Richard G. Konda is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. He attended law school at Santa Clara University, graduating in 1978 and has worked at the Asian Law Alliance (ALA) since graduating from law school. ALA began as an information and referral project started by a group of law students from the Asian Law Students Association at Santa Clara School of Law. With the cooperation of the local chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, and the help of two young attorneys, Brad Yamauchi and Don Tamaki, ALA began taking its own cases in January 1977.
Jim McEntee helped to found ALA and offered his advice and guidance in the early days of ALA. Jim continued his strong support of ALA until his untimely death in 2004.
While a staff attorney at ALA, as a staff attorney Konda represented many recent immigrants and refugees with immigration related problems and counseled many other clients in a wide variety of legal matters.
Konda was an active participant in the movement to obtain redress and reparations for Japanese Americans interned by the U.S. government during World War II. In 1994, he was also an active member of the campaign against Proposition 187.
He has received numerous awards and commendations including the Jim McEntee Lifetime Achievement Award.
Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of ALA.