CHINA
CHOW - "The Big Hit" was the last major picture from the
daughter of Michale and Tina Chow.
DEBORAH
CRAIG - Korean (adopted) actress seen in Big Daddy, Third
on a Match , Innocence Lost and Under:Elegy. Other work includes
the music video "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" w/ Prince,
lead vocals on sound trackrack for "The Legend of Faraway Bayou"
and a current cd in progress w/ her girl group "Personified".
AYESHA
DHARKER - she is Queen Jamillia of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode
II Attack of the Clones
TAKEI
YOEU ESGUERERA - Cambodian regugee is a fast-rising spoken
word performer and author.
KELLY
HU - Beautiful actress from Hawaii had starred in "Martial
Law."
KRISTIN
KREUK - featured actress on the WB's "Smallville"
LUCY
LIU - Star first came to fame in the tv show "Ally McBeal."
SANDRA
TSING LOH - writer/performer who has appeared on stage,
radio and television.
JODI
LONG - continuing the entertainment industry tradition of
her parents who performed at the "Forbidden City" Night Club.
FRANCIS
NUYUN - seen in "South Pacific" and a famous episode in
the show "Star Trek."
MERLE
OBERON - famous Anglo-Indian actress who was born in February
19, 1911 and starred in films such as Wuthering Heights, Dark Angel,
Men of Tomorrow and The Private Lives of Henry VIII - among many
others
KATE
RIGG - a Hapa comic artist who focuses on the definition
of the “C” word.
CARTOON SHOWS - list of APA’s that are regular cast members
of cartoon shows in the 2001-2002 season
ASTRONAUTS
LEROY
CHIAO (Ph.D.) - Part of NASA since July 1991. He flew as
a mission specialist on STS-65 in 1994 and STS-72 in 1996 - that
included two space walks."
KALPANA
CHAWLA - First Indian American woman to fly in a US Space
Shuttle. Died in the Columbian tragedy on February
2, 2003
EDWARD
TSANG LU (Ph.D.) - Selected by NASA in December 1994, he
has served as a mission specialist on STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997),
NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian
Space Station Mir.
MAMORU
MOHRI - Dr.
Mohri has been part of NASA since August 1996 and is assigned
to STS-99, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission."
DUKE
PAOA KAHANAMOKU - was inducted into the International Swimming
Hall of Fame AND U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
ALEX
KIM - Fast-rising tennis star from Stanford University
HONG
WAH KUES - these "Brave Chinese Warriors" were the first
all-Chinese American professional basketball team formed in 1939
to 1941 (WWII) by a white San Francisco accountant. Team of former
S.F. high school all stars toured the U.S. and Canada - sometimes
with the Harlem Globetrotters.
SAMMY
LEE - became the first male diver in history to win multiple
gold medals at the Olympics. In 1948, he was the first Asian Asian
American ever to win gold and the first male ever to win two consecutive
Olympic gold medals in platform diving, plus a bronze in springboard
diving at the Olympic Games.
KRISTINA
LUM - 23 years old swimmer
has won competition awards since 1992 and in 1998 & 1999
was the USOC Sportswoman of the Year and Sullivan Award nominee.
She won the Silver Medal at the 1998 Goodwill
Games despite having a back
injury in late 1997.
PEGGY
OKI - sole woman on Dogtown, CA's groundbreaking Zephyr
Skating Team that was seen in the Sony Pictures Classics' film "Dogtown
and Z-Boys. In addition, she is a well-established graphic
artist.
KIYOSHI
PATRICK OKURA - was the first Japanese American to play
varsity baseball at UCLA.
JULIA
CHO - 26-year old playwright and David Henry Hwang protege
has various works dealing with her Korean background such as her
recent "99 Histories."
FANG
FAMILY - John, Florence, James and Ted Fang are one of the
prominent APA media players with the ownership of publications such
as San Francisco Examiner, AsianWeek and others.
K.W.
LEE - has worked 25 years at the Sacramento Union until
an illness curtailed his activities. In 2002, he will be 74 and
the undisputed "dean of ”
target=”blank”>Asian American journalists." He was a Korean
immigrant man doing mainstream reporting in the South in the 1950s,
when Jim Crow laws segregated the races. Within Asian American activist
circles, K.W. Lee is best known and revered for his investigative
journalism in the Chol Soo Lee case who was falsely convicted of
a San Francisco Chinatown murder in 1973. The Chol Soo Lee case
was the basis of a Hollywood movie, True Believer, starring James
Woods playing defense attorney Tony Serra.
