2021 Heart of the Community Dim Sum Breakfast - Virtual Event

Friday, June 11, 2021
10:00 AM 11:00 AM 10:00 11:00

Google Calendar ICS

Liz Cheng, GBH General Manager of Television accepting our Neil Y. Chin Community Service Award at the 2020 event.

HEART OF THE COMMUNITY DIM SUM BREAKFAST

Friday, June 11, 2021
10:00 AM EDT
Virtual Event

Thank you to all of our donors, partners and supporters for joining us at this year’s Dim Sum Breakfast! While this year’s event was virtual, we hope to celebrate with you all in person next year.

Please enjoy some photos of the event below. A recording of the event will be posted soon!

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Download the Program Book

More details to come. Check back later for updates!

Inspiration Award HonoreeCity of Malden — Inspiration Award
City of Malden

PANEL SPEAKERS

Panel SpeakerA.J. Kumar — Panel Speaker
A.J. Kumar

Panel SpeakerZayda Ortiz — Panel Speaker
Zayda Ortiz

Panel SpeakerAndrea So — Panel Speaker
Andrea So

A.J. Kumar (he/him) Co-founder & Organizer, Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors; Director of Carbon Experimentation, Indigo Ag; Board Member, The Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard and MIT

A.J. Kumar is the Director of Carbon Experimentation at Indigo Ag where he leads the design of large-scale field trials to study regenerative agricultural systems potential for sequestering carbon in soil and leads technology exploration to identify ground-breaking technologies to enable carbon markets to scale faster.

Prior to Indigo, A.J. was the Chief Scientific Officer at Jana Care where he led the development of multiple low-cost, point-of-care rapid blood tests for chronic diseases. He has a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University, has authored over 20 publications, and is inventor on 10 patents and patent applications.

On March 14, 2020, A.J. joined several local residents to help form Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a mutual aid group in Malden, MA to support the community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group has worked with other organizations and community volunteers to provide food and supply deliveries, sew and distribute masks and sanitizer, distribute computers to students, prevent evictions, provide comfort calls, and assist with equitable vaccine access.

Zayda Ortiz (she/ella), Co-leader, Mystic Valley Progressives - Massachusetts Chapter; Founding Member, Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Zayda Ortiz is the co-leader of Mystic Valley Progressives- chapter of Progressive Mass. Founding member of Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors and an active member of Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the child of Mexican Immigrants, she learned the value of public service and helping others within their community and diverse neighborhood. Zayda has carried those lessons throughout her life and harnessed them into her advocacy work in Malden and across the state.

She is a passionate advocate for immigrant rights and increasing representation of people of color in all aspects of our government and society. Organizing and creating partnerships within the Mystic Valley is critical work to create a more just, inclusive society and a more engaged population within our region and beyond.

Andrea So (she/her), Assistant Principal at Richard J. Murphy K-8 School; Co-founder & Board President of the Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition

Andrea So has been a public school educator since 2008. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ms. So immigrated to the Greater Boston area when she was in high school. She attended Northeastern University for her B.S. in Mathematics and Music, and her Master's degree in Secondary Mathematics Education. In 2015, Ms. So received her second Master's degree in School Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ms. So has served as a high school and middle school Math teacher, Teacher Leader, Instructional Coach in Boston Public Schools, and most recently Assistant Principal at Edwards Middle School. She brings with her the expertise in Restorative Practices, Interdisciplinary Project Based Learning, working with students with special needs, and coaching teacher teams.

Additionally, Ms. So is one of few certified Kung Fu instructors in the country. She has won numerous national and international titles in Kung Fu and Tai Chi. She coaches an award-winning performance and competition team of students in Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Lion Dance, and Dragon Dance. Ms. So also identifies as a community activist. She is involved with many local grassroots organizations and organizing committees, and is the co-founder and current Board President of the Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition.