Making A Difference One At A Time...
Each of the women trained by APAWLI's Leadership Training Program completes her training by designing and implementing a project which will benefit at least twenty-five people. Here are some of their stories.
Agtuca, Jacqueline R., 1997
Fellow convenes writer's groups for Filipina activists
Jacqueline R. Agtuca, Esq. used her novel, The Spirits of Mango Grove, as a basis for discussion groups in several cities. The book reflects her experience as a second generation Filipina. Her goal is to promote literature that reflects their struggle for civil rights. Jacqueline is organizing four groups of Filipina American activist women to meet in four cities this year. They will use her novel, The Spirits of the Mango Grove, "as a starting point for the conversation," she explains. "It reflects my experience as a second generation Filipina. Part of Filipina Americans' being rendered invisible is based on minimal literature written about the Filipino American experience, so a lot of the civil rights cases are unheard of...There was an alienation in my father's generation. My parents weren't allowed to buy the first house they wanted to live in because he was Filipino. Many of my people still don't think, 'This is my country, my White House, my Congress.'"
One of Jacqueline's goals is to encourage the participants, many of whom are writers, to write more. She hopes her groups do for these women what the Leadership Program did for her. She explains, "There is a common experience we have as women leaders. We are challenged by the living conditions of our people; we feel compelled to act. We often feel so alone in the work that we do. The program gave me the time to reflect on the direction of my life, and what contribution I want to make. It was incredibly inspirational to share with my sisters."
Jacqueline's first group will meet in Washington, D.C. in May, to be followed by groups in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. She is a senior associate at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Assistant Attorney General, Violence Against Women Grants Office.
"There was an alienation in my father's generation. My parents weren't allowed to buy the first house they wanted to live in because he was Filipino. Many of my people still don't think, 'This is my country, my White House, my Congress.'"
-Jacqueline R. Agtuca, Esq.
Albuquerque, Manuela, 1999
Educating and registering voters to increase South Asian awareness
The Hindi word "savera" means "dawn." For Manuela Albuquerque, the word serves as the acronym for the South Asian Voter Education and Registration Alliance she founded as her Leadership Impact Project. For many, SAVERA has brought the dawn of political consciousness. As Berkley's City Attorney, for the last 15 years, Manuela was well aware that people of color vote in disproportionately low numbers. The 1994 congressional election spurred Manuela out of complacency. "Up to that point, I thought both the Republican and Democratic parties had coalesced around the middle," she said. "I was so perturbed by the actions of the new Republican Congress that I realized it was terribly important to participate because there is a war on immigrants, a war on the poor, with people not at all sensitive to civil rights issues. I realized I couldn't take what we had achieved for granted any more."
Manuela herself had immigrated to the US in 1970: "It was a very different time; all these strides were being made in expanding rights of disenfranchised groups. Barriers were falling," she said, "but slowly some of the gains started to erode. It made me think about whether immigrants really even know what's going on in the larger community. So many times they're just trying to adjust, learning about institutions, surviving on a day-to-day basis. Getting to the point where you follow the nuances of government is one of the last things and one of the most intimidating." To bridge the gap between immigrants and the larger community by registering and educating voters, Manuela developed an informative booklet that includes information on current issues, immigration and civil rights, the history of South Asians in the US and a list of pertinent web sites. "The hardest phase was developing materials from scratch," she said.
"I wanted the people to know not only about issues, but also about the history of South Asians in the U.S."
She distributed the pamphlets at a popular Indian restaurant and also at melas (fairs). What surprised Manuela most was how many people she encountered who are not citizens. "I want South Asian people to get involved in the mainstream, to participate in advisory commissions, to take issues seriously," she said.
"We're not there yet."
Yet she's made a noble start, thanks, in part, to APAWLI: "APAWLI made me reach beyond my comfort zone," she said. "I've definitely done some growing with this." Manuela isn't focused on hard number results of how many voters SAVERA itself has registered. "You never know what sort of effect that guide has, whether it changes the nature of the debate or what we start to see," she said. "If I could help one woman, it would be worth it for me. You make change one person at a time."
-Manuela Albuquerque, Class of '99, is City Attorney in Berkley, CA.
Beezley, Juliet Arboleda, 2009
Assistance for relocated Navy families
Juliet Arboleda Beezley plans to develop an assistance program for families on the Naval Base 32nd Street and the North Island Air Naval Station in the San Diego area. She intends to help these families through orientation and introduction to their community, and to provide information about available services and the culture of their new home.
Benavides, Vida, 2000
Raising awareness and providing education about the Filipino American experience
Vida Benavides plans to provide a forum to educate and raise awareness of the Filipino American experience through creative and artistic expression. She is establishing Babylon Productions as a vehicle for nurturing and encouraging individuals to use multi-media expression.
Borromeo, Gelly, 1999
Asian American Business Association created
As publisher of Asian Enterprise magazine in Walnut Creek, California, Gelly Borromeo was painfully aware of the lack of representation for Asian Pacific businesses. For five years, she germinated her idea for a national Asian American chamber of commerce. "I had this dream, but I kept getting bogged down," Gelly said. "I kept shoving my dream underneath a stack of other priorities: making ends meet, responsibilities with community groups, being overwhelmed with running a business and a family."
APAWLI's Leadership Training Program provided Gelly with the support she needed to let her idea sprout and grow. As her Leadership Impact Project, she founded the National Council of Asian American Business Associations (National CAABA).
"APAWLI came along and provided the chance for me to take three weeks without any contact with the real world. It let my creative juices flow," Gelly said. "The introspection part of the program crystallized everything for me- what I was doing, where I saw myself in the future, what my passion issues were. It just jelled."