GENNY
LIM - acclaimed Chinese American playwright, poet, and performance
artist considered one of the luminaries in Asian American literature.
Her best known work is the play Paper Angels that focuses on the
immigrants of Angel Island. Lim
honestly presents, opression, struggle, and the unforgettable past
of Asian Americans in the United States.
CHANG-RAE
LEE - Award-winning author who wrote the books "Native Speaker"
and "A Gesture Life."
JOANN
LEE (ASIAN AMERICAN ACTORS) - Director of Journalism at
Queens College SUNY and former CNN broadcast journalist writes about
the plight of Asian American actors.
AN
NA - winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence
in literature for young adults.
FAE
MYENNE NG (BONE) - She's received many highly acclaimed
awards for
Bone (story of her childhood in San Francisco's Chinatown).
LINDA
SUE PARK - winner of the 2002
John Newberry and Randolph Caldecroft Medals - the most prestigious
awards in children literature.
TRACY
QUAN - She placed her career as an elite Manhattan
prostitute on hold to become a writer of a popular Salon.Com
column chronicling the adventures of fictional call girl Nancy
Chan that grew into this reality-based novel.
ICY
SMITH (THE LONELY QUEUE) - this Hong Kong native was born
Sui Bing Tang. She is also a corporate communications professional
specializing in Asian-American markets. Her widely
acclaimed bi-lingual book is on the forgotten 150 years history
of the courageous Chinese Americans in Los Angeles through photographs,
drawing and paintings “with the intimacy of a family album and
the authority of a historical monograph."
WILLIAM
WONG - Oakland-based writer of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches
from Asian America, past commentator on Jim Lehrer's PBS regional
commentator, contributes to the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street
Journal, the Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Examiner, Asian
Week, salon.com, and other news outlets.
JUDY
YUNG (UNBOUND FEET) - expert and award-winning author on
the history, roles, attitudes of Chinese American women.
BUSINESS
PEOPLE
SUSAN
AU ALLEN - is President of the United
States Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC), and chair
of the Excellence 2000 Awards. She is also an lawyer at Paul
Shearman Allen & Associates
GEORGE
ARATANI - Using philanthropy to fight prejudice California-born
George Aratani, the Japanese-American founder of Mikasa Chinaware
and Kenwood Electronics, has been a "quiet" but high-impact philanthropist.
SABEER
BHATIA - founded (w/Jack Smith) founded Hotmail, one of
the Internet's first Web-based e-mail service providers
LEO
CHU - Leo Chu is the president of California Casinos Management
Inc., and Century Gaming, companies involved in ownership and management
of Crystal Park Casino and Hollywood Park Casino, respectively.
JOHNY
CHUNG - Johnny
Chung, a Taiwan-born American citizen, gave nearly $400,000
to Democrats from 1994
to 1996, including $100,000 from a Chinese military intelligence
officer, and visited the White House nearly 50 times, often with
Chinese business clients and was sentenced.
NGUYEN
MINH CHAU - aspires to be in the Maryland House of Delegates.
She is a fourth-term elected Council member for the town of Garrett
Park, and a representative of the Maryland Municipal League (MML)
and the Garrett Park Elementary School.
DENNIS
FUNG - the King of Computer Gamers has achieve a great deal
of success and money by the age of 22!
KEIKO
HARVEY - Verizon's Senior Vice-President of Advance Services
and Digital Subscriber Lines (business & consumr)
JOHN
HUANG - Democratic Fund-Raiser that was convicted of violation
campaign finance laws.
ANDREA
JUNG - President
at Avon. She oversees all of Avon's international operations
and soon to be COO. She joined Avon in January 1994 as senior vice
president, product marketing, and was promoted to her last position
in March 1997 before her presidency.
GENE
KAN - innovative and creative computer programmer whose
ability to clearly communicate made him the unofficial spokesman
for Gnutella and for file-sharing applications in general..
JEONG
KIM - Group President at Lucent Technologies after his company
(Yurie Systems) was purchased. He has won numerous awards and is
ranked the 20th richest person in America under the age of 40.
CUNG
LE - former world championship fighter
and one of biggest draw of PPV fight events owns a series of “UsH”
that owns training centers, produces live events/workout vides and
sports merchandise.
