A non-profit professional organization dedicated to promoting justice
Our Mission
AAPA is a statewide, non-profit professional organization that is dedicated to promoting justice, to advancing the interests of prosecutors of Asian heritage, to providing a voice in the criminal justice system for victims of crime and to increasing diversity within the judiciary.
AAPA strives to highlight public safety concerns and court access issues, while advocating for fairness, equality and justice for the community at large.
AAPA seeks to empower all prosecutors through education, training and networking with varying members of the legal, judicial and law enforcement communities.
Our Values
COMMUNITY
To educate the Asian American community regarding the criminal justice system with the central focus on victims’ rights as provided in the Constitution; to reach out to the community, and to provide a forum for communicating the community’s needs and concerns.
ADVOCACY
To promote, strengthen and support the roles of Asian Americans in all aspects of law enforcement by collaborating with community leaders, law enforcement, victim’s rights advocates and concerned citizens.
JUSTICE
To advocate fairness, professionalism, equality and justice for all parties involved in the criminal justice system, as a just system would promote a just society.
EDUCATION
To provide training, both academic and practical, concerning a wide variety of law enforcement-related topics, relevant laws, and trial strategies; to develop an information network relevant to the needs of Asian American law enforcement personnel; and to seek out, encourage and support Asian American law students and attorneys interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement.
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Annie Esposito, President
Assistant District Attorney, Office of the Contra Costa District Attorney
Assistant District Attorney Annie Esposito previously served as the Chief Assistant DA and was the Assistant DA in charge of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office at the East County Hall of Justice. She has also supervised felony trial and preliminary hearing teams in East County. Before her various leadership roles, she served within the general felony trial team including homicide trial team, and the DNA/Cold Case Unit. Through these various assignments, ADA Esposito has tried many serious and violent felonies including murder, sexual assault, and robbery cases.
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Ryan Kao, Vice President
Director of Crime Strategies, San Francisco Police Department
Director Ryan Kao is responsible for developing crime reduction strategies and leading a dedicated team of crime analysts in support of the Department’s sworn members.
Prior to joining the Department in 2022, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted a wide range of cases, including robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, assault on peace officers, firearm trafficking, and homicide. He is recognized as an expert on firearms and was embedded in the Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), where he worked with a team of SFPD officers and ATF agents to remove armed and dangerous criminals from the community. He has also specialized in DUI enforcement, particularly drug-impaired DUI and vehicular manslaughter, including cross-training as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and receiving the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Outstanding Prosecutor Award for his work.
Director Kao is a native of Piedmont, CA, and holds a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought from Amherst College and a Juris Doctor with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
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Chris Chin, Secretary
Deputy District Attorney, Office of the San Mateo District Attorney
Christopher Chin currently serves as a Deputy District Attorney in San Mateo County. He previously served as a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County for the past 12 years since 2011 where he served on several teams including general felonies and elder abuse. Additionally, during the past several years, he actively led the high school mentorship program through AAPA and participated in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office high school DAJA mentorship program.
Before becoming a DA, he previously taught 5th and 6th grade in the Bronx, New York.
Chris obtained his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his law degree from McGeorge School of Law. He loves spending time with his wife and five kids.
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Sharon Carney, Treasurer
Deputy District Attorney, Office of the Alameda District Attorney
Sharon is a Deputy District Attorney in the Alameda County DA’s Office. She received her B.A. in History and Political Science from UCLA and her J.D. from UC Hastings. She began her career as a Deputy District Attorney in Sacramento County before coming to Alameda County. She has worked on the Felony Trial Team prosecuting serious felonies including sexual assaults, robbery and homicides. She has worked on the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit where she prosecuted cases involving the sexual exploitation of minors, and taught courses for other law enforcement agencies regarding the prosecution of human trafficking cases. She has also served as a mentor on the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) Sexual Assault Mentor DA Program and taught courses for CDAA regarding Human Trafficking.
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Stephanie Kang, Member of the Board
Deputy District Attorney, Office of the Contra Costa District Attorney
Stephanie Kang joined the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office in February of 2013. She is currently assigned to the Community Violence Reduction Unit. Stephanie has rotated through a variety of units in the DA's office, including supervising the Central/East Misdemeanor Team as well as working on the Domestic Violence Unit, Law & Motion, Felony Trial Team, East County Preliminary Hearings, and Central/East Misdemeanors.
Outside of work, Stephanie is an adjunct instructor at UC Law SF, as well as a moot court coach . In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies and traveling.
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Alice Wong, Member of the Board
Assistant District Attorney, Office of the San Francisco District Attorney
Alice Wong is an Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, prosecuting High Lethality Domestic Violence cases. Her extensive prior legal experience includes serving as deputy attorney general for the California Attorney General’s Office, running a civil and criminal defense practice, and serving fourteen years as a deputy district attorney in units from Misdemeanor, Career Criminal, Major Narcotics, Community Prosecution, and Homicide for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. She is a tireless advocate for vulnerable victims and the AAPI community having served as president of both CAPITAL Foundation and My Sister’s House, organizations that support and empower AAPI survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Alice is native San Franciscan, earned her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco.
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Michiye Vella, Member of the Board
Deputy District Attorney, Office of the Alameda District Attorney
Michiye Vella is currently a Deputy District Attorney with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, which she joined in 2022 after returning home to California. Michiye previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the Kings County District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, New York from 2016-2020. At the Kings County D.A.'s Office, Michiye was assigned to a general trial division where she managed a significant caseload of serious violent felonies from charging, through Grand Jury indictment, and trial. In addition to her work as a prosecutor, Michiye has taken an active role in mentoring law clerks and younger misdemeanor deputies.
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Danny Lau, Member of the Board
Deputy District Attorney, Office of the Alameda District Attorney
Danny Lau has been a Deputy District Attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for nearly 16 years. He is currently assigned to the felony law and motion unit, and has served as a felony trial prosecutor in Oakland and Hayward, as a charger in Fremont, and as a vertical prosecutor on the auto insurance fraud unit. Danny has served as an AAPA board member and Mentorship Committee member since 2017. He served as AAPA’s Vice-President from 2019 to 2021. Danny has shared in leading the high school mentoring workshops for the Asian Youth Services Committee in Oakland’s Chinatown. In previous years, he taught and mentored API college students in community summer intern programs. Danny obtained his law degree from McGeorge School of Law in 2007 and received a BA in Economics from UC Davis in 2003. Description goes here
Membership Categories
GENERAL MEMBER
General membership is available to attorneys currently employed in the office of a District Attorney, City Attorney, Attorney General, United States Attorney, military Judge Advocate General, or County Counsel, principally engaged in the prosecution of criminal cases. It is also available to attorneys honorably separated from any eligible office, provided that the attorney served in the eligible office for a minimum of three (3) years and the attorney is neither actively engaged in the practice of criminal defense nor in the advocacy of any cause in conflict with the mission statement of AAPA. General members shall be entitled to one vote and may hold elected office in AAPA.
ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Associate membership is available to attorneys employed in the office of a State Inspector General, or any office of an agency engaged in regulatory activities involving civil or criminal enforcement; law clerks employed in the office of the Attorney General, United States Attorney, State Inspector General, Judge Advocate General , or any District Attorney or City Attorney; peace officers; investigators in the office of any District Attorney or City Attorney, victim-witness employees of any District Attorney, individuals retired from any of the above listed organizations not currently engaged in criminal defense or employed by offices that engage in criminal defense work, and law students. Individuals may be Associate Members if their duties, responsibilities, or beliefs are consistent to the mission statement and goals of AAPA. Anyone who is personally engaged in any criminal defense practice or has duties, responsibilities, or beliefs that are in conflict with the mission statement or goals of AAPA may not be a member. Associate members may not vote or hold elected office in AAPA.
HONORARY MEMBER
Any person who has made a significant contribution to the administration of justice may be granted honorary membership in AAPA. The Board of Directors shall establish policies and rules governing the granting of honorary membership. Honorary members may not vote or hold elected office in AAPA. Any dispute regarding eligibility under this section shall be referred to the Board of Directors for determination by majority vote.
SUPPORTER
Any person who is a friend or supporter of AAPA.