Calling upon a personal contact at Wells Fargo Bank paid off in a big way. After submitting a summary of her vision, Gelly received an e-mail message informing her that the bank was underwriting her project with $100,000. "I wrote back that he must have typed one too many zeros. I told him, 'Don't get me this excited; I'm about to have a heart attack.'" But the check was indeed for $100,000 to finance the planning phase of National CAABA. "This is definitely bigger than I thought," Gelly said. "I anticipated a handful of organizations would be interested, and already I have 80 prospective organizations. It's great to know there's so much energy around this project. Usually when you're trying to do pioneering, grassroots work, it's hard to convince people. This has been a very easy sell."
Such contagious enthusiasm reflects Gelly's own infectious desire:
"If you have the burning flame of inspiration within your heart, it's possible to do things that make others get excited and want to be on a bandwagon of success."
Gelly is publisher of Asian Enterprise Magazine in Walnut, CA, and a member of the APAWLI Class of ‘99
Asian Pacific business owners who want to board National CAABA's bandwagon can phone Gelly at or e-mail her at
gellyb@asianenterprise.com.
Cash-Kaeo, Mervina Kaukini Mamo, 2000
Celebrating 70 years of community
Mervina Cash-Kaeo plans to help the residents of the Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead reconnect with their cultural values and vessels of wisdom "The Kupana". By collecting, documenting and presenting 70 years of photographs and stories, Mervina's goal is to awaken the wisdom of the past in her community.
Chancellor, Donna Ikema, Board, 1996 Fellow
Study compares businesses owned by white and minority women
Donna Ikema Chancellor realized during her '96 Leadership Training that she wanted to get involved in film and television production. Her first result was aired on PBS. One 30-minute segment of the series "To the Contrary" will be about the results of a study Donna founded as her Leadership Impact Project. Donna persuaded her employer, AT&T, to fund a Women of Color Business Owners Study. It is the first study ever done to show how minority women are similar to, and different from, white women business owners. "The results were amazing," Donna reports. "The number of minority women-owned businesses is growing at triple the rate of white women-owned ventures. That's because the minority women are shut out of mainstream jobs...The objective of the study is to give minority women more credibility, clout and access to capital."
Donna was the assistant producer of the show, which featured a panel of minority women business owners. It was broadcast nationally in May of 1998.
Chang, Patricia W., 1998
Assessing the needs of the women and girls of California
"We're reaching into whole new crowds," 1998 Fellow Patricia W. Chang says. "We're getting lots of in-depth information and support from new donors, corporations, and corporate women. We want to take the women's movement in California to the next step and include many women and girls who were left out of the first round."
As Executive Director of the Women's Foundation in San Francisco, Patti is well acquainted with issues affecting California's women. The foundation recently published "The 1999 California Report Card" which evaluated the state on five key factors. Her APAWLI project, co-sponsored by the foundation, is to survey 3,000 women and girls and identify their needs--and what will cause them to mobilize for action.
Using a combination of focus groups and a written survey, Patti hopes the survey will reveal the priority needs of the women and girls of her state, leading to development of a comprehensive strategy for acting on those needs. She envisions use of grass roots organizing, media campaigns, legislative policy work and the support of corporations and businesses to address these priority issues.
The survey will be done this summer, and the findings will be launched this fall. Patti jokes, "We're taking bets on how it will turn out. I believe economic issues unite all women. Pay inequity still affects women at all levels. That's one reason female business owners are the fastest-growing sector. My vision of this next stage is that it will include them, and many more women of color."
Chin, Soo-Young, 1998
College students bring multicultural arts education to inner city kids
Professor Soo-Young Chin is obviously not afraid of logistical challenges. Her project was a collaboration between the University of Southern California, the Korean American Museum, the University of California at Irvine, and Foshay School (a public middle school). It merged two college-level courses whose 75 students participated in a community service project bringing multicultural arts education to 280 inner city middle school kids.
The college students, who were mostly Euro American and Asian American, explored the importance of place in ethnic identity, especially in relation to "international cities" like LA, where ethnicity may serve as an organizing principle. They studied the Latino, African American, and Asian American populations in LA, and how different art mediums from street life to museum displays related to those people.
Then they began work with middle-school kids, giving the children prepared tours of a gallery exhibit, planning and teaching art projects, installing an exhibition of the middle school kids' work at their school, and celebrating their art at the opening of the show. The children were 70% Latino and 30% African American. Their school district lacks the funds for arts education.
The middle school kids' comments? "It made me think more about the future," "I learned how to communicate with Asian people." "I learned a lot about my culture," and "I thought it was okay for all races to just...all be together."
The college students also gave high marks to the course, which allowed them to develop their understanding of ethnicity and place, practice teaching and communications skills, and to connect children to some of the cultural resources in their communities.
"I learned how to communicate with Asian people."
-Soo-Young Chin
Ching, Deborah Fu-Yien, 1998
Wall project unites new community in LA
First they built an affordable family housing project. Next will come the finishing touch, a beautiful design for the eight-foot street-level wall.
'98 Fellow Deborah Fu-Yien Ching is Executive Director of Chinatown Service Center in LA. They were the managing partners in the construction of the twenty-seven unit Casanova Gardens project, which is now home for 95 people.
The project, completed in late 1998, sits up on a hill with beautiful city views. Landscaping leads down to the 160-foot-long wall.
To qualify to live in one of the two-to-four bedroom Casanova Gardens apartments, families must meet low-income guidelines that are reviewed each year. The families at Casanova Gardens range from nuclear to extended families with residents from 3 months to 88 years old. With a critical shortage of affordable housing in the Los Angeles Chinatown area, these families pay a maximum of $375/month for a four bedroom, two bath apartment. With over 500 applications for the Casanova Gardens' 27 apartments, the families selected felt as though they had won the lottery.
Many never dreamed of being able to live in a new apartment with views usually reserved for the wealthy. Chinatown Service Center provides case management services for the residents and organize family and youth field trips that have galvanized the families into a community.
For her Leadership Impact Project, Deborah will bring the new community together with other groups in an ambitious art project. Residents will collaborate with artist Yong Soon Min to create art for the wall at Casanova Gardens-and another APAWLI Fellow, Soo-Young Chin, will bring a multiracial group of kids from other parts of the city to participate as well. Predominantly Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants and refugees, these first families of Casanova Gardens will leave a legacy of beauty and cooperation for future families and the community.
Choi, Cindy Chung-Mi, 1999
Leadership development workshops for teens
Cindy Choi is working on a collaborative project with three other Fellows to provide leadership development and enhancements workshops for girls ages 12 to 15. These regional workshops will be presented in Chicago, Long Beach, Seattle and Washington, DC in 2001.
Chung, Anni Yuet-Kuen, Board, 1997 Fellow
Networking and training young APA women in the Bay Area
Four graduates of the APAWLI Leadership Program, Anni Chung, Tessie Guillermo, Yvonne Lee and Melinda Yee are organizing a series of training sessions for young API women. "There is so much potential in San Francisco and the Bay area for API women to take up their issues," Tessie explains. "We hope to develop a conscious cadre of young women just starting their careers, by exposing them to veteran women who've already been active in community, political, and policy work on API issues."
The group plan a kickoff session with a keynote speaker and reception at the end of June 1998. They will recruit partners from among the established API support groups in the area, looking for co-sponsors and for referrals of both trainers and trainees. Then they will produce five training sessions, starting in September. Undoubtedly some of the women who participate will find their way into APAWLI's programs, as well.
Annie, Melinda, Tessie and Yvonne hope to create a model for other regions. Essentially, they want other API women to have a benefit they got from their APAWLI Fellowship--sisterhood. Anni says, "We want to spread the net a little wider. Our API sisters really become a strong link we can rely on. I have my Fellows constantly involved in my decision-making. It's as if we have a secret understanding. That is so powerful."
"We want to spread the net a little wider."
-Anni Chung
Cole, Donna Fujimoto, Board, 1996 Fellow
Science lab experience for 1,200 children
Imagine over 1,200 fourth, fifth and sixth grade kids each doing eight science experiments in one day. Many science teachers dread the logistics of having one class of thirty do a lab experiment, which is one of the reasons our nation is behind others in science education. But '97 Fellow Donna Fujimoto Cole, President of Cole Chemical, fearlessly went where many fear to tread. She organized a hands-on science lab extravaganza at Aldine Independent School District (AISD) in Houston called "Building a Pipeline for the Sciences." The goal was to turn students on to the excitement of science in hopes that more will pursue education and careers in science-related fields.
Nearly a hundred middle and high school students aided by fifty teachers and thirty-five volunteers from the University of Houston Smart Center, and the chemical, and oil industry taught the younger students to do experiments at eight stations around the cafeteria. Each of the kids was given a brown paper bag to carry their completed experiments and a "passport" to have stamped at each station. They moved in groups, spending about fifteen minutes on each experiment.
They learned to separate colors using chromatography, prepare an elastic ball of "glurch" from two compounds, biorient and heat pictures drawn on sheets of polystyrene to create "shrinky dinks," and test for pH. They skewered balloons without popping them to understand the elastic qualities of polymer strands, mixed chemicals in a sealed plastic bag which grew and warmed as the reaction occurred, and watched an adult demonstration on temperature and pressure changes in which a can collapsed with a "pop." Last they learned how to write secret messages that were revealed only with the application of glass cleaner.
Kids then traded their completed passports for golf shirts with the emblem "Building a Pipeline for the Sciences" and the school district's name. They were given snacks and shown a chemical video "Jason's Journey" before returning to their schools via bus.
The students come from an economically challenged school district. 83% are African American or Hispanic, 10% are white and 7% are Asian American. Donna reported that the kids were well behaved and mesmerized by the experiments. Their comments included, "This is the best Saturday of my life!" and "Can we do this again?"
Yes we can, says Donna. Two other school districts are interested in the program, and AISD wants to repeat it next year. They are developing a procedure manual to use in multiple settings and looking for donations and support to continue the program. A "You be the Chemist Kit" was given to each teacher to continue the education process back in the classroom. Additional chemical industry information will be sent to schools that participate, such as the new "ChemiPalooza" an interactive CD-ROM for junior high and high school students.
Everyone's heart was obviously captured by the children. As Donna recalls, "One little girl-with all the patience in the world-worked with five balloons before she was able to run the skewer through without popping the balloon. I don't have to tell you the size of her smile when she succeeded &One day some of these students may go to college and major in math or science. Maybe they will be the scientists that cure cancer or develop new technology to improve the quality of future generations' lives."
Dharmaraj, Krishanti Judy, 1999
Representation at the UN Conference Against Racism
Krishanti Dharmaraj took human rights activists as part of the U.S. Women of Color delegation to the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in September 2001 in South Africa.
Fukui, Penny, 1998
Educational assistance for single mothers
Penny Fukui is the managing partner of Mon America Facial Blotting Papers; a principal of the Woodburn Company, an office equipment dealer in Everett, WA; and a member of the APAWLI Class of 1998. At the Women's Center at Bellevue Community College in the state of Washington, Penny Fukui was exposed to women struggling against the odds. "Women in various stages of transition came to the center looking for assistance," Penny said. "Some were women who had stayed home to raise children who were now grown. Others were single mothers who needed to enter the work force. Many were in need of financial assistance. They lacked access to livable wages and their pressures were compounded by the high cost of daycare."
Penny's multifaceted, year-long Leadership Impact Project provided practical assistance for women who wanted to further their education or enter the work force. One project called Opt for Success gave 25 single parents grant money for tuition, books, child care, and transportation to or from college.
Another part of Penny's project, called Taking the Next Step , convened 40 key corporate and community members as volunteer mentors. More than 160 people, over 95 percent women, attended the eight panel/sessions to learn about what employers look for when hiring and to hear the personal stories of the mentors.
Penny said, "The leaders talked about the importance of having technical skills, but also emphasized critical human factors such as team playing, enhancing communications, affirming and self-assessing. They created a very positive environment for the participants."
Penny said her impact projects reminded her of a saying she had heard that holds there is no luck other than when readiness meets opportunity. Her project provided both parts of the equation.
"Given education, financial assistance and mentoring, any one of the participants could be on the verge of greatness," she said. Penny relishes the ripple effect of good will created by her project:
"Just as APAWLI has taught us that our hands should be extended to help the next person, it is important to life as we climb to share our experience so the next person can in turn share it. It goes on and on."
Glodava, Milagros Garcia, 1996
Newsletter raises funds and links Filipinos from Infanta
Mila Glodava had shed light on humanity's dark side in her work with mail order brides from the Third World. When it came time to plan her Leadership Impact Project, Mila wanted to do something more uplifting. She envisioned a newsletter linking people all over the world who came from her hometown: Infanta, Quezon, Philippines.
"I established the Metro Infanta Foundation and began to solicit funds in February 1997. We now have a 20-page newsletter which links about 300 people who are from Infanta. We've published 24 editions, and use the newsletter to keep in touch with each other and with Infanta.
"Many of my townmates scattered around the world have the resources to do something positive," Mila continues. "I am hoping to emulate the works of such agencies as the United Way, for the benefit of my hometown. We've raised almost $50,000, and have donated money for computers for the municipal town hall, a medical mission to our area, scholarships for high school students, and for a memorial prayer garden for the Carmelite Mission. We're sending money for televisions for classrooms, and are raising an emergency fund so that we can help out in case of disasters like the flood that hit a town in the area last year.
"I have a new worldwide community from my old home town; we E-mail and write letters all the time. This whole project has been about returning to our roots, honoring the past so that we can be grounded in our own identities."
Mila glows as she speaks. "I felt like a lonely voice in the wilderness until the APAWLI training program. I got affirmation and comfort from the group. The sisters encouraged me to go on. Now I'm using all my gifts."
"Many of my townmates scattered around the world have the resources to do something positive."
-Mila Glodava
Gong, Sonya Elaine, 1999
Leadership development workshops for teens
Sonya Gong is working on a collaborative project with three other Fellows to provide leadership development and enhancements workshops for girls ages 12 to 15. These regional workshops will be presented in Chicago, Long Beach, Seattle and Washington, DC in 2001.
Goodhart, Esther Paik, 2000
Fundraising benefit for Native Hawaiian health issues
Esther Goodhart is organizing the first-ever Asian American & Pacific Islander stand-up comedy competition. "Chop Shtick" will be held in Honolulu, July, 2001 and all procedes will be donated to Native Hawaiian health issues.
Guillermo, Tessie Marie, 1997
Networking and training young APA women in the Bay Area
Four graduates of the APAWLI Leadership Program, Anni Chung, Tessie Guillermo, Yvonne Lee and Melinda Yee are organizing a series of training sessions for young API women. "There is so much potential in San Francisco and the Bay area for API women to take up their issues," Tessie explains. "We hope to develop a conscious cadre of young women just starting their careers, by exposing them to veteran women who've already been active in community, political, and policy work on API issues."
The group plan a kickoff session with a keynote speaker and reception at the end of June 1998. They will recruit partners from among the established API support groups in the area, looking for co-sponsors and for referrals of both trainers and trainees. Then they will produce five training sessions, starting in September. Undoubtedly some of the women who participate will find their way into APAWLI's programs, as well.
Annie, Melinda, Tessie and Yvonne hope to create a model for other regions. Essentially, they want other API women to have a benefit they got from their APAWLI Fellowship--sisterhood. Anni says, "We want to spread the net a little wider. Our API sisters really become a strong link we can rely on. I have my Fellows constantly involved in my decision-making. It's as if we have a secret understanding. That is so powerful."
"We want to spread the net a little wider."
-Anni Chung
Gupta, Mamta Suhrid, 1998
Providing opportunity for kids of Indian origin to network
Mamta Gupta's Leadership Impact Project is helping to ensure that youth is not wasted on the young. A mother of kids aged 11 and 14, Mamta knows firsthand the issues related to teens and pre-teens. "I believe in building the children instead of repairing the adults," said Mamta. "For many of us, leadership training comes when we are 25 or 30; but if we teach these concepts to kids when they are young and can absorb it, that would be awesome."
Toward that end and to fulfill her impact project requirement, Mamta founded the Indo-American Teen Community Builders (IATCB) for kids aged 13 to 19 in the Raleigh, NC, region. She first recruited kids of Indian origin through her Hindu temple's newsletter and other contacts, taking care to convene young people from various regional communities of Indian subcontinents.
"Once we are so far away from our country, we are all Indians," Mamta said. "We must come together as an integrated Indian community."
As a precursor to her program, Mamta gathered the kids for an interactive leadership workshop to equip the young people with basic leadership skills she learned through APAWLI. Through cyber meetings and gatherings, the group took shape and began forming their mission, which includes at least four community service projects per year.
"This is a great opportunity for kids of Indian origin to network," Mamta said, "but this is more than hanging out together. It's a great way to make these kids think about people who are not as fortunate as they are and then go out and contribute to the community-not through financial donations, but by giving themselves totally. It's a different way to give. I want them to develop humility."
IATCB plans to work with the Food Bank of North Carolina and Habitat for Humanity. They also plan to stage a coat drive to help a shelter for people in need. Mamta said of the age group, "This is the only time we have with them. Once they leave the house after high school, we are out of the molding stage. We can't approach them."
And though Generations X and Y often get a bad rap, Mamta sings their praises: "I think these kids are much smarter than we give them credit for; at least this group is so mature, so sensitive, with a lot of positive energy and talent. I was so proud of these kids." Mamta envisions expanding IATCB, perhaps adding a younger group of kids aged 8 to 13.
"I strongly believe that to be able to utilize your fullest potential, you have to understand your roots," she said. "If you have strong roots, you can put the plants anywhere and they will blossom, even in a foreign land."
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Mamta Gupta, Class of '98, is a Senior Advisor for NORTEL Research in North Carolina.
