History, Affordable Housing, Advocacy in Chicago's AAPI Community
Join us in person to dive into the rich history and ongoing advocacy efforts surrounding housing issues in Chicago's AAPI community. This is a great chance to connect, learn, and be part of the conversation. Did we mention it is also Affordable Housing Month. Don't miss out on this engaging and informative event!
This is event is a part of the Cook County Assessor's ongoing Racial Equity and Real Estate Conversations series that brings together panel discussions with historians, industry leaders, educators, and authors who are knowledgeable about housing, real estate, and racial equity.
What to expect?
Attendees will have an opportunity to mingle, listen to a panel discussion, and participate in a live demo on how to play mahjong.
Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar Chicago, IL
Moderator:
Assessor Fritz Kaegi
Panelists:
Alderwoman Nicole Lee
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Alderwoman Nicole Lee is the first Asian American woman and Chinese American to serve on Chicago's City Council. She joined the City Council in 2022 first as an appointee, and then won re-election in 2023. She is Vice Chair of the Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and is a member of the Committee on Aviation, Committees and Rules, Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development, Committee on Education and Child Development, the Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Police and Fire. In 2024, Alderwoman Lee was unanimously elected to chair the Women's Caucus of the City Council of Chicago.
Tommy Choi
Tommy is the co-founder of the top-producing Weinberg Choi Residential team. Since launching the team with Josh Weinberg in 2007, Tommy has helped oversee more than 2,000 sales and $1 billion in sales volume. Under his leadership, the team consistently ranks among the top 10 in Chicago and is recognized by the Chicago Association of REALTOR® as being in the top 1% of producers. In 2017, Tommy and Josh launched their own Keller Williams brokerage. With over 500 agents, KW1C is a top-five brokerage in the city of Chicago. Throughout his career, Tommy has served in influential leadership roles at every level of the REALTOR® organization. He served as the Vice President of Association Affairs for the National Association of REALTORS® in 2021. Tommy made history as the first Korean American President of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and the first Asian American President of Illinois REALTORS®. Tommy's dedication to excellence has earned him numerous accolades. In 2020, he was named REALTOR® of the Year by the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and was recognized in Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40.
Kashyap Trivedi
Mr. Kashyap V. Trivedi is a partner at Trivedi & Khan, PC. He represents a plethora of clientele from first time homebuyers, seasoned investors, international investors, new entrepreneurs, and established business owners. His expertise lies in negotiating and completing transactions in the following areas: Hotel/Motel, Gas Stations, Manufacturing, Retail, Retail Fast Food, IT/Telecom, Farming as well as other transactional matters.
In addition to his successful legal practice, Mr. Trivedi has served as the President of the Chicago Chapter for the Asian Real Estate Association of America and serves on AREAA’s national Board of Directors. He has been instrumental in increasing the organization’s visibility, and establishing stronger ties with policymakers at the local, state, and national levels. His tenure also saw an increase in general public awareness of the buying power of the Asian American community, through the provision of resources on capital sourcing, lending, and cultural norms when transacting with the AANHPI community.
Grace Chan Mckibben
Grace Chan McKibben is Executive Director of Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), a policy advocacy and community planning organization working in Chicago’s Chinatown and surrounding communities. Grace has held senior level positions in higher education, government, financial services, consulting, social services, and public policy organizations. In these roles, she created numerous programs that brought communities together and amplified the voices and influence of marginalized communities. She currently co-chairs the City of Chicago’s AAPI Engagement Council, and also serves on half a dozen other boards and commissions.
Special Guest: Cleo Aquino
Cleo Aquino is a Co-Founder of Mahjong Chicago LLC, where she leads culturally driven, instructor-led Mahjong experiences designed for corporate team building, client engagement, and community events.
She is Co-Founder of SPIRE Real Estate Education Inc., an Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation approved provider focused on pre-licensing and continuing education for individuals seeking a real estate license and maintaining their realtor license.
Cleo serves as the Global Council Real Estate Council Chair for the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and is the Immediate Past President of the Asian Real Estate Association of America Greater Chicago Chapter. She also serves on the board of the Southside Builders Association of Chicago and the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Chicago, supporting collaboration across real estate, development, and business communities.