By The Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Former policy director and a senior staff attorney for the Criminal Justice Reform Program at Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus Angela Chan has joined the leadership team at the San Francisco Public Defender Office, according to San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju Tuesday.
Chan, said the statement released by the PD, “played a key role in writing and leading campaigns to pass sanctuary ordinances and laws throughout California, and also served on the San Francisco Police Commission.
In her new role at the Public Defender’s Office, according to the PD Office, Chan has been appointed Chief of “Confront and Advocate” to “lead and support the agency-wide strategy of confronting state-sponsored violence and advocating for community power. “
“Ms. Chan’s tremendous leadership experience in San Francisco and across the state on issues related to both criminal justice and immigration will be a major asset to our office. She brings with her strong and deep connections to the Chinese American and other immigrant communities through her many years of dedication at Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, and importantly, she shares our commitment to challenging systemic inequality and injustice,” said Raju. 
Chan said, “It’s an honor to join Mr. Raju and the rest of the talented team at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, which has been on the national forefront of providing the highest quality of defense for community members for decades. I am inspired by the San Francisco Public Defender’s innovative community-centered programs that provide vital services to our communities, including record clearing, immigration defense, and youth programs.”
“And I’m looking forward to drawing from their experiences serving community members impacted by the criminal system to advance policy reforms that move us towards a more just and equitable society,” said Chan.
The PD Office noted that Chan joining the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office “brings her back full circle. When she began at the Asian Law Caucus as a Soros Justice Fellow in 2006, her project focused on partnering with the Youth Defender’s unit of the Public Defender’s Office to advocate for parents who are Limited English Proficient with youth in the juvenile system.”
Chan represented Chinese American parents to ensure they had equal access to justice, including assisting them with navigating the system and effectively advocating for their children.
Chan’s advocacy for immigrant families in the juvenile system “led her to develop and lead successful campaigns to pass Sanctuary policies in San Francisco and statewide. She co-led campaigns to pass three ordinances that strengthened San Francisco’s Sanctuary Ordinance by ending the transfer of youth and adults by local law enforcement to ICE,” said the PD Office.
Chan is also credited with co-founding the ICE out of CA statewide coalition to pass the TRUST Act, the TRUTH Act, and the CA Values Act at the state level to “protect thousands of immigrants from being turned over to ICE by local law enforcement across the state every year. The transfer of immigrants to ICE has particularly impacted Southeast Asian refugees who have endured the trauma of fleeing genocide and war, resettlement in under-resourced and over-criminalized neighborhoods in the U.S., and then draconian prison sentences for mistakes made as youth.”
Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-SF) said, “I was executive director for the Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus when Ms. Chan first joined as a law clerk and I applaud her 15 years of dedication to this community-based civil rights organization. I know Ms. Chan will continue to be a strong advocate for Asian American communities and our most vulnerable community members as she transitions to this new role in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.”
