Video Message from Attorney General Rob Bonta

The CAUSE Summer Soirée is CAUSE’s largest fundraiser of the year and the premier Asian and Pacific Islander (API) event for civic advocates of the API community.

This year’s theme—“Together We Build: Our Community, Our Future”—is a reflection of CAUSE’s belief that meaningful change begins when we invest in our communities, lift up new leaders, and take collective action to shape the future we want to see.

We each bring something essential—and it’s only by working together that we can nurture the future we hope to see.
Together We Build connects CAUSE’s legacy of voter outreach, civic education, and leadership development with the work ahead. In 2024, we launched the inaugural Together We Vote Fest in historic AAPI neighborhoods across LA County, inviting our communities to engage in democracy on their own terms. As we prepare for 2026 and beyond, this Soirée is a moment to celebrate and recommit—to organize, to lead, and to act.

The Honorable Dolly Gee

Chief United States District Judge, Central District of California

Dolly M. Gee is the Chief United States District Judge in the Central District of California.  She graduated from UCLA (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1981 and received her law degree from UCLA School of Law in 1984.  Upon graduating from law school, she clerked for two years for Hon. Milton L. Schwartz, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California.  From 1986-2009, Judge Gee was a partner at Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP, where she specialized in labor and employment law.  During that time, she also arbitrated disputes for the Kaiser Permanente Independent Arbitration System and served as an independent court-appointed union election monitor.  In 1994, President Clinton appointed her to serve on the Federal Service Impasses Panel to mediate and arbitrate disputes between federal agencies and federal sector labor unions.  In 1999, President Clinton nominated her to the United States District Court for the Central District of California, but her nomination was not confirmed prior to the end of President Clinton’s term in office.  On August 7, 2009, President Obama nominated her to the District Court once again and the Senate unanimously confirmed her nomination on December 24, 2009.  Judge Gee is the first Chinese American woman to serve as an Article III federal judge.  

In 2012, Judge Gee helped establish and has participated since its inception in the Conviction and Sentence Alternatives Program for the Central District of California, through which more than 400 federal criminal defendants to date have successfully addressed drug abuse and/or mental health issues in order to avoid incarceration.  She also helped initiate the Court’s Loan Modification Mediation program, providing an avenue for eligible financially strapped litigants to avoid home foreclosure through loan modification.  She was a past chair of the Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, which manages the volunteer mediator panel, and the Pro Bono Committee, which oversees several pro se legal clinics throughout the Central District.  In 2015, she spearheaded the establishment of the “Just the Beginning Foundation Summer Legal Institute” to introduce underrepresented high school students to the legal profession.   

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Gee served on the boards of various bar associations and non-profit organizations, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (now Asian American Advancing Justice), the California Women’s Law Center, the Western Center on Law & Poverty, and the Southern California Civil Rights Coalition.  She is a co-founder of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Multicultural Bar Alliance, and is a past President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association.

Judge Gee is a railroad worker descendant as her great great grandfather was the first of her family to come to the United States, hailing from the rural Toisan region of Guangdong province.  

Attorney General Rob Bonta

On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta was sworn in as the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian-American to occupy the position.

Attorney General Bonta's passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, who served on the frontlines of some of America's most important social justice movements. Instilling in him the lessons they learned from the United Farm Workers and the civil rights movement, Attorney General Bonta's parents lit a fire inside him to fight against injustice — to stand up for those who are taken advantage of or harmed. It's why he decided to become a lawyer — to help right historic wrongs and fight for people who have been harmed. He worked his way through college and graduated with honors from Yale University and attended Yale Law School.

In the State Assembly, Attorney General Bonta enacted nation-leading reforms to inject more justice and fairness into government and institutions. As the People's Attorney, he sees seeking accountability from those who abuse their power and harm others as one of the most important functions of the job. In elected office, he has taken on powerful interests and advanced systemic change — pursuing corporate accountability, standing up for workers, punishing big polluters, and fighting racial injustice. He has been a national leader in the fight to transform the criminal justice system, banning private prisons and detention facilities in California, as well as pushing to eliminate cash bail in the state. He has led statewide fights for racial, economic, and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters, and working Californians.

Prior to serving in the Assembly, Attorney General Bonta worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the City and County and its employees, and fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling.