Hanaike, Dona L., 1998
Electing delegates to a Native Hawaiian sovereignty convention
In 1893, Hawaii's last monarch, beloved Queen Liliokalani, was illegally overthrown by American business owners and US Marines-without the knowledge or approval of the federal government in Washington. Attempts to undo this wrong failed, and the sovereignty of the Hawaiian nation ended. Native Hawaiians have not forgotten. In the last thirty years their work to save and revive their disappearing culture and language has produced a renaissance of arts, ancient practices, archeological and anthropological research, and use of the language.
But what about the Hawaiian nation? In recent years, some Native Hawaiians have begun talking publicly about reasserting their political rights, creating a political structure that would perpetuate Hawaiian culture and provide support for Native Hawaiians' education, health, and housing needs. In a 1996 plebiscite, Native Hawaiians voted 3:1 to elect delegates to a convention where they could begin the discussion.
What would sovereignty look like? A legislative body? Would Hawaii set up a system like Alaska has for its native people? Are Native Hawaiian reservations a possibility? Would it consist of an alliance of the existing institutions like the Kamehameha Schools and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands? Or could the state actually break off from the US? No one knows, and many are threatened by the idea of sovereignty. Could non-Hawaiians lose their property? Who would gain power?
1998 Fellow Dona Hanaike's APAWLI project was to work with the organization Ha Hawaii to find candidates to run for the delegate positions, to educate Native Hawaiians about sovereignty, and to actually hold the election on January 17, 1999. It was a huge, controversial task.
"We had to set up a statewide network with captains, train over 500 volunteers, and set up more than 70 polling centers-with very little money. We wanted to reach as many Native Hawaiians as possible, so we got the vote to our housebound kapuna (elders), to prisoners, and even to those on the Mainland." To increase participation, registration at the polls was allowed. The election went well, and 85 delegates were elected.
There was a dark side to the process, however. The Native Hawaiian community divided over the elections, and some high-profile Hawaiians came out against the elections. This may be the reason for a disappointing 10% voter turnout.
Dona explains, "We don't have consensus among our leaders. And to many Native Hawaiians, the idea of sovereignty is too theoretical. They can't picture how it could affect their daily lives. We need to make it real to the silent majority."
The next step? "The delegates are trying to organize and bond. They're paying their own way to come to pre-convention meetings, and they'll go back to their districts and try to educate their constituents. This is going to be a long process, but that's okay. We don't have the money yet, but we hope to have the convention sometime within the next year," Dona says. "Some of the institutions that are already in place are starting to integrate their services for the benefit of the Hawaiian people. That's encouraging."
Hsu, Ding-Wen, 1998
Revitalizing Denver Chinese language school
"I remember having to drag my kids to Chinese class. My first goal as the new principal of the Colorado Chinese Language School was to make the school fun for the kids, teachers, and parents." 1998 Fellow Ding-Wen Hsu took on the revitalization of the 25-year-old Denver school one year ago. One of the first things she did was to organize an inspiring workshop for the teachers at all six Chinese language schools in the region.
"During my APAWLI training week in Lincoln, Nebraska I had met an award-winning Chinese language teacher. She visited us in Denver and talked about her methods--it was very inspiring to our staff." Ding-Wen has followed up with another seminar by a Chinese teacher from California, and plans to continue to provide workshops for teachers several times a year. She has also established a library with reference materials teachers can use to supplement textbooks.
Classes are held every Sunday afternoon for two hours. Ding-Wen wanted to offer the parents something of value during that time, so she got a series of speakers to present information on topics ranging from chi gong (a Chinese method of transforming one's own energy) to income tax preparation.
The school teaches children about Chinese culture as well as language. This year, teams of older children prepared research presentations on subjects like Chinese Puppetry, Chinese Costume, The Art of Tea Drinking, Chinese Calligraphy, the Great Wall, and Chinese Holidays and Festivals. They presented them to each other, the teachers, and parents-and then to the whole Denver metro area in a day of celebration of Chinese culture in May 1999.
"The APAWLI training really awakened my passion for community work," Ding-Wen remarked. "I became aware of my strengths. Now I know very clearly what I can do for my community."
Hwang, Ange, 1997
Documentary of Asian Pacific American Women
Ange Hwang is collaborating with another Pacying Lyfoung to conceptualize and produce a documentary of Asian American women pioneers in Minnesota.
Ida, D.J., 2000
Through Your Eyes project to create big sister program for AAPI girls
D.J. Ida plans to develop a project where she will match at risk, AAPI adolescent girls with AAPI women leaders who will act as big sisters. This project will be implemented in Washington, DC. and Denver, Colorado. The matched pairs will meet 2 or 3 times a month for several months. They will also meet in groups with the others where they will discuss the experience of being Asian American or Pacific Islanders.
Jofuku, Linda Tomiye, 1998
Castro District students, parents, faculty and artists collaborate
'98 Fellow Linda Tomiye Jofuku's project, "Making Tiles-Making Connections," is a collaboration between the students, parents, and faculty of Alvarado Elementary School in the Castro district of San Francisco and well-known artist Ruth Asawa and her son, Paul Lanier, school artist-in-residence. They are creating a large tile mural depicting a garden with a variety of plants, insects, and flowers reflecting the diversity of the student body and our planet. In the process of creating the wall, students may visit Ruth Asawa's home, see her amazing art collection and work with her on design. Linda has found funding for the project, as well as in-kind services and materials. The Building Trades Council has offered to donate materials and labor. Wendy Nelder, Director of the Mayor's Neighborhood Beautification Fund, facilitated contribution of seed money to start the project.
"It's a way for the students to come together in a collaborative process, to develop their sense of design and beauty, and to get to know a great artist like Ruth Asawa," Linda says. "She's an amazing person. She was interned during World War II and denied her teaching degree because of race, but she hasn't got a trace of bitterness. Her work is in museums, homes, and public places all over the nation. It's really a privilege to know her."
"It's a way for the students to come together in a collaborative process...and to get to know a great artist like Ruth Asawa."
