National Convening Program Books 2014 YEO National Convening Program Book | Page 33

SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2014 33 Eugene Lee Thomas A. Saenz MALDEF Thomas A. Saenz is the president and general counsel of MALDEF, where he leads the civil rights organization’s five offices in pursuing litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to promote the civil rights of Latinos living in the United States. Saenz re-joined MALDEF in August 2009, after spending four years on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s executive team as counsel to the mayor. He previously spent 12 years at MALDEF practicing civil rights law as a staff attorney, regional counsel, and vice president of litigation. He served as MALDEF’s lead counsel in successfully challenging California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187. Saenz graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, and he clerked for two federal judges before initially joining MALDEF in 1993. 10:55 AM – 11:40 AM Expanding Democracy Breakout Series YEOs should divide by level of office to discuss the priority issues from this session, and to create the annual YEO agenda for this Policy Council. • State Level (Malibu & Santa Monica Rooms) • Local Level (Promenade Room) • Local Level (Palisades Room) • School Board (Catalina Room) 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Closing Lunch Plenary California Room Stay connected: Keep the #YEOmentum going with @YEONetwork DETAILED AGENDA Asian Americans Advancing Justice Eugene Lee is the democracy project director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles. Formerly the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Advancing Justice-LA is the leading organization in Southern California that provides the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community with multilingual and culturally sensitive legal services, education, and civil rights support. Lee handles voter protection, Voting Rights Act compliance, and ballot access policy. He was part of the Advancing Justice-LA team that successfully strengthened the voice of AANHPI communities in the 2011 California redistricting process. He recently helped secure passage of AB 817 in the California legislature, which promotes bilingual poll worker availability and advances immigrant integration by allowing lawful permanent residents to serve as poll workers in elections. In 2010, he was selected as one of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s best lawyers under 40. Lee is a graduate of Duke University and Columbia Law School.