Central Queens Academy to Honor FRESH OFF THE BOAT's Hudson Yang

Central Queens Academy Charter School (CQA) - a public, tuition-free, college-preparatory school serving underserved students in one of New York City's most diverse neighborhoods - will honor Fresh Off the Boat star Hudson Yang, The Wall Street Journal columnist Jeff Yang, and distinguished real estate attorney Bruce D. Saber at its first-ever Spring Gala on Wednesday, May 11, 2016.

"Central Queens Academy has a fundamental mission: to make a difference in the lives of our students and their families. CQA offers underserved students the opportunity to succeed by lifting up their skills and their dreams. This benefit is an opportunity to celebrate those accomplishments and build a foundation for a stronger, even brighter future," said Gala Chair Xochitl Gonzalez.

The Gala will be held at The Vine NYC at the Eventi Hotel at 851 Avenue of the Americas (between 29th and 30th streets) from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM. To purchase tickets, visit http://501auctions.com/CQASpringGala for further information.

In addition to Xochitl Gonzalez, the Gala Committee is comprised of: Angela Ellis, Eve Goldman, Kristin Hokoyama, and Jeff Simmons.

At the event, CQA will celebrate four years of fostering success and creating opportunities for students in fifth through eighth grades. Founded in 2012, CQA is the first public charter school in District 24, New York City's most diverse and overcrowded public school district. More than two-thirds of CQA's 405 students come from immigrant families, and almost 90% are from low-income households.

"We are so proud of our young scholars and their achievements," said CQA Co-Founder Rany Ng. "CQA students speak more than 25 different languages, and English Language Learners at CQA transition out of special services at four times the pace of those students in surrounding public schools. Eighty percent of these students also will be the first in their family to go to college - and each day our teachers, students and families work together to achieve that goal."

Since its launch, CQA has grown to encompass two locations - one in Elmhurst serving fifth and sixth grade students, and a second in Glendale serving seventh and eighth grade students. CQA hopes to expand to add a high school and lower school in Queens, as well.

The evening's honorees are:

· Bruce D. Saber, Counsel, Arnold & Porter LLP. Bruce Saber has served as CQA's pro bono counsel for the last three years, providing strategic guidance on CQA's growth. His career spans 30 years in law firms and real estate development and investment companies. His broad range of experience includes private equity, financing, development, hospitality and leasing transactional work. Bruce was a partner at the law firms of Fried Frank and Heller Ehrman and served as Managing Director in the Merchant Banking group at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he was General Counsel for the real estate funds. He also was General Counsel and Senior Managing Director at Tishman Speyer Properties. He is the four-time recipient of the Corporate Counsel Award from the Legal Aid Society of New York, and was a Board Member and Member of the Executive Committee of Legal Services NYC. He received his juris doctorate from the New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester. He and his wife, Lisa Sotto, have three children and live in Manhattan.

· Hudson Yang, who stars as protagonist Eddie Huang in the ABC sitcom, Fresh Off the Boat. Hudson is a newcomer to television, having begun his performing career less than 18 months before being cast as Eddie. After a classmate told him about her experiences acting in a TV commercial, he begged his parents for the chance to try it for himself, finally convincing them to bring him to an open call for the movie The Inevitable Defeat of Mister Pete (2013). Recently, he has made appearances on Family Guy and Cyberchase, and starred in indie rapper Jason Chu's acclaimed music video Marvels. When not acting alongside the best and funniest ensemble cast in the business, Yang enjoys playing Minecraft, singing karaoke and eating shockingly large breakfasts.

· Jeff Yang is a veteran journalist, author and cultural critic who founded the pioneering periodical A. Magazine: Inside Asian America (1989-2001) and continues to be one of Asian America's most provocative and high-profile voices. He is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal Online and a regular contributor to CNN, NPR Slate and Quartz, the Atlantic Monthly's business publication. Among the books he has authored and edited are I Am Jackie Chan, the action icon's New York Times-bestselling autobiography; Once Upon a Time in China, a history of greater Chinese cinema; the Asian pop culture guide Eastern Standard Time, and the graphic novels Secret Identities and Shattered. However, he currently may be best known as the father of Hudson Yang, star of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat.