Professional Documents
Culture Documents
a t d u k e u n i v e r s i t y
Rediscovery: Renaissance. Revolution.
Conference Program
Welcome
Welcome
Dear friends: Welcome to the East Coast Asian American Student Unions 35th annual conference at Duke University. On behalf of the entire conference board, we are tremendously excited to welcome you to the southernmost home of the ECAASU conference: Durham, North Carolina! Duke is proud to be hosting the ECAASU conference for the third time. We hosted ECAASU for the first time in 1995 under the theme Exposing the Plight of Asian Pacific Americans in our Nations Inner Cities, and again in 2002 under the theme Strangers in America. Ten years later, we imbue our third conference with the central notions of Rediscovery: Renaissance and Revolution. Our theme hinges upon the central idea that we must build a new framework with which to think about Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the emerging and evolving landscape of contemporary America. In a way, our theme is a response to our 2002 theme: are we still Strangers in America? Our fundamental challenge to you is to critically examine the assumptions and implications of the ways in which Asian America is constructed in your daily life. With the knowledge you gain from this conference, we hope that you will not only be more equipped to better understand what being Asian in America means, but also inspired to shape the Asian American movement in profound and meaningful ways. In light of recent events like the death of Private Danny Chen and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) inaugural AAPI Youth Leadership Briefing, we believe that our conference theme is fitting in that it reflects a natural inflection point in our personal and collective narrative as AAPI youth leaders. We hope that this conference raises more questions than it answers. We urge you to forge ahead with a renewed and purposive sense of urgency. Much work remains to be done. The road ahead of us may be unclear, but we hope that the relationships you will build over the course of this weekend will remind you that what is clear is that we are better together. Sincerely, Derek Mong
About ECAASU
What is ECAASU?
The East Coast Asian American Student Union is a national, non-profit intercollegiate Asian-Pacific American advocacy organization and is the largest and oldest conference in the country for Asian American students. The mission of ECAASU is to: STRENGTHEN Asian American student organizations through intercollegiate communication to serve the educational and social needs of Asian American students ADVANCE the social equality of minorities by eliminating prejudice and discrimination, defending human and civil rights, and combating racism and hate crimes through activities permissible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code ENCOURAGE Asian Americans to participate in the political and electoral process through nonpartisan voter education/registration and get out the vote drives PROMOTE community-building and understanding among Asian Americans with different nationalities and people of color
Table of Contents
Duke & Convention Center Maps 05 Conference Schedule 06 Exploring Durham 08 Keynote Speakers 10 Entertainment 12 Workshops Session 1 15 Session 2 17 Session 3 19 Workshop Facilitators 23 Conference Board 30
Shuttle Pickup
Check-in tables
Free Wi-fi is available at the convention center using the following network security key:
DCCguest1
Conference Schedule
Friday, February 24
5:30pm - 7:30pm 5:00pm - 7:30pm
Conference Schedule
every 20 minutes between Duke and the Millennium Hotel
Shuttles
Conference Check-In
Featuring: Speakers Rosalind Chou, Ryan Takemiya Performances from Duke University cultural groups, and a special performance by Joseph Vincent every 20 minutes between Duke and the Millennium Hotel
Opening Ceremony
7:30pm - 10:00pm
10:00pm - 12:00am
Shuttles
Shuttle Schedule
Buses will be running on a continuous loop from the Millennium hotel to Duke University, the Durham Convention Center and back at select times on Friday and Saturday.
Conference Schedule
Saturday, February 25
8:30am - 10:00am 8:30am - 10:00am 10:00am - 10:30am 10:45am - 12:00pm 12:00pm - 1:00pm 1:15pm - 2:30pm 2:50pm - 4:05pm
every 10-15 minutes between Duke and Convention Center, Millennium and Convention Center
Shuttles
Grand Hallway + All Rooms Grand Ballroom 2 &3 Grand Hallway + All Rooms
Workshop Session 1 Workshop Session 2 Workshop Session 3 Opportunities Fair Networking Break Administrators, Faculty, and Advisor Networking Session Conference Bid for ECAASU2013 Closing Ceremony
feat. Trailblazer Scholarship Presentation, Floyd Mori, Hari Kondabolu, Bao Phi
Grand Hallway Grand Hallway MR1 Junior Ballroom B Grand Ballroom 2 &3
4:10pm - 5:00pm
every 10-15 minutes between Duke and Convention Center, Millennium and Convention Center
Shuttles
Exploring Durham
Exploring Durham
Dining
Lunch Under $5:
Chubbys Tacos
Guglhupf Caf
Toast
Saladelia Cafe
Watts Grocery
Bullocks Bar-B-Que
Nanas Restaurant
Exploring Durham
Local Attractions
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke
Duke University Central Campus 684-5135 nasher.duke.edu
Golden Belt
Brightleaf District
Carolina Theatre
309 W Morgan St 560-3030
DPAC - Durham
Transportation
Durhams Best Cab 919-680-3330 RDU Yellow Taxi Cab 919-667-0000
Need Help?
