Tribute and Remembrance: Asian Americans After 9/11

Presented By: Margaret M. Chin

Margaret M. Chin joined the Sociology Department at Hunter College/CUNY in September 2001, and is the author of Sewing Women: Immigrants and the New York City Garment Industry (Columbia University Press, 2005).

Professor Chin’s research interests focus on new immigrants, working poor families, race and ethnicity, and Asian Americans. Her current research projects include a book manuscript on how Asian ethnic media is used by first and second generation Asians and Asian Americans; a comparative chapter on differences and similarities among Brooklyn’s Chinatown, Flushing’s Asiantown and Manhattan’s Chinatown; and a paper how young student parents balance parenting and school.

Professor Chin was a Social Science Research Council Post Doctoral Fellow in International Migration, a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Junior Faculty Career Grant Recipient and a Gender Equity Project Associate. She has taught The Sociology of the Family, The Second Generation Experience of Asians, Latinos and Blacks, the Graduate Social Research course in qualitative research methods, and a CUNY Honors College Seminar – The Peopling of New York.

Professor Chin received her BA in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University and her MA and PhD in Sociology from Columbia University.

Presented By: Mohammad Razvi

Mohammad Razvi is the Executive Director and Founder of Council of Peoples Organization (COPO). He was born Pakistan and emigrated with his parents to the United States when he was six years old. Following the attacks of September 11th, Mohammad founded COPO to help Arabs, South Asians and Muslims in New York City with the backlash they were experiencing. Today, COPO continues to support, empower, and educate these communities and help them strengthen bonds with their larger multi-cultural city and beyond.

Presented By: Shazia Khan

Shazia Khan is a General Assignment Reporter for NY1 News. Shazia has covered everything from the September 11th attack and its aftermath, to arts and entertainment issues, to cultural and lifestyle stories.

Having reported and produced a variety of segments, Shazia’s favorites include those celebrating the city's cultural and religious diversity. In 2005, she served as mistress of ceremonies at Gracie Mansion to help launch Immigrant History Week with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A second generation Indian-American, the Westchester County native graduated from New York University with a BA in Broadcast Journalism. In 2006 she won a South Asian Journalists award for her profile of the Bangladeshi community in New York City.

She credits her accomplishments to the support of her parents, Rasheed and Shamsa Khan.

Presented By: Wellington Chen

Wellington Chen is Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation.

Wellington is a highly respected public servant and long-time community advocate, urban planner and urban affairs specialist. As senior consultant/advisor of the Planning Advocacy Group for the past decade, Mr. Chen--a long-time Flushing resident--has been deeply involved in numerous community projects, including the downtown Flushing revitalization plan. Wellington was also the first Asian American to serve as a Commissioner on the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals. Mr. Chen co-founded Tri Plus Construction Corporation in 1989, a company dedicated to creating affordable housing in New York City.

An architect by training, Wellington worked for renowned architect I.M. Pei from 1980 to 1985. He has been a member of Community Board 7Q for over 13 years, and currently sits on a dozen other boards, including the City University of New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Queens Economic Development Corporation, and Asian American / Asian Research Institute.

Wellington was born in Taiwan and grew up in Singapore, Hong Kong and Brazil.