White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Ariel International Center January 28, 2015
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) held a Community Listening Session at Ariel International Center on January 28, 2015. The event was coordinated by City of Cleveland Community Relations Board Asian Liaison Chia-Min Chen.
After networking and lunch, Michael Byun from the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders welcomed the crowd and made introductions.
Michael Byun
Byun gave some background about himself and discussed the many Federal Agencies available as a resource. He stated the 3 main goals of the session:
To introduce WHIAAPI and the Region 5 Interagency Working Group (RIWG) to the Cleveland AAPI community.
To help the RIWG understand the needs of the Cleveland AAPI community.
To develop tangible recommendations on how the RIWG can address the community needs.
(Please excuse the light variations in the videos. The Ariel International Center is a beautiful facility but with the bright light bouncing off the frozen lake in the background, the video lighting suffered some.)
Panel at Cleveland White House Initiative AAPI event
Michael Byun
Michael Byun then introduced the panel beginning with Cleveland Ward 14 City Councilman Brian Cummins who made some opening remarks.
Cleveland Ward 14 City Councilman Brian Cummins
Next, Radhika Reddy of Ariel Ventures spoke. Radhika and Ariel hosted the session.
Radhika Reddy
Rebecca Lee with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders spoke about the Region 5 Interagency Working Group of the White House Initiative.
Rebecca Lee
Cleveland is in Region 5
Rebecca Lee
Michelle Crew of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Region 5 Interagency Working Group and also the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) introduced the groups in attendance.
These groups offer resources and services for the AAPI and broader community. Let us know if you need contact information.
Michelle Crew
Ms Crew introduced Jacqueline Guevara from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Jacqueline Guevara
Next, Meena Morey Chandra from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) - U.S. Department of Education spoke.
Meena Morey Chandra
Michelle Crew spoke about the EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Raymond Graves from the Small Business Association spoke next.
Raymond Graves
George Chunkau Mui is a Senior Advisor on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and also a Global Business Consultant for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
MBDA Services U.S. Development of Commerce - MBDA is the only Federal Agency dedicated to support Minority Businesses. They offer three major services to Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) with at least $1 million in annual revenue.
Access to Contracts
Access to Capital
Access to Market
George Chunkau Mui
Julie Weis, Compliance Assistance Specialist with the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), spoke next.
Julie Weis
Joann Moriarty is an Investigator with the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor.
Joann Moriarty
Brandon Smith is a Public Affairs Specialist with Social Security.
Brandon Smith
Pamela Ashby is with Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Pamela Ashby
Marilyn Blocker is with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Marilyn Blocker
Darlene Ehrler is with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).
Darlene Ehrler
Lamont Johnson is with the Department of Defense's Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS).
Lamont Johnson
Diana Jin is also with DFAS.
Diana Jin
After the presentations, the "listening" portion of the event began. The Listening Session was run by George Mui.
George Chunkau Mui
Group Breakout Sessions included:
Housing and Education
Health, Human Services, and Social Security
Immigration, Labor, Workers’ Rights
Economic Development and Business
To insure privacy and participation, no videos or photos were taken of this part of the event.
White House Initiative team
Thanks to all the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Listening Session participants and special thanks to Chia-Min Chen for her coordinating efforts and Radhika Reddy for hosting at the Ariel Center.
