Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) invites community members, advocates, and allies to join us for RASA 2026: Rally Against Sexual Assault, a powerful gathering dedicated to raising awareness, standing in solidarity with survivors, and calling for a violence-free future.

This rally is led by KAFSC’s Youth Community Project Team (YCPT), amplifying the voices of young leaders who are committed to ending sexual violence and building safer, more equitable communities.

Sexual violence remains a deeply underreported issue in immigrant and culturally specific communities due to stigma, language barriers, fear, and systemic inequities. For many Korean American and Asian immigrant survivors, accessing help can feel isolating or unsafe. At KAFSC, ending gender-based violence is core to our mission. RASA reflects our long-standing commitment to breaking cycles of violence, addressing intergenerational trauma, and ensuring survivors know they are not alone.

HONOREES

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION AWARD

Kathleen Baer

NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Gender-Based Violence Policy and Planning Unit

Kathleen Collins Baer is the Assistant Commissioner of the NYPD’s newly created Gender-Based Violence Policy and Planning Unit. She earned her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University and her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 2007. In 2008, she joined the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, where she investigated and prosecuted the sexual and physical abuse of children age 10 and under, including infant fatalities.

In 2010, Kathleen joined the first Sex Trafficking Unit established in any of New York City’s five boroughs and helped build the unit from the ground up. In that role, she developed investigative techniques for long-term investigations and prosecutions targeting individuals engaged in sex trafficking and in compelling and promoting prostitution of sexually exploited individuals—while advancing a victim-centered approach to supporting survivors.

Kathleen also served as an assistant adjunct professor at CUNY Hunter College, teaching Women and the Law in the Political Science Department. The course examined the evolving role of women in society and the impact of landmark Supreme Court decisions, covering topics including domestic and gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and LGBTQ issues.

In 2016, Kathleen joined the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Bureau, where she handled investigations and prosecutions involving sexual and physical abuse of children (including infant fatalities), internet crimes against children, and adult sex crimes (including intimate partner sex crimes, acquaintance sexual assaults, and stranger sexual assaults). She began supervising the Bureau in 2019.

Kathleen later joined the NYPD as the first Executive Counsel for the citywide Special Victims Unit, serving as legal advisor to the Chief of Special Victims and to adult special victim and child abuse squads across all five boroughs, including the Human Trafficking Task Force. Promoted to Director of Special Victims Unit in 2024 and most recently to Assistant Commissioner of the newly created Gender-Based Violence Policy and Planning Unit, she leads policy and training initiatives to strengthen trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, offender-focused investigations; expand community outreach; and deepen collaboration with city agency partners to build trust in the communities the NYPD serves.

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Sandra Ung

New York City Council Member

Sandra Ung represents the 20th Council District, which includes Flushing, Mitchell-Linden, Murray Hill, Queensboro Hill and Fresh Meadows.

After escaping the Cambodian genocide as a child, Sandra and her family immigrated to New York City when she was just 7 years old. Sandra attended local New York City public schools, including P.S. 22, J.H.S. 189, Flushing High School, and Hunter College, and got her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2001. She continues to live next door to her mother and is her primary caretaker.

Before joining the New York City Council, Sandra worked as an attorney in a nonprofit defending survivors of domestic violence and advocating for their families. She later served in government on the municipal, state and federal level, including most recently in the office of Congresswoman Grace Meng where she assisted constituents with immigration, veteran affairs and social security cases.

A lifelong community advocate, Sandra has served as Executive Director of the At the Table PAC, a political action committee dedicated to expanding women and minority representation in politics. She also served on the Board of Managers of the Flushing YMCA. Throughout her career, Sandra has advocated on issues that impact women, survivors of domestic violence, our youth and the environment.

When COVID-19 ravaged her community, Sandra organized mutual aid efforts to bring hot meals to families in need. As State Committeewoman, she organized a mammogram truck to come to Flushing and connect underserved communities with vital healthcare services. In the City Council, she continues to fight to bring more services and funding to District 20 and its residents.

In her first term, Councilmember Ung introduced 29 bills and resolutions, 12 of which passed during the City Council’s 2022-2023 term. Her bills included a bill requiring the Board of Elections to redesign ballots to make it more clear for speakers of a language other than English, two bills that improved the 311 call experience for LEP (Limited English Proficiency) New Yorkers, and a bill requiring the Department of Transportation to report on potential locations for the construction of a bus transit center in Flushing.

Councilmember Ung also passed several resolutions, including one calling for Lunar New Year to be made a federal holiday and one calling on the New York State Legislature to expand financial relief programs to assist New Yorkers struggling to pay their utility bills.

In her second term that began in 2024, Councilmember Ung was appointed Chair of the Committee on Standards and Ethics. She was also appointed to the Leadership Team of the Council, which works with the Council Speaker to steer the legislative body’s priorities, and the Budget Negotiations Team, which negotiates the city’s budget with the mayoral administration.

In November of 2025, Sandra Ung was elected by the voters of District 20 to represent them for a third and final four-year term in the New York City Council. She was named the Deputy Leader of the City Council and the Chair of the Committee on Rules, Privileges, Elections, Standards and Ethics.