AAPI LEAD facilitates meaningful participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the American democratic process, including serving in elected and appointed offices at all levels of government, in all jurisdictions, and from all political backgrounds.
🔹 OUR MISSION
🔹 OUR GOALS
Encourage
AAPIs to be active and become leaders in their local communities, and beyond.
Equip
AAPI leaders with tools and skills to better serve their constituencies.
Connect
AAPI leaders from around the country including past and current elected and appointed officials.
Serve
the needs of our national AAPI community.
AAPI LEAD Foundation Board of Directors
Founder & Executive Director, GlobalSF
Darlene Chiu Bryant
Grace Choi
Founder and CEO,
Karis Consulting Group
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Grace Choi is the Founder and CEO of Karis Consulting Group, a national consulting firm that provides community organizing, strategic advising, and coalition building support for AANHPI organizations to empower the voice and capacity of the community. Grace is a community strategist and political leader with over 15 years of experience in community organizing, policy, advocacy, diplomacy, international development, and politics, where she has worked closely with high-level government, United Nations, non-profit, and private sector officials in the U.S. and around the world.
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Darlene Chiu Bryant is Founder and Executive Director of GlobalSF, a non-profit organization established to support San Francisco’s economic development efforts with global partners. Appointed by the late San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee to head up ChinaSF, a public private partnership of the City of San Francisco, she oversaw efforts that brought in more than $5.1 billion in Foreign Direct Investment, created more than 788 jobs and recruited more than 98 companies to San Francisco Bay Area. Darlene has had a diverse career in both the public and private sectors; She worked overseas in the pharma and biotech space for German, Japanese and Chinese multinational firms. In her native San Francisco, she worked in communications and public affairs for former SF Mayor Gavin Newsom, East West Bank, United Commercial Bank and Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Bryant is a current Trustee of the Chinese American International School in San Francisco, Past board member of Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, founding board member of Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation and CALNET, and Advisory board member of the University of San Francisco Center for Asia Pacific Studies.
Susan Jin Davis (Chair)
Dr. Karen Eng (Secretary)
Social Impact Officer,
Al Roker Entertainment
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Susan Jin Davis has 30 years of experience in the telecommunications, media, entertainment, production, and technology industries. She is the former Chief Sustainability Officer for Comcast Corporation and Social Impact Officer for Al Roker Entertainment, a leading producer of TV, digital, branded programming and entertainment. Most recently, Ms. Jin Davis has recently joined JTWO, an Emmy Award-Winning full-service video production company as the Chief Content Officer. She also serves as a consultant in the areas of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), business strategy, leadership, non-profit governance, and organizational development. As Comcast NBCUniversal’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, Ms. Jin Davis was responsible for identifying sustainable strategies and priorities and for implementing the company’s Sustainability Program across all of Comcast NBCUniversal business units and functions. She created the framework for the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosures; she established Comcast NBCUniversal’s renewable energy strategy, and implemented energy efficiency initiatives across Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal and Comcast Spectacor. In addition, Ms. Jin Davis created Comcast NBCUniversal’s zero waste strategy and co-led its future of fleet strategy, transforming the company’s fleet to low-carbon vehicles. Ms. Jin Davis is highly experienced in a multitude of areas of corporate compliance. Prior to her promotion as CSO, Ms. Jin Davis served as Senior Vice President of Operations Compliance at Comcast, where she implemented product policies, operationalized regulatory and legal requirements, reduced costs to the cable business, and managed business compliance. In this capacity, she established and managed a customer call center that dealt with customer issues on privacy, data security, piracy, and cybersecurity, a ground breaking approach to these business-impacting issues. She was also responsible for Comcast’s environment, health, and safety function. Ms. Jin Davis also served as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Communications and Data Services and Vice President of Corporate Development, Voice Services where she managed voice, data, and wireless policies such as emergency services, privacy/customer proprietary network information (CPNI), interconnection, and online safety and security. Ms. Jin Davis is a well-experienced and well-respected executive in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. While at Comcast, Ms. Jin Davis negotiated a historic Memorandum of Understanding between Comcast and the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) national community as part of the company’s acquisition of NBCUniversal. This created ground-breaking diversity commitments in the areas of programming, supplier and employment, and community investment. She served on Comcast’s Internal Diversity Council and she was the company liaison to the external Comcast NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council. Ms. Jin Davis was the executive sponsor of Asian Pacific Americans at Comcast, a company-sponsored employee resource group, which focuses on the recruiting, promotion, and development of Asian American and Pacific Islander talent. She has helped to create leadership development programming for Comcast’s AAPI employees. Ms. Jin Davis established Comcast’s partnerships with AAPI national community organizations in the areas of civic involvement and political representation, media and entertainment, leadership development, civil and human rights, and youth empowerment. She was also responsible for the creation of Comcast’s Cinema Asian America, the first-ever video-on-demand offering of Asian and Asian American television and movie content on the Comcast network. She led the launch of Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program, which offers affordable high-speed internet for low-income households. Now in its tenth year, Internet Essentials is Comcast’s largest, most successful community investment initiative, which has connected more than 10 million low-income Americans to all the opportunities of a digital world through low-cost, high-speed internet at home. She was responsible for the pricing and packaging strategy, marketing and community engagement, and managing the call center that handled customer applications, installation, and trouble ticketing. An advocate for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) in business and corporate America, she is active in the AANHPI community nationally. She is the Chair Emeritus of the Board of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) and serves on the Board of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE). Additionally, Ms. Jin Davis is a past board member of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) and the Asian and Pacific American Scholarship Fund (APIA Scholars). Ms. Jin Davis serves as a Commissioner on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s Commission on AAPI Affairs.