TOMMY
LE - A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission program manager
who has been consistently involved in school and community activities.
CONRAD
LEE - U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator
of Region 10, which encompasses programs and services in Oregon,
Washington, Idaho and Alaska.
JENNY
MING - She became president of Old Navy after being part
of the management team that led the creation in 1994 of Old Navy,
which became the fastest-growing apparel retail start-up in U.S.
history. Ming was executive vice president of Old Navy prior to
her promotion.
LOIDA
NICOLAS - The first Asian woman to pass the New York bar
examination was Loida Nicolas, an alumna of the University of the
Philippines. In the mid-1990s, she headed the European-based multi-billion
dollar business TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc. Time Magazine's
Thomas McCarroll noted in October 1996: "She is perhaps the only
CEO of a multinational company to greet visitors with a hug rather
than a handshake."
SCOTT OKI
- former Microsoft SVP of Sales and Marketing, has used his estimated
$750 million fortune to create the Oki (non-profit) Foundation.
Oki sits on the boards of 20+ nonprofits and manages his investment
company, Oki Developments.
VIRGINIA
P'AN - formed TransCapital Group, a company that helps Western
corporations form strategic alliances within the Chinese market.
I.M.
PEI - one of the U.S.'s most famous architects. The Chinese
American architect designed such famous buildings as the East
Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Bank
of China in Hong Kong, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
and the Louvre Pyramid in Paris.
JOHN
SIE - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Starz
Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore), one of the largest and fastest-growing
owners of premium cable networks, as well as the International Channel,
the nation's premier in-language cable network for immigrant Americans
KIMORA
LEE SIMMONS - As the youngest star (13 years old) ever in
the House of Chanel. She has modeled for Chanel; Yves St. Laurent;
Valentino; Mizrahi; Donna Karan; Ralph Lauren; Armani; Issey Miyaki;
Yamamoto, etc. She's the Design Director & Marketing force behind
Baby Phat, Kimora Lee Baby Phat Jeans collection - a $40 million
annual clothing line.
TODAI
RESTAURANTS - Brothers Kaku and Toru Makino founded this
thriving sushi-buffet restaurants that is managed by Hans Kim.
CHARLES
WANG - This Shanghai
native (Mao drove the family out) Charles
Wang founded Computer
Associates, Inc in 1976 with 3 associates, a single product
and a simple idea: that technology must serve business. Computer
Associates has proven itself to be an ingenious company, ranking
as the third largest software company worldwide and the world leader
in mission-critical business software.. Under Wang's
guidance, the company's net worth has expanded to $25 billion, with
revenue of $4.7 billion in fiscal year 1998 and employs more than
11,000 people in 43 countries. In addition, Mr. Wang is the author
of TECHNO
VISION II: Every Executive's Guide to Understanding and Mastering
Technology - in addition to owning hockey's New York Islanders!
KENNETH
WONG - Former president of Walt Disney Imagineering and
president of Pop.Com
THOMAS
WU - President and CEO of San Francisco-based United Commercial
Bank - the nation's largest bank serving the Chinese-American community.
Bank has $2.4 billion in assets and 27 branches throughout California
CARTOONISTS,
PAINTERS, ANIMATORS, SCULPTORS AND OTHER ARTISTS
RUTH
ASAWA - this San Francisco-based sculptor,
born in 1926, has been nationally acclaim for her works
during the past 40+
years. Asawa's work
include the Mermaid Fountain at Ghirardelli Square, Hyatt Fountain
at Union Square and the Japanese
American Internment Memorial Sculpture at the San Jose Federal
Building. Her
work can be seen at the Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of
American Art and the Oakland Museum of California.
SANDRA
CHANG - The art and imagination of Sandra Chang expresses
a mixture of powerful sexuality, social comment, a touch of sarcasm,
and at the very least, a touch of her own femininity - as seen through
her most popular characters, DAGNY AND HENDRIX.
FRANK
CHO - Check out some of his works
at the Washington Post.
KINGMAN
DONG - world famous watercolorist has seen his great artistry
in films, paintings, magazine covers, etc. in museums throughout
the world.
TAK
FUJIMOTO - award-winning Japanese-American director of photography
who is considered one of the most talented camera operators in Hollywood
.
KIP
FULBECK - combines improvisation, stand-up comedy, political
activism, and inspiring personal stories to multi-racial issues.
