ACLF welcomes four outstanding community leaders and Community Leaders Program (CLP) alumni to its Board of Directors.

ACLF will benefit from these community leaders knowledge, expertise and dedication to the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community.  They will increase ACLF’s presence in the community and help us train and support leaders that are committed to social justice, community involvement and empowering and raising the collective voice of the API community.

Randon Aea (CLP alumni 2011)
Randon Aea was born and raised on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. He identifies himself as Native Hawaiian with a mixed heritage of Chinese, English, Irish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Filipino. He has worked in the Human Services/Community Mental Health field for the past 16 years. Randon has a background in crisis management where he has provided crisis outreach in King County and taught crisis intervention classes at the community college level. In 2012, Randon completed the Emerging Leaders Program for LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics). Currently he works for the Muckleshoot Tribe as the Family and Youth Services Program Manager.

Melissa Atalig (CLP alumni 2012)
Melissa Atalig is a Special Projects Coordinator for Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest. Her varied career includes sustainable planning and development; energy efficiency and emissions reduction; and project management. Since moving to Washington State, she has dedicated her time to environmental justice concerns in Seattle and the Puget Sound region. Over the past year, she worked with the Tulalip Tribes of Washington on improving air quality in the Tulalip Bay airshed. Her passion for promoting equity and social justice for marginalized communities has been demonstrated through her community advocacy work and successful efforts to ensure a better quality of life for vulnerable populations.

Justin Chan (CLP alumni 2011)
Justin Chan, a first generation Taiwanese and a dedicated community leader, currently serves the entire Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the State of Washington as the Executive Assistant to the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. Justin has worked with AAPI communities throughout the State by helping to ensure their equitable participation in the fields of business, education and government services. He is a Commissioner on the Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Commission. He also served on the vital procurement committees for the InterIm CDA and the Wing Luke Museum.

Mary McNair (CLP alumni 2011)
Mary works at the University of Washington with the Jump­start pro­gram where she super­vises stu­dents who engage in year-long service-learning oppor­tu­nities at local Head Start cen­ters in Seat­tle. Mary is a life-long Wash­ing­ton res­i­dent who fol­lowed her dream to explore the world and vol­un­teer while serv­ing in the Peace Corps in West Africa and has been engaged in service and leadership roles ever since. From Seattle Works to volunteering for community events and organizations focused on youth, Mary is dedicated to serving others. In 2010, Mary earned her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs with a certificate in Non-Profit Management.

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January 17, 2013

Contact: 360/725-5667

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ACLF Welcomes our CAPAA Fellow, Grant Kagawa

OLYMPIA, WA – The Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) and the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation (ACLF) are pleased to announce the selection of 2013 Fellow, Grant Kagawa.

Grant Kagawa is a former Legislative Aide to Representative Dee Morikawa in the Hawaii State Legislature and worked on community engagement and policy issues. He served as the Committee Clerk for the House Health Committee where he was tasked with managing social media outlets, coordinating committee activity and tracking legislation. Prior to his legislative employment, he interned at engineering firms Oceanit Laboratories and Envisioneering.

He is a graduate of the University of Washington and served in leadership roles in the Japanese Student Association and the Hawaii Club.

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Melissa Atalig, a recent graduate of the 2012 Community Leaders Program (CLP), shared her thoughts about the program.  The following article was first published at Seattle Gay News.  Thanks Melissa!  

Melissa, leftmost middle row, with the 2012 Community Leaders Program participants.

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by M.C. Atalig – Special to the SG.

Recently I attended the 13th Community Leaders Program (CLP) graduation for the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation (ACLF). Truth be told, I’m one of 12 graduates of this year’s CLP.

The program teaches participants about the significant contributions of Asian/Pacific Islanders and other minorities in the Northwest and the United States. It’s an intensive curriculum that provides training and mentorship to adults with an interest in leadership and the potential to step into a leadership role.