President and CEO,
CSMI
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Dr. Karen Eng is the President and CEO of CSMI, an engineering firm. Initially a successful optometrist with a Doctorate from the New England College of Optometry, Dr. Eng surprised her family with her bold decision to switch careers and industries to take over the family business.
Dr. Eng has used her professional success to support, promote, and mentor other girls, women, and minority business owners, particularly those in STEM-related industries. Her company is especially dedicated to collaborating with other diverse firms.
Dr. Eng is a member of several prominent Boards, including National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (ACE), Illinois College of Optometry, and Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote (APIA Vote). The Illinois State Treasurer has given her an award for Outstanding Service in Business. In addition, she also has had positions on the State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program Council and The Illinois Census Count Commission 2020. Her most recent honor is receiving the National Executive Excellence award from OCA National in September 2021.
Former State Assemblyman,
California
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Mike Eng has served on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board since January 2019. He previously served as a California Assemblyman, Community College Trustee, City Mayor, State consumer board member, and attorney.
Mike served six years as a California Assemblyman during which time he chaired the Business and Professions and Consumer Protection, Banking and Finance, and Transportation Committees. He authored legislation that gained national recognition including the State’s Homeowner Bill of Rights, which set up fair procedures allowing more Californians to keep their homes during the country’s foreclosure crisis. His other key legislation included California’s Human Right to Water bill, which addressed water shortages in disadvantaged communities.
Elected to the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District, Mike served as Vice President of the Board.
Mike previously served as Mayor and Councilman of the City of Monterey Park and was President of the city’s Library Board of Trustees.
Appointed to the California Acupuncture Board, he worked with State Administrative Law Judges and Deputy Attorneys General on disciplinary cases within the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Mike earned his Law Degree at UCLA School of Law, and his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the University of Hawaii, and practiced federal administrative law for over thirty years.
Senior VP of Public Affairs,
Oportun
Hon. Mike Eng
Ezra Garrett
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Ezra Garrett is the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Oportun, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission of providing personal loans that help people with little or no credit history establish credit and build a better future. He oversees the company’s government relations, corporate communications and community impact work.
Based in the Silicon Valley, Oportun is a financial technology company using advanced data analytics to serve individuals who other lenders consider ‘unscoreable,’ and has made 2 million loans totaling $5 billion through its national network of 265 locations.
Prior to joining Oportun in 2015, Ezra spent 13 years at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, one of the nation’s largest energy utilities. There, he served in senior leadership roles in Government and Corporate Affairs, including Chief Sustainability Officer, Vice President of Community Relations, and Executive Director of the PG&E Corporation Foundation.
His experience also includes 2 years with top retailer Target Corporation, leading its local community relations efforts for the western United States.
Ezra holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California at Berkeley. Besides serving on Latino Community Foundation’s board, he is also a trustee of the Leadership San Francisco and the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals.
