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.