The White House announced its intention to name a diverse group of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander to its commission on AANHPI Monday.
They include community activists, corporate executives, labor organizers, veterans, disability rights advocates and an actor.
An unofficial count by AsAmNews found the group of 23 includes four Indian Americans, four Korean Americans, three Filipino Americans, two Chinese Americans, two Taiwanese Americans, two Pacific Islanders, One Native Hawaiian, one Japanese American, one Muslim and Pakistani American, one Vietnamese American, one Singaporean, and one Hmong American.
There are 14 women listed among the expected appointees.
The pending appointments represent the diversity within the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and keeps a pledge by President Biden to staff his administration with people representing the broad spectrum of America.
The commission will advise the President on policies that tackle anti-Asian xenophobia, open up access to government services and funding, and knockdown barriers facing AANHPI women, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.
Commissioners expected to be appointed, according to the White House are:
Amy Agbayani:
The Emeritus Assistant Vice Chancellor for student diversity and
equity, University of Hawai’i at Manoa is also the former chair of the the Hawai’i Civil Rights Commission. She hails from the Philippines.
Teresita Batayola:
She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of International Community
Health Services in Washington State. Named the Filipino Women’s Network’s Most Influential Filipino Woman in the World, she is a major advocate for comprehensive health care for all.
Ajay Bhutoria:
He is a Silicon Valley technology executive, community leader, speaker, and author and described as a passionate advocate for South Asian and other AAPIs on issues focusing on small businesses, educational opportunities, immigration issues, and technological advancement.
Luisa Blue:
She retired from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in August 2020 as one of the highest ranking AAPI officials in the labor movement. She currently serves on the Asian Health Services Community
Board, as a Trustee on Alameda County Health Systems Board of Trustees, and Vice President of the AAPI Victory Alliance Board.
Kimberly Chang:
She is a is a board-certified family physician in Oakland, California, at Asian Health Services. Chang is passionate about implementing policies addressing human trafficking and exploitation. She’s been honored with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2020 Emerging Public Health
Professional Award and the 2021 UCSF Alumni Humanitarian Service Award. She is from a six generation kama`āina family and was born and raised in Hawaii.
Emily Chen:
She is Chief of Research at Olshan Realty and manages the Private Wealth Real Estate Services. Chen is a former National Big Sister of the Year, and serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Daniel Dae Kim:
Acclaimed actor Daniel Dae Kim is best known for his roles on Lost and The Hot zone: Anthrax as well as serving as executive producer of the hit show, The Good Doctor. He has been outspoken about the rise of anti-Asian hate, using his fame to speak on major media platforms. He serves on the Asian American Foundation as co-chair of the advisory council.
Kerry Doi:
He serves with passion in the areas of combating hate and advocating for social and economic justice through his leadership at the Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE). He is Chair of the CA Community Economic Development Association, Vice Chair and Treasurer of the LA Housing Partnership, and member of the LA County Small Business Commission.
Grace Huang:
This Taiwanese American attorney has fought for the rights of survivors of domestic and sexual violence for almost 30 years. She currently is the Director of Policy at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence and co-chairs the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors.
Victoria Huynh:
She is Senior Vice President of the Center for Pan Asian Community
Services, Inc. Raised in a Vietnamese refugee household, she has advocated for equitable language access, promoted local civic engagement, protected immigrant rights, championed cultural competency, and developed vital social service programs within the immigrant and refugee communities in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mia Ives-Rublee:
She is the Director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the
Center for American Progress. Ives-Rublee has been named to the People’s 20 Women of Color in Politics to Watch in 2020 and the Glamour Women of the Year in 2017. Much of her work focuses on the intersection of disability, race, and gender.
Kamal Kalsi:
He has served in the Army for 20 years, earning a Bronze Star medal for his work taking care of hundreds of combat casualties on the front lines in Afghanistan. He founded the Sikh American Veterans Alliance and serves as a senior advisor for Policy Vets and a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project’s Defense Council.
Michelle Kauhane:
She is the the Senior Vice President of Community Grants & Initiatives at Hawaii Community Foundation and currently serves on the Community Advisory Council at the Federal Reserve of San Francisco. In her former position as President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, she worked to deploy capital to in underserved native Hawaiian communities statewide.
Kevin Kim:
He co-founded Abakidz, a mental math program. The Korean American is the first Asian American commissioner of the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), and now serves as the first Korean American Member of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York.
Sarah Min:
This former media executive has served as a consultant for HBO,
Penguin Random House and numerous nonprofits. She also sits on the boards of Color of Change and EMILY’s List.
Simon Pang:
He is currently an Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Royal Business Bank. He emigrated from Singapore in 1981 and sits on the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs and has served on the national nonprofit Asian Pacific Islander Affairs.
Ai-jen Poo:
She is the Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She is noted as an organizer, author and leader in the women’s movement. In 2018, Meryl Streep invited Poo to accompany her to the Golden Globes.
Naheed Qureshi:
She is the Head of Policy Partnerships at Instacart and has served as the deputy director of Muslim Advocates and co-chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Hate Crimes and Bigotry Task Force. Qureshi is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and has worked at the Civil
Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Raynald Samoa:
The doctor is an endocrinologist at the City of Hope and served as the Lead
for the National Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team and has authored several manuscripts describing the impact of COVID-19 on Pacific Islander communities. He currently is the technical assistance lead for the Healing Association of Pacific Islander Physicians.
Sonal Shah:
The founding president of The Asian American Foundation has lead social impact movements in academia, government, and the private and philanthropic sectors for over 25 years. She founded the Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation and served as Deputy Assistant to President Obama and created the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
Smita Shah:
She is an engineer, entrepreneur, and civic leader serving as President and CEO of Chicago-based SPAAN Tech, Inc. Shah sits on numerous non-profit and corporate boards including the MacLean Fogg Company and works with the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
Robert Underwood:
He represented Guam as a member of Congress for 10 years. He is
also President Emeritus of the University of Guam and served as chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
KaYing Yang:
This community organizer has worked with such organizations as Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the International Organization for Migration, the International Finance Corporation, and the Coalition of Asian American Leaders in Minnesota. She came to the United States at the age of 7 as a Hmong refugee whose family overcame trauma and poverty.
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