Questions about anything? Do not hesitate to contact us at the ECAASU hotline:
(864) 402-9818
Duke University - February 24-26, 2012
Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Bao Phi
Bao Phi has been a performance poet since 1991. A two-time Minnesota Grand Slam champion and a National Poetry Slam finalist, Bao Phi has appeared on HBO Presents Russell Simmons Def Poetry, and a poem of his appeared in the 2006 Best American Poetry anthology. His poems and essays are widely published in numerous publications including Screaming Monkeys and Spoken Word Revolution Redux. He has also released several CDs of his poetry, such as the recently sold-out Refugeography to his newest CD, The Nguyens EP. In addition to his creative work, he was nominated for a Facing Race Ambassador award in recognition for his community work, and has published essays in topics from Asians in hip hop to Asian representation in video games.
Eddie Lee
Eddie Lee is the Director of Asian American and Pacific Islander Outreach in the White House Office of Public Engagement. He most recently worked as the Youth Outreach Director on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Prior to that, Lee served as the New Media Director at the U.S. Department of Education. He previously worked as a State New Media Director on the Obama Presidential Campaign. He is also the co-director of the Jubilee Project a video production group that promotes community activism. Lee grew up in Overland Park, KS, and is a graduate of Harvard University. You can contact him at project.jubilee@gmail.com.
Michelle Sohn
Michelle Sohn is the first Asian-American woman to be elected in a campus-wide campaign as Young Trustee, a position that grants a 3-year term on Duke Universitys Board of Trustees. While at Duke she was a Alice M. Baldwin scholar and taught a house course on Asians in America. During her summers, she worked on immigration issues on the Arizona-Mexico border and interned at the International Womens Democracy Center. Upon graduating in May 2011, she deferred Harvard Law School to work in Washington, D.C. She currently works on the Strategic Outreach Team for the Corporation for Travel Promotion, a public-private partnership spearheading the first ever marketing and branding campaign to attract foreign travel to the United States.
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Keynote Speakers
Rosalind Chou
Rosalind S. Chou is a Florida native, where her parents emigrated from Taiwan in the 1970s. She is currently an assistant professor at Georgia State University. In 2008 she co-authored the book, The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism, with Joe R. Feagin. Rosalind was recently the 2010-2011 Samuel Dubois Cook Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University. She spent six years working for Eckerd Youth Alternatives at Camp E-Nini-Hassee, a non-profit therapeutic wilderness camp for at-risk girls, before attending graduate school at Texas A&M University. She completed her Ph.D. in sociology with an emphasis on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in May 2010. Rosalind has received numerous awards during graduate school including the Texas A&M College of Liberal Arts Dissertation Award. She is currently working on her second book, Asian American Sexual Politics: The Construction of Race, Gender, and Sexuality.
Floyd Mori
S. Floyd Mori is the Executive Director and CEO of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nations oldest and largest Asian American civil and human rights organization. In 1975, Mr. Mori was elected to the California State Assembly and served for six years in the Assembly. He worked on civil rights, agricultural and business issues. He went on to become Director of the Office of International Trade in California. He has been active in community, political, civic and church organizations. And he has served on many boards and committees, including the Utah Governors Asian Advisory Board and Small Business Administration Advisory Committee. Mr. Mori has spent over 20 years in private business as an international business consultant and President of Mori-Silva International, while advocating for Asian Americans. But he does not limit his advocacy to Asian Americans. This year, for example, under his leadership, JACL joined forces with Benjamin Jealous and the NAACP, and Janet Murguia and La Raza, to oppose two anti-immigrant bills being considered in Florida. Keynote presented as part of APIAVotes New Faces of Leadership Series. The New Faces of Leadership is part of the Norman Y. Mineta Leadership Insititute housed with APIAVote. It takes AAPI political involvement and participation to the national stage, featuring elected and appointed AAPI leaders, both emerging and well-established. The speaker series looks to inspire new voices and younger participants to increase their civic participation and to step into these new roles of leadership.
Ryan Takemiya
Ryan Takemiya is an entrepreneur, speaker, and a proud 4th generation Californian, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He created RAMA, the premier Asian American entertainment company dedicated to the creation of a new Pan Asian Arts movement. Ryan studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and he was the recipient of the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.
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Entertainment
Entertainment
Joseph Vincent
Joseph Vincent is an acoustic singer-songwriter whose sultrysmooth vocals match his Southern California upbringing. Picking up his first guitar at the age of 15, Joseph started playing covers of two of his main musical influences: Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz. As an early adopter of new media, Josephs YouTube channel has received over 240,000 subscribers and over 48 million total views, and he has over half a million plays on his MySpace page. Joseph went on to enter Kababayan Superstar, and took the top prize. Josephs momentum continued throughout 2009. After launching an online voting contest, Australia-based Star Central Magazine named Joseph Youtube Artist of the Year 2009. In April 2010, Joseph was featured on NBCs The Ellen Degeneres Show, and was invited back as the featured artist. With such an impressive list of accomplishments and accolades under his belt, the 21-year-old is currently in the studio recording his forth coming self-written debut solo album.
Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu is a Brooklyn-based comedian who has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Centrals Live at Gotham and John Olivers NY Standup Show. In 2011, his Comedy Central Presents half-hour TV special premiered and he also made his UK television debut on BBC 3s Russell Howards Good News. He is a former immigrant rights organizer with a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics who is known for his personal and confrontational political material.
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Entertainment
Duke LPhiE
With 53 chapters, Lambda Phi Epsilon National Fraternity, Inc. is the largest and most extensive Asian American Greek organization in the world. The Duke Colony Chapter was established on November 23, 2003 and continues to exemplify the highest standards of Academic Performance, Social Experience, Service to the Community, and most importantly Brotherhood among its members. As an Asian Interest Greek organization, we strive to promote Asian American Awareness in our surrounding communities through the promotion of Asian American interest activities.
Seoul Singers
Inspired after a night at the local noraebang (Korean karaoke), a group of 3 Duke freshmen and a senior decided to put together a band for Dukes annual Lunar New Year showcase. Two years later, the band manages to get by without a bassist and a drummer, and rather focuses on the acoustic feel of many Korean ballads. Seoul Singers is gradually expanding their repertoire and exposure in outside venues, and is excited to perform one of their non-ballads at ECAASU. Seoul Singers has recently launched a YouTube channel; check out new material in the near future!
Dhoom
Dhoom, Duke Universitys premier Indian fusion dance group, is thrilled to be participating in ECAASU 2012. We believe firmly in the ECAASU mission and seek to bring Asian culture center stage by fusing the styles of classical India, Bollywood, hip hop, Raas, and Bhangra to music from around the world. Dhoom performs in Duke cultural showcases such as Awaaz and Lunar New Year, and last year we competed nationally in Aaj Ka Dhamaka. For our performance at ECAASU, we are excited to bring a piece featuring not only our standard Indian genres but also martial arts and colorguard!
Temptasians
Every February, Asians of various ethnic and musical backgrounds band together to form Temptasians, Lunar New Years favourite Asian a capella group, specialising in arranging and singing popular music originating from across Asia. This year, we will be singing the following songs: (Cant help to love - Wilber Pan) ft. (Its you - Sung Shi Kyung ft. iU) (The goddess of race - Jay Chou)
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Workshop Descriptions
a free roundtrip flight courtesy of Southwest Airlines. Tweet us @ecaasu during the conference with hashtag #flylikeaG6 to enter to win.
Southwest services major US destinations including Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Washington DC, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tampa, West Palm Beach, and many more. As the low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines is the go-to choice for college students everywhere. Tweet as many times as you want: the more you tweet, the greater your chances of winning. You are welcome to tweet your thoughts, your favorite quote, a picture, or anything that you can fit in 140 characters or less. We will pick our favorite and announce the winner of the Southwest Airlines travel voucher at the closing ceremony! Your trip to ECAASU 2013 could already be paid for! Southwest Airlines is the official airline of the ECAASU 2012 conference at Duke University.
Workshop Descriptions
Workshops
Workshop 1: 10:45am-12:00pm
Breaking the Ice Social Mingling
Andrew Yeh - Junior Ballroom A1
This workshop will teach basic communication skills that will be reinforced through the use of mingling. The skills taught from this workshop should challenge the comfort zone of many first time attenders and the more actively involved individuals. This workshop is a short experience of the power of networking. By applying these skills back to an API community, we can hope that these skills well develop a stronger voice for an API community.
A Future Together?: How we can bridge this great divide between religious & non-religious Asians
Greg Hsu - Junior Ballroom A3
Today in Asian America, two camps of Asian American life have arisen from the 2nd-generation religious (mostly Christian) & non-religious Asians. Yet these 2 groups, with so much in common, have tended to be separate, at odds even with each other. Each camp has staked its claim on 1 source of identity - the nonreligious have claimed cultural history/political activism & the religious have claimed spiritual identity. This dual path is detrimental to BOTH sides; in fact, we need to have a future together if we are to reach our full potential. The combination of the 2 together can be a revitalizing & mobilizing force for Asian America to produce better social & political outcomes for ourselves & others.
Doing Good is Contagious: Using Social Media for Asian American Activism
Jubilee Project - Junior Ballroom B
YouTube represents a new frontier for Asian American expression and advocacy.TheJubileeProject is a video productions group that makes videos to raise awareness and funds for good causes. We will screen some of our videos and present on how we can usesocialmediato advocate for issues affecting our community, ranging from bullying and domestic violence to hepatitis B and sex trafficking.
Vincent Who?
