‘Asena Taione-Filihia

‘Asena Taione-Filihia is a Tongan American educator and community organizer. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) at Pomona College, a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Outside of the college setting, she cofounded the non-profit organization Pasifika Inland Empire Coalition for Empowerment (PIECE), which serves Pasifika

Manka Dhingra

Manka Dhingra is an Indian American attorney, politician, and community organizer that is has served as a state senator for the 45th district of Washington since 2017. She is the first Sikh American to be elected to any state legislature in the United States. Since being elected, she has passed legislation to curb domestic and

Filipino American Association of Philadelphia

The Filipino American Association of Philadelphia (FAAPI) is the oldest continuously active Filipino American organization in the United States, having been founded in 1912. FAAPI is a not-for-profit organization that promotes Filipino cultural heritage and advocates for Filipino American causes. FAAPI was started when approximately 200 Filipino discharged navy personnel had settled in the Philadelphia

Tina Stege

Tina Eonemto Stege is a climate activist born in Saipan and raised in the Marshall Islands. She is the Climate Envoy for the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Stege is also the International Liason for the Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI), which was created to blend scholarly research with practice outreach to raise

Catzie Vilayphonh

Catzie Vilayphonh is a Lao American spoken word poet, filmmaker, writer, performance artist, and activist. She was one of the first Asian American women to appear on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam in 2010 as part of the group Yellow Rage. She aims to provide awareness of stories that are not often heard, drawing inspiration from

Timz

Thomas Hanna, aka Timz, is a Chaldean Iraqi American rapper from San Diego. Timz released his first album Open for Business in 2006 and was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Album at the 2006 San Diego Music Awards. Timz also worked with fellow San Diego Chaldean hip-hop artist Biggie Bablyon (formerly known as Entre-P) to form

Keitani Graham

Keitani Graham was a Hawaiian born Micronesian Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler. Graham was the first Olympic wrestler to represent the Federated States of Micronesia, participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He tragically passed away from a heart attack in December 2012. Graham was widely considered a Chuukese hero, being a youth leader, sports advocated, social entrepreneur,

Faisal Alam

Faisal Alam is a queer Muslim, Pakistani American that founded the Al-Fatiha Foundation in 1997, the first organization dedicated to advancing the cause of LGBTQ Muslims. Through organizing one of the the first internet-based email discussion groups, Alam ultimately shifted this group to become the Al-Fatiha Foundation. While the Al-Fatiha Foundation stopped operating in 2011,

API Equality-LA

Asians and Pacific Islanders for LGBTQ Equality in Los Angeles (API Equality-LA) focuses on empowering Asian and Pacific Islander communities to achieve LGBTQ, racial, and social justice. Their current campaign focuses on organizing community members to increase access to LGBTQ affirming and culturally responsive mental healthcare, promoting holistic community wellness, and creating supportive and affirming

Anna Mahina

Anna Mahina is a Tongan American that is the Executive Director of San Francisco Tongans Rise Up, a non-profit organization meant to organize, educate, and empower Tongan youth and families in San Francisco. San Francisco Tongans Rise Up is focused on improving the quality of life for the Tongan community in San Francisco and has