WASHINGTON, January 17, 2009 – More than 450 guests, including Secretary of Energy-designate Steven Chu, Maya Soetoro-Ng, sister of President Barack obama, Congressman Mike Honda, and former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, attended Asia Society’s Presidential Inaugural Reception at the St. Regis in Washington, celebrating the role Asian Americans have played in the election and in US government.
Maya soetoro-Ng, Obama’s half-sister, shared her experience as an Asia Society volunteer in the mid-1990s and paid tribute to the organization for helping her find grounding as an “untethered” graduate student in New York City. “I think the Asia Society had done a wonderful job, not only in nurturing education, communication and cooperation but also in helping all of us recognize the great beauty across this country and this world,” she said.
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