I always tell people I’m an accidental or reluctant immigrant.

I didn’t come to Minnesota like most other Asian Minnesotans. I wasn’t facing persecution; I wasn’t reuniting with family, and I didn’t come because of financial reasons. Instead, I came here to go to graduate school. 

I had every intention of going back home, but I was recruited by the Minnesota Department of Transportation where I spent the next 30 years. After that, I worked for the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota as the Director of the Institute of Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance.

I retired last summer after a successful professional career, but my ongoing work in the community hasn’t stopped.

To understand how community building has evolved over the last ten years, you need to understand how it began.

When I first moved to Minnesota, I had concerns about the growing Asian population. It was back in the 1970s when most people began arriving as refugees. They needed a tremendous amount of resources and support. But most importantly, they needed a voice.

We needed to come together because a collective voice is better than no voice at all.  So, we created the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans, a state agency that works for equality for Minnesotans of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage.

And I helped create the Asian Pacific Caucus in the DFL party. Together we made our voices heard.  In 1996, I supported and knocked on doors to help elect Satveer Chaudhary as the first South Asian State Representative in the state. A few years later, I did the same to elect Mee Moua as the first Hmong American in the Minnesota Senate. 

Politically, it’s important we create a common bond, because individually we’re such a small number. I’m happy that CAAL is working to strengthen that bond. It’s a continuous fight and struggle but we must continue to strive for it. The longer we’ve been here, the less we remember the conflicts from back home. That was more prevalent 40 years ago. Now, it’s less of an issue, thanks in large part to the work CAAL is doing by bringing everyone together.

In my retirement, I continue to sit on several boards, including the Hmong American Partnership and Trellis. I’m committed to raising the voices of all Asian Minnesotans who are aging. I want to make sure they get the right resources, so they have a respectable life.

I encourage all Asian Minnesotans to use their voices – and raise them too. If you think there are disparities, then go fight for what’s right and make sure others are paying attention. 

Don’t complain. Do something about it.

I did.

And there’s nothing accidental or reluctant about it.