-Linda Tomiye Jofuku
Kamali'i, Na'unanikina'u Antoinette, 1997
Alternative dispute resolution using Native Hawaiian process
Na'unanikina'u Kamali'i has always been deeply involved with her community. A Native Hawaiian attorney, she is an advocate for the adoption of traditional Hawaiian peacemaking methods for resolving conflict. Also an outspoken member of numerous boards and committees, and a passionate paddler on her outrigger canoe team, she emanates commitment and courage.
Her experience as a Fellow was enlightening. "A year since my first session, I can see that I'm more outspoken about value-based decision-making. And I'm using techniques we learned in the Fellowship. Some Fellows, for example, have used powerful methods learned from Puanani Burgess on the community way of introducing people. The speakers share who their mothers and fathers are, and how they got their names, not what degrees they have, or job experiences. It's amazing how it changes the whole tenor of a conference."
Her class of Fellows faced an interesting challenge. The group found profound differences in the issues faced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. "The intense discussion of identity is not the same for us," Na'u explained. "I am in my homeland. I am deeply connected with my ancestors. For us, the issue is one of the effects of colonization. Yet all the Fellows had experienced oppression. And eventually we found that we shared a similar value system at the core. Being able to talk through our differences made the difference, and provided a different reflection for me."
The Native Hawaiian practice of ho'oponopono is traditionally used in the family to work through conflicts. "Any way you look at it, it's about healing," Na'u says. Mary Pukui brought the practice into modern social work in Hawaii, and Na'u is working with several agencies to extend Pukui's vision into the legal field. "The Native Hawaiian Bar Association realized that what was really needed was to train haku (practitioners). We couldn't get funding, so we had a good old-fashioned fundraiser and silent auction and raised $60,000 ourselves. We've had two training sessions."
It hasn't been easy. New obstacles, such as legal liability, arise. "Just sticking to it has been the key," Na'u says. "We support the community in creating its own vision for dispute resolution, and do not push the community to accept our vision for what is good for them." The result is the Waianae Coast Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, a center in concept without a building. "The work can be done on a beach, in a home, at school. The community may not feel a school is safe--Auntie's house may be safer, because no one would dare cause trouble there."
Na'u feels that her vision for the community will take years, perhaps generations, to mature. She is inspired again by Puanani Burgess. "She said, 'You make the road by walking it,'" Na'u remembers. "In our case, we're walking home."
"Puanani Burgess said, 'You make the road by walking it.' In our case, we're walking home."
- Na'unanikina'u Kamali'i
Kato, Eileen A., 1996
At-risk Asian American kids meet the Seattle justice system
Could you be expelled if the vice-principal finds drugs in your locker--but you were only holding them for a friend? Can you get arrested just for carrying a knife? If the police tell you to leave a park and you don't, can they charge you? Seattle AA/PI kids have been discussing these questions with AA/PI judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police detectives and officers twice a year since '96 Fellow Judge Eileen A. Kato organized the Juvenile Justice Round Table. For the kids, it's a chance to learn about a system they don't understand and which many perceive as the enemy. They also get to meet professionals who could become role-models. But the big surprise for Eileen was how meaningful the experience was for the adults. "Some of the Asian American attorneys had never been involved with Asian American youth. It was a great feeling to get them connected."
Eileen's project was made possible by the support of the API Task Force on Youth and its leaders and resources.
"Can you get arrested just for carrying a knife?"
-Eileen Kato
Kwok, Daphne, 2000
"Get on Board" historic bus tour of the deep south
Daphne Kwok plans to organize a one-week bus tour of the deep South. This tour will provide first hand accounts of America's civil rights movement during the "60"s to Asian Pacific American civil rights and community leaders.
Kyi, Win Win, 1999
Defining issues of Asian/Pacific American Women
Win Win Kyi will take this opportunity to work with the International Center at Princeton University, providing a one-day conference focusing on Roles and Responsibilities of Asian/Pacific American Women in this new Millennium. Additionally, she will set up on-going weekly workshops in Spring 2001. The goal of the day conference and on-going workshops is to find and define issues impacting Asian/Pacific American Women.
Lay, Nancy Duke S., 1997
Oral history project and ESL teaching tool
Nancy Duke Lay's mother used to tell her stories about girls she'd known in Southern China who took vows of celibacy at ages 10-13 and went off to work in the world--some traveling in groups as far as Singapore. It wasn't until Nancy was much older that she realized how unusual this story was. For young women in rural China half a century ago, life was an unbroken chain of obedience: first to father, then to husband, and then to adult sons if widowed. To refuse to marry was a radical act.
These girls were workers in silk factories, where they earned good wages and tasted economic power and freedom. Nancy explains, "They lived in a society in which daughters were unimportant, and many saw their mothers mistreated by fathers who spent their money on gambling, opium, and other women. Death from childbirth was common. Taking celibacy vows may have looked better than taking their chances marrying men they'd never met." Many went on to become nannies, some in foreign lands, and sent home money to the mothers whose lives they chose not to imitate.
Now a CUNY professor and Chairman of the English as a Second Language Department, Nancy has the perspective to appreciate the story of the Golden Orchid Sisters. She has gone to China and filmed interviews with fourteen of the women, now elderly, and is editing them into a documentary. She hopes to preview the film at The Asia Society in New York.
She will then further develop the project into a teaching tool, creating a study guide for teachers to use with the film in New York public schools, perhaps as part of a ninth-grade global studies course. She hopes the film will be a point of departure for students to learn about a disappearing tradition, and that they'll use the story as a context for practicing their English language skills. Students could learn about oral history research, and follow up by going home and interviewing their own parents and grandparents, and writing down their stories in turn.
"They lived in a society in which daughters were unimportant..."
- Nancy Duke Lay
Lee, Yvonne Yin-Hung, 1996
Networking and training young APA women in the Bay Area
Four graduates of the APAWLI Leadership Program, Anni Chung, Tessie Guillermo, Yvonne Lee and Melinda Yee are organizing a series of training sessions for young API women. "There is so much potential in San Francisco and the Bay area for API women to take up their issues," Tessie explains. "We hope to develop a conscious cadre of young women just starting their careers, by exposing them to veteran women who've already been active in community, political, and policy work on API issues."
