Silver Spring, Maryland–Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) honored Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett with the “Washington LEADer Award” at its 12th Annual Dinner, held on March 23 at the Silver Spring Civic Building.

AALEAD Executive Director Rick Chen said the award “is in recognition of County Executive Legget’s support of our organization’s work in the county.”

Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch, the first Asian American in U.S. history to hold the rank of ambassador, was the keynote speaker. Bloch is the president and founder of US-China Education Trust (USCET).

The program also highlighted the personal success stories of AALEAD students. VIP guests included Washington’s top business and government leaders who are all committed to serving the needs of Asian American youth.

The evening’s emcee was Kathy Park, anchor/reporter of ABC7/WJLA TV and NewsChannel 8. Performers included comedian Dan Nainan (www.danielnainan.com)

AALEAD (www.aalead.org) promotes the well-being of Asian American youth through education, leadership, and community building. It offers specialized after-school programs, one-on-one mentoring, academic support services and life-skill development for students. It also assists parents with school-related issues affecting their children. AALEAD programs currently serve over 300 students, representing more than 11 different Asian ethnicities, in the District and Maryland.