the 30 most influential asian americans under 30

It's May! In honor of APA Heritage Month, I've put together a list of people I'm calling the 30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30. Each day this month, I'll reveal one person from the list -- a young person (30 years old or younger) who is making a difference in his or her community, profession and the world at large.

Last month, I put a call out asking you to nominate folks they thought should be on the list. Thank you to everyone who suggested so many worthy individuals. Unfortunately, only thirty can make the list. And that's the thing. Not long after setting out to put this list together, I realized what a difficult task I had taken on.

How exactly do you determine who is actually influential? Is there a measure of quantifiable influence? Let's make it clear -- this list is highly subjective. It's a mix of folks who are making waves in their respective areas of influence, up-and-coming young leaders and personalities, as well as people I just like and admire.

That said, here they are. The 30 Under 30, in no particular order:

• Eugene Kang, 25, Special Assistant to the President


• Brenda Song, 21, Actress


• Tim Lincecum, 24, Pitcher, San Francisco Giants


• Evan Low, 25, City Council Member of Campbell, CA


• Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, 30, Spoken Word Artist


• Steve Chen, 30, Co-Founder, YouTube


• Naomi Tacuyan-Underwood, 28, Deputy Director, APIA Vote


• Lori Phanachone, 18, High School Student


• Lisa Lee, 24, Publisher, Hyphen


• "Count Me In" Campaign, 21-24


• Ramey Ko, 28, Attorney/Activist


• Yungsuhn Park, 29, Attorney, APALC


• Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, Philip Wang, 24-27, Wong Fu Productions


• Mia Mingus, 28, Co-Executive Director, SPARK Reproductive Justice Now


• Mindy Kaling, 29, Writer/Producer/Actress, The Office


• Anthony Kim, 23, Professional Golfer


• Karen O, 30, Vocalist, Yeah Yeah Yeahs


• Clarence Tong, 26, Founder, Asian American Civic Project


• Tad Nakamura, 29, Filmmaker


• Mai T. Dang, 25, Community Organizer, MQVN CDC


• Jin, 26, Musician


• Aaron Yoo, 30, Actor


• America's Best Dance Crews, 22-31


• The Gosselin Kids, 8 and 5, Jon & Kate Plus 8


• Dimple Rana, 29, Co-Founder, Deported Diaspora


• Rik Cordero, 30, Filmmaker, Three/21 Media


• Dan Choi, 28, Founder Member, Knights Out


• Alexander Wang, 25, Fashion Designer


• Diana Nguyen, 27, Blogger, DISGRASIAN


• Far*East Movement, 27, Musicians

And there you have it. Hope you liked the list. Sorry if your favorite person under 30 didn't make it. But hey, maybe we'll do it again next year.