Asian American Pacific Islander Month: Diverse Perspectives and Lasting Impressions
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
- Location: New York County Dental Society Headquarters
- Address: 622 Third Ave, 9th Fl , New York, NY
Celebrate AAPI Month with NYDSA and NYCDS! Join us for a special program featuring distinguished speakers and professionals from diverse fields. Explore AAPI contributions, enjoy refreshments, and network. Don't miss out!
Panelists:
Kevin D. Kim is the Commissioner for the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), a dynamic City agency focused on equity of opportunity leading to economic self-sufficiency and mobility for New York City's diverse communities. Among the initiatives SBS successfully launched: 1) largest public-private partnership loan fund in NYC directed to small businesses ($75M); 2) Cannabis NYC to outreach and educate New Yorkers on the opportunities connected to this newly-legalized market; 3) Small Business Forward - recommending more than 100 reforms to violations that overly-burdened small businesses, saving small businesses millions of dollars annually; and 4) Small Business Advisory Commission to give actual small business owners a seat at the table when important policy decisions are being made. Commissioner Kim is an attorney, entrepreneur, and public servant. As a son of immigrant small business owners, and a former co-founder/operator of several small businesses, he understands first-hand the various challenges small businesses face.
In public service, Commissioner Kim served as the first Asian American commissioner of the New York State Liquor Authority. For more than a decade, he has been a recognized community leader serving on the boards of various non-profit organizations, including the CUNY Board of Trustees, President (Biden)'s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, and American Red Cross (Queens). He is also a certified community mediator through his participation in the Black Korean Mediation Project. Commissioner Kim is a proud product of the NYC public school system, having attended K-12 in Queens (graduating from Townsend Harris High School at Queens College). He received his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a member of the Columbia Law Review.
Ace Watanasuparp is a partner of Cliffco Mortgage Bankers. Prior to this he was the National Director of Strategic Sales at Citizens Bank Home Mortgage Division; a top-performing bank. Ace joined Citizens Bank 6 years ago and has since broken-down barriers by expanding into new markets and capturing unprecedented market share. His esteemed reputation in the finance and real estate industry has allowed him to attract talented top producing Loan Officers in the NY, NJ, and Connecticut areas. Prior to joining Citizens Bank, Ace took on the role of President of Douglas Elliman’s lending arm with Dottie Herman and Howard Lorber, formerly known as DE Capital, where he oversaw multiple states, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
A native New Yorker of Thai and Taiwanese ancestry, Watanasuparp became the first Asian-American in the University of Connecticut’s history to “walk on” to the prestigious men’s basketball team; he then went onto NYU Law School. Ace has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Brick Underground, Real Estate Weekly, NY Real Estate Journal, and the Mann Report as an expert in Residential Lending.
In addition to his financial career, Mr. Watanasuparp is also the Founder of Chase Restaurant Group, a full-service marketing, branding and design group for the restaurant industry. He now owns nine successful locations of his tasty eateries, Spot Dessert Bar, Obao, Gai Chicken and Rice, Fish Cheeks and Sunday in Brooklyn are some of the concepts under his ownership.
Dr. Minerva Patel graduated from NYU College of Dentistry in 1999. She completed a Post Graduate Residency Program in Pediatric Dentistry from Lutheran Medical Center in 2001. She has been in private practice at Westchester Pediatric Dentistry, PC since 2001. Dr. Pater was the President of 9th District Dental Society in 2019. She has held numerous council positions at her local 9th district, NYSDA as well as being the NYSDA representative to the Council of Communications of the ADA. She is the founder of the nonprofit organization Smiles Team INC, which provides dental care, food, and eventually educational help to orphans of the Santo Domingo area in the Dominican Republic. 100% of the donations go to the children.