This year’s graduation dinner, held November 17 at South Seattle Community College, was not only a celebration of completing our leadership program curriculum and community project – which involved partnering with Washington Asian Pacific Islander (WAPI) Community Services to reopen a safe space for youth in the International District – but it was also an evening of community celebration of API leaders dedicated to social justice and giving back to the community.

My journey with the CLP began six months ago, after having lived in the Seattle area for a little over a year and having spent much of my life not feeling a deep connection to either of my parents’ cultures. My father is of Chamorro decent and my mother is German. I grew up in a rural town of 3,500 in the Midwest. To add to the mix, I’m Lesbian. So I guess you could say I struggled for some time with understanding the cultures of both my parents, how being Gay might affect my ability to connect with those cultures, and how to consolidate that within my own identity.

KNOW AND BE YOURSELF
At our first community leaders’ retreat, we were asked to take a self-inventory: Who are you? Where do you come from? How do you want to change and grow? And I’ve discovered this year has been all about pushing my boundaries and challenging myself to a more authentic way of living and leading. Whether it was in my personal life in reaching out to a community I feared could reject me if they knew I was Gay, being vulnerable in leadership, or fighting for equal rights and same-sex marriage here in Washington, I wanted to be a part of a program that would propel me to step into a role as a leader with transparency, honesty, and vulnerability.

For me, 2012 was a time of firsts and forward movement. For the first time ever, voters said yes to marriage equality here in Washington state. Though civil rights should not be up for popular vote, we witnessed broad coalitions mobilizing for equal rights and those results favoring full equality. We saw emerging alliances between racial justice and LGBT organizations on a range of issues. I can only imagine the power wielded from partnerships at the place where racial justice and LGBT rights meet.

For the first time ever, I have the ability to let go of who I thought I should be in order to be who I really am. I’ve experienced the power of vulnerability in leadership and letting myself be seen – ‘vulnerably seen.’ ACLF’s Community Leaders Program allowed my fellow API participants and me to create a safe space to share individual processes, journeys, and challenges with one another, creating an environment that was authentic and conducive for individual and collective growth.

With the New Year approaching on the heels of major political and civil rights victories, I have one question: Do you want to become a better leader?

For more information on ACLF and the Community Leaders Program, visit http://aclfnorthwest.org.

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OLYMPIA – The Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) and the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation (ACLF) are accepting applications. This fellowship opportunity for college juniors, seniors, and graduate students to build their legislative and public policy analysis skills on issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Applications are currently being accepted for the January 2013 Fellowship program. Individuals selected to participate in the program will gain valuable job experience and an inside look at the government while building leadership skills. Upon completing the Fellowship, the Fellow, if eligible, will participate in ACLF’s Community Leaders Program, which further develops leadership skills through community based curriculum, project team-building and mentoring/networking opportunities.

“This program will cultivate young leaders of today and tomorrow and I’m proud that the agency will be able to provide an opportunity allowing students to access the field of government,” said Kendee Yamaguchi, Executive Director of the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. “I want to commend all who apply for their desire to help through public service to forge a stronger future for Asian Pacific Americans in our state.”

In addition to normal office duties, the Fellow will supplement their learning experience by attending committee hearings during the legislative session and statewide community events. Fellows also have the opportunity to shadow an Asian Pacific American legislator.

The 2013 Fellowship program begins in January, and application review begins December 1^st; priority given to applications received by December 5^th; after December 5th; applications are considered on a space-available basis. Fellows will be placed in the agency’s Olympia office.

More information on the CAPAA ACLF Fellowship Program, including application instructions, can be found at www.capaa.wa.gov and www.aclfnorthwest.org or by contacting our offices at 360.725.5667 (CAPAA) or 206.625.3850 (ACLF)

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Members of the Community Leaders Program 2012 meeting at the WAPI youth lounge.

For the past decade, 17-year-old Kimani Jackson felt like he’s been holding his family together. It wasn’t until Jackson discovered the WAPI community that he saw a different family dynamic.

WAPI Community Services, formerly known as Washington Asian Pacific Islander Families Against Substance Abuse, provides culturally relevant services for adolescents to prevent gang violence and substance abuse. The program’s most recent project is working to reopen a youth center in the International District (ID).

