Dear Judge Erica Yew (Ret.), Judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Drum Major Award recipient!
Governor Gray Davis appointed Yew, a San Jose native, to the Santa Clara County Superior Court on October 2, 2001. Yew is the first Asian-American female to serve on this bench.
Yew was unanimously appointed by the California Supreme Court to the Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions (CJEO) on May 1, 2019. She served on the California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP) from December 2010 to April 2019 and chaired the CJP for two and a half years. From 2009 to 2012, Yew was a member of the California Judicial Council, which is the policymaking body of the California Courts. She returned to the Judicial Council in 2023 to 2024 as a member in her role as President of CJA. Yew was appointed in July 2014 to the Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness (PAF) and served until September 2021. She has served on the California Access to Justice Commission (CATJC)since July 2014 and she co-founded and co-chairs the CATJC’s Racial Justice and Intersectionality Committee. Currently, Yew is a member of the board for the National Center for State Courts and chairs the Programs Committee. She is also the Immediate Past President of the California Judges Association (CJA), having served as only the sixth woman to lead the organization in 95 years. She co-chaired and co-founded the CJA Mindfulness and Wellness Committee and helped to create a website that is open for bench officers nationally to connect them with information to support professional wellness. She is also a co-chair of the California Judicial Mentor Program, a statewide judicial mentoring program jointly established by Governor Newsom, Judicial Appointment Secretary Luis Céspedes and the judiciary.
Yew has taught on a number of topics that include judicial ethics, working with self represented litigants, elimination of bias, language access, and collaborative courts. She has instructed through the California Judicial Education and Research program (CJER), Children and Family Futures, the Rutter Group, California Judges Association, the National Center for State Courts/Center for Judicial Ethics, the National Judicial College, and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals among other entities. She has served on CJER’s Curriculum Working Group for QE6, 7, and 8. Her scripts were adopted and presented in QE7 and QE8 programs.
As an attorney, Yew served as a District Three Representative on the California State Bar Board of Governors, now known as the California State Bar Board of Trustees. Yew is past President of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of the Silicon Valley. She has also served on the boards of the Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley, the Asian Law Alliance, the Legal Aid Society, the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services, and the SCCBA Board of Trustees. For that bar association, she co-chaired the Judiciary Committee and chaired theMinority Access Committee. In addition, Yew served on then Attorney General Lockyer’s Blue Ribbon Commission on SWAT Policies and Practices. She has also been on the board of Child Advocates of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and served on the county Advisory Commission for the Children’s Shelter. She was a Child Advocate for ten years and volunteered through the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to represent children in the dependency system. One of Yew’s advocate children is now a judge in Monroe County, New York, and is the first African American female jurist to serve on her court having been elected in November 2018. In 1994, Yew founded a monthly program for toddlers at the Agnews Family Living Center, a homeless shelter. As a volunteer and while practicing law, Yew coordinated this program for four years.
Yew received her undergraduate degree with honors from University of California at Berkeley in 1982 and her law degree from University of California College of Law, San Francisco, in 1985.
Dear Santa Clara County Black Firefighters,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Gene Young Award recipient!
Dear Coleetta McElroy, MPA,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Iola M. Williams Lifetime Achievement Award recipient!
Ms. Coleetta McElroy was most recently employed at San Jose State University for thirty-seven years in the capacity of Counselor, Assistant Director, Interim Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management and as the Director of the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office.
Ms. McElroy attended Bakersfield Junior College to attain her Associate of Arts Degree. From there, she attended California State University, Long Beach where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management. She later earned a master’s in public administration at San Jose State University.
She is the first in her family to graduate from college and has attempted to be a mentor to not only her family members but also to those who need support. During her time as a student, she received financial aid as a result of not being able to attend college without financial assistance.
As a result of her experience as a financial aid recipient, she remembers how overwhelming the process was for her and her mother to navigate. To that end, she has been determined to make certain that the process is understood by parents and students so they are aware of all the financial options available to fund their education. She makes the time to go into high schools to present on the financial aid process and provides assistance on the completion of the financial aid application.
