Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Blog

  • Engaging the Midwest AAPI Community

    Posted by Kiran Ahuja on August 1, 2012 at 5:49 PM EDT

    Engaging the Midwest AAPI Community

    Cabinet Secretary and WHIAAPI Co-Chair, Chris Lu, addresses the Midwest Regional Action Summit, Columbus, Ohio. July 13, 2012. (by The White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders)

    On July 13, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders convened an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Midwest Regional Action Summit in Columbus, Ohio. The Summit brought together community leaders and federal agency representatives in a day-long convening to exchange ideas.

    Federal agency officials representing the Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services,  Housing and Urban Development, the General Services Administration, and the Small Business Administration among others, shared resources and engaged with the members of the AAPI community in workshop sessions. During the sessions community members discussed issues related to health disparities, health care reform, language access, and resources for managing the foreclosure crisis and growing small businesses.

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  • White House Hosts AAPI Business Leaders Forum

    Posted by Ari Matusiak & Gautam Raghavan on July 27, 2012 at 12:20 PM EDT

    On Wednesday, July 25, the White House Business Council and White House Office of Public Engagement hosted an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Business Leaders Forum at the White House.  This event was organized as part of the White House’s ongoing effort to engage business leaders and job creators, solicit feedback on the Administration’s efforts to support and assist the business sector, and identify opportunities for partnership to drive economic growth.

    AAPI Business leaders, representing major corporations and small businesses from a range of industries and sectors, participated in the event, which was organized with the support of the International Leadership Foundation, the Coalition of Asian American Business Organizations, the Asian Business Association, the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, and the Minority Business Development Agency at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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  • The Significance of Data Disaggregation to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community

    Posted by Sefa Aina on July 27, 2012 at 9:48 AM EDT

    Working with diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students for years has been both rewarding and a struggle.  The diversity that exists under this umbrella makes it difficult to balance their many voices and experiences, but, at the same time, it has provided a richness of cross-cultural and inter-cultural sharing and solidarity.  Added to this diversity of culture and ethnicity is the diversity of other identity markers including sexual orientation, immigration status, and generation (first generation, second generation, etc…).

    According to the most recent Census data, some AAPIs have staggering educational needs that may be overlooked or masked by aggregated data. For example, 29 percent of Vietnamese-Americans, 38 percent of Hmong-Americans, 33 percent of Laotian-Americans, and 37 percent of Cambodian-Americans do not complete high school. Only 13 percent of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders 25 years of age and older have a bachelor’s degree.

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  • Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh Shares Hepatitis B Awareness Tools for AAPI Communities

    Posted by Kate Moraras and Corinna Dan on July 16, 2012 at 4:41 PM EDT

    As we approach World Hepatitis Day on July 28th, we are reminded of the staggering impact of Hepatitis B in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. AAPIs make up approximately 5% of the US population, but comprise over 50% of Americans with chronic Hepatitis B.  This means approximately 1 in 12 AAPIs are living with chronic Hepatitis B.

    Last month, Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, MD, MPH shared a “Dear Colleague” letter with the AAPI community highlighting many valuable new information resources and tools about viral Hepatitis tailored specifically for AAPI populations. Since working to reduce the disproportionate impact of Hepatitis B in AAPI communities is an important priority of the White House Initiative on AAPIs and the Department of Health and Human Services, we wanted to share Dr. Koh’s letter with you and invite you to consider making use of some of these valuable resources yourself and in your work in your community.

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  • Seattle: Compassionate AAPI Leadership, Activism, and Community Collaboration

    Posted by Kiran Ahuja on July 12, 2012 at 6:34 PM EDT

    Compassionate AAPI Leadership

    WHIAAPI Executive Director Kiran Ahuja tours the Gee How Oak Tin Association Room at Seattle's Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Taylor, The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience)

    As Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), I get the wonderful opportunity to meet inspiring AAPI leaders across the country who are dedicated to serving their communities.  During my recent trip to Seattle, I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with some of these leaders, including Hyeok Kim, the Executive Director of InterIm CDA, an affordable housing and community building organization based in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District (C/ID).   Hyeok is also a member of the President’s AAPI Advisory Commission.

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  • White House Hosts AAPI Youth Briefing

    Posted by Gautam Raghavan on July 9, 2012 at 2:28 PM EDT

    On July 6, the White House Office of Public Engagement and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) welcomed more than 150 AAPI young leaders from the East Coast Asian American Student Union for a briefing.

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    Chris Lu, White House Cabinet Secretary and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on AAPIs, delivered remarks in which he encouraged AAPI youth to get engaged and take action within their campuses and communities.

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