LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending Iris Chiu upon the occasion of her
designation for special recognition at the 43rd Annual Dinner Dance of
the United Progressive Club on May 7, 2009

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
commend individuals who distinguish themselves in their profession and
in service to their community; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to commend
Iris Chiu, Assistant Principal of the Brooklyn High School of the Arts
and Co-President of the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn, upon the
occasion of her designation for special recognition at the 43rd Annual
Dinner Dance of the United Progressive Club, to be held at The Rex Manor
in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday, May 7, 2009; and
WHEREAS, Iris Chiu was born in Taipei, Taiwan and came to the United
States at age 20; she attended Journalism School at Iowa State Universi-
ty and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass
Communications; after graduating from Iowa State, she worked as a repor-
ter for the CENTRAL DAILY NEWS in New York City covering crime, educa-
tion and the Chinese Community; in 1987, she became an English as a
Second Language Teacher at P.S. 20 in Flushing, Queens, and received her
first master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
(TESOL) from Hunter College of The City University of New York in 1990;
and
WHEREAS, In 1991, due to her multi-lingual skills, she was recruited
by the Burson-Marsteller Public Relations firm and served as one of
their start-up officers in its Taiwan branch office; in 1992, she joined
Nike Taiwan and, in 1994, she returned to the United States with her
U.S. citizen husband; after working as a Product and Marketing Manager
for a brief time, in 1995, she went back to teaching; and
WHEREAS, Since then, she has taught E.S.L., Mandarin Chinese, Japa-
nese, and Math A in various levels of the New York City public schools;
she also worked as a BESIS Coordinator and Testing Coordinator; in 2004,
she earned her second master's degree in School Administration and
Supervision and, in 2005, she became the English Language Learners
Instructional Support Specialist (ELLISS) in Region 7, and then was
appointed Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services at Lafayette
High School; and
WHEREAS, In 2007, Iris Chiu's proposal for a dual language interna-
tional studies secondary school won support from the Asia Society,
Brooklyn College, and many community based organizations and was
selected to be one of the new schools to open that year; and
WHEREAS, In her current position as Assistant Principal of Humanities
at Brooklyn High School of the Arts, Iris Chiu is in charge of English,
Social Studies, ESL, and World Languages; and
WHEREAS, Iris Chiu has been called upon to contribute her time and
talents to countless civic and charitable endeavors and has always given
of herself unstintingly; she has been a particularly active volunteer
for the United Chinese Association (UCA) of Brooklyn since 2005, helping
to organize fundraising events, developing workshops and activities in
youth development and college preparation, and facilitating after school
programs, summer camps, and voter registration campaigns; and
WHEREAS, This year, she was elected Co-President of the United Chinese
Association of Brooklyn and is currently serving ably in that capacity;
and

WHEREAS, Iris Chiu has distinguished herself in her profession and in
her community and truly merits the recognition of this Legislative Body;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Iris Chiu upon the occasion of her designation for special
recognition at the 43rd Annual Dinner Dance of the United Progressive
Club on May 7, 2009; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Iris Chiu.