Guest Commissioners Karen Narasaki President & Executive Director, Asian American Justice Center (formerly the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, NAPALC) Karen Narasaki is currently the President and Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center. AAJC is a non-profit, non-partisan civil rights organization whose mission is to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans through advocacy, public policy, public education, and litigation. One of the nation’s experts on voting rights, immigration and immigrant rights, and race relations, Ms. Narasaki serves in a number of leadership positions in the civil rights and immigrant rights communities. She is Vice Chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation’s oldest and broadest civil rights coalition. She is also Vice President of the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Chairperson of the Rights Working Group, a coalition of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and immigrant rights groups working to address the erosion of civil liberties and the basic rights of immigrants since 9/11. Ms. Narasaki is a nationally recognized leader in the Asian American community, where she serves as is the Chairperson of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, and as the Chairperson of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. Ms. Narasaki serves on the Board of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Leadership Conference Education Fund and the Independent Sector. Before joining AAJC, Ms. Narasaki was the Washington, D.C. Representative for the Japanese American Citizens League. Prior to that, she was a corporate attorney at Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington and served as a Law Clerk to Judge Harry Pregerson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Los Angeles. She is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Yale University and Order of the Coif, of the UCLA School of Law. Robert Raben on behalf of the National Council of La Raza Robert Raben currently heads The Raben Group, LLC, a legislative consulting and lobbying practice specializing in intellectual property and civil rights issues, where he creates bipartisan legislative and communications strategies for clients, using law and public policy to meet needs. In 1993, Mr. Raben served as Counsel to Congressman Barney Frank, where his responsibilities included all issues relating to the Judiciary Committee, Massachusetts fisheries and national civil rights policy and politics. He later joined the Judiciary Committee as Democratic Counsel for the Subcommittee on the Constitution. In that role he worked effectively on affirmative action, choice, civil rights, equal employment, fair housing and immigration policy. Mr. Raben then moved to the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, again serving as Democratic Counsel. In that capacity, he advised members on copyright, property and trademark law and policy, and on issues relating to the Federal Courts. In 1999, Mr. Raben's work at the Judiciary Committee ultimately caught the attention of the White House, earning him an appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and, subsequently, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs. Mr. Raben was charged with overseeing then, Attorney General Janet Reno's legislative initiatives and handling extensive Congressional oversight of the department. A graduate of Wharton and NYU law, Mr. Raben became an associate with the widely respected law firm Arnold & Porter in 1990, specializing in international trade, federal lobbying and white collar criminal defense. Soon thereafter, he joined the faculty of Georgetown University Law School as an adjunct professor - a position he held until confirmation as Assistant Attorney General. Back to main page