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Asian American Empowerment and Resistance: Understanding Frames and Counter Frames
Rosalind Chou - Junior Ballroom D1
White supremacy in the United States persists not only through institutionalized racist practices, but through both conscious and unconscious white racial framing of people of color. In this session, the theoretical concept of framing will be explained to shed light on the new racism of the colorblind era. We will discuss Asian American racial stereotyping and consequences of racist incidents. Additionally, strategy for empowerment and resistance will be discussed through the use of counter frames: 1) The Liberty-and-justice frame; 2) The Anti-oppression frame; and 3) The Home-culture frame.
Asians Abroad
I will draw upon my travel experiences in the Middle East, South America, Asia and Europe to talk about how East Asians are perceived by different groups of people, the stereotypes that are perpetuated, etc. I will also link this conversation with how the Asian is presented in the media especially with the rise of China in the world stage and how that has affected personal day-today interactions with people living in different countries in how they perceive East Asian people.
Not Really Asian and Not Really White: An Exploratory Study of Racial Experiences and Socialization Among Korean and Chinese Transracial Adoptees
Kalli Feldman - Meeting Room 1
This workshop will present findings from a qualitative study that explored racial experiences among adult Korean and Chinese adoptees raised by White parents. Discussion will focus on issues regarding identity and negotiating Whiteness and Asianness, experiences of belonging and exclusion, the intersections between race, culture, and ethnicity, and parent and adoptee strategies regarding race and racism.
The art of Chinese Lion Dance dates back for generations, and have survived generations upon generations in Asian America, in our community centers, churches, temples, and college campuses. Mostly seen as vehicle to learn and retain Chinese heritage, Chinese Lion Dance groups at universities have discovered even more benefits and potential through performance included community service and outreach, fundraising, professional development, and social networking. Come learn about its history and its potential to be a positive addition to your campus through a brief historical overview and case studies at two predominantly white campuses!
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Workshop Descriptions
Strength in Numbers: How to Make the Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Vote Count
Christine Chen and Olivia Chow - Junior Ballroom A3
Learn what the power of one can do to make an impact in the 2012 elections! Asian Americans now represent 5.6 percent of the overall U.S. population and account for almost a fifth of the nations population growth. But in some states, only 38% of those who are eligible are registered. Come learn how you can be engaged with APIAVote and ECAASUs campaign to organize young voters and your own circle of friends and family to take part in this movement to be counted. Leave the session empowered with the tools, motivation and understanding how we can battle against the barriers young voters face. With over thirty college campuses participating in the campaign, our goal this year is to register and engage 22,500 young AAPI voters.
Workshop 2: 1:15pm-2:30pm
Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Perspectives and Practices
Ke Lou - Junior Ballroom A1
This workshop will center on the issue of why Asian Americans are under-represented in top leadership roles in corporate America. Statistics have shown that fewer than 2 percent of Fortune 500 officers are Asian and a so-called bamboo ceiling has stalled the careers of many Asian employees. While there are exceptions, many Asian Americans still feel like outsiders in corporate America to a point where a study has shown only 28 percent of Asians reported feeling very comfortable being themselves. The workshop will be comprised of a presentation on the issue, individual practices and human resource practices that can be used to overcome the roadblock. We will also compare the differences between traditional Asian values and Western corporate culture by exploring case studies.
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Workshop Descriptions
A Future Together?: How we can bridge this great divide between religious & non-religious Asians
Greg Hsu - Junior Ballroom A3
(See under Workshop 1)
Doing Good is Contagious: Using Social Media for Asian American Activism
Jubilee Project - Junior Ballroom B
(See under Workshop 1)
As an important media source today, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese live-action dramas serve as a conspicuous vehicle for portrayals of love and life for Asian and Asian American young people. In this workshop, our goal is three-fold. We aim to identify the common stereotypes purported by these dramas and their origins in traditional Asian culture. Secondly, we question how such ideals have affected our own perceptions as Asian Americans. Specifically, how do these ideals differ from mainstream American portrayals, and whether such portrayals negatively influence the ideals of their Asian American audience in their unrealistic expectations, especially in an American setting. Lastly, we will discuss whether such stereotypes should be changed, how they can be changed, and whether there have already been movements to do so.
Marriage Equality
This workshop will review the current status of marriage equality legislation around the world and the US, as well as the current efforts to secure equality for LGBT couples. Participants will be asked to share their thoughts on the subject.
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Workshop Descriptions
WE ARE: Emerging Voices of Undocumented APIA Youth in the Immigrants Rights Movement
Justin Valas and Carla Navoa - Meeting Room 2
This workshop focuses around revolutionizing the way Asian Pacific Islander Americans conceptualize, engage with, and support undocumented members of our communities. This workshop aims to create a safe space to de-stigmatize being undocumented where APIA youth -undocumented and documented allies alikecan reaffirm the APIA commitment to immigrant rights and rediscoverthe voice that once clamored loudly for justice and equality for our communities.
