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Building Leadership

The coffee cup at my work desk spells out C.O.A.L.I.T.I.O.N., as defined by members of the first cohort of leaders for the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Institute (API-CLI)
C- Compassion
O- Organizing
A- Advocacy
L- Leadership
I- Inclusive
T- Trust
I- Interdependence
O- Outstanding
N- Network
Being part of the pilot group of fellows for the year-long API-CLI was a truly enriching experience. Throughout the program, I got to know leaders from different ethnic and professional backgrounds who share the common goal of Asian Pacific Islander community empowerment in Oregon. APIs in our state comprise the second largest community of color, and the fastest-growing among minority groups. Yet, we have a ways to go in improving our collective presence in civic leadership. The API-CLI fellowship seeks to grow API leaders within our ranks -- leaders with a particular lens on racial equity and justice advocacy.

Here's a link to the article that I wrote in The Asian Reporter about recruitment for the next group of cohorts.

"The initial group of fellows represented various ethnic backgrounds and identities, including Kachin, Lao, Mien, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chuukese, Cambodian, Tongan, Taiwanese, and others. They represented naturalized Americans, native Oregonians, transplants from the Pacific Islands, and the newly arrived.
What the fellows had in common was a passion for creating change and lending a unified and stronger voice for challenges facing the Asian Pacific Islander community.

"Together, we have learned from each other about communication and conflict management; community organizing; race, ethnicity, and nationality; coalition building; social determinants of health; advocacy; and collaboration and coordination," said Connie Nguyen-Truong, primary investigator for the Vietnamese Women’s Health Research Project on behalf of her alma mater, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). "The API-CLI created a supportive environment for networking and produces unlikely collaborations. These raw connections are invaluable."

The fellows came together over several months for workshops and team-building activities. API-CLI is one of six community-specific leadership programs that were launched in 2011 as a response to the pervasive racial and ethnic inequities faced by communities of color in Oregon, said Nga-My Vuong, a program coordinator for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization’s (IRCO) Asian Family Center.
Funded by the Meyer Memorial Trust through the Coalition of Communities of Color, the goal of API-CLI is to build the leadership capacity of Asian and Pacific Islander community leaders to create alliances and partnerships in an effort to address racial and ethnic disparities. The institute is a partnership project between the IRCO Asian Family Center and the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO).

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