She formerly served as the President of the San Jose State University Alumni Association and currently remains on the Alumni Board where she aims to increase the number of African American students who attend college. This is best attained by improving the recruitment efforts and graduation rates of our students. She received many awards and accolades during her years of work with students.
In this next chapter of her life, she will continue advocating to provide ongoing mentorship, resources, financial aid and scholarship support in eliminating financial barriers to college and university success in this everchanging higher education landscape. Coleetta is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Dear Larry Itilong Way Project,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Champion for Change Award recipient!
Dear Larry Itilong Way Project,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Champion for Change Award recipient!
Dear Marc Philpart, President & CEO of California Freedom Fund,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Facing the Challenge Award recipient!
Dear Jon Pedigo, Executive Director for PACT,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 46th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Spirit of Service for Outstanding Pastoral Service Award recipient!
Fr. Jon Pedigo, a Bay Area native, has been active in civic affairs and social justice causes for over 36 years in the Bay Area. Working with the interfaith community of Silicon Valley, labor, community organizers, and civil rights activists, Fr. Jon was named the Executive Director for PACT, People Acting In Community Together on March, 2025. In his previous position as the Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, he developed a methodology of trauma-informed community organizing for people living in chronic poverty, refugees, and immigrant families. Fr. Jon has been acknowledged as a social justice advocate for immigrants and social change by many local organizations and received commendations from various public officials. Fr. Jon Pedigo is a 2012 Rockwood Fellow for Immigrant Leaders in California and a Senior Fellow for the American Leadership Forum (ALF). He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from San Francisco State University, Master of Music from Indiana University, Bloomington, Master of Arts in Theology St Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley.
Weblinks
CLINIC
https://www.cliniclegal.org/stories/grupo-de-solidaridad-brings-community-together
AMERICA MAGAZINE
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/06/11/what-church-san-jose-doing-preparepost-covid-future
PUBLIC RADIO
https://www.kqed.org/news/12066314/as-immigration-enforcement-escalates-how-one-southbay-priest-is-pushing-back
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/socal-connected/how-california-went-from-anti-immigrationto-sanctuary-state
SOCIALS
FaceBook: @JonPedigo
LinkedIn: @JonPedigo
PACTsj.org
Dear Pastor Sean and Lorrianne Gardner,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the The Spirit of Service for Outstanding Pastoral Service Award recipient!
Dear Ruth Silver Taube,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the The Champion for Change Award recipient!
Ruth Silver Taube is the Supervising Attorney of the Employment Law Practice at the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center at Santa Clara University School of Law and an Adjunct Professor at the law school. She is Legal Services Co-Chair of the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, a delegate to the Santa Clara County’s Human Trafficking Commission, Coordinator of the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition, an Advisory Member to the Santa Clara County Hate Crimes Task Force, a founding member of the Bay Area Equal Pay Collaborative, and a member of the Santa Clara County Office of Labor Standards Enforcement’s Retail Food Advisory Council. Ms. Silver Taube is also the Supervising Attorney of the Santa Clara County Office of Labor Standards Legal Advice Line.
After law school, Ms. Silver Taube served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte, District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, as a Federal Mediator at the San Francisco District Office of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as a panel mediator at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and as a partner at the Law Office of Silver and Taube. Before law school, she was President of the International Association of Machinists Local 547 and Senior Field Representative for SEIU Local 535. She previously taught at Njala University in Sierra Leone with CUSO, the Canadian Peace Corps.
She received the Unsung Hero Award from the Santa Clara County Victim Support Network for her workers' rights and human trafficking work. She received the Pro Bono Service Award from the California State Bar, the Pro Bono Recognition Award from the Santa Clara County Bar Association, and the Frances Schreiberg Pro Bono Award from Worksafe. She was also awarded the Wonder Woman of the Year Award from the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women and the Office of Women’s Policy and was a co-recipient of the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award from Freedom Network, USA for her human trafficking work. She received the Promoting Justice Award from the Congress of American Islamic Relations, SF Bay Area (CAIR SFBA), an award from the National Day Laborers’ Association (NDLON) for her work, the Modern Day Abolitionist Award for Outstanding Policy and Legal Work from the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT), the Freedom Fighter Award from the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, the Trailblazer Award from the Filipino Bar Association of North America (FBANC), and the Legal Impact Award from the Asian Law Alliance (ALA).