Co-Founder,
BAM Ventures
Richard Jun
Managing Partner,
Asian Pacific Joint Venture
Evan Louie
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Richard Jun is currently the CSO & Managing Partner for Sunstone Management, Inc., a venture capital firm located in Southern California that invests in diverse early-stage technology startups through innovative public-private-partnerships that blend unique expertise across government, education, and private sectors. Previous, Richard was the co-founder and managing partner of BAM Ventures, a top performing consumer focused early stage venture fund based in Los Angeles. Among the firm’s biggest L.A. success stories to date are Honey Science Corp., which sold to PayPal Holdings Inc. for $4 billion, gaming company Scopely which sold for $5 billion to Savy Games and pet company PrettyLitter Inc., which sold to Mars Inc in a high 9 figure transaction. Richard is a former corporate attorney, and prior to establishing BAM Ventures, served as general counsel for fashion subscription service ShoeDazzle. He has led investment in more than 120 companies and has been a co-lead judge for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in multiple years. For the past 4 years, he has been listed on The Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA500 which celebrates the 500 most influential leaders and impactful executives in Los Angeles. Richard graduated from Harvard and received his law degree from Columbia University.
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Evan Louie was appointed by Governor Sandoval and the state legislature of Nevada as Commissioner of Minority Affairs, chairing the economic development subcommittee under the Department of Business and Industry. Evan has built a business recognized by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as one of the three enterprises representing Las Vegas for global tourism for the “Tourism Matters” campaign. He formerly served as the Community Advisory Board to Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee for Community Affairs, board of Steve Aoki’s Foundation, and actively the Chairman of the Board of One APIA Nevada, a 501c4 organization, pediatric council advisory to Intermountain Health’s first standalone Children’s Hospital in Nevada, and community advisory to Summerlin Production Studios (Hollywood 2.0 Film and Television studios) with Howard Hughes, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Warner Brothers. As an entrepreneur, Evan advises companies featured in Forbes magazine to nationally and globally recognized brands. He helped facilitate the U.S. based Tradewinds roadshow for the Asian Development Bank in partnership with U.S. Ambassador Chantale Wong, Ex-Im Bank Chair Reta Jo Lewis, and Federal agencies on infrastructure, foreign direct investment, disaster mitigation, clean tech, and smart cities for the Asia Pacific region. Evan was named Unsung Hero of Southern Nevada in media outlets and "Those who create change in Nevada" at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner with many elected officials in Nevada in attendance. As of May 6th, 2025 he will be recognized by Clark County Board of Commissioners as an individual making a positive impact in the AANHPI community for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. He made history multiple times with producing the first official Lunar New Year event in NFL history with the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee, turning the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign Gold in recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with Clark County, organizing team for the first Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander national leadership summit with the White House, and Las Vegas host committee for the first national AANHPI elected and appointed officials summit as part of AAPI Lead. His passion is to elevate and empower the AANHPI community in civic engagement and help philanthropic causes.
VP for FGA,
Comcast NBCUniversal
Linda Shim (Vice Chair)
Senior Consultant,
Harris & Associates
Joe Yew (Treasurer)
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Linda Shim is currently Vice President for Federal Government Affairs at Comcast NBCUniversal. She focuses on the company’s federal advocacy strategy with Members of Congress and key Washington D.C. stakeholders. She previously was an Executive Director of External Affairs at Comcast NBCUniversal and worked to advance the company’s partnerships with external stakeholders including AANHPI advocacy and civil rights organizations, women’s organizations and left of center stakeholders.
During the Biden-Harris Administration, Linda served in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) as the Special Assistant to the President on Economic Agencies Personnel. As a Commissioned Officer of the White House, she oversaw the appointments of political appointees who serve at economic-focused federal agencies. She also managed PPO’s engagement with Congress to address Member nomination and appointment priorities.
In addition, she served as Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27) in which she helped oversee the Congresswoman's priorities as chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and the Creative Rights Caucus, and as a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She began her Capitol Hill career as a legislative staffer for former Congresswoman Jane Harman (CA-36).
Linda serves on the boards of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation, Asian American Action Fund, Korean Americans for Organizing and the ReNew Democracy Foundation.
Linda was raised in Palm Desert, CA and completed her B.A. in Political Science at the University of California-San Diego. She received her J.D. and Certificate in Public Policy from the Catholic University of America.
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Joe Yew is a Senior Consultant in Harris & Associates’ Municipal District Consulting group and has over 25 years of experience working in the public and private sectors. He has served as a municipal advisor to state, local, county, and special districts on a wide range of complex municipal debt financings.
His recent private sector experience includes serving as managing director for investment banking firms specializing in school district and state and local government finance. Joe also served the Finance Director for the City of Oakland as well as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
He was also Assistant State Treasurer under the late former State Treasurer Matt Fong serving as the Executive Director for the Debt Limit Allocation Committee and served as an alternate board member for the Treasurer for CalPERS and CalSTRS.
