Chung Joe is CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, the largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S.
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| Chung Joe, CEO of AJSOCAL |
Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), was the featured speaker at USC Gould’s 2023 Neiman-Sieroty Lecture in Civil Liberties in March.
AJSOCAL is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
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| Professor Emily Ryo served as the discussant |
The conversation centered around “Protecting our Multiracial Democracy,” with Professor Emily Ryo serving as the discussant. When asked about the most pressing social justice issues of the present time, Chung Joe emphasized: racial justice and racial equity; voting rights; and the intersection of race and gender and LGBTQ identities.
Chung Joe previously served as executive director of the Korean American Family Services for 11 years, and practiced as a public interest lawyer at the Housing Rights Center in Los Angeles and at the ACLU in Chicago.
During the lecture, she encouraged students to gain valuable experience through volunteering or internships, which will all benefit their future careers whether in government, nonprofits or firms.
The lecture series was endowed by alumnus Allen Sieroty, and named after both Sieroty and Allen Neiman, his law partner and Gould colleague from the Class of 1956, who passed away in 2017. Both shared a commitment to civil rights, and the lecture provides an enduring opportunity to enrich student learning through in-depth discussions with civil rights experts.
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