What's Happening
The Executive Board met on December 12. The board discussed a position letter to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, plans for the upcoming summer fellowship, and continued planning for upcoming events in 2017.
In the past month, you may have seen MNAPABA at these events:
Member Spotlight
Each month, we are highlighting one of our members. This is part of an ongoing effort to help MNAPABA members get-to-know one another. Read below about...
 Reynaldo (“Reggie”) Aligada
Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota
Q: What is Reggie's practice?
A: Reggie is an attorney in the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota, located at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. He has worked there for the last ten years, representing in federal court those individuals who cannot afford a lawyer. Most of Reggie’s work involves trial practice, trying cases involving drugs, firearms, immigration, and child pornography. Most recently, Reggie represented Danny Heinrich, who confessed to the murder of Jacob Wetterling.
Q: What does he enjoy about his work?
A: Reggie finds it rewarding to work with individuals and help them in the worst situation of their lives.
Q: What other experiences does Reggie have?
A: Reggie was a law clerk to Judge Wilhelmina Wright and Judge Michael Davis, and then worked for two years as an associate at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (now Robins Kaplan).
Q: What keeps Reggie busy outside of work?
A: Reggie is married and the father of two girls ages 3 and 5. He enjoys spending as much time with them as possible.
Q: What does he think about MNAPABA?
A: For Reggie, MNAPABA is a professional organization that meets his social needs as well as professional goals. It “feels like home.”
(Special thanks to Melitta Dreschler for preparing this month's Member Spotlight.)
Terry Louie Retires
Terry Louie is one of the founding members of MNAPABA. We join in congratulating him on his retirement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and we also celebrate his distinguished career in public service.
Join the MNAPABA Fellowship Committee
 MNAPABA seeks volunteers for our Fellowship Committee. Volunteers will work with president-elect Melitta Dreschler to promote the MNAPABA Summer Law Fellowship and help with the selection process. The fellowship is awarded to a law student or recent law graduate who will serve the Minnesota Asian Pacific American community through public service at a summer internship. Please contact Melitta Drechsler to learn more and help out! (melitta.drechsler@co.ramsey.mn.us)
API Day at the Capitol
The Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, a MN state agency, invites you to join them at this year’s “API Day at the Capitol” on Wednesday, February 8th, 2017, from 10:00-11:30 a.m.
The Council aims to send a clear message to our policy makers that the Asian Pacific Islander (API) communities have come of age, and that we are ready to assist them in their ongoing endeavor to create public policies that are equitable and broadly impactful.
To attend this year’s API Day at the Capitol is as successful as possible, please register at: EventBrite Registration Link.
FBA Diversity Committee - Happy Hour
The Diversity Committee of Minnesota's Federal Bar Association is hosting its third annual meet & greet for diverse members of the Minnesota legal community at Rare Steak & Sushi on Thursday, January 19 at 5:30 p.m. (link)
Dim Sum? Yes, please.
Join MNAPABA for Dim Sum to celebrate the Lunar New Year on Saturday, January 28. Arrive 5 mins before Mandarin Kitchen opens at 9:25 am and we will try to get seated together with whoever is there. Please expect to pay your own way for this event. (rsvp)
Mingle with MNAPABA.
The first MNAPABA mingle of 2017 will happen at The Newsroom on Thursday, January 26. See you at 5:30 p.m. (rsvp)
Save the Date, Annual Winter Retreat (Feb.)
---
Share Member Professional/Personal News
in next month's newsletter (here)
By Friday, February 3, 2017.
|
.png){kind=spacer}