Identity is not a Math Equation: Multiracial, Multi Ethnic, and Mixed Identity
Christine Munteanu - Meeting Room 3
With the election of the first multiracial president and the ability to check more than one box on the 2000 Census, the multiracial movement in America is growing. Yet the way race and ethnicity are perceived in our society ignores the complexities of racial classifications that are exposed by the multiracial experience. Participants will explore their own sense of racial/ethnic identity, examine the issues involved in racial identity formation, learn about the history of racial categorization and mixed race in America, and focus on the unique experience of multiracial and multiethnic Asian Pacific Americans. The workshops aims to help participants realize that they have the right to choose and claim their own sense of identity.
Workshop 3: 2:50pm-4:05pm
Incarceration: American and Pacific Islander?
Johnny Thach - Junior Ballroom A1
The United States has over 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any other country in the world. While Asian and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing ethnic minority group, their incarceration rates have also quadrupled in the past ten years. In spite of the exponential increase, their stories have been largely left untold or missing by the mainstream media. Neglected, there has also been a lack of information and attention by legal studies and criminal justice, even categorized as Others in crime statistics. Moreover, resources have not been readily available to address their needs in and outside of prison. Who are these APIs incarcerated in the prisons? What are their stories, struggles, and experiences? How can we engage ourselves in the issue? This workshop will build an honest and provocative discussion about the difficult issues affecting APIs incarcerated in the prison-industrial complex. Through awareness, we can work to stop neglect and victimization from happening and create a better reality for these marginalized individuals to give them second chances to be reintegrated into society.
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Workshop Descriptions
Human beings are driven by three things in life: food, water, and sex. This includes Asian Americans. Yes, we have sex too. How does this generation of Asian Americans view sex and sexuality? How do we approach sex? How do we have sex? From the Kama Sutra to the asexual model minority to Asian American pornography, were raising the bar and asking you to analyze this very carefully guarded core of our existences: S-E-X.
Show Up and Dont Leave: Networking and Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Activists
Ramey Ko - Junior Ballroom A3
Conference attendees will learn how to establish, expand, and utilize personal and professional networks to achieve success in professional life or in community and political organizing. The workshop will discuss how to develop your personal brand, use social marketing and media to promote personal or community goals, and seek out and engage mentors. You will learn how networking can be critical to building human capacity to successfully achieve professional or political objectives and create successful coalitions. We will also cover the rewards and risks of social networking and media, and how to market yourself while protecting your reputation and personal brand in the Internet age. Hopefully, you will leave with practical, real-world techniques, new personal networking goals, and the confidence and enthusiasm to challenge yourself to go beyond your comfort zone.
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Workshop Descriptions
The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Inter-Country Adoption (ICA)
Julayne Lee - Meeting Room 1
Have you ever wondered what it is like inside the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea aka North Korea)? What are you not hearing about in mainstream media? In this workshop you will hear from an activist who visited the DPRK in 2011. They will reveal little known information about how DPRK children are being trafficked under the guise of intercountry adoption (ICA) and the pending DPRK orphan legislation. ICA is often viewed as a humanitarian effort. However, numerous human rights violations systematically occur in these transactions, which involve thousands of children from Asia each year. The result is a multimillion dollar industry. Workshop participants will engage in a writing activity that can be turned into activism.
Self Defense
Duke and UNC Chapters of aKDPhi Lena Jia, Diane Shao, Shirley Liu, Sarah Pai - Meeting Room 3
Learn the basics of self-defense from experienced martial arts trained experts from The Hidden Mountain Bujinkan Dojo. Although all techniques stem from movement in Budo Taijutsu, no prior martial arts experience is needed. This class is great for people of all fitness levels, ages, body types! Please come join us and learn these practical and extremely valuable life skills!
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Workshop Facilitators
- EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) - Epic Movement NYC - NAAAP RTP (National Association of Asian American Professionals Research Triangle Park Chapter) - NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - Legacy Health - The Department of State
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Workshop Facilitators
Christine Chen
Workshop Facilitators
Christine Chen, the founding executive director from 2006-2008 has returned to APIAVote in January 2011 to serve as its current Executive Director. During her previous tenure she had strengthened and expanded APIAVotes partners in various states. She also served as the national coordinator of the APIAVote Presidential Town Hall. Currently Ms. Chen is also serving as President of Strategic Alliances USA, a consulting firm specializing in coalition building, institutional development, and partnerships among the corporate sector, government agencies, and the nonprofit and public sector. Profiled by Newsweek magazine in 2001 as one of 15 women who will shape Americas new century, Ms. Chen served from from 2001 to 2005 as national executive director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), one of the leading APIA civil rights organizations in the country.