Born in Quezon City, Philippines, Attorney General Bonta immigrated to California with his family as an infant. He is the son of a proud native Filipino mother and a father who taught him the value of public service to his community. He is married to Mia Bonta, and they are the proud parents of three children Reina, Iliana, and Andres.

CAUSE is proud to present the Community Impact Award to Attorney General Rob Bonta in recognition of his service, leadership, and unwavering advocacy for the Asian and Pacific Islander community.  

A representative from the Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, will accept the award on the Attorney General’s behalf.

Roots & Rising Award Honoree

Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement, a Division of Special Service for Groups, Inc.

Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement (APIFM) is a community-rooted organization working toward health equity, food sovereignty, and environmental justice for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities across Los Angeles County. Guided by a mission to cultivate healthy, long-lasting, and vibrant API communities through community-centered engagement, education, and advocacy, APIFM centers community power, good health, healthy environments and social justice in building long-lasting solutions.

Through efforts like the Mobilizing Youth Advocates for Resilient Communities (MYARC) program, APIFM invests deeply in youth leadership, empowering young people in the San Gabriel Valley with knowledge and tools to champion environmental and climate justice, as well as advocate for policies that reflect their voices and needs, complementing a multiyear community informed effort to ensure that the SGV has clean air, water, shade and green spaces. Their food justice work connects local Asian American farmers with communities, expanding healthy, culturally relevant food access and community resilience.

CAUSE is proud to recognize APIFM with the Roots & Rising Award for their commitment to civic engagement, youth empowerment, and the well-being of San Gabriel Valley communities. As CAUSE looks ahead to deepening collaboration, we honor APIFM’s spirit of partnership, adaptability, and dedication to uplifting whole communities — planting strong roots while nurturing the leaders and movements that will rise to shape our future together.

This year's celebration features the exciting CLA Mock Campaign, a highlight of the 2025 CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) program. Interns create two competing campaigns for candidates in California Assembly District 49 (AD-49), gaining hands-on experience from advocating for key issues to running campaigns and building networks.

Hi, I’m Esther Lian!

I’ve called AD-49 home for the past 10 years, ever since immigrating to the San Gabriel Valley from Singapore at age 10. I’m currently interning at Assemblymember Mike Fong’s district office in Alhambra, where I’ve had the opportunity to serve the very community that shaped me.

I’ve worked extensively with my community, particularly AD-49’s Mandarin-speaking monolingual residents. At Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, I provided essential Mandarin-language support to tenants from Arcadia, El Monte, and surrounding cities who were facing eviction. These experiences of standing alongside underrepresented residents confronting systemic barriers have driven me to run for Assembly and represent our district in Sacramento.

As a journalist, my top priority in this campaign is to amplify the voices and address the concerns of my fellow AD-49 constituents — my neighbors, friends, and community members whom I care for deeply. 

Since beginning my CAUSE internship in June, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with a wide range of San Gabriel Valley residents: business owners, youth, parents, workers, and immigrants. One message has been clear: AD-49 constituents are seeking pathways to economic opportunity, financial stability, and meaningful employment. That’s why I’m focused on creating a centralized platform that connects low-income high school students with affordable college counseling, while also expanding funding for trade schools that serve at-risk youth and unemployed adults. I believe initiatives like these can help our community access the tools they need to truly thrive.

A vote for me is a vote for our community. Join me in uplifting the voices of AD-49!

AD-49, it’s time to get moving: Forward, together, and with purpose. Move with Mani.

I’m Imani Lee—a lifelong San Gabriel Valley resident, student-athlete, and community advocate—and I’m running to represent you. As the daughter of a Filipino-immigrant mother and African-American father, I’ve learned to bridge cultures through lived experience, preparing me to represent a diverse district like AD-49.

As a collegiate volleyball player at the University of Hawai‘i, I’ve honed the discipline, leadership, and teamwork skills that drive me to serve on and off the court. 

As a civic advocate, I am running to address the everyday needs of our community. Affordable housing. Working infrastructure. Accessible healthcare. I’ve listened to the community and learned what we need. It’s time for people-first policies and action-based leadership. 

Move With Mani is about showing up—step by step, hand in hand, side by side.