2009 AALEAD Annual Dinner!

On Thursday, February 5th, 2009 AALEAD held its 10th Annual Dinner at China Garden in Rosslyn, VA. It was a full house packed with energy and excitement! The evening highlighted a keynote speech from Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools.

AALEAD was able to take time to recognize our corporate sponsors, dedicated supporters, and special guests who also attended.

Our high school student emcees navigated the event for all of us!

The spotlight was on our youth in the middle of the evening! Stellar performances awed the audience as our youth showed off their talents in hip hop dancing, line dancing, Bollywood dancing, and a special solo voice performance of "God Bless the USA."

The student performances ended with AALEAD youth sharing their own stories with the audience. We had youth from our elementary, middle, and high school programs, and even an AALEAD alumni who is now attending college in Maryland!

And finally, the evening was filled with good food and great fun!

*A special thank you to our photographer, Jenny Ruley, for these beautiful photos.