Congratulations to our new CLP 2010 class!

Bao Nguyen
I lived the first 10 years of my life in Vietnam until my parents decided to come to America. They saw a better future for me and my sister here. Since then I grew up and went to school in Seattle. I graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Chemistry. Science is my first love. I am working two jobs: one at the White Center Community Development Association and the other at Neighborhood House. I enjoy both jobs because they allow me to work within (and for the improvement) of the community in which I grew up. My real work and what I love doing is as a volunteer leader at a local youth group.

Benjamin Sung Henry
Ben Henry is a student at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs, and is expected to earn a Master’s in Public Administration in 2011. Born of an immigrant mother from South Korea who is now a successful Tacoma businesswoman, Henry is among the first Washington state Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs/ACLF Fellows, co-authoring “The State of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Washington.” Henry, who has lived in the Puget Sound area since 2007, grew up in the ethnic melting pot of Honolulu, where he attended one of the most culturally diverse universities in the country, Hawaii Pacific University, graduating with honors. After a 10-year journalism career working as a newspaper production editor and investigative reporter, Henry was elected to represent the Evans School in UW’s Graduate and Professional Student Senate. He is the co-founder and Steering Committee chair of the inaugural Evans School Symposium of Public Affairs Research.

Christopher Diangco
Born and raised in Seattle, Christopher Magnata Diangco, a full-blooded Filipino, knew one thing, he wanted to be a Husky. In 2008, he graduated from the University of Washington with degrees in biology and environmental health. He has taken a few years off to gain experience in the working world while maintaining his desire to head into the healthcare profession. He has worked for the United States Census Bureau as a Partnership Assistant, where he cultivates relationships and informs organizations and communities the importance of the decennial 2010 census. In his spare time, Chris volunteers with the University of Washington Alumni Association (UWAA) Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP), Swedish Medical Center’s Mother Joseph Clinic, the Beloved Brotherhood of Omega Phi Omega, Inc. also known as the KUYAs, and at his church on Sundays. He loves spending time with his family and girlfriend, and tries to squeeze in a happy hour when he can.

Glannel Paek
Glannel Paek is a second-generation Korean American with a name that if often misspelled for Flannel. She was raised in Kirkland, WA and is passionate about global health issues, especially concerning East Asian and SE Asian countries. For the past 3 years she has worked and volunteered internationally in health services in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and East Timor. Currently she is studying public health at the University of Washington, and is serving as a volunteer coordinator at International Community Health Services. Glannel also volunteers at Harborview Medical Center and is a member of King County Public Health Reserve Corps. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, running with her dog Rocky, and trying out new restaurants with her sister Agelina.

Glen Jermyn Andag
Glen Jermyn Andag is a native of Richmond, BC, Canada, grew up in San Jose, CA and socialized in San Francisco, CA. He is a Filipino American who holds close to his heart his family’s migration history, Filipino and Pangasinan heritage and community alliances. He is passionate about social justice and engaging in culturally relevant and sensitive services through the process of community immersion. He is honored to have worked in the South of Market Community in San Francisco, CA alongside families, individuals, organizations and coalitions, such as Bayanihan Community Center, Galing Bata Filipino Bilingual Program, Manilatown Heritage Foundation and Student Action for Veterans Equity. Together they participated in many campaigns concerning community and cultural preservation and advocating for FULL EQUITY for Filipino WWII Veterans. He is now in Seattle attending University of Washington’s School of Social Work and hopes to enhance and develop skills that would serve in the best interest of communities.

Jennifer Seayoung Yim
Jennifer Seayoung Yim is a second generation Korean American born in Los Angeles, raised in Washington state. She majored in Drama at UW. Her interests lie in activist theater. She is a steering committee member of Sahngnoksoo (SNS) a group of progessive Koreans of all identities. In SNS she is collaborating on a film about SPAM, the canned meat product and its relation to US Militarism in Korea and the Philippines. In SNS, she has learned some basic pungmul, a form of drumming historically used in progressive movements in Korea. She currently works as a program coordinator for YWCA GirlsFirst, a high school leadership program for girls of color in Seattle. She has also volunteered at Refugee Women’s Alliance as a Level 1 ESL teacher. She loves to eat, cook and watch lots of films and plays.

