Stewart Kwoh ’70, J.D. ’74

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Stewart Kwoh is the recipient of the 2016 Community Service Award. He has been described as a visionary and a bridge-builder who has opened the door to justice for thousands. He is a nationally recognized leader and expert in race relations, Asian American studies, nonprofit organizations and philanthropies, civil rights, and legal services. He was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 1998, becoming the first Asian American attorney and human rights activist to receive this highly prestigious recognition, often referred to as the “genius grant.”

Kwoh earned both his B.A. in psychology and his J.D. from UCLA. He teaches at the university’s Asian American Studies Department, and has been an instructor at UCLA School of Law. He is a past expert in residence at UC Berkeley School of Law, and has two honorary doctorates from Williams College and Suffolk School of Law.

In 1983, Kwoh co-founded and is president of Advancing Justice - LA, the nation’s largest Asian American legal and civil rights organization that serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year. Advancing Justice - LA’s mission is to advocate for civil rights, provide legal services and education, and build coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) and to create a more equitable and harmonious society.

Under Kwoh’s leadership, the organization became a leading advocate for Asian American and NHPI communities while working to build bridges with African American, Latino, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Kwoh founded Advancing Justice - LA’s Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (LDIR) program, which has trained more than 1,000 community leaders and activists in the past decade.

Kwoh has received numerous awards recognizing his efforts to build coalitions across communities of color, including recognition from: the L.A. City and County Human Relations Commissions, California Association of Human Relations Organizations, ACLU, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Coalition for Humane Immigrants Rights of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Urban League, the Martin Luther King Legacy Association and many other Asian American, civil rights, academic and legal organizations.

Kwoh is active with foundations and other philanthropic organizations. He served as chair of the Board of Directors of The California Endowment - the largest health foundation in California. Kwoh has also been chair of the Methodist Urban Foundation, vice-chair of the California Wellness Foundation, and a trustee of the California Consumer Protection Foundation, the Tang Family Foundation and the Fannie Mae Foundation. Additionally, he has served on the Bank of America National Advisory Council.

Kwoh’s service extends to several commissions and nonprofit organization boards, including: president of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission; vice chair of the El Pueblo Historical Monument Commission; commissioner of the LA Charter Reform Commission; president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association; member of the Future of the Courts Commission; board member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander for Philanthropy and board member on the Committee of 100.