Washington, D.C. -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nation's oldest and largest Asian American civil and human rights organization, has announced that Shirley Tang is the latest JACL Daniel K. Inouye Fellow. She began her fellowship in April in the JACL's Washington, D.C. office. Much of her work will be focused in the area of health, and she will work with other Asian American organizations. The fellowship is named in honor of the Senior Senator from Hawaii and is funded by Eli Lilly.

Ms. Tang received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Davis (UC Davis), in September 2008. She had double majors in Communication and Sociology: Law and Society. She was on the Dean's Honor List, and she served as secretary of the UC Davis Phi Alpha Delta Pre-law Fraternity, Alpha Zeta Class. She was a participant in the UC Davis King Hall Pre-law Boot Camp Program.

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, she is the older of two daughters. Her parents are originally from China.� Growing up, she was enrolled in Chinese School which reinforced her interest in the Asian culture. During her undergraduate studies at UC Davis, she had the chance to take some Asian American Studies and Sociology classes, where she learned about the many struggles and inequities which minority populations have encountered and still face. That knowledge, coupled with her interest in social justice, prompted her to take action and to get involved with the UC Davis Violence Prevention Program, the Civil Rights Division with the Department of Justice, and now with the JACL.

She speaks three languages and is proficient with communications and computer skills. Her aspiration is to obtain a law degree and ultimately continue working in public service and in civil rights.