LAS VEGAS — During a 3-day summit hosted by the Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation (APALF) in Las Vegas, Nevada, alongside NALEO, over 350 leaders from 26 states (plus the District of Columbia) convened to launch AAPI LEAD (Leadership Elected and AppointeD), the first-ever national membership-based organization for and by elected and appointed officials.
The summit, held on June 19-21, convened the largest gathering to date of AANHPI elected and appointed officials from state, national, and local levels in U.S. history, with the aim of organizing elected and appointed officials.
“As the first president tapped to serve with the newly formed AAPI LEAD Board of Directors, I want our new organization to unleash the incredible leadership potential that AAPI elected and appointed leaders represent, because we are truly stronger together,” said Hon. David Chiu, San Francisco City Attorney & AAPI LEAD President. “We have much more work to do, to ensure that progress continues and that AAPIs have a seat at every table.”
The Honorary Advisory Board of Directors (non-voting) and inaugural AAPI LEAD Board consist of AAPI elected leaders from 15 states and territories, representing all levels of government — local, state, and national. The next convening is scheduled for July 23-25, 2025, once again alongside NALEO in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.aapilead.org.”
“Over the past 18 months, the planning for this inaugural summit and organizational launch was received with tremendous enthusiasm, said Hon. David Ryu (ret.), Executive Director of AAPI LEAD & APALF. “We extend our sincere thanks to Arturo Vargas and the NALEO team for their invaluable partnership. The level of interest and engagement from elected and appointed members was truly inspiring. My board and I remain dedicated to evolving and growing AAPI LEAD to provide support and infrastructure to our members.”
AAPI LEAD Board of Directors
President: Hon. David Chiu, City Attorney, San Francisco, California
First VP: Hon. Kaohly Her, Speaker Pro-Tempore, State Rep., Minnesota
Second VP: Hon. Nabilah Islam, State Senator, Georgia
Secretary: Hon. Aftab Pureval, Mayor, City of Cincinnati, Ohio
Treasurer: Hon. Ron Kouchi, President, State Senate, Hawaii
Hon. Betty Lieu, Trustee, Torrance Unified School District, California
Hon. Bev Uipi, Mayor Pro-Tempore, City of Millcreek, Utah
Hon. Duy Nguyen, State Assemblymember, Nevada
Hon. Gene Wu, State Representative, Texas
Hon. Erica Mosca, State Assemblymember, Nevada
Hon. Grace Lee, State Assemblymember, New York
Hon. Lori Stegmann, County Commissioner, Multnomah County, OR
Hon. Linda Lee, Councilmember, New York City, New York
Hon. Michelle Wu, Mayor, City of Boston, Massachusetts
Hon. Mike Fong, State Assemblymember, California
Hon. Naomi Nakano Matsumoto, Trustee, Fremont Union HS Dist., CA
Hon. Phillip Chen, State Assemblymember, California
Hon. Sheikh Rahman, State Senator, Georgia.
AAPI LEAD Honorary Advisory Board of Directors
Chair: Hon. Judy Chu, Congressmember, California
Vice-Chair: Hon. Jill Tokuda, Congressmember, Hawaii
Vice-Chair: Hon. Ted Lieu, Congressmember, California
Hon. Mazie Hirono, U.S. Senator, Hawaii
Hon. Ami Bera, Congressmember, California
Hon. Andrew Kim, Congressmember, New Jersey
Hon. Doris Matsui, Congressmember, California
Hon. Grace Meng, Congressmember, New York
Hon. Gregorio Sablan, Congressmember, Northern Mariana Islands
Hon. Mark Takano, Congressmember, California
Hon. Marilyn Strickland, Congressmember, Washington
Hon. Pramila Jayapal, Congressmember, Washington
Hon. Ro Khanna, Congressmember, California
Hon. Shri Thanedar, Congressmember, Michigan n
