Asia Society Southern California honors AWKWAFINA at 2023 Annual Gala

LOS ANGELES, CA – Asia Society Southern California (ASSC) will host their 2023 Annual Gala on May 21, 2023, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The event is a celebration which is dedicated to building bridges of understanding and cooperation between Asia and the United States.

This year’s 2023 Annual Gala continues to highlight the achievements of ASSC and its partners in bringing together a diverse group of leaders from the worlds of entertainment, business, hospitality, and technology. The gala will host a cocktail reception followed by dinner, and a program that includes honorees, and a special performance. The honors for the evening will include, Culture Visionary, Tech Visionary, AWE Visionary, Hotel Visionary, Business Visionary along with a Sports Tribute.

The evening’s events will be hosted once again by ASSC MVP 2022 Honoree and emcee, Kara Wang and will include a performance by Telly Award Winning, World Choreography Award Nominated, and Universal Dance Award Nominated, Joya Kazi.

Asia Society is proud to have Variety as a media partner.

Asia Society Southern California is the Los Angeles branch of the leading nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening relationships and forging understanding among the people of Asia and the United States. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is based in New York and has locations in Delhi, Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, DC, and Zurich. For more information about Asia Society Southern California, please visit AsiaSociety.org/SouthernCalifornia.

“The 2023 Gala’s bevy of all-star Honorees is truly transcendent,” said ASSC Gala Chair Brian Treiger. “All are emblematic of ASSC’s paramount mission of bridge building that spans continents, while impacting their respective communities.”

AWKWAFINA

This year’s Culture Visionary honor goes to critically acclaimed writer and producer, Awkwafina, aka Nora Lum, known for her Golden Globe winning performance in The Farewell, Disney’s Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings and Warner Bros. Crazy Rich Asians. Awkwafina also created and stars in Comedy Central Show, Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, and can be seen in Disney’s upcoming The Little Mermaid.

NIKESH ARORA

The Tech Visionary award honors Nikesh Arora, the chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. Arora is internationally recognized for his leadership and work at SoftBank Group Corp, Google and T-Mobile.

NORIKO HONDA CHEN

The Asian Women Empowered Visionary award recognizes the groundbreaking work of Noriko Honda Chen, and her over 30 years of investment experience at Capital Group and Worldsec International. Chen serves on the advisory boards of the Women’s Foundation in Hong Kong, Peninsula Bridge and the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative in California.

SONIA CHENG

The Hotel Visionary honor celebrates Sonia Cheng, CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group where she oversees five distinct luxury brands. Her forward-thinking work focuses on environmental-friendly and sustainable business policies.

TONI KO

The Business Visionary will recognize Toni Ko, whose company NYX Cosmetics was acquired by L’Oréal as one of the largest beauty acquisitions in history. She subsequently went on to launch other world famous brands such as KimChi Chic Beauty and Jason Wu Beauty. Ko has revolutionized the industry, generating over one billion dollars in retail revenue throughout her career.

THE SPORTS TRIBUTE

will highlight Jun Endo, Ali Riley, and Alyssa Thompson of Angel City FC, Rui Hachimura of the Los Angeles Lakers, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, former Los Angeles Rams’ and current Buffalo Bills’ safety Taylor Rapp, former Volleyball Olympian Lang Ping, and LPGA Golfer Michelle Wie West.