GKF’s August webinar will focus on violence and hate crimes against AAPI and Black communities. This forum will especially focus on how to build racial and multicultural solidarity amongst Asian and Black communities, featuring keynote speeches by Jill Schupp (Missouri State Senator) and Wesley Bell (St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney) followed by a panel discussion with Asian and Black community leaders from St. Louis and an FBI agent who specializes in hate crimes. A Q&A session will follow the panel.

This is a free online event.

ABOUT AUGUST’S FEATURED GUESTS

SENATOR JILL SCHUPP (KEYNOTE SPEAKER)

Senator Jill Schupp was elected to the Missouri Senate in 2014, representing the 24th Senatorial District, which is located in St. Louis County. Sen. Schupp served six years on the Ladue School Board and is a former member of the Creve Coeur City Council. Before being elected to the Senate, Sen. Schupp served as State Representative for the 82nd House District, during which time she championed legislation that made workplace environments smoke-free, protected children in unlicensed daycare settings, allowed seniors the opportunity to age in their own homes, and more. Sen. Schupp is also the founder of the Missouri Veterans History Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to ensure the stories of Missouri veterans are never forgotten.

WESLEY BELL (KEYNOTE SPEAKER)

Wesley Bell has been the Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County since 2019 and is the first African American to serve in this position. He has served with distinction across the spectrum of the legal profession as a public defender, defense attorney, judge, professor, and prosecutor. He is an advocate for ending mass incarceration, eliminating “debtor's’ prison” practices, and rebuilding trust between communities and the prosecutor’s office. He also advocates that every person should have equal rights and opportunities within the criminal justice system.

DR. HAN KO (MODERATOR)

Dr. Han Ko is the President/CEO of USAKO Group and other international investment firms. A community leader, Dr. Ko has a great passion for community's harmony and peace. Over the years, he has played key leadership roles in many business and nonprofit organizations, such as the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, St. Louis County, City of Fairview Heights, OCA, and the Korean American Association, and United State Merchant Marine Academy Parents Association. He is also the co-founder and a former board member of the Gateway Korea Foundation.

DR. DAVID WEBBER (MODERATOR)

Dr. David Webber is a retired Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri and an instructor at the MU Asian Affairs Center, specializing in American public policy and politics. He served as a congressional fellow with the House Science Committee in 1993 and a research fellow with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. He has been a visiting professor at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, and Ewha Womans University in Seoul. He also blogs at Webber Rough and Polished.

PETER TAO (PANELIST)

Peter Tao is the President and Founder of TAO + LEE Associates, an award winning St. Louis based architecture and design firm. He and his firm practice architecture not only locally in St. Louis, but also in New York and London, with projects located domestically and internationally. Additionally, Tao is a distinguished leader in St. Louis’s Asian and Chinese Communities, as well as an arts supporter and executive film producer. He has received a Diverse Business Leader recognition award from the St. Louis Business Journal and a Saint Louis Rams Community Quarterback Award, among others.

RODRICK BURTON (PANELIST)

Rodrick Burton is the Senior Pastor of the historic New Northside Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, an educator, author (Moral State of Black America) and columnist, community leader, and advocate for sustainability issues. He is also the President of the St. Louis Airport Interfaith Chaplaincy, a member of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains, and a member of the St. Louis Clean Air Advisory Commission.

CAROLINE FAN (PANELIST)

Caroline Fan is a passionate political and business strategist. She is the founder of Cabochon Consulting, as well as the Founder and President of the Missouri Asian American Youth Foundation—the first statewide Asian American and Pacific Islander nonprofit to focus on civic engagement and youth leadership. Her background is in community organizing and launching startups founded by women and founders of color. She began her career in the media shop of the AFL-CIO and has worked on issues from immigration reform to transportation debt equity in over 10 cities.