OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates

I am humbled to have received the OCA Asian Pacific Advocates's Outstanding Citizenship Award. As Asian Americans, we have a funny relationship with citizenship. I’ve partnered with OCA (formerly the Organization of Chinese Americans) for over 25 years and represented five (5) OCA chapters on voting rights cases: * OCA-Greater Houston to stand up our elders who are entitled to assistance when voting.  * OCA-New England in a lawsuit forcing Boston to translate ballots into Vietnamese and Chinese. * OCA-Georgia for striking down restrictive voter registration proof of citizenship requirements * OCA-New York in fighting for fair redistricting so our community can elect candidates of our choice.   * OCA-New Jersey for pushing for translated voter registration forms in Gujarati, Chinese, and Korean.  * OCA National to make sure the protections of the federal Voting Rights Act and the Constitution of the United States fully comes to bear for our communities. THANK YOU to these sponsors for supporting OCA and the Asian Pacific American Community: * CHAMPION SPONSORS: State Farm, UPS, Caesars, T-Mobile * PATRON SPONSOR: Walmart * LEADER SPONSORS: Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, AARP * UPLIFT SPONSOR: Warner Brothers Discovery * COMMUNITY SPONSOR: Denny's * ADVOCATE SPONSOR: U.S. Department of Homeland Security And kudos to an amazing group of OCA interns. I am grateful to OCA and proud of all that we have accomplished together.  To get involved, join OCA at https://lnkd.in/e5-n7sde

Happy #NationalInternDay to our 2024 OCA Summer Interns! 🎉 We are so grateful and honored to work with these 15 wonderful students. Swipe through to see what our interns have been up to this summer, and learn more about our interns at https://lnkd.in/eJ7MabDg. Thank you to The Coca-Cola Company and Comcast for making this program possible!

🎉Introducing the 2024 OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholars! These 16 exceptional first-generation AAPI college students, including 12 recent high school graduates, have showcased remarkable academic excellence, outstanding achievements, and leadership skills. Read the full press release: https://lnkd.in/gBQgWpJX We extend our heartfelt gratitude to UPS for their unwavering commitment and partnership in this program.

OCA is thrilled to be on the host committee for Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)’s 7th Annual Congressional Reception. Join us and engage in-person with many AAPI members of the U.S. Congress. Be inspired by their journeys to Capitol Hill and share their views on the state of our nation. There will be opportunities for you to engage one-on-one and learn how to develop a career in public service. REGISTER: apia.vote/cong-reception24

We are excited to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the OCA Summer Internship Program with the announcement of this year's summer internship cohort! These 13 students, selected through a highly competitive process that began in November 2023, will support OCA National Center's daily operations, explore issues affecting AAPI communities, and work full-time at leading nonprofits, federal agencies, and congressional offices over the next ten weeks. Additionally, the interns will engage in legislative visits with their respective members of Congress to promote OCA's policy priorities impacting AAPI communities and attend and support OCA's National Convention in Philadelphia, PA. Thank you to our partners at the Japanese American Citizens League, U.S. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Hepatitis B Foundation, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), U.S. Department of Labor, Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project, and Human Rights Campaign for hosting our interns. In addition to the 13 students selected for OCA's Summer Internship Program, we are thrilled to recognize two outstanding students placed to intern with us this summer at OCA National Center thanks to The Fund for American Studies' Academic Internship Program and the US-Asia Institute's IMPACT! Program for Filipino Americans. The 2024 OCA Summer Internship Program is possible thanks to the generous support from the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Comcast Foundation, William H.P. & Sinforosa Tan Kaung Internship Endowment Fund, The Robert S. Chao Memorial Foundation, Stan Lou, and individual donors. Read our press release here: https://lnkd.in/eBJWxstY

Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of America’s 250th anniversary! Submit by May 17: https://lnkd.in/eE6BVeGN

OCA is proud to support the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) at the Legislative Leadership Summit this May 13-14 in Washington, DC! Our Executive Director, Thu Nguyen, will appear on the panel for 'Connecting Communities: Addressing Barriers to Internet Access' on Monday, May 13th. Although studies have shown that 95% of English-speaking AA & NH/PIs use the Internet, suggesting high levels of digital access and literacy, these studies often need to be more extensive in scope and obscure key inequities within our communities. Surveys conducted in English and online that aggregate data of over 20 different ethnicities select for people who are likely already connected and provide a skewed perspective on broadband access in our communities. Over 50% of Burmese Americans have less than a high school diploma and have a median household income of $39,730. Nearly 70% of Bhutanese Americans are SNAP recipients, and 37% of Pacific Islanders are enrolled in Medicaid or other public insurance programs. These indicators suggest that there are likely millions of AA & NH/PIs for whom the digital divide has yet to be bridged, and more work needs to be done. This panel will explore the importance of the Affordable Connectivity Program, data disaggregation, and other programs in achieving digital literacy in the AA & NH/PI community. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gra4pjv.

⚙️Gear up for “EmpowerED”! We are excited to unveil the K-12 AANHPI Curriculum Project website. Delve into our mission to advocate for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander curriculum inclusion. Discover strategies to integrate diverse perspectives into K-12 classrooms nationwide, fostering empathy and understanding among students and educators. Join us on March 21st for this unveiling: First Session: bit.ly/empowerED-session1 Second Session: bit.ly/empowerED-session2

The Betty Lee Sung Research Fellowship, established by the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), aims to support scholarly research and creative approaches to exhibition-making. This fellowship provides an opportunity for an emerging scholar, post-doctoral academic, or independent curator to delve into object-based research for an upcoming multimedia historical exhibition. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/gemsq2UW

What does America mean to you? Showcase your art, poems, essays, or videos and you could win a trip to amazing places like the National Archives or the Statue of Liberty! Plus, $500 for second place! Hurry, deadline is May 17th!