Curtis Chin
Curtis Chin is an award-winning writer and producer who has written for ABC, NBC, Fox, the Disney Channel and more. As a community activist, he co-founded the Asian American Writers Workshop and Asian Pacific Americans for Progress. In 2008, he served on Barack Obamas Asian American Leadership Council where he participated in helping the campaign reach out to the AAPI community. He has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, Newsweek and other media outlet. He and his partner were one of 18,000 couples to be married in CA before the passage of Prop 8.
Lydia Chow
Lydia Chow is a junior at Duke University from San Jose, California, double-majoring in Biology and English. In particular, Lydia is interested in how depictions in popular culture reflect upon and influence social perceptions of race and gender. Lydia is a sister of Kappa Phi Lambda and a former Co-Cultural Chair of the Duke University Colony.
Olivia Chow
Olivia Chow is the Community Partners Field Organizer for the Asian American Justice Center. Prior to joining AAJC, Ms. Chow worked for the Campaign for Americas Future and did new media training at the New Organizing Institute before that. While in college, Olivia was a campus organizer for Tuition Relief Now! a member of the Asian Pacific American Coalition at the University of California and worked for the Asian Law Caucus and APIAVote. Ms. Chow holds a bachelors degree from the University of California-Berkley.
Serena Dai
Serena Dai is a junior undergraduate at Duke, majoring in Neuroscience. She is the Co-Cultural Chair, Liaison, and Co-Rush Chair the Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. on campus. She has always been interested in Asian culture and history, and is thrilled to be presenting a workshop at ECAASU 2012!
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Workshop Facilitators
Kalli Feldman
Kalli Feldman is currently a clinical psychology, Ph.D. candidate at the New School for Social Research in New York City. She is also a Korean adoptee raised by two White Jewish parents in DC. During graduate school, she was involved in research examining crossracial therapy, cultural competence, racial and ethnic identity development, and focused on transracial adoption for my dissertation. She has taught undergraduate courses on cultural, ethnicity, and mental health that address the impact of culture on mental illness, psychology as a culturally biased system, and racism, power, and privilege. Kalli is currently on her clinical internship at Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn and has worked in various clinical settings with diverse populations.
Gregory Hsu
Greg Hsu is a 23-yearold campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Virginia helping Asian students create a genuinely multicultural Christianity by bringing Christian Asians into the larger sphere of Asian American life/issues as he also guides non-religious Asians in the journey of spiritual identity. He likes to blog, cook, run, sleep & cheer for the Blue Devils all winter.
Nicole Fink
Nicole Fink is currently pursuing a Masters Degree at the UCONN School of Social Work with a concentration in Community Organization and a focused area of study in International Issues in Social Work. She graduated from UCONN in 2010 with her B.A in Psychology and Asian Americans in the U.S. Legal System. During her time as an undergraduate, Nicole was actively involved with the Asian American Cultural Center at UCONN, as well as the Coordinator of Kids & UCONN Bridging Education (KUBE), a multicultural mentoring and outreach program for middle school students from low income areas.
Jennifer Ho
Jennifer Ho is an Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature at UNC Chapel Hill. She teaches courses in contemporary American, multiethnic, and Asian American literature and culture. Her current book manuscript, TELLING STORIES, MA KING KNOWLEDGE: RACIAL AMBIGUITY IN ASIAN AMERICAN CULTURE looks at multiple ambiguous identities in Asian American society, for example, the blogs of transracial/transnational Asian adult adoptees, the golfer Tiger Woods, and mixed-race writers of Asian descent such as Paisley Rekdal and Ruth Ozeki.
Eugenia Kim
Im a freshman at Cornell University in the College of Arts & Sciences, double majoring in Biological Sciences and Psychology. I am currently involved in the Asian/Asian American Forum and am also an undergraduate researcher at the Laboratory for Rational Decision Making.
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Workshop Facilitators
Aminta Liu
Aminta Liu is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences of Cornell University, majoring in Biology and Society. She is Vice President Internal Affairs of the Asian/ Asian American Forum, and has presented the workshop at Cornell Universitys 2011 Women of Color Conference.
Ke Lou
Ke Lou is a junior at Cornells Industrial and Labor Relations school which focuses on labor relations, collective bargaining, human resources, labor economics and labor history. On campus, he serves as a community development intern for the Asian & Asian American center.
Julayne Lee
Julayne Lee visited the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea aka North Korea) in 2011 with a peace delegation of overseas Koreans. She has spoken on the politics of inter-country adoption (ICA) at workshops with the Overseas Koreans Foundation and the 2011 APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit. While living in Seoul, South Korea she served on the steering committee for ASK (Adoptee Solidarity Korea), an organization that utilizes education and activism to increase awareness, advocate change, and support alternatives to ICA. Her writing has been published in Homeland Insecurities, a chapbook by APIA writers that benefitted the 2005 APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit and the O.K.A.Y. (Overseas Korean Artists e-Yearbook), Volume 5. Julayne serves on the Board of Advisors for MAASU and was appointed by Governor Dayton to serve on the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans. She has a B.S. in Mathematics Education and received her MAEd from Hamline University.
