Date: February 3, 2026
Time: 3-5pm
Location: Hybrid-Location and zoom link will be shared following registration.
**All virtual participants must register and be approved in advance, no recording
In-Person Capacity: 30 people
As we enter 2026, nonprofits will continue to navigate an increasingly complex and high-stakes environment at a federal, state, and local level. In this session, you will gain practical guidance from Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC), and Alan Gerson, General Counsel of CPC to better understand how to navigate legal risks and stay on mission with more confidence. Designed for nonprofit organization leadership, the speakers will discuss ways to approach the effort of assessing and preparing for risks including congressional and executive inquiries, and will help participants gain insight into the broader social and political context affecting nonprofits today.
You’ll learn about the core elements of capacity building—legal preparedness, strategic communications, and data protection—and why they are critical to organizational stability and impact. . By reflecting on past leadership lessons and current organizational needs, you’ll leave equipped with tools to foster stronger, more adaptive, and more secure nonprofit organizations.
If you are interested, please fill out this brief application form by January 29, 2026. Please note that in-person attendance will be on a rolling basis until we reach capacity. If accepted, we ask you to notify us immediately if you can no longer attend so we can give someone else your spot.
About the Speakers
Wayne Ho is the President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), the nation’s largest Asian American social services agency. During his tenure, CPC has opened a new mixed-use building with over 200 affordable housing residences and a community center for expanded services to over 15,000 community members in Manhattan, co-led successful advocacy efforts to secure $30 million from the State and $5 million from the City to promote Asian American recovery and safety, overseen campaigns to promote living wages for human services and home care workers, and been quoted in over 500 news stories.
Previously, Wayne served as Chief Strategy and Program Officer for the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), an association of 200 community and faith-based member agencies aiming to promote upward mobility of underserved New Yorkers, from 2013-2017, and was the Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), the nation’s only pan-Asian children’s advocacy organization, from 2004-2013.
Wayne serves on numerous nonprofit boards, including the Human Services Council and NYC Employment & Training Coalition, and is appointed to several New York City and State advisory boards, including the NYC Child Care Advisory Group and NYS Not-for-Profit Contracting Advisory Council. He received his Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley and his Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Alan J. Gerson has served as the General Counsel of CPC and its subsidiaries and associated organizations since 2014, having previously served on CPC’s Board of Directors. As General Counsel, he provided legal direction for creating CPC One, including its various affordable housing, CPC Headquarters, and community facility components.
Alan formerly served eight years as a City Councilmember, first elected in 2001 and reelected in 2003 and 2005 to represent the 1st District in Manhattan. Before serving on the Council, Alan was Chair of the Manhattan Community Board 2 from 1997 to 1999, serving on the Board from 1990 to 2001.
He started his civic career as an aide to New York State Assembly Member and Deputy Speaker William F. Passannante. Alan practiced law with Kelley Drye & Warren LLP with their Litigation Department for 18 years and previously worked as a legal intern for the Legal Aide Society of Sullivan County. He served ten years in the United States Army Reserve JAG Corps, receiving an honorable discharge as Captain.
He also served on New York State’s Committee on Open Government, as President of the Village Reform Democratic Club, and as President of Congregation Emunath Israel. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Columbia College of Columbia University and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar from Columbia Law School, where he focused on First Amendment Free Speech Law and International Arms Control.