After being founded in 1990, then restructured and renamed in 1992, WAPI moved to Columbia City after being offered a larger site for free rent. The organization kept the original center in the ID near the corner of Maynard Avenue South and South Weller Street.

“It was a move that we thought was necessary, but, at the same time, we wanted to keep our roots in the ID somehow,” said Greg Garcia, executive director of the WAPI Seattle youth organization.

In the years since the 2010 move, however, the space in the ID has fallen inactive. In a recent collaboration with the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation (ACLF), WAPI launched a renewal project. The goal, Garcia said, is to reach out to youth in the ID who may not feel comfortable traveling to Columbia City.

“The youth that we serve that are from the ID don’t come down to the south office in Columbia City because of a lot of the gang stuff,” Garcia said. “Here [in the ID] is more of a neutral area.”

For Jackson, the program has provided an opportunity to pursue his goals despite a turbulent childhood. Jackson’s parents separated while he was in sixth grade. He said he had to mature fast to protect his younger siblings, and because of this, lost most of his own childhood.

Kimani Jackson, a 17-year-old youth who is actively involved in WAPI, sits in the new International District center. Jackson joined WAPI last year and hopes to continue in the program through college.

“I wanted to make an impact around music, and lately it’s been a little bit off track,” the Highline High School senior said. “I just wanted to change, so that’s why I got into WAPI.”

The collaboration began six months ago, when WAPI filed a request for ACLF’s services. Since then, a team of 12 from ACLF’s Community Leaders Program (CLP) class of 2012 has redesigned the space in the ID, raised money, and created a report documenting the project. There was no budget and ACLF is working with only $500 they raised at a local fundraiser.

The Seattle Police Department and City of Seattle are working on youth protection programs. In the 2013–14 budget proposal announced in September, Mayor Mike McGinn announced that $1.68 million would go toward enlarging the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative and that another $276,000 would expand hours at local community centers.

“Protecting public safety means giving young people a safe place to socialize and services to help them succeed,” said McGinn in a press release. “With this budget we can make some targeted investments to help build safer communities.”

Despite the investment, youth in the ID have not seen the benefits. ACLF surveyed adolescences earlier this year and found that most youth just wanted a safe, free place in the ID to gather with friends. Currently, the local community center has short hours, leaving them with few places to go after school.

Jennifer Duong, an ACLF CLP class participant working on the WAPI project, said there are few locations where local youth can gather.

“We’ve all been young before; we always want a place to hang out that’s cool and safe, and positive, not negative,” Duong said. “I think WAPI being able to offer that is really nice.”

In addition to a safe space, the WAPI center would also provide activities that engage youth.

“There’s not a place where they can really hang out and also have an impact in their life,” Duong said. “Maybe they need a certain service, and WAPI is able to provide that.”

Among such services is a recording studio. Garcia realized that WAPI could use music and art to bond with adolescents while he worked on his own music with them. In doing so, he built stronger relationships with the youth, who began to open up to him. Before, he said, it was more difficult to get them to talk.

“It’s like pulling teeth, so being able to do it through music is a lot easier,” Garcia said. For adolescences such as Jackson, music is a way to express their emotions. “There’s hardships, there’s excitement, there’s just so many things you can rap about: just life lessons or life experiences you’ve had,” Jackson said.

Garcia said that using art to reach the youth is what sets WAPI apart from other youth programs.

“It’s our way in,” he said.

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Please enjoy the Fall 2012 edition of our newsletter (click on the photo for a larger, PDF of the newsletter).  Especially important to remember is the CLP 2012 Project Presentation event taking place on Thursday, October 11th at 5:30 PM at the ACLF office in Chinatown.

Click for the full size

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Kip Tokuda, a founder of ACLF, was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan’s second most prestigious order, for his great contributions toward promoting friendly relations between Japan and the US and his hard work protecting the welfare of Japanese and Japanese Americans.  He received his award from Japan’s emperor on April 29th, 2012.

Read full story from the North American Post

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