Bryan Lozano
Andrew Lee
Andrew Lee serves on the Board of the Directors for ECAASU and was the co-director of the ECAASU 2008 conference held at Cornell University. He joined Teach For America after graduation and currently runs an academy in Chinatown, New York. He is currently involved in LGBT community and educationrelated work in NYC.
Philippine born and New York City raised, Bryan has always been committed to tackling systematic issues and serving the ne eds of underserved communities here and abroad. After completing his degree in public policy at Stony Brook University, he helped found a non-profit organization k nown as Pilipino American Unity for Progress where he presently serves as the Executive Director. Expanding his programs, Usapan and Community Building as far as the Midwest, Bryan aspires to create a model that can be utilized by other communities of color. He is also a budding social entrepreneur and was part of the StartingBloc Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship for New York for 2011.
Christine Munteanu
Christine Munteanu is the Ford Program Coordinator for the Japanese American Citizens League, the nations oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization. She helps to coordinate JACLs national leadership, education and anti-hate programming. Christine is a graduate of Wesleyan University.
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Workshop Facilitators
Carla Navoa
Carla Navoa is a proud 1.5 generation Filipina-American and an undocumented, unafraid, and unapologetic immigrant. She attends the University of Illinois at Chicago studying English Literature and Asian American Studies. Carla also works as a youth organizer for the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (KRCC), an affiliate of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC). She is a member of the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL) in Chicago and the NAKASEC Youth Network.
Patricia Nguyen
Patricia is the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Asian & Asian American Center at Cornell University. She has extensive background in Lion Dance, having danced with the teams at UCSB and University of Vermont. She currently serves as the advisor for Cornell Lion Dance.
Rachelle Ocampo
Rachelle Peraz Ocampo graduated St. Johns University in Queens, NY with a B.S. in Health Services Administration in 2010 and is currently earning her Masters in Education for the Science and the Public at SUNY University at Buffalo. She is also employed fulltime as a Health Educator for Mount Sinai Medical Center where she trains healthcare providers on how to educate their patients on tobacco cessation. She was first introduced into the world of leadership and Filipinos at the old, ripe age of 18 when she befriended the members of the St. Johns University Filipino organization, P.A.R.E. (Philippine-Americans Reaching Everyone).
Ling Shen
Ling is an undergraduate studying biology at Cornell. He has been involved with Cornell Lion Dance for his entire undergraduate career.
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Workshop Facilitators
Calvin Sun
Calvin graduated from Columbia University in 2008 with a B.A. in biochemistry and was Vice President of his class. He also was the founder of the Columbia University National Undergraduate Film Festival and served as the President of the Columbia University Asian American Alliance (AAA). Calvin currently attends medical school in NYC and is the President of his class. He also runs a business in healthcare, serves as the Vice President of the Columbia College Young Alumni, and sits on the Board of Directors for the East Coast Asian American Student Union, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit and the oldest and largest ethnic-interest collegiate organization in the country. In his spare time (if any!), Calvin cultivates a passion in hip hop choreography and South Asian dance while paying for medical school by working odd jobs as a bartending instructor, research assistant, events promoter, and DJ.
Katie Tu
Katherine Tu is a third year economics major at the University of Chicago. She has spent the past six months of her summer/ spring quarter studying and working abroad. Over the course of this time she has spent two and a half months studying history and Arabic in Jerusalem, Israel, two and a half months working with female microenterpaneurs in Lima, Peru and the last month traveling from Taiwan to Singapore to London. Her parents come from Beijing, China where she has visited many times as well. She hopes to engage in thoughtful and meaningful discussion with fellow conference participants on these topics during ECASSU
Johnny Thach
Undergraduate pre-law student at the State University of New York at Binghamton in my senior year majored in Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) and History. As a part of the Community Engagement Program on campus, Im amidst leading an educational awareness campaign this semester about Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) and the prison-industrial complex through a compilation of stories and experiences from former and current API prisoners, such as Eddy Zheng, and community activists and leaders involved. Moreover, Im currently an intern for the Advocacy Committee of ECAASU, a Copy Editor for Asian Outlook, an Asian-American literary, cultural, and activist studentrun publication, and part of the Prisoner Support Network.
Justin Valas
Justin Valas is a third-generation Japanese American from a rural part of Colorado where he was half of his schools APIA population. He is a graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, IL with a degree in International Relations and Black Studies. Justin has been living in North Carolina since the fall of 2006 and is one of the founding members of the NC DREAM Team. He is also a member of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance and the NAKASEC Youth Network.