WILFREDO
LAM - Cuban painter, printmaker and sculptor, Wifredo Lam
is best known for his own style of art, created by fusing Surrealism
and Cubism with the colors and form of the Caribbean.
HAYAO
MIYAZAKI - widely acclaim and admired animator from Japan
TAK
TOYOSHIMA - art director for the alternative news weekly
Boston's
Weekly Dig.. Since 1999, his weekly "Secret
Asian Man" comic strips have provided a sometimes brutal yet
honest perspective on the experience of growing up Asian American
in America.
PEARL
UBUNGEN - A fourth generation Filipina American creates
work that reflects an authentic urban landscape through an innovative
use of post-modern dance with elements of theatre, text, popular
culture and original live music.
TYRUS
WONG - Painter, lithographer, designer and Disney legend
PHIL
YEH - He has painted murals
in 49 U.S. states, 3 Canadian provinces, Mexico, China, Hungary,
Italy, England, Taiwan, Germany, Singapore and Japan - in addition
to 58 books. He was honored by Mrs. Bush at the White House for
his literacy work!
COMMUNITY
LEADERS
CHE
AHN - Pastor of Harvest Rock Church
who has drawn thousands of people to his various events throughout
the United States.
RICHARD
AOKI - prominent community activist who is the field marshal
for the Black Panther Party, Third World Liberation Front leader,
professor, etc and started his protests in the 1960's.
GRACE
LEE BOGGS - 1st generation NYC-based Chinese American has
been a speaker, writer, and movement activist primarily in Detroit's
African American community for the past fifty-five years. Raised during
a time when her father was not allowed to buy land because he was
Chinese, she was in her twenties when she was inspired to become involved
in civil rights and dedicate her life to social justice. Her autobiography,
"Living For Change," is a sweeping account of her life as an untraditional
radical from the end of the 1930s, through the cold war, the civil
rights era, and the rise of Black Power and the Black Panthers, to
the present efforts to rebuild America's crumbling urban communities.
MILTON
CHEN - leading expert in the educational field and multi-ethnic
relations
NORIKO
SAWADA BRIDGES FLYNN - Japanese American
civil-rights activist and writer who successfully challenged Nevada's
law barring mixed marriages
HEATHER
FONG - San Francisco's Deputy Chief (S.F.'s highest ranking
Asian American law enforcement management)
FRED
KOREMATSU - this Oakland civil rights crusader is the honorary
chairman of the California Civil Rights Commission on Hate Crimes,
who advises the attorney general on finding ways to improve diversity,
train law enforcement officers and monitor extremist hate groups.
During World War II, Korematsu's legal challenges to civilian exclusion
orders helped spur the redress movement for Japanese Americans. He
won the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor
in 1998.
ALBERTA
LEE - Dr. Lee's daughter who became an impassioned spokesperson
for her father and Asian American civil rights.
DR.
HENRY LEE - Commissioner Dr. Henry Lee is the head of Connecticut's
state police force and the most prominent Asian American in law enforcement.
This world famous forensic criminologist, called Connecticut's Sherlock
Holmes and known for engaging and entertaining presentations, has
made breakthrough discoveries in several famous investigations, including
the Nicole Brown Simpson murder case.
WEN
HO LEE - Chinese American scientist who has been labeled as
a "spy" by the press (N.Y. Times), yet has been charged of espionage.
Despite previous examples of "similar" situations, learn how he has
been treated differently!
GARY
MAR - Founder & Dir. of Philosophy Dept. Logic Lab & Philosophy.
Dir. of Stony Brook University's first Asian American Center Bridge
- temporary home of the $25 million Charles B. Wang Asian
American Center.
WILLIAM
"MO" MARUMOTO - first APA to serve at the White House at an
Executive level & member of President's Advisory Committee at Kennedy
Center.
KAREN
NARASAKI - Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific
American Legal Consortium, Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference
on Civil Rights as the Chairperson of its Compliance/Enforcement Committee
and is Chairperson of the National Network Against Anti-Asian Violence.
ROSE
ICHI - Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American
Legal Consortium, Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference
on Civil Rights as the Chairperson of its Compliance/Enforcement Committee
and is Chairperson of the National Network Against Anti-Asian Violence.
DANNY
SEO - Internationally renown activist, author and public speaker
CHARLIE
SOONG - Duke's 1st International student and Methodist minister
turned wealthy businessman whose daughters married Sun Yat-sen and
Chiang Kai-shek
CHIUNE
"SEMPO" SUGIHARA - Japanese Vice-Consul to Lithuania in 1940,
is credited with saving the second largest number of Jews from the
Holocaust.