Jonathen Diego
Jonathen is completing his B.A. in sociology at Seattle University, June 2010. He is currently serves on the core team of the Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s MPowerment Project, a local youth-driven HIV prevention and alcohol and drug harm reduction program for gay/bi/queer men ages 16-22 years old. Among many projects with the MPowerment Project, Jonathan has facilitated workshops on safer-sex and edited the quarterly zine titled CensorThis!

Kenyon Ching Mayeda
Kenyon Ching Mayeda was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco. He is currently based in Seattle as an Operation Officer for Cathay Bank. As an ethnically mixed Japanese and Chinese American, Kenyon has maintained strong ties to the community. He is currently an active member of YoGos, an organization of fourth and fifth generation Japanese Americans providing community involvement opportunities to youth. In his leisure time, Kenyon enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Kevin Chang
Kevin Chang, Ph.D., is a Supervising Engineer with the King County Department of Transportation. A native of the Evergreen State, Kevin earned his doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington. Kevin is an active member of NAAAP-Seattle and is currently an elected board member for both the Institute of Transportation Engineers (Washington State Section) and his neighborhood community club. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys playing golf and has completed three marathons.

Martin Tran
Martin Tran is a second generation Vietnamese-American. Born and raised in Washington state, he attended The Evergreen State College where he studied Film and Creative Writing. After a stint abroad, Martin returned to the Pacific Northwest and has committed himself toward building healthy communities. For the last two years he has worked for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and frequently volunteers for several community organizations. You may spot him around town at hip hop shows and clubs, reading and writing in Cal Anderson Park, or wandering the city with his Canon 20D in hand.

Nicole Keenan
Nicole Keenan, was born in New York City and is half Filipino and half Irish American. Nicole is a student at University of Washington’s School of Social Work and is a member of Pinay sa Seattle. Nicole is committed to liberation work (liberation from oppression) and to learning as much about critical race feminism as possible. She is currently interning at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center and working with a team of youth to conduct a program evaluation of Youngstown’s drop in arts classes. Nicole is employed as a research assistant at the University of Washington and is working on two studies that are primarily focused on tax systems and finances. For fun, Nicole plays the piano, sits in the sun, and tries to find time to exercise. Nicole also enjoys cuddling with her cat.

Paul Lee
I am the son of two Korean immigrants who dreamt about the possibilities embodied by the American Dream, but realized the immigrant’s nightmare. I am the product of an educational system which failed my teachers and me as a student learning English as a second language, and presented me with more obstacles than opportunities. I am now a citizen of a country; the most powerful country in the world, that institutionalizes poverty. I am a citizen of a nation whose police force is supposed to protect and serve me, not institutionalize me. I am also an employee in a nation that undermines the rights of its workers to organize, and refuses the rights of its workers to share equally in the benefits of the employer’s economic success. I am a so-called “minority” in a country that espouses assimilation over integration. Hopefully a country that will reject recent attempt to criminalize human beings on the basis of the color of their skin, clothing they wear, or people that they associate with.

Phung Nguyen
Phung Nguyen was born in Southern Vietnam and her family of five immigrated to Seattle when she was nine years old. She is the first member in her family to graduate with a college degree. Since graduating from the University of Washington in 2007, she has been working with the Vietnamese Friendship Association as a Parent Advocate Coordinator. She is a strong believer in social justice and truly passionate in serving the Asian Pacific Islander community. One of her missions in life is to bring harmony and happiness in people’s lives in anything she does. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, traveling, exercising, and personal enrichment activities such as honing her public speaking and leadership skills through Toastmasters International.

2010 community project