Resolution
WHEREAS, Bernarda "Bernic" Lo Wong is a founder and die President of the Chinese American Service League (CASL), the largest, most comprehensive social service agency in the Midwest dedicated to serving the needs of Chinese Americans; and
WHEREAS, Bernie was born and raised in Hong Kong. At eighteen, she moved to Sioux City, Iowa to earn a B.A. in Sociology from Briar Cliff University and later a Master's Degree in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; and
WHEREAS, In 1979, Bernie and her friends began building the Chinese American Service League in an effort to help new immigrants overcome the challenges of a new culture and language; and
WHEREAS, Under Bernie's leadership, CASL has grown from a one-person shop in 1979 with an annual budget of $32,000 to a $13.5 million agency, providing child services, elder services, employment training services, family counseling, and housing and financial education to over 17,000 clients of all ages and backgrounds each year; and
WHEREAS, Bernie is an active community member, serving as the Chair of the Mayor's Advisory Council on Asian Affairs and was the first Asian appointed to the Boards of United Way of Chicago and the Chicago Public Library. She also served on the Governor's Asian Advisory Council and the Leadership of the Greater Chicago Board; and
WHEREAS, Bernie is a board member of the Chicago Corrirnission on Human Relations, the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and the Council for the Illinois Department on Aging. Bernie is also founding member of Chinese Immigrant Service Agencies Network International; and
WHEREAS, She has earned many awards for her work, including the Alumna of the Year Award from Briar Cliff University (1988), the Commissioner's Team Award from the Social Security Adrriinistration (1997), the Luminary Senior Award from the Chicago Department on Aging (2002), the Community Organizer Trailblazer Awa...
Click here for full text