The group plan a kickoff session with a keynote speaker and reception at the end of June 1998. They will recruit partners from among the established API support groups in the area, looking for co-sponsors and for referrals of both trainers and trainees. Then they will produce five training sessions, starting in September. Undoubtedly some of the women who participate will find their way into APAWLI's programs, as well.
Annie, Melinda, Tessie and Yvonne hope to create a model for other regions. Essentially, they want other API women to have a benefit they got from their APAWLI Fellowship--sisterhood. Anni says, "We want to spread the net a little wider. Our API sisters really become a strong link we can rely on. I have my Fellows constantly involved in my decision-making. It's as if we have a secret understanding. That is so powerful."
"We want to spread the net a little wider."
-Anni Chung
Liu, Eugenie Daisy Chung, 1998
Creating a website for self-discovery
Daisy Liu is developing a website that explores diversity. The goal of this website is to provide a means of identifying our own preconceptions, stereotypes, biases and prejudices.
Lowe, Felicia Jane, 1999
Contributing to political power and passage of legislation
Felicia Lowe is working with members of Congress to pass a reconciliation bill, the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Lyfoung, Pacyinz Thiong, 1998
Documentary of Asian Pacific American Women
Pacyinz Lyfoung is collaborating with another Ange Hwang to conceptualize and produce a documentary of Asian American pioneers women in Minnesota.
Ma'o, Marie Falefitu, 1997
Samoan language and values promoted in Samoan elementary schools
'97 Fellow Marie Ma'o was concerned about the children of American Samoa. "It's scary for traditional Samoans to see our children acting in a more Western way. They are really bicultural--they're being exposed to mainstream Western ideas all the time. There isn't enough reinforcement for the culture they come from .
Marie's project, translated from Samoan as "Character Counts," was to send a message to all the schoolchildren, teachers, and parents in the territory that their cultural values are important. She and a group including the First Lady (the Governor's wife) and the wives of the Lieutenant Governor, the Director of Education and the Director of Women and Youth went to every elementary school on the island for a celebration of Samoan culture--all conducted in Samoan.
Each school gathered for an assembly at which the dignitaries spoke about the importance of traditional Samoan values. The children presented skits, songs, dances, poetry and artwork related to the culture.
"Our culture is built on respect for the family, and on concepts that can be translated as responsibility, caring, and citizenship," Marie explained. "It's too easy for children and parents to go home and watch Western TV. We needed to remember who we are...Many teachers and parents said they felt renewed. It made them remember how we were raised, and how important it is to speak to the children in Samoan."
The popular project, which reached over ten thousand students, parents, and teachers, will be repeated this year.
"It's too easy for children and parents to go home and watch Western TV. We needed to remember who we are."
- Marie Ma'o
Meyer, Meleanna Aluli, 1997
Art education in low-income Hawaiian community
1997 Fellow Meleanna Aluli Meyer is impassioned about art education. For her Leadership Impact Project she is working in a low-income community, Palolo, to bring art education to young residents. "We've worked on two murals, and have more planned. These kids are Hawaiian, Laotian, Vietnamese...many newly arrived and economically disadvantaged. Given some instruction in drawing and painting, they get plugged in. It's a revelation for them that they have something to contribute."
Meleanna's project has grown; they've gotten grant money for theater productions, which will be produced in May, as well as more visual art instruction. "We need to listen better," she exclaims. "Our kids bring to the discussion remarkable resources."
"It's a revelation for them that they have something to contribute."
- Meleanna Aluli Meyer
Murakawa, Phyllis, 1997
Preserving survivor's memories of internment
'97 Fellow Phyllis Murakawa wants to make sure that young students learn about the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps in the United States during World War II. She interviewed internees, veterans, Free Play Committee members, and members of the Manzanar Committee for her project. Four 30-minute shows were filmed for public access television, and broadcast last fall in the LA area. Over 400,000 households tuned in to each show. The series will air again this summer in some areas.
"What amazed me was that these folks in their seventies and eighties continue to have such commitment, passion, and discipline. Their memories are crystal clear. Now that we're in the '90's, and it's okay to talk about their experience, they have many stories to tell. It was very moving to hear them."
Phyllis' APAWLI impact project is just one component of her Project TEAM (Teach and Educate America for the next Millennium). Phyllis is now starting production of a docudrama film about the internment. This will become part of a comprehensive package of materials on the internment, which will be distributed free to public schools which agree to include the contents in their curriculum. The package will include the film, the interview videos, a CD-ROM containing research materials, and a curriculum guide. Project TEAM will even provide schools with training in the use of the materials.
Seeking funding is an on-going process. Phyllis hopes that 5,000-10,000 packages will be produced and distributed. "The internment must not be forgotten. The survivors' memories are like a precious seed which I hope to plant, nurture, and grow into a nationwide awareness of the devastating effects of racism."
Phyllis credits her APAWLI training with broadening her vision. "Before, I never allowed myself to attune to and calm myself. I was always too busy with events, kids, work. The training opened up a lot of inner feelings I hadn't addressed or understood. Now I walk in the world with new eyes. I'm more selective about what I contribute to the community. I want to do more than just attend a meeting or complete a beneficial task. I want to work on projects which develop a life of their own, which will continue to grow and generate social change and awareness."
"The survivors' memories are like precious seed which I hope to plant, nurture, and grow into a nationwide awareness..."
Nakatomi, Debra, 2000
Expressing history and life lessons through treasured items
Debra's project "Our Treasures Tell Our Stories" seeks to explore the lives of Asian American and Pacific Islander women through their chosen treasures; items from their past that reveal their inspiration, their values, their strengths and the lessons of life well lived.
