6 Years, 6 Lessons (and 1 to Grow On): Opening Federal Government's Doors to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community

Guest Post by Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (2009-2015)


Photo credit: Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's one from Kiran Ahuja, exiting Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), housed within the Department of Education, for the past six years. The Initiative is working to improve the quality of life and opportunities for AAPIs through increased access to, and participation in, federal programs in which they may be underserved. During my time, I learned a lot, so I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you some of my big takeaways – so here are the Top 6 Lessons (and 1 to grow on) learned as Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2015

Watch a video message from the White House and read President Obama's proclamation.



It's May. Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Of course, around here, that's pretty much every month. But I appreciate the dedicated thirty-one day gesture, America. Let's celebrate.

In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. Twelve years later, the week was extended into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law. And here we are.

Here's a video message from Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Konrad Ng, Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific Center: