Elizabeth OuYang
Elizabeth R. OuYang has been a civil rights attorney for twenty years. Her areas of expertise include voting rights, immigration, race and disability discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, police brutality and hate crimes. Post 9/11, Ms. OuYang served as a consultant to the New York Immigration Coalition in collaboration with the City of New York Bar Association to conduct pro bono advice clinics throughout New York City to the Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities affected by post-9/11 government policies. In 2000, Ms. OuYang was appointed by President Clinton to serve as a special assistant to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She worked as a staff attorney for eight years with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and for three years with the Disability Law Center in Boston, MA. She is a mentor with the Brooklyn Legal Outreach Program, which serves underprivileged high school students, an advisory council member to the Chinatown Youth Initiatives, and a board member of the Organization of Chinese Americans-New York Chapter.[1]
AAFE 40th Anniversary Gala
Asian Americans for Equality celebrated their 40th Anniversary Gala, November 18, 2014, at Tribeca 360, 10 Debrosses St NYC.
Honored "Agents of Change" included Elizabeth OuYang;[2]
- For the past 5 years, Elizabeth R. OuYang has served as President of OCA-NY, a volunteer organization that promotes the political, economic, and social rights of Asian Americans in New York City. Under her leadership, OCA-NY spearheaded the recent fight for justice for Private Danny Chen, a 19 year old soldier found dead in Afghanistan after six weeks of unrelenting hazing and maltreatment. As a result of OCA-NY’s efforts, eight superiors were convicted and discharged from the Army and an anti-hazing bill became federal law. OCA-NY recently helped create the first majority Asian American State Senate district in New York and registered hundreds of new voters. As a civil rights attorney for the past 28 years, Liz’s most recent victory featured in The New York Times was helping Mohammad Hussain obtain citizenship after 11 years in immigration limbo. Ms. OuYang also has taught for more than a decade at Columbia University and New York University.