Annual Gala 2020
With this year’s theme of Celebrating Our Dreams, Imagining Our Future , we pay tribute to the hopes and dreams of immigrants and their descendants.

We also honor this year's Immigrant Heritage Award honorees and recognize the efforts of everyone who has worked towards the restoration of the former USIS Hospital ( opening as the Angel Island Immigration Museum , September 2020 ).
Immigrant Heritage Awards Honorees
The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation will present our 2020 Immigrant Heritage Awards to individuals whose work exemplifies the exceptional contributions of Asian immigrants - a group once excluded from entry into the United States.

  • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - Cecilia Chiang is a restaurateur and chef, best known for founding and managing the Mandarin Restaurant in San Francisco. She is credited with introducing authentic Chinese cuisine to the United States.

  • PHILANTHROPY - Diosdado P. Banatao is a successful venture capitalist and Silicon Valley technology visionary who pioneered the personal computer (PC) chip set and graphics acceleration architecture, two foundation technologies that are still found in every PC today.

  • COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP - Jonathan Leong is a serial entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in multinational dealings, government relations and public policy forums. He has served on 27 boards of public, private, and non-profit companies over his career.

We will acknowledge the dedication and service of California State Park Interpreter, Casey Dexter-Lee , with the SPIRIT OF ANGEL ISLAND award. For the past 20 years, Casey has worked on Angel Island, teaching the Immigration Station’s history to thousands of visitors, while also supporting the various programs and restoration efforts at the site.
We would like to thank OUR SPONSORS including
The Last of the Picture Brides
Photo Credit: California Department of Parks and Recreation
From 1908 to 1920, the Gentlemen's Agreement gave thousands of Japanese picture brides the opportunity to immigrate to America. However, due to public pressure, the Japanese Foreign Ministry agreed to end the practice on March 1, 1920. Brides who were able to obtain passports before the deadline, continued enter through Angel Island until September 1, 1920. On this 100-year anniversary, we remember these first-generation issei , who helped shaped a generation.

Read stories of Angel Island picture brides by visiting our Immigrant Voices site.
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