THE RUBY TABLE DINNER
Our Honoree, Lisa Ling
Award-winning journalist, Lisa Ling, executive produced and hosted CNN’s “This is Life” for 9 seasons and in 2021, executive produced and hosted “Take Out,” an exploration of Asian American history through the lens of delicious Asian food. Prior to moving to CNN, Lisa executive produced and hosted “Our America” on OWN, was the field correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and a contributor to ABC News’ “Nightline,” where she reported from dozens of countries covering stories about human rights and issues that are too often ignored. She was also the first female host of National Geographic’s flagship show “Explorer” and co-host of ABC Daytime’s hit show, “The View,” which won its first Emmy during her tenure. Lisa’s the co-author of Mother, Sister. Daughter, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood and Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and The Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home that she penned with her sister Laura. In 2014, President Obama appointed Lisa to the Commission on White House Fellows.
Our Honoree, Daniel Wu
DANIEL WU is an American actor, director and producer, and most recently, an activist. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in architecture, he moved to Hong Kong in 1997 to witness the transfer of the territory’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China. While there, he was scouted into acting in a commercial and then, remarkably, by another to star in a feature film. Wu fell in love with acting and landed his very first professional roles in 1998 in a trio of Chinese-language features, most notably in “City of Glass” (Boli zhi cheng), for which he earned the first of four Hong Kong Film Award nominations, as Best New Performer.
Since the auspicious 1998 movie debut, Wu has been featured in over sixty films, with his breakout role in Benny Chan’s “Gen-X Cops” (1999). He received two more Hong Kong Film Award nominations in 2005, for Best Actor in “One Night in Mongkok” (Wong gok hak yau) and Best Supporting Actor (alongside boyhood idol Chan) in “New Police Story” (San ging caat goo si), a role that also brought him Taiwan’s Golden Horse Award as Best Supporting Actor. He won the prestigious Hong Kong prize as Best Director for his 2006 feature, “The Heavenly Kings” (Sei dai tinwong).
In addition to his work in front of the camera and as a director, Wu has produced several projects, including “Night Corridor,” “Like A Dream,” “The Heavenly Kings,” “Tai Chi Zero” and “Control.”
Next up, Wu can be seen in “American Born Chinese” for Disney +. Most recently, Wu starred in the box office hit “Caught in Time” (2020) and can next be seen in Lisa Joy’s feature directorial debut, romantic sci-fi noir thriller “Reminiscence” (2021).
Our Host, Jeannie Mai Jenkins
Jeannie Mai Jenkins is an Emmy Award-winner and host of America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation on Amazon Freevee. In addition, she can be seen as a sideline correspondent for ABC’s extreme mini-golf competition series “Holey Moley.” Previously, Mai Jenkins co-hosted the nationally syndicated talk show “The Real” for eight seasons. In May 2021, Mai was included in the Gold House A100 list, recognizing the most impactful leaders in the Asian community, and in 2020 she competed on season 29 of the hit ABC series “Dancing with the Stars.” Mai and her fellow “The Real” co-hosts received multiple accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, multiple Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Talk Series, and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Talk Series.
In 2019, Mai launched her weekly web series, “Hello Hunnay,” which takes fans on her journey through fashion, fitness, food, finances and relationships. As a self-described foodie, she enjoys the art of cooking and often showcases cultural cuisines with her family across her social platforms. Mai also hosts the podcast “Listen Hunnay,” where she interviews everyone from sex therapists to divorce lawyers and morticians to crime scene investigators in an effort to understand the journeys at the heart of the human being behind the career. Mai partnered with Owl’s Brew, a leader in tea-based spiked and sparkling beverages, as chief brand officer, assisting with new product innovations and overall brand strategy. In addition, Mai recently launched her first fashion collection in collaboration with Macy’s, Jeannie Mai x INC.
In 2017, Mai executive produced “Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Trafficking,” a documentary that investigates the international crisis of human sex trafficking from a deeply personal point of view. The follow up, “Stopping Traffic 2: Surviving Sex Trafficking,” is now available on demand.
Chefs
Chef Bryant Ng (Cassia)
Chef Niki Nakayama (N/Naka)
Chef Carole Iida-Nakayama (N/Naka)
Chef Bugra Arkin (Dolan’s Uyghur Cuisine)
Chef Jenee Kim (Park's BBQ)
Chef Shirley Chung (Ms. Chi)
Musical Performers
The Filharmonic, an LA-based a cappella group of Filipino-Americans who were featured in NBC’s hit musical competition, The Sing-Off, has much to sing about. After the show the 5-piece vocal group kept the momentum rolling with countless national and international shows, they were featured in the Universal Pictures hit movie, Pitch Perfect 2, and set off a viral sensation with their Late Late Show appearances. They have performed with artists like John Legend, Shawn Mendes, and many more. The Filharmonic brings their unique blend of hip hop, pop, and R&B to stages everywhere and can be found on YouTube and all music streaming platforms. You can also check them out on social media @thefilharmonic. They consist of vocalists Vj Rosales, Joe Caigoy, Trace Gaynor, Vocal Bass Jules Cruz, And Beat Boxer Niko Del Rey.
Ambassadors of Justice
YOSON AN
Actor
BAO NGUYEN
Filmmaker
Rosalind Chao
Actress
VIET THANH NGUYEN
Author & University Professor
DAWN LYEN GARDNER
Actress
Brandon Tsay
Heroic man who disarmed the gunman at the Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra
Krista Kleiner
Philanthropist
40Forward Year-Round Sponsors
RUBY
FLAME
LIBATIONS SPONSORS
LA Chef's Ruby Table
LA CHEFS’ RUBY TABLE is an invitation-only fundraiser benefitting AJSOCAL at the acclaimed Cassia restaurant in Santa Monica, CA. The event celebrates leadership and inspirational work in promoting the richness and complexity of API communities, while featuring the cuisine of some of Los Angeles’ most celebrated and award-winning API chefs.
AJSOCAL is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and the LA CHEFS RUBY TABLE is one of the organization’s most prominent events.
The event is a partnership with LA Chefs For Human Rights, a fundraising platform founded by Cassia’s Co-Owners Kim Luu-Ng and Chef Bryant Ng, that benefits and increases awareness of local human rights causes that directly affect the Los Angeles community.