Reddy, Shruthi Gilela, 1998
Leadership development workshops for teens
Shruthi Reddy is working on a collaborative project with three other Fellows to provide leadership development and enhancements workshops for girls ages 12 to 15. These regional workshops will be presented in Chicago, Long Beach, Seattle and Washington, DC in 2001.
Rhee, Anna, 2000
Providing a safe place for Asian American girls to connect on the internet
Anna Rhee plans to create a website "Asian American Girl Power" as a place for Asian and Asian American girls age 8 - 12 to express themselves through art, music and writing; to gain self confidence and empowerment through dialog and guidance from adult mentors; and to increase understanding and pride in their cultural backgrounds.
Sakamoto-Kowalchuk, Yasuko, 2000
Developing a cultural exchange forum
Yasuko Sakamoto Kowalchuk plans to create a program for 24 - 28 women to fill the cultural gap between Japanese-speaking and Japanese American populations and the Asian American and Pacific Islander populations in the Los Angeles area.
Shetty, Sudha, 1999
Leadership development workshops for teens
Suhda Shetty is working on a collaborative project with three other Fellows to provide leadership development and enhancements workshops for girls ages 12 to 15. These regional workshops will be presented in Chicago, Long Beach, Seattle and Washington, DC in 2001.
Shimokubo, Janice T., 1996
Financial help for Denver APA high school students
'96 Fellow Janice Shimokubo used her business smarts to approach her project. She explained, "I'm in marketing, so I'm always thinking, 'Where are the needs?' There are a lot of college scholarships available, but there are few programs that will give money to high school students. And that's such an impactful time in a child's life. If they get stuck there, they may not move on to success."
Janice created "Access to Success," which provides quick aid to Asian and Pacific Islander students in the Denver Public Schools. Needs like eye care, field trip costs, SAT exam fees, and dental care can be discretely provided for with a forty-eight hour turnaround. The program also provides gift certificates to top elementary, middle, and high school students selected by the Asian Educational Advisory Council here in Denver.
"I'm always thinking, 'Where are the needs?'"
- Janice Shimokubo
Wada, Patty, 1999
Acknowledging Diversity Within
Patty Wada coordinated a San Francisco Bay Area forum on homosexuality and homophobia in the Japanese American community. About 70 people attended the event, and many others were educated and informed through extensive coverage by the Japanese American press. As she hoped, the forum has triggered other events like it in the region.
Wei, Deborah, 1999
Reviving Chinese culture and tradition in Philadelphia
Deborah Wei sees culture as a fundamental human right and a means of unity. Through her project, she helped preserve Chinese cultural heritage in Philadelphia, where she revived the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown. Partnering with Asian Americans United, she also created access to the traditions of Chinese folk dance and Kung Fu for young people in the community.
Williams, Kitryn, Former Board, 1999
Fellow Summit provides workshop on economic self-sufficiency
The Summit on Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency gathered a group of 50 women from diverse backgrounds from VPs to welfare recipients, ages 30 to 60 and many ethnicities to address the economic hurdles women face. From this summit, teams developed to promote education of women voters, to ensure women are included in Colorado's technological initiative, to assure women are included on corporate boards and to provide a directory of resources for women.
Wong, Diane Yen-Mei, 2000
Children's play will provide lessons on giving and receiving
Diane Wong plans to write a play for children, called "The Boat Race" that will focus on lessons of giving and receiving.
Yamauchi, Linda, 2000
Relationship Workshops for teenage girls
Linda Yamauchi plans to develop workshops for Asian American and Pacific Islander teenage girls in the San Gabriel Valley High Schools in California. These workshops will help the girls to improve relationships with their families and to develop a sense of community among the Asian and Pacific Island American teens.
Yee-Franklin, Melinda Caryn, 1996
Networking and training young APA women in the Bay Area
Four graduates of the APAWLI Leadership Program, Anni Chung, Tessie Guillermo, Yvonne Lee and Melinda Yee are organizing a series of training sessions for young API women. "There is so much potential in San Francisco and the Bay area for API women to take up their issues," Tessie explains. "We hope to develop a conscious cadre of young women just starting their careers, by exposing them to veteran women who've already been active in community, political, and policy work on API issues."
The group plan a kickoff session with a keynote speaker and reception at the end of June 1998. They will recruit partners from among the established API support groups in the area, looking for co-sponsors and for referrals of both trainers and trainees. Then they will produce five training sessions, starting in September. Undoubtedly some of the women who participate will find their way into APAWLI's programs, as well.
Annie, Melinda, Tessie and Yvonne hope to create a model for other regions. Essentially, they want other API women to have a benefit they got from their APAWLI Fellowship--sisterhood. Anni says, "We want to spread the net a little wider. Our API sisters really become a strong link we can rely on. I have my Fellows constantly involved in my decision-making. It's as if we have a secret understanding. That is so powerful."
"We want to spread the net a little wider."
-Anni Chung
Yung, Margaret Chow, 1997
Bridging the digital divide
'97 Fellow Margaret Yung is on the board of the Plymouth Housing Group, which operates single room occupancy housing projects in Seattle for the homeless and very low income populations. She realized that the residents rarely had access to computers or the Internet. It was tough for them to stay in touch with their families because they often lacked permanent addresses, and they had little chance to get experience with computers that might help them get jobs.
Margaret solicited equipment and contributed funds, and computer rooms were set up in two Plymouth facilities. Classes were offered to tenants of those and other buildings. Many were able to learn computer skills and contact family members via E-mail. The computer rooms are now open with volunteer help available for five hours a day.
Many lives have been touched by Margaret's project. One man who suffered depression took the class and became quite good at using the computer. He made contact with his brother, who worked at a dot.com, and his brother got him his own computer. This resident now teaches others and is less socially isolated. In the course of her project, Margaret worked with and mentored a young Vista volunteer, Erica Schneider. Erica has gone on to become a staff member at Plymouth Housing Group.
Margaret Yung is Vice President at Washington Mutual Bank in Seattle, where she manages low income housing tax credit investments.