Dear Senator Dave Cortese,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the The Drum Major Award recipient!
Throughout his career, Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley) has supported civil rights in many forms and succeeded in making a difference.
As a pro bono attorney, he worked with the local NAACP chapter and its members who needed representation on justice issues. As a Santa Clara County Supervisor he proposed that Juneteenth be a paid County holiday. As a result, Santa Clara County became the first County in the state of California to make it happen. As a state Senator, Dave Cortese has authored countless equity and justice pieces of legislation including religious wear protections for people booked into jail or prison and a bill aimed at reaching a population locked into extreme sentences from decades ago that are inconsistent with our present-day sentencing practices.
When he successfully proposed making Juneteenth a County holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, Cortese said “This idea was born out of dialogue between social justice and civil rights leaders here in Santa Clara County, precipitated, in part, by protests and demonstrations demanding justice for George Floyd across the nation. As we continue to confront social, economic, and racial inequality and remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing justice for everyone, recognizing Juneteenth brings us one step closer toward true equity and representation.”
As a County Supervisor, Senator Cortese also helped inspire the Carry the Vision Community Nonviolence Conference. He hosted Yolanda King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, the late Civil Rights Leader, as a keynote speaker.
Senator Dave Cortese represents District 15 encompassing much of Santa Clara County including Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Along with his accomplished career as an attorney and business owner, the Senator previously served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, the San Jose City Council, and the East Side Union High School District Board. His business involvement includes his early agricultural role as principal in his family farm (wholesale and retail fruit and produce), cattle ranch and other organizations, all of which are thriving businesses today.
Dear Ocie and Mattie Tinsley,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the The Iola M. Williams Lifetime Achievement Award recipient!
Dear Lennies M. Gutierrez,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the Facing the Challenge Award recipient!
Lennies was raised in small rural town in Northern California where Spanish was her first language. She loves engaging in the community, being at the forefront of creating public policy and helping develop tomorrow’s future leaders. Currently she is the Director of Government Affairs for Comcast for the South Bay and Southern Peninsula areas and previously worked at the California State Capitol. She is also a co-facilitator and instructor for the Latino Leadership Alliance Academy.
She has participated in several leadership development programs and is an American Leadership Forum/Silicon Valley Senior Fellow.
She is an active board member of Chamber San Mateo County, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, the Pal Center, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) and at Comcast she is board member of the National Unidos Advisory Council.
She is a graduate of the University of California at Davis and the Lorenzo Patiño Law School of Sacramento. Lennies is married with two children and enjoys spending time with her family, running outdoors and volunteering in the community.
Dear Valerie Coleman Morris,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the The Iola M. Williams Lifetime Achievement Award recipient!
Valerie Coleman Morris is considered a Bay Area native when it comes to television news. She began her career in the early 70s in San Francisco at KRON-TV as a reporter and then KGO-TV as a long time anchor. She was part of the Van Amburg/Jerry Jensen/Pete Giddings news team that branded "happy talk" as a news genre.
Valerie received an Honorary Doctorate of Doctorate of Humane Letters at San Jose State University on May 26, 2021.
Morris is a former CNN domestic and international business anchor, three-time Emmy Award winner, part of the KCBS Radio Peabody Award winning team coverage of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and creator of the long running radio column “With the Family in Mind”, which aired nationally on CBS Network Radio.
During her years at CNN, Valerie’s daily reports were seen by more than 290 million households, businesses and airport networks.
Morris views and promotes financial intelligence as an aspect of business and social economics. Her "mind over money matters" approach gives the thought process and mindset for a financial behavioral change by way of this question: “Do you control your money, or does your money control you?”
Her book “IT’S YOUR MONEY SO TAKE IT PERSONALLY ®” provides doable, incremental ways for individuals and families to create, practice and commit to being producers of wealth rather than consumers of debt.
A former professor in the School of Communications & Media Technologies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Valerie is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and a trustee for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Dear BeAfro,
On behalf of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) and the 45th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon committee, I’d like to congratulate you on being selected as the The Gene Young Award recipient!
