The World Affairs Council of Orange County presents:

Strategic Realities in the Indo-Pacific:
Assessing Economic and Security Challenges

featuring

Congresswoman Young Kim

Chair of Indo-Pacific Subcommittee
House Foreign Affairs Committee

Mayor John Stephens (D-Costa Mesa)

Moderator

The moderator for this non-partisan foreign policy discussion is from the opposing political party, to ensure balanced perspectives.

Congresswoman Young Kim will speak on the bipartisan Indo-Pacific
Initiative, on foreign policy regarding: maritime security in the South China Sea, free open trade, future semiconductor manufacturing, and efforts to strengthen political ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Date & Time:

Saturday, May 11, 2024

5:30 – 8:00 pm

Reception: 5:30- 6:15 pm

VIP & Young Professional Reception*: 5:30-5:55 pm

*Founder’s Club & Ambassador members get free access to the VIP reception from: 5:30-5:40 pm

*VIPs & Young Professionals: 5:40-5:55 pm

Three-course dinner: 6:15-7:00 pm

Moderated Discussion: 7:00-7:25 pm

Audience Q&A: 7:25-8:00 pm

Location:

Tustin Ranch Golf Club

12442 Tustin Ranch Rd, Tustin, CA 92782

Tickets: 

*All tickets come with one free drink ticket (glass of wine or beer or non-alcoholic beverage) & three-course dinner

WACOC Member: $95

Non-member: $110

Young Professional Member: $68

If you are a student and would like to attend, please email us if you are interested in attending, we will grant student tickets first-come, first-serve based on number of donated student tickets. 

Parking: 

There is plenty of free on-site parking.

Speaker Bio:

Congresswoman Young Kim

Congresswoman Young Kim is proud to represent California’s 40th District, which includes parts of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

An immigrant, small business owner, community leader, former California Assemblywoman, mother, and grandmother, Young is proud to be one of the first Korean American women ever to serve in Congress and is fighting to help all Americans have the chance to achieve their dream just like she did.

In the House of Representatives, Young serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee – where she serves as Chairwoman of the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee and as a member of the Africa Subcommittee – and on the House Financial Services Committee – where she serves as Vice Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions and as a member of the Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee. Young also serves as co-chair of the Women in STEM Caucus, the Financial Literacy and Wealth Creation Caucus, and the Maternity Care Caucus.

In her first term, Young had nearly 30 bills pass out of the House of Representatives and more than a dozen signed into law. Her record was ranked among the most effective of members of Congress according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking, the Common Ground Committee, the Lugar Center and McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and data by Quorum Analytics. She also received the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Legislative Action Award.

Young and her husband Charles live in Anaheim Hills in CA-40 and are the proud parents of Christine, Kelly, Alvin and Hannah and grandparents of Mia and Caleb.

Moderator Bio: 

Mayor John Stephens

Mayor John Stephens was elected to a two-year term as Mayor of Costa Mesa in November of 2022.

Prior to that, he served as Mayor since March of 2021, when he was directly appointed by the City Council to replace former Mayor Katrina Foley, whose seat was vacated when she was elected to the County Board of Supervisors to serve the Second District.

Stephens was originally elected to the City Council on Nov. 8, 2016 collecting the second highest number of votes in a field of seven candidates. He was sworn in on Dec. 13, 2016 and served until his term ended in December 2020.

As a resident of Costa Mesa since 1989, Mayor Stephens has deep community ties and has served on the city’s Pension Oversight Committee, the Costa Mesa High School Foundation, Costa Mesans for Responsible Government and is a founding member of the St. John the Baptist Finance and Pastoral Councils.

He was a leader of the “No” on the Charter campaigns in 2012 and 2014, including intervening in a lawsuit between the City of Costa Mesa and the Orange County Registrar of Voters in 2012.

Current Involvement

Mayor Stephens was the 2018 Chair of the Association of California Cities-Orange County Homelessness Task Force and is a member of the Orange County Library Advisory Board. He is a Director of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency Board (“Toll Roads”). He serves as Council Liaison to the Financial Pension Advisory Committee (“FiPAC”), the Animal Services Committee, the Special Districts (Sanitation, Water, and School), and the OC Fairgrounds. He is a founding member of the Costa Mesa Early Childhood Coalition.

Additionally, Mayor Stephens serves on council ad hoc committees relating to the cannabis industry and Fairview Developmental Center. He has served on ad hoc committees for the Costa Mesa Motor Inn litigation and the City Manager recruitment.

Mayor Stephens initiated the City’s Independence Day Celebration and has been Santa Claus at Snoopy House for the past four years.

Background

Mayor Stephens was born in Pasadena, and raised in San Gabriel and attended San Gabriel High School. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Cal Poly Pomona, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1986. He received his law degree from the UC Davis Law School in 1989 and was named to the Order of the Coif (top 10%), Law Review and Trial Practice Honors Board.

A practicing trial attorney since 1989, his firm, Stephens Friedland LLP, employs four lawyers and nine employees. Stephens Friedland LLP was Veterans Legal Institute (VLI) Law Firm of the Year in 2019, and serves on VLI’s Lawyers for Warriors Committee.

Mayor Stephens has given talks to the OC Bar Association on issues such as electronic discovery and witness preparation. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, Best Lawyers of America and Top Attorneys in Orange County.