JUDGE
ROBERT TAKASUGI - California Supreme Court Judge who has ruled
on many important cases
DR.
CHANG-LIN TIEN - former chancellor and professor at UC Berkeley
is a leading voice in Asian American politics while being a co-founder
of 80-20.
JAN
TING - professor of law who is an advocate for "alien rights."
L.
LING-CHI WANG - an uncompromising Bay-area community activist
who co-founded Chinese for Affirmative Action
TAKUJI
YAMASHITA - Takuyamashita Yamashita was one of the century's
earliest civil-rights crusaders, a prescient forerunner to the likes
of Clarence Darrow and Thurgood Marshall.
DEBRA
YANG - Santa Monica Superior Court Judge and the first Asian
American to serve as U.S. attorney for California's Central Judicial
District.
HELEN
ZIA
- is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Asian American Dreams:
The Emergence of an American People. She is an award-winning journalist
and a contributing editor to Ms. Magazine. Ms. Zia has been an activist
in the Asian American community for many years.
DANCERS
DARREN
LEE - dancer last scene in the movie
"Chicago"
LOUISE
MITA JUNG - Acclaimed dancer/choreographer whose dancing
has been seen in countless videos, movies, shows and performances
for Great Leap
FANG
YI SHEU - Featured dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company
JUNE
WATANABE - Highly acclaimed dancer/choreographer whose themes
are often drawn from Asian Pacific American history.
DIVERSITY
(HEADS OF DIVERSITY AT THE MAJOR NETWORKS
APA
MEDIA COALITION - ad hoc group of
people interested in advocating for greater diversity in network
television and other media. Groups include MANAA, East West Players,
Visual Communications, NAATA, Asian American Coalition for Total
Inclusion On the Networks (AACTION), OCA and the National Asian
Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC).
WENDA
FONG - Director of Diversity Development Department (FOX/P.O.
Box 900/Bldg. 100, Room 4555/Beverly Hills, CA 90213-900/if using
a messenger:10201 W. Pico Blvd., Bldg. 100, Room 4555/10201 W. Pico
Blvd., Bldg. 100, Room 4555/310-369-4110)
MICHAEL
JACK - As of June 2002, appointed Chief of Diversity (replacing
Paula Madison)- along with his appointment as President and General
Manager of WRC-TV (NBC's Washington station. Bob Wright, NBC's Chairman
and Chief Executive, stated that "a pure ethnic show don't have
to be spectacular to succeed. With us, they've got to be very good."
PAULA
MADISON - NBC's Vice-President of Diversity (NBC/3000 W.
Alameda Avenue/Burbank, CA 91523/818-840-4444). NBC's
Bob Wright's Diversity Statement states in part: "Years ago,
NBC voluntarily implemented a mandatory training program in diversity
for all employees. These sessions aim to increase awareness of and
sensitivity to diversity issues in the workplace. NBC's commitment
to diversity manifests itself in the programming we produce and
air as well." Marc Hirshfield (Executive V.P. Casting of NBC Entertainment)
is also involved. As of June 2002, when Michael Jack replaced her,
her duties included integrating the staffs and mission of NBC with
Telemundo - the second largest Spanish language television in the
country. She will remain president and general manager of KNBC-TV
and will lead the entertainment team of the diversity initiative
at the network on a temporary basis, until Michael Jack gets up
and running.
JOSIE
THOMAS - CBS' Head of Diversity/Senior V.P. (CBS/51 W. 52nd
Street/New York, NY 10019/212-975-4321)
ALEX
WALLAU - President, ABC Television Network Administration
& Operations (in light that there is no diversity department, he’s
taken the initiative. Carmen Smith has been EWP’s contact person.
(ABC, Inc./2040 Avenue of the Stars/Los Angeles, CA 90067/310/557-7777)
MITSY
WILSON - Fox's Head of Diversity/Sr. V.P. of Diversity Development
Department (FOX/10201 W. Pico Blvd/Bldg.100, Room 5075/ Los Angeles,
CA 90035/310-369-1000)
ENTERTAINMENT
EXECUTIVES
GRACE
WU - Casting director for NBC Productions.
She was in charge of the casting of Friends, 3rd Rock, Just Shoot
Me, Caroline In The City and others.
