Session 4: Fired Up & Ready to Take Action
The 2020 election is pivotal and your voice is powerful to guarantee that the democratic process is working for all of us. During this global pandemic and uprising for racial justice, more than ever it is critical for Asians to powerfully engage in the political process. Let’s take action with other BIPOC communities to ensure that equitable policies are embedded at all levels of government. In this session, you will hear from national and local leaders about the political influence and voting power of Asians in Minnesota and how it impacts the national landscape. Come connect, learn and act with us.
The State of Asian Minnesotans Series takes a critical look at the state and progress of Asian/Asian Americans in Minnesota, and considers what else we can do to tap into the assets of, and ensure inclusion of this community. We invite subject experts, researchers, community members, and thought leaders that increase audience knowledge, challenge and allow audiences to dive deeper into their understandings of this population, and provide new thinking and tools for audiences to consider as they work with Asian Minnesotan communities.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Irene Fernando, Commissioner, Hennepin County District 2
Irene Fernando was elected to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners in November of 2018, where she currently serves as the Chair of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Hennepin’s Complete Count Committee. Before joining the County Board, Irene worked in not-for-profit and corporate settings, and instructed college courses. Irene studied at the University of Minnesota where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Master of Education in Youth Development Leadership. Irene lives in the Harrison neighborhood of Minneapolis where she currently resides with her partner Kent, and their dog Ernie.
Jae Hyun Shim, Policy Organizer, Reclaim the Block and Core Team Member, MPD150
Jae Hyun Shim is a queer, nonbinary, transracial/transnational adoptee from South Korea. They are a resident of South Minneapolis and organize around food justice, inclusive athletic and art spaces, and police abolition. Last summer, their synchronized swim team, The Subversive Sirens, brought home gold and silver in the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Championship during World Pride in New York City. You can hear Jae Hyun talk about swimming and equity in a recent MPR video postcard and read a roundtable published this spring in Open Rivers: Rethinking
Jae Hyun has been appointed time the Minnesota State Board of Behavioral Health and therapy for the past four years as a public member and currently sits on the Diversity Committee and the Complaints Resolution Committee. They also chair the Diversity Committee of the Health Professionals Service Program. They also organize with Reclaim the Block, MPD150 and sell art and food at the Support Local Hustle pop-up markets.
Jae Hyun’s most joyful moments are spent in the water, on their bike, eating or making food, and in the company of friends. They also enjoy reading budgets and setting up conditional formatting in a spreadsheet, especially in the name of funding true solutions to community safety.
EunSook Lee, Director, AAPI Civic Engagement Fund
EunSook has been with the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund since its establishment in 2014. Prior to that she coordinated the 2012 National AAPI Civic Engagement Project for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development and supported Unbound Philanthropy, the Four Freedoms Fund and other funders on initiatives related to administrative relief and the DACA program. She is the former senior deputy for Congressmember Karen Bass, executive director of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), executive director of Korean American Women In Need, and station manager of CKLN Public Radio in Toronto, Canada. EunSook was born in Hwasoon, South Korea and immigrated to Canada at a young age and came to the U.S as an adult.
Ekta Prakash, CEO, CAPI
As a mother of 2 children, community leader, advocate, and the CEO of CAPIUSA, her past work has been fundamentally guided by an innate curiosity and the desire to help others make sense of complex ideas. Ekta has been with CAPI for 13 years including Program director and for many years as the Human Services Manager at CAPIUSA. Ekta has two Master’s Degrees in Sociology (Delhi School of Economics) and Public Administration (Metro State University). She is fluent in Hindi and English languages. Ekta currently serves on the National CAPACD Board of Director, SEWA-AIFW South East Asian organization, and serves on Governors Workforce Development Board. She has been involved in other local collaborative like the Blueline coalition, and other local immigrant and refugee-led organizations over the last few years. She is a LAAMP Fellow, and a recipient of the Rosa Park Diversity Award. In the past 12 years, Ekta has spent her life working to build collective power and social change within the refugee and immigrant communities.