Washington –The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center has appointed Zenobia Lai, who has two decades of legal services experience, as its new executive director effective May 2. APALRC (www.apalrc.org) advances the legal and civil rights of Asian Americans in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region through direct legal services and referrals, education and advocacy.

Ms. Lai will build on APALRC’s current programs and strengthen collaborative efforts with key local community organizations. She will work with public and private program and funding partners.

“Zenobia has devoted her career to advancing the legal and civil rights of Asian Americans, and her skills and experiences in legal services, advocacy, and fundraising make her the ideal leader for APALRC as we move forward,” said Curtis Lu, Chair of the APALRC Board of Directors.

Ms. Laid said she was honored and excited to be a part of an organization “that is dedicated to ensuring access to justice for the Asian Pacific Americans in the region.”

Ms. Lai comes to APALRC with As Managing Attorney at the Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) she directed the Asian Outreach Unit.

GBLS provides linguistically and culturally appropriate legal services to low-income, limited-English proficient Asian Americans. It developed a national model for connecting student resources to maximize legal assistance available to immigrant communities.

Ms. Lai also served as executive director at the Asian Law Caucus, a civil rights legal organization that provides civil rights advocacy and civil legal services to the Bay Area Asian American community.

Ms. Lai served as the president of the Board of the Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund, and supported innovative efforts and projects that provided much needed legal assistance to emerging needs of the growing Asian immigrant communities.

She was honored as “Community's Unsung Heroine of 2007” by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and awarded the “Community Service Award” by the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts. She holds a J.D. from University of Minnesota Law School and a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.