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White House Initiative on
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

White House Initiative on
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Ariel International Center
January 28, 2015

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) held a Community Listening Session at Ariel International Center on January 28, 2015. The event was coordinated by City of Cleveland Community Relations Board Asian Liaison Chia-Min Chen.

White House Initiative banner


After networking and lunch, Michael Byun from the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders welcomed the crowd and made introductions.

Michael Byun

Michael Byun


Byun gave some background about himself and discussed the many Federal Agencies available as a resource. He stated the 3 main goals of the session:
  1. To introduce WHIAAPI and the Region 5 Interagency Working Group (RIWG) to the Cleveland AAPI community.
  2. To help the RIWG understand the needs of the Cleveland AAPI community.
  3. To develop tangible recommendations on how the RIWG can address the community needs.

(Please excuse the light variations in the videos. The Ariel International Center is a beautiful facility but with the bright light bouncing off the frozen lake in the background, the video lighting suffered some.)



Panel at Cleveland White House Initiative AAPI event

Panel at Cleveland White House Initiative AAPI event

Michael Byun

Michael Byun


Michael Byun then introduced the panel beginning with Cleveland Ward 14 City Councilman Brian Cummins who made some opening remarks.

Cleveland Ward 14 City Councilman Brian Cummins

Cleveland Ward 14 City Councilman Brian Cummins



Next, Radhika Reddy of Ariel Ventures spoke. Radhika and Ariel hosted the session.

Radhika Reddy

Radhika Reddy



Rebecca Lee with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders spoke about the Region 5 Interagency Working Group of the White House Initiative.

Rebecca Lee

Rebecca Lee



Region 5 map

Cleveland is in Region 5

Rebecca Lee

Rebecca Lee

Michelle Crew of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Region 5 Interagency Working Group and also the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) introduced the groups in attendance.

These groups offer resources and services for the AAPI and broader community. Let us know if you need contact information.

Michelle Crew

Michelle Crew

Ms Crew introduced Jacqueline Guevara from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Jacqueline Guevara

Jacqueline Guevara


Next, Meena Morey Chandra from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) - U.S. Department of Education spoke.

Meena Morey Chandra

Meena Morey Chandra

Michelle Crew spoke about the EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission



Raymond Graves from the Small Business Association spoke next.

Raymond Graves

Raymond Graves



George Chunkau Mui is a Senior Advisor on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and also a Global Business Consultant for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

MBDA Services U.S. Development of Commerce - MBDA is the only Federal Agency dedicated to support Minority Businesses. They offer three major services to Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) with at least $1 million in annual revenue.

  1. Access to Contracts
  2. Access to Capital
  3. Access to Market


George Chunkau Mui

George Chunkau Mui

Julie Weis, Compliance Assistance Specialist with the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), spoke next.

Julie Weis

Julie Weis

Joann Moriarty is an Investigator with the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor.

Joann Moriarty

Joann Moriarty



Brandon Smith is a Public Affairs Specialist with Social Security.

Brandon Smith

Brandon Smith

Pamela Ashby is with Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Pamela Ashby

Pamela Ashby



Marilyn Blocker is with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Marilyn Blocker

Marilyn Blocker



Darlene Ehrler is with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).

Darlene Ehrler

Darlene Ehrler



Lamont Johnson is with the Department of Defense's Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS).

Lamont Johnson

Lamont Johnson



Diana Jin is also with DFAS.

Diana Jin

Diana Jin



After the presentations, the "listening" portion of the event began. The Listening Session was run by George Mui.

George Chunkau Mui

George Chunkau Mui


Group Breakout Sessions included:
  1. Housing and Education
  2. Health, Human Services, and Social Security
  3. Immigration, Labor, Workers’ Rights
  4. Economic Development and Business
To insure privacy and participation, no videos or photos were taken of this part of the event.

White House Initiative team

White House Initiative team


Thanks to all the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Listening Session participants and special thanks to Chia-Min Chen for her coordinating efforts and Radhika Reddy for hosting at the Ariel Center.

White House Initiative on AAPI banner


Resources

WHIAAPI Grants and Resources Page Access grants, training, and resources to help AAPI organizations.

WHIAAPI Business Page - Find resources to help you grow your AAPI business.

Data.gov/AAPI The most comprehensive hub of government data on AAPIs.



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