"As a Christian and a professional social worker, I have committed my life to helping those in need and strengthening our communities."

Bill Yoshiyuki Watanabe founded the Little Tokyo Service Center in 1979, a Community Development Corporation (LTSC CDC). His compassion and loyalty to meeting the needs of the community has been at the heart of the nonprofit organization.

"To seek justice for the mistreated, create a stronger voice for disenfranchised Asian Americans and others, and build a united, multi-racial community - that is my passion."

In 1983, Stewart Kwoh set out to create a nonprofit organization that served as the voice of the exploited and discriminated for Los Angeles' Asian Pacific American community. What developed was the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) - the largest and most diverse legal assistance and civil rights organization representing the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities in the United States. Mr. Kwoh is co-founder, president and executive director of APALC.