Joe earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of California at Irvine and a MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
City Attorney,
San Francisco
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David Chiu is the 15th City Attorney of San Francisco and the first Asian American to hold the post. As one of the top municipal law offices in the country, the City Attorney’s Office provides legal counsel to the Mayor, Board of Supervisors and over 100 departments, boards, commissions and offices that comprise the City and County of San Francisco’s government. Previously, David served 7 years as an Assemblymember representing San Francisco in the California State Legislature and 6 years as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, as the first Asian American in both roles. As former chair of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, he helped deliver the largest state budget investment in the country to combat anti-Asian hate ($166 million) and authored groundbreaking civil rights, immigrant rights, and housing laws. In the Legislature, he also served as Assistant Speaker pro Tempore, Chair of the Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee, and Policy Chair of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus. Before public office, David was Democratic Counsel to the U.S. Senate Constitution Subcommittee, law clerk to a Ninth Circuit appellate judge, criminal prosecutor at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, civil rights attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, chief operating officer of a public affairs technology company, and past president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. The son of immigrants, David received his undergraduate, law, and master’s in public policy degrees from Harvard University.
Executive Director,
AAPI LEAD
Hon. David Chiu
Hon. David Ryu (ret.)
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David E. Ryu serves as the Executive Director of AAPI LEAD, bringing a wealth of experience in public service and a steadfast commitment to advancing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) representation in government.
In 2015, David made history as the first Korean American elected to the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 4th District. During his tenure, he prioritized transparency, community engagement, and policy reforms focused on housing, homelessness, and public safety. His leadership played a key role in building trust and collaboration between city government and L.A.’s diverse communities.
Prior to serving on the City Council, David was Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke, where he oversaw critical policy areas such as mental health, public health, and social services. He also served as Director of Development and Public Affairs at Kedren Acute Psychiatric Hospital and Community Health Center, demonstrating his commitment to expanding healthcare access for underserved populations.
David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UCLA and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Rutgers University. His academic background, combined with his extensive public service experience, equips him with a deep understanding of policy development and implementation.
As Executive Director of AAPI LEAD, David is dedicated to empowering AAPI leaders across the country, promoting meaningful civic engagement, and ensuring that AAPI voices are represented at all levels of government.
Johnnie Giles
posthumous
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Johnnie Giles is Founder and President of JDGiles LLC, which helps companies in three specific areas: CA political strategies, business consulting and private equity solutions. Prior to forming his own consulting firm Johnnie served as Executive Vice President for a private equity firm specializing in mezzanine funding. He joined the firm to help reorganize the company and ultimately sell its holdings to two strategic partners.
Giles had a successful 15-year career at Comcast NBCUniversal. After more than 10 years leading the government and regulatory affairs office for Comcast’s California region, he finished his career at Comcast Corporate HQ External Affairs group working on Asian American Pacific Islander and Center Left strategies and program activations. Prior to Comcast he held numerous positions at the Chronicle Publishing Company in San Francisco, working on the mergers and acquisitions team, and eventually moved into the Chronicle’s cable television division. He ultimately assumed the role as Vice President of Government Affairs for Chronicle’s cable division. Johnnie held the position of Senior Vice President at Age Wave LLC, a venture capital/incubator firm from 1999 to 2001 and was the managing partner at Blacksquare, LLC, an Internet start-up from 2001 to 2003. Johnnie started his professional career as an executive at the San Francisco Chronicle Corporation during the company’s largest stage of growth and ultimately was asked to manage the close of the sale of its cable assets.
Johnnie served as an Executive Boardmember for the California Foundation for the Environment and Economy for more than 10 years and has been active within the Asian Pacific Islander community for nearly three decades. He has served on the executive board of the Center for Asian American Media. He was a founding member and served on the board of Asian Americans for Good Government. He is the founding board chairman for the California Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, Board Chair for APIAVote, Board Advisor for Asian American Victory Fund, and has served on the board and advisory board of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles, Asian American Justice Center, OCA National, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies C4, Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship, and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) President Circle.
