WASHINGTON – White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders co-chair Education Secretary Arne Duncan and director Kiran Ahuja will join Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Congresswoman Judy Chu, California Assemblymember Mike Eng and Center for American Progress chief operating officer Neera Tanden at a news conference on Friday morning to discuss the Initiative’s accomplishments and outline its vision for the future. The White House AAPI Initiative was reauthorized by President Obama two-years ago to increase access to federal programs and protections for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
The news conference will kick off a day-long symposium with experts to discuss how new research can affect federal policies that impact Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the fastest-growing racial group in the nation. Representatives from UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center and the Center for American Progress’s Progress 2050 project will join research and data professionals and White House Initiative co-chair Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu at the symposium to discuss new findings about how education, health, employment and housing services can be improved to meet the needs of underrepresented communities.
**NOTE: Media representatives interested in participating in the news conference and covering the symposium should pre-credential by emailing their name, title, organization and contact information to Toby Chaudhuri at [email protected] by Thursday at 5 p.m.**
WHITE HOUSE AAPI INITIATIVEEVENT HIGHLIGHTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28
**All events open press and all times local**
9:45 a.m.tWhite House AAPI Initiative co-chair Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus chair Congresswoman Judy Chu, California Assemblymember Mike Eng, White House AAPI Initiative director Kiran Ahuja and Center for American Progress chief operating officer Neera Tanden hold a news conference to discuss the accomplishments and future of the White House AAPI Initiative.
11 a.m.tDepartment of Health and Human Services public health analyst Alek Sripipatana, UCLA School of Public Health professor Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, University of Washington professor Shirley Hune and CUNY Queens College associate professor Tarry Hum discuss the role of new research and public policies for AAPIs.
12:30 p.m.tPresident’s AAPI Advisory Commission member Doua Thor, Asian American Government Executives Network chair Tommy Hwang, Department of Health and Human Services data policy analyst Rashida Dorsey and UCLA School of Public Affairs professor Paul Ong discuss transforming new research and data into action.
1:30 p.m.tWhite House AAPI Initiative co-chair Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu discusses opportunities for the Initiative.