FASHION
JIMMY
CHOO - one of the most popular footwear
designers in the world
ELLE
HAMM - clothing designer, tv emcee, entrepeneur and music
artist
EUGENIA
KIM - acclaim Korean American hat designer has had stores
in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, and London.
JOSIE NATORI
- founder and CEO of Natori Company, a women's clothier specializing
in elegant lingerie and sophisticated, romantic daywear with a combined
sales revenue of more than $50 million annually.
ANJALI
PATHAK - designer of Indo-American tee-shirts and tote bags
VIVIENNE
TAM - Her dresses can be seen in the Andy Warhol Museum
in Pittsburgh, Pa. & London's Victoria, Albert Museum, Glasgow's
Lighthouse and Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology in
New York City. She was included in People magazine's list of "50
Most Beautiful People."
ZANG
TOI - Malaysian-born clothes designer who has worked with
Sharon Stone and Ivana Trump
JOE
YEE - With its impressive catch record, his Joe Yee Lures'
"Super Plunger" is the ultimate tool for catching some very large
fish
MILITARY PERSONNEL
REAR
ADMIRAL MING CHANG - retired after
34 years of service from the U.S. Navy as the highest ranking Chinese
American in the military. Career included assignments in Navy's
cruiser and destroyer commands deployed to the Mediterranean, Norwegian
Sea, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the Persian Gulf. He's received
the Legion of Merit with three gold stars; the Bronze
Star; the Spanish Cross of Aeronautical Merit with White Ribbon;
and the West German Meritorious Iron Cross First Class. He currently
holds a dual post of Vice President and Corporate Director for the
Pacific Region at Raytheon International, Inc.
FORBIDDEN
CITY NIGHT CLUB - Night club featured accomplished and renown
performers. Dancers included Dorothy Toy Fong (tap dancer/actress),
Stanley Toy (dancer), Bertha Lew Hing (dancer, magician), Dorothy
Sun Murray (dancer), Lew Hing (dancer, magician), Dorothy Sun Murray
(dancer), Jade Ling (actress/dancer), Marion Fong Got (dancer) and
Noel Toy (dancer). Singers included Larry Ching (singer), Frances
Chun Kan (singer), Ivy Tam (dancer/Mrs. Charlie Low) and Lily Pon
(dancer, singer). These performers were featured in Arthur Dong's
"Forbidden City USA" documentary
ARTHUR
DONG - along with "Forbidden City USA" (about the Chinese
American night club in San Francisco), he has produced award-winning
films and videos that combine the art of the visual medium with
an investigation of social issues.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
RICARDO
ALVARADO - Exhibit "Through My Father's
Eyes" document Filipino American history during the 1940's and 1950's
TAK
FUJIMOTO - Award-winning "Director of Photography" for many
high-profiled Hollywood films
CORKY
LEE - often known as the "Unofficial Undisputed Asian American
Photographer Laureate"
NIKKI
S. LEE - artist who explores cultural and ethnic identity
through her subjects.
REAGAN
LOUIE - professor of photography at the San Francisco Art
Institute since 1976
NORBERT
WU - independent photographer and filmmaker who specializes
in marine issues
CHAY
YEW - associate artist and director at the Mark Taper's
Asian Theater Workshop
POETS,
SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS
ANIDA
YOEU ESGUERRA - She is a prominent spoken artist and member
of the group “I Was Born With Two Tongues.”
POLITICIANS
U.S.
SENATOR DANIEL KAHIKINA AKAKA OF HAWAII - a Democrat, has
served in the United States Senate since 1990 to complete the term
of the late Senator Spark M. Matsunaga. He was elected to his current
term in November 1994 with over 70 percent of the popular vote--the
largest margin of victory in the Senate that year. Senator Akaka
is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is the
only Chinese American member of the Senate.
WILMA
CHAN - is California Assembly’s first Majority Leader
ELAINE
CHAO - in 2000, was appointed to President Bush's cabinet.
She was president and chief executive officer of United Way of America
(UWA) in August 1996 to serve as a distinguished fellow at The Heritage
Foundation, a prominent policy research institute in Washington,
DC. She is currently married to Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky.
SATVEER
CHAUDHARY - is the third South Asian American elected legislator
in United States history. He's also Minnesota's first Asian Pacific
American to hold elected office and one of only two South Asian
Americans currently in office nationwide.
EDWARD
CHEN - First Asian American on San Francisco Federal Bench.