AAPI LEAD Board of Directors
2nd VP
State Senator
Georgia
Hon. Nabilah Islam
Secretary
Mayor, City of Cincinnati
Ohio
Hon. Aftab Pureval
Treasurer
State Senator
Hawaii
Hon. Ron Kouchi
Chair, AAPI LEAD Foundation Board
Susan Jin Davis
State Senator
Georgia
Hon. Sheikh Rahman
State Assemblymember
Nevada
Hon. Duy Nguyen
State Assemblymember
Nevada
Hon. Erica Mosca
State Representative
Texas
Hon. Gene Wu
Councilmember
City of Millcreek, Utah
Hon. Bev Uipi
State Assemblymember
California
Hon. Mike Fong
State Assemblymember
New York
Hon. Grace Lee
State Assemblymember
California
Hon. Phil Chen
Alderman
Chicago
Hon. Nicole Lee
Hon. Naomi Nakano Matsumoto
School Board Member
California
School Board Member
California
Hon. Betty Lieu
1st VP
Mayor, City of Saint Paul
Minnesota
President
City Attorney, San Francisco
California
Hon. David Chiu
Hon. Kaohly Her
County Commissioner
Oregon
Mayor, City of Boston
Massachusetts
Hon. Michelle Wu
Hon. Lori Stegmann
Councilmember
Honolulu
Councilmember
New York
Hon. Linda Lee
Hon. Esther Kiaʻaina
Honorary Advisory Board of Directors
Vice Chair
Congressmember
Hawaii
Hon. Jill Tokuda
Senator
Hawaii
Hon. Mazie Hirono
Hon. Andrew Kim
Senator
New Jersey
Congressmember
New York
Hon. Grace Meng
Hon. Shri Thanedar
Congressmember
Michigan
Congressmember
California
Hon. Ro Khanna
Hon. Pramila Jayapal
Congressmember
Washington
Congressmember
California
Hon. Mark Takano
Congressmember
Washington
Hon. Marilyn Strickland
Congressmember
California
Hon. Ami Bera
Vice Chair
Congressmember
California
Chair
Congressmember
California
Hon. Judy Chu
Hon. Ted Lieu
Congressmember
California
Congressmember
California
Hon. Doris Matsui
Hon. Dave Min
Staff
Hon. David Ryu
Eddie Shiomi
Executive Director
Chief Operating Officer
Strategic Advisor
Director of Development
Alma Park
Chris Nguyen
Director of Membership
Chief Development Officer
Kyson Bunthuwong
PaaWee Rivera
AAPI LEAD unites and supports AAPI leaders across the country
🔹 ABOUT US
The vision for a national, membership-based mutual support organization for AAPI elected and appointed officials is not new. Over the past 30 years, various leaders and organizations have discussed—and attempted to establish—such a network.
Our journey began in 2015, when then-California Assemblymember Rob Bonta, now California Attorney General, and Ron Wong, founder of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation (APALF), revisited the concept. With encouragement from then-California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, now a U.S. Senator, Bonta and Wong were invited to attend the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in Las Vegas, where Padilla was serving as NALEO’s president at the time.
The conference provided Bonta and Wong with an opportunity to learn firsthand about NALEO’s work, study its model for supporting Latino elected and appointed officials, and consider how a similar national infrastructure could be developed to support AAPI leaders.
In July 2022, former Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu assumed leadership of APALF and the initiative. He formally re-engaged NALEO and its CEO, Arturo Vargas, seeking their guidance and mentorship in developing a national AAPI organization modeled in part on NALEO’s successful framework.
A major turning point came in September 2023, when more than 200 participants from across the nation gathered at APALF’s ninth CALNET—California Asian Leadership Network of Electeds—retreat in San Francisco during APEC week. Led by Congressmember Judy Chu and Arturo Vargas, participants engaged in pivotal discussions about the need for a national, membership-based organization dedicated to supporting AAPI elected and appointed officials.
Immediately following the retreat, and with NALEO’s guidance, the AAPI LEAD Working Committee was formally established. The committee brought together XX elected officials from across the country to develop the organization’s structure, mission, and governing framework.
In June 2024, AAPI LEAD’s 501(c)(4) membership organization officially launched at the first AAPI LEAD Summit, hosted by APALF in Las Vegas. During the Summit, Advisory Board Chair Congressmember Judy Chu swore in inaugural President Hon. David Chiu; Vice Presidents Hon. Kaohly Her and Hon. Nabilah Islam; Secretary Hon. Aftab Pureval; and Treasurer Hon. Ron Kouchi.
Following the NALEO model, a separate nonprofit educational arm—the 501(c)(3) AAPI LEAD Foundation—quickly followed in January 2025 with inaugural board members Johnnie Giles, Joe Lew, Linda Shim, Ezra Garrett, and Chair Darlene Chiu.
Together, AAPI LEAD and the AAPI LEAD Foundation created the nation’s first membership-based organization established by and for AAPI elected and appointed officials—a national network dedicated to leadership development, education, mentorship, collaboration, and mutual support.
🔹 CONTACT
Reach Out To Us
AAPI LEAD
10153 1/2 Riverside Drive
Suite 801
Los Angeles, CA 91602