The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office held its first annual Asian Heritage Month

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office held its first annual Asian Heritage Month celebration June 7 at Parsippany’s Town Hall, in the Council Chambers. The event was affiliated with the Prosecutor’s Community Affairs Unit, which has a stated mission to bridge residents, businesses, schools and law enforcement agencies for the common good.

The Township of Parsippany presented award plaques honoring six local Asian-Americans. The Prosecutor’s Office chose Parsippany due to its size and diversity, with the urging of Mayor James Barberio, who, in his speech reiterated his strong commitment to our town’s Asian population.

The honorees are as follows:

Ragini “Regina” Goel volunteered within the Parsippany PTA for 16 years. She is currently a member of the Morris County Human Relations Commission, which promotes tolerance and community within Morris County and has served as the organization’s Indo-American Representative. A real estate agent, she previously served as an adjunct English as a Second Language professor at County College of Morris. Ms. Goel immigrated to the U.S. in 1968.

Jasmine Lim, Parsippany’s Business Administrator, previously served as Township Administrator or Assistant Administrator in Vernon, Randolph and Montville. She has been on numerous boards and community associations, notably the Morris County League of Municipalities, Morris County Human Relations Committee (past president) and the Mental Health Association of Morris County. A resident of Parsippany for 24 years, Ms. Lim’s parents came to New York from China.

Monisha Khadse is a member of the Corporate Leadership Council of Family Services of Morris County and the Morris County Human Resources Commission. A certified financial planner at Ernst & Young, she donates her financial finesse to FSMC, where she educates seniors and children. Ms. Khadse is also an active member of the Vidyalaya School of Indian Languages, Culture & Dharma, Sunday School in Parsippany.

Tina Liu Jen is president of the 80-20 Initiative New Jersey, a nonpartisan political action group dedicated to increasing Asian-American involvement in the workings of government. She is also a Rising Stars Steering Committee member for a Rutgers program that promotes Asian-American women in politics, as well as a member of the Morris County Human Relations Committee. Ms. Jen is a 28-year Parsippany resident, with roots in Taiwan.

Reverend T. Timothy Chen is the Mandarin Pastor of the Chinese Christian Church of New Jersey, located on South Beverwyck Rd. in Parsippany. He entered into ministry in 2001, after utilizing his M.S. and Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Chicago as a statistician at the National Cancer Institute and on the faculty of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Maryland Medical School. Chen was born in China, grew up in Taiwan and came to the U.S. in 1967 as a graduate student.

ASAC Thomas G. Masters is a member of the Federal Air Marshall Service. Previously he served as a special agent with the FBI, where he investigated organized crime and narcotics trafficking from the southeast and far east Asian countries. He was born in Pusan, South Korea and moved to the U.S. at age six.

The audience was treated to traditional Asian dance performances provided by Step Arts & Culture and the Kalashri School of Arts. Dancer Meha Vikram’s mother, Sonia Vikram of Rockaway, was on hand to watch the event and see her daughter’s performance.

“I am proud of my heritage and Meha has been studying Indian dance for a long time. I am encouraging both my children to explore their culture,” she said.