ALAN
CHEUNG - He is the first Asian to break through the "glass
ceiling" in Montgomery County politics and state government. He's
a member of Montgomery
County Board of Education.
VIET
DINH - is the highest-ranking Vietnamese American official
in the Bush Administration, working as assistant attorney general
overseeing the Office of Legal Policy
MARCH
FONG EU - prominent California politician who has broken
many barriers for Asian Americans and women in politics.
MATT
FONG - son of former California Secretary of State March
Fong Eu (Democrat) is a Republican.
DANIEL
INOUYE - elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in
1959 as Hawaii's first Congressman, and then to the U.S. Senate
in 1962 till 2002 was a distinguished war veteran.
BOBBY
JINDAL - Baton Rouge, La., native Bobby Jindal, a whiz kid
takes the reins of Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals
and appointed in February 1998 to serve as the Executive Director
of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare
in Washington, D.C. Jindal was named President of Louisiana's largest
College System.
TONY
LAM - the first Vietnamese American to hold an elected office
BILL
LANN LEE - became Washington's 21st governor on Nov. 5,
1996, making him the first Chinese-American governor in U.S. history
SUSAN
C. LEE - first APA women to serve in Maryland’s state legislature.
PATSY
MINK - she was the first Asian American and woman of color
to be elected to Congress.
SUSAN
OKI MOLLWAY - the first Asian Pacific American woman ever
to serve as a federal district court judge (Hawaii).
ROBERT
T. MATSUI (D) CALIFORNIA - Elected to Congress in 1978,
Robert T. Matsui has gained a national and international reputation
as an effective, strategic leader on far-reaching and complex public
policy issues including international trade, social security, tax
policy, public health and free and fair trade initiatives. He has
also served two decades on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
Congressman Matsui has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award
by the Anti Defamation League for his work mentioned above and with
children.
RUBY
G. MOY - In 1997, eight Commissioners on the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights unanimously approved the President's nominee Ruby
G. Moy to be Staff Director of the Commission. Dutes include to
investigate complaints civil rights infringement in all forms, collect
information, to appraise Federal laws/policies to the violations,
serve as a clearinghouse for info, submit reports to the President/Congress
and issue PSA's to discourage equal protection of the laws.
SUSAN
OKI MOLLWAY - the first Asian Pacific American woman ever
to serve as a federal district court judge (Hawaii).
LAN
NGUYEN - 1st Vietnamese American elected to a school board
H.K.
PARK - was the Special Assistant to the Defense Department's
Chief of Staff from 1999 to 2001, Deputy Assistant to the Secretary
of Defense for Civil Support, Term Member of the Council on Foreign
Relations and currently a Senior Associate at the Cohen
Group.
DANG
PHAM - Executive Director of San Francisco’s Immigrant Rights
Commission
PAUL
SHIN - the first Korean- American to be elected a state
senator
DAHLIP
SINGH SAUND - In 1952 became the first Asian American and
the only Asian
Indian to have ever been elected to Congress from a mainland
state. His poignant and immortal quote "There is no room in the
United States of America for second-class citizenship" applies even
more today!
BARRETT
THANG - 1st Vietnamese American Superior Court Judge
KIP
TOKUDA - US Representative from Washington State.
EDWARD HACHRO
KUBO - U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii
MICHAEL
MINORU FAWN - Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing
in the Department of Housing and Urban Development
NORMAN MINETA
- Secretary for the Department of Transportation
SAMUEL T.
MOK - Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Labor
SHIRIN RAZIUDDIN
- U.S. Representative to the United Nations’ Economic and Social
Council/Human Rights Commission in the Department of South Asia
Program/Foreign Policy Institute
SICHAN SIV
- Ambassador to the United Nations in the Economic and Social Council
from the Department of State
DR.
GEORGE THOMAS - Serve on the Bush Administration's National
Heart, Lung and Blood Advisory Council of the National Institutes
of Health till 2005.
TELEVISION
SHOWS
ALL
AMERICAN GIRL - For 19 episodes from Sept 14, 1994 to March
22, 1995, they were the first sitcom featuring an APA cast on a major
network. eries included Margaret Cho, Jodi Long, Clyde Kusatsu, B.D.
Wong, J.B. Quon, Amy Hill, Maddie Corman, Judy Gold and Eric/Ashley
Johnson
MARTIAL
LAW - First Asian American television show to survive its
first season. Cast features Sammo Hung and Kelly Hu.