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Workshop Facilitators
Leah Villanueva
Leah was born in Toronto, Canada and spent her childhood between Toronto and Palm Harbor, Florida. Her childhood experiences in both Toronto and Palm Harbor have had a profound influence on her philosophies of multiculturalism and inform her professional practice in her role as the University of Floridas first-ever Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs. She has a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelors degree in Spanish from the University of Florida. After her undergraduate career, she was a Kindergarten and K/1/2 Reading Teacher for three years at Reedy Creek Elementary School in Kissimmee, Florida. Along with her job responsibilities, Leah is pursuing a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. Leah firmly believes in helping individuals empower themselves not just for their personal benefit, but for the greater good of all. Community mindedness, awareness of greater systems of power and privilege, and solidarity for the causes of all marginalized groups are integral to the movement for greater empowerment the APIA population. In her free time, Leah enjoys dancing, being active, creating and appreciating all forms of art, and spending time with family, friends, and her two dogsChica, a free-spirited Shih-Tzu/ Pomeranian mix, and Yoshi, a temperamental, yet adorable, chihuahua.
Mike Xi
Michael is a junior at Duke University and a member of Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-American interest fraternity. He is double majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Economics. In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, playing guitar, listening to music and watching anime.
Andrew Yeh
Andrew Yeh is a proud Colorado native pursuing his degree in Asian American Studies and Biological Psychology, focusing on building a Pan-ethnic Asian American community. He is known for his commitment and participation in student and community organizations. He is an active speaker on campus, promoting the increase of student involvement and retention at his school. He has presented several workshops on Asian American interactions at several local and national conferences. As an Asian American activist and a U.S. Army Veteran, he strongly believes that values drive an organizations culture and priorities and provide a framework in which decisions can be made, and strives to maintain the mission. He is a co-founder of Colorado Asian Pacific Youth Association (CAPYA) 501(c)(3) which is designed to develop Asian American high school leaders and to establish a cultural identity as Asian Americans.
Diane Wong
At SUNY Binghamton, Diane Wong is a double major in Political Science and Asian and Asian American Studies with a concentration in Chinese language. Recently, she was awarded Binghamton Universitys Presidents Award for Undergraduate Student Excellence and the Rae Baldwin Jr. Memorial Scholarship for Political Science. Currently, she is the Editor-inChief of Asian Outlook Magazine and National Advocacy Chair for the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU). As the National Advocacy Chair for ECAASU, Diane works to facilitate the creation of Asian American Studies Programs across college campuses, in order to encourage, stimulate and maintain a forum for excellence in scholarship in advancing the study of Asians in America.
Bill Yoshino
Bill Yoshino is the Midwest Director of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the United States. He manages JACLs national programs related to education, leadership development, discrimination and hate crimes. He has served on the Illinois Commission on Discrimination & Hate Crimes and testified before the United States Senate on hate crime legislation.
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Workshop Facilitators
Ian Zhang
Ian is a sophomore at Duke University and co-Cultural Chair of Lambda Phi Epsilon--an Asian-interest Fraternity that promotes Asian American awareness. He is majoring in History and pursuing a double minor in Chinese and Psychology. Outside of school and fraternity, Ian can be found playing water polo, debating on the Moot Court team, and writing for the Chronicle.
Duke/UNC aKDPhi
alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority is an international Asian-interest sorority with 48 chapters located at numerous universities across the United States and in Canada. Lena and Diane are the Cultural Chairs of Duke alpha Kappa Delta Phi. Through this workshop, they hope to share their enthusiasm about Asian culture with others. They have put great effort in promoting cultural awareness and education on campus. Shirley and Sarah are both sisters from UNC aKDPhi - the only Asian-interest sorority at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ever since they both crossed in Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, respectively, both sisters have been challenging their own sisters and the campus community to question individual cultural roots. Cultural identity is very important to the both of them and Shirley and Sarah are still seeking to define what constitutes their own concrete identities within their ethnicity.
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Conference Board
Derek Mong
Executive Director
Nina Kuo
Marketing Chair
Ting-Ting Zhou
Programming Chair
Kristen Lee
Programming Chair
Jenny Wang
Logistics Chair
Entertainment Chair
Remi Sun
Entertainment Chair
Helen Zou
Emily Cao
Finance Chair
Simon Ho
Programming
Hospitality Coordinator
Richard Cao
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u s a 2 a 1 c y e 0 r e 2 e en v c o n c a s s i o s d i i t e a u n l R e o v R Re u s a 2 a 1 c e 20 overyce n c a s n s i o s d i i t e a u n l R e o v R Re
Conference Board
Chris Chan
Marketing
Selina Chen
Logistics
George Fan
Marketing
Huayu Lai
Marketing
Dawei Liu
Entertainment
Frances Lobo
Logistics
Katie Ni
Logistics
David Shou
Logistics
Alex Zhu
Logistics
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Special Thanks
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ECAASU Board of Directors
Allen Pan Michelle Horikawa Calvin Sun Andrew Lee June Kao Melinda Wang Dianna Yau Henna Tailor Deanna Seid Diane Wong Nicole Fink Meher Farooq
Special Thanks
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Notes
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Notes
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Notes
Notes
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Conference Sponsors
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