AARP Celebrates AAPI Leaders, Small Businesses and Authors During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
AARP Spotlights AAPI History,Culture and Legacy through a Collaboration with Co-Authors of“RISE:A Pop History of Asia America from the Nineties to Now”
WASHINGTON–In celebration of Asian Pacific American(APA)Heritage Month,AARP is paying tribute to its Asian American and Pacific Islander(AAPI)leaders and bringing attention to AAPI small businesses and authors.
Celebrating AARP’s AAPI Leaders
AARP—one of the nation’s largest nonprofit,nonpartisan organizations,dedicated to people 50and older to choose how they live as they age—is committed to protecting the health and well-being of the AAPI50-plus community.The organization’s workforce includes AAPI leaders all across the nation who advocate for equitable access for older adults and the AAPI community,educate communities on voter participation,strengthen Social Security and Medicare,and more.This May,we recognize15AARP AAPI leaders:
●Daphne Kwok,Vice President, Office of Diversity,Equity and Inclusion,Asian American and Pacific Islanders Audience Strategy,AARP
●Charlotte S.Yeh,Chief Medical Officer,AARP Services,Inc.
●Tina Tran, State Director,AARP Texas
●Keali’l Lopez,State Director, AARP Hawai’i
●Bandana Shrestha,State Director,AARP Oregon
●Grace Calvelo-Rustia, Associate State Director,AARP Pennsylvania
●Sophie Horiuchi-Forrester,Metro Manager,AARP California
●Reshma Mehta, Director,Grassroots Advocacy,AARP
●Indira Venkat,Senior Vice President,AARP Research
●Paolo Narciso, Vice President,Impact Areas,AARP Foundation
●Erwin Tan, Director,Health,Thought Leadership,AARP
●Joe Liu,Director,Campaign Strategy,AARP
●Craig Gima,Communications Director,AARP Hawai’i
●Mike Lee, Senior Advisor,AARP Digital Strategy
●Dat Tran, Social Entrepreneur,Income,AARP Foundation
RISE Book Event on May18
On May18,AARP invited Jeff Yang and Phil Yu,authors of theNew York Timesbest-selling bookRise:A Pop History of Asia America from the Nineties to Now,and three special celebrity guests—Lauren Tom(The Joy Luck Club),Dustin Nguyen (“21Jump Street”),and Kieu Chinh(“M*A*S*H,”The Joy Luck Club)—to a virtual fireside chat at7p.m.EDT to discuss pop culture of the‘80s and‘90s and how it fed into larger cultural conversations as well as impacted their own lived experiences.The co-authors also brought the audience an intimate perspective on TV,drama,movie,music and movements of the time.
Jeff Yangis a long-time author,screenwriter and cultural critic who regularly contributes toCNN,NPRandThe New York Times,among other media outlets.Phil Yuis the award-winning founder and editor of the popular Asian American news and culture blog,Angry Asian Man,which has had a devoted following since2001.
Rise—which was released to rave reviews in March—is the authors’nearly500-page love letter to and for Asian Americans who remember both fondly and unfavorably a bygone era known for Margaret Cho’sAll-American Girls,Disney’sMulan,boba tea,as well as “yellowface”where white actors portrayed mainly unflattering caricatures of Asians in lieu of using authentic,non-stereotypical Asian actors.
For more information on AARP’s support and advocacy for the AAPI community,resources on caregiving,COVID-19,brain health and more,please visit aarp.org/AAPI. To get the latest updates and conversations on social media,follow@AARPAAPI onFacebookandTwitter.
