Elizabeth Duong
Vice President & General Counsel, Business & Staffing Solutions
ActOne Group
Dear ACC Southern California Members, Sponsors and Friends,
I hope that you had a fantastic summer and are looking forward to the remainder of 2024!
Reflecting on this year, our 33 Sponsors, together with the Board of Directors and Committee volunteers, continued to offer a wealth of avenues for our members, Sponsors, and friends to serve individuals and groups, including, but not limited to, conservators, families of adoptees, human trafficking survivors, and Special Olympians, and champion worthy causes, such as anti-harassment, anti-poverty initiatives, and a clean environment.
Our amazing, extended ACC Southern California family also put on fabulous events to sharpen legal knowledge through CLEs and the sharing of legal experiences at vibrant venues. We continued to innovate by offering fun, relaxing, or meaningful pursuits (e.g., Tai Chi, gratitude journaling, book club, learning about renewable farming, Shakespeare in the Park, hiking, yoga, painting, golf, pickleball, winetasting, sound bath) and by hosting events to help ACC members learn more about the current in-house legal job market, the AI revolution, participating in a multigenerational workforce, and navigating U.S. and international business dealings.
Another highlight of this year was our 27th Annual Gala Dinner and Pro Bono Auction. Thank you to our Gala Chair, Ross Greenman; our Gala Co-Chairs, Njeri Mutura and Wade Pyun; the entire Gala Committee; and many other individuals who worked tirelessly to make the evening a success. Our keynote speaker, Bill Maher, presented a view that general political differences between individuals should not interfere with their building and maintaining a relationship – that there should be areas of common ground. The 2024 Diversity Counsel of the Year Awardee was Heather Anderson, Vice President, Original Content and Business Affairs at ESPN. The 2024 Pro Bono Counsel of the Year Awardee was Don Liu, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Target. The gala also raised over $45,000 for Public Counsel.
My outgoing President’s message would not be complete without my personal tribute to Betty St. Marie, Executive Director, who will retire later this year. Betty has been the soul of ACC Southern California since at least my early days as in-house counsel in 2008. I remember shyly walking into ACC event rooms, not really knowing anyone. She would often talk to me to make sure I was comfortable. ACC Southern California eventually adopted me into their family and Betty has been the mainstay of that family. Through the years, I have witnessed how Betty creates an inviting atmosphere for newcomers and longstanding members like me, as well as Sponsors and friends. Betty is also the consummate professional – she juggles everything from organizing Board and Committee meetings to planning and working events, as well as doing a great deal of the administrative work that goes into running this 1600+ membership organization. Betty is incomparable and leaves a remarkable legacy. I wish for Betty to have a joyous and long retirement.
On October 1st, Ellen Yang, Chief of Staff & Legal Counsel, Cruise, will take the helm as President. Ellen has served our Chapter in a variety of capacities, including Vice President of Programs, Vice President of Services, Treasurer, and Chair of numerous committees. Ellen has been an exceptional right hand person from day one. I am confident that Ellen will lead the Chapter in exciting ways.
While I will stay on the Executive Committee as Immediate Past President, Ellen will also be supported by:
- Vice President of Programs and President-Elect – Rhea Ricard, Managing Director & Managing Counsel, The Bank of New York Mellon;
- Vice President of Services – Ako Shimada, Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Ushio America, Inc.;
- Treasurer – Wade Pyun, Chief Legal Officer, Altura Credit Union; and,
- Secretary – Jennifer Bryant, SVP, General Counsel, ConcertoCare.
Please join us in congratulating and welcoming our 2024-25 class of new Directors: Valerie Bono, Senior Counsel, IM Global Films; Ana Christian, Senior Counsel Specialist, Assistant General Counsel for R&D, Genentech, Inc.; Amber Enriquez, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, & Head of Sustainability, ECOS; Cristina Hwang, Associate General Counsel, Hanmi Bank; Mark Karpe, Assistant Vice President & Managing Assistant General Counsel, Pacific Life Insurance Company; Peter Steckelman, Senior Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, The Tennis Channel, LLC; and Erik Valderhaug, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Everest Properties. We look forward to working with this fantastic group!
I want to give a special thank you to our current Executive Committee and Board of Directors for their profound contributions this year. Working with legal peers to develop exciting programming is the cornerstone of building a welcoming, extended in-house legal community. Thank you again!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Duong
Immediate Past President, ACC Southern California, 2024-25
