Announcements 80-20 Board Election, November 20-28, 2010 Please click on each candidate's name to find out information regarding the above items 1, 2, and 3.
Secretary Treasurer Nominations Committee Chair Board of Directors Piyush Agrawal (Florida) Bylaw Amendment 5.6 Secretary a)Career: Appointed by Governor Corzine as Assistant Commissioner, Environmental Protection (2006-2010). Provided leadership in policy matters pertaining to IT, Finance/Budget/Federal-grants, Human-Resources, Labor/OSHA, Property/Facilities-management/Audit, Equal-Opportunity/Diversity. Achievements: Made significant policy changes to help minorities achieve parity in jobs/promotions. Received Diversity Leader Award two years in a row (2007-08) by the Diversity Journal. Served on Board of Trustees, Rutgers University, Vice-Chair, US Commission on Civil Rights’ NJ Council, Governor’s Ethnic Advisory Council, and Fellow, Leadership New Jersey. b) Strong commitment to 80-20. Achieve equality and justice for Asian-Americans. Since joining the 80-20 National Board, I volunteered to fill the vacant position of Secretary, serving as Acting Secretary. c) Co-Founder, First President 80-20-NJ-chapter. Life member, National-80-20. Formerly Co-Founder/President of Association for Advancement of Asian Americans in 1980 in Bell Laboratories and 1984 in Bell Communications Research. Continued leadership of organization (1979- 1999) d) Co-Founder/President of Indian-American Forum for Political Education, NJ-Chapter (1989-92). Ann Shum (Pennsylvania) My husband is a veteran law enforcement agent who has served as a team leader in an Asian Organized Crime task force. He currently is an elected chapter president of a federal law enforcement officer organization. Prior to becoming a community volunteer/ stay at home parent, I worked at a reputable insurance company in NJ while I received my degree in business administration. I know that productivity is no coincidence. It requires strategic planning, appropriate marketing/community outreach, intelligence data collection, and the ability to gather and use resources. I am currently the President of KATO Foundation, my own charitable foundation. I am a retired business and investment firm owner now living in the Hill Country of Texas. I was the Texas Commercial Attache from 1991-1993. I am an Associate Founder and Life Member of 80-20 PAC, and also a founding member of 80-20 Educational Foundation. I was the President of 80-20 PAC from 2007-2008 and am currently the Immediate Past President. During my tenure as President of 80-20 PAC, our organization expanded the number of board members, made 80-20 known to our Congressional delegates by visiting them in Washington D C, and enacted several ad hoc committees including ones to deal with racial discrimination and legislation. Most important, in 2008 80-20 scored a major victory by first endorsing Senator Clinton in the California primary and then Senator Obama in the presidential general election. If elected, my goal is to help develop 80-20 into an even stronger political force for our community with a committed competent Executive Director and a like minded influential President. I also will help ensure that future generations of 80-20 leaders understand the logic and process behind every one of our political decision. A physician, inventor and founder of Ingenious Technologies, I also serve on the boards of Asian American Federation of FL (AAFF), US-China Peoples Friendship Association (USCPFA), Sarasota Chapter, and am the co-founder and Chairman emeritus of the Gulfcoast Chinese American Association (GCAA). Throughout my careers, I sought to improve the lives of my patients, my community and hopefully someday, the world. I hold US and international patents on promising innovations. Serving my third term on the 80-20 Board, I seek the Treasurer position in order to further my service to Asian Americans. A Life Member and Founding Patron, I have served 80-20 on various committees, including ad hoc chairman, and as a convention delegate. I actively support our mission by assisting in ongoing projects, including writing and calling Congress and lobbying in person at the Capitol to advocate the enforcement of EO11246 and nomination of Asian American federal judges. These goals are paramount to enabling Asian Americans to enjoy equal employment and career advancement opportunities and justice. Asian Americans have traditionally been politically apathetic. Uniting, awakening and empowering them to their political potential is a civic transformation that will challenge the determination and skills of any 80-20 leader. We must overcome this challenge—for our own sake and that of our children. I feel both privileged and gratified to have helped achieve the landmark progress of recent years and I renew my pledge to serve to the best of my ability. Thank you for your continued confidence in me. Nominations Committee Chair
David Yang (D.C.) David has been active in AA issues since his days as a columnist for the Brown Daily Herald. An 80-20 member since 2003, David assisted SB Woo on various 80-20 projects, all on a volunteer basis. He was elected to the 2004 Endorsement Convention, where he helped draft the Convention Statement. Since his election to the Board in 2006, David has actively participated in Board business, including the visit to Congressional leaders in 2007, and authored a number of 80-20 newsletters calling attention to legislative items of particular concern to Asian Americans. If elected, David will continue to push for greater equality for AAs, particularly in higher education, and promote closer cooperation among all AA communities. 15 candidates are listed below. The 13 with the most votes will be elected to the Board of Directors. I represent a rare combination of a professional expert in education, a successful business entrepreneur, and a well-respected community service activist. I am a founding member of Asian American Federation of Florida (AAFF) established in 1984 when Asians were practically unknown in Florida. I became its President in 2005 and Chairman in 2009. I believe in developing leadership from within the ranks; I passed on the baton of Presidency in 2009 and of the Chairmanship in 2010. During this period, AAFF has become a formidable organization. I financed and published “Asian American” a weekly/monthly for several years. As Chairman of the U.S. 2000 Census Advisory Committee on the Asian Populations, I initiated several programs that benefited the Asian Community throughout the Country. I was instrumental in getting Census 2000 Forms produced in five different Asian Languages and Census 2000 Language Guides in 32 Asian Languages for the first time in the history of US Census. Also, I was instrumental in getting two Asian employees of the Bureau promoted to SES level and many to other higher ranks. I have served as President of Association of Indians in America and currently serve as US Coordinator of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin. In my professional career I have served as a United Nations Expert, a Superintendent of Schools, and a consultant/advisor to numerous organizations such as UNDP, UNESCO, National Science Foundation (NSF), and the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) – an education initiative of President Bush. Fel Anthony Amistad, incumbent (N. California) I am honored and humbled to get your vote of confidence once again to be part of this great board. I want to fulfill my commitment to our diverse Asian American communities that we empower ourselves to GOTV, get out the vote, especially with the upcoming 2012 Presidential Elections and various Senate races throughout the nation. As a past 80-20 Vice President and seasoned board director, I have the experience and knowledge to hit the ground running to continue the fight to empower our diverse AsAm communities. Many issues from education to tenure at colleges confront our AsAms. My education includes a Human Biology degree (BA) from Stanford University. I also hold advanced-terminal business and law degrees and I will apply my background in finance and journalism to engender 80-20's mission statement and goals to others. As a writer for various Filipino American newspapers, I am a strong advocate for Asian American political candidates who desire to campaign for local and state offices. I write for FilAm Star, Asian Journal, Philippines News, and mainstream newspapers such as The Independent and the SF Examiner. I serve as a San Mateo County Commissioner with the Health & Human Services and was past president of the San Mateo County FilAm Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, and other civic and community based groups. I also want to continue the work as a mentor for our next generation of leaders. Atul Apte, 58, lives in Los Gatos, CA with his wife Vaijayanti Apte. They have 2 adult children. Atul is an Electrical Engineer by profession and currently owns a computer and management consulting company. Atul is a naturalized citizen of the US and actively participated in the presidential campaigns for President Bill Clinton in 1992 (in Dallas, Texas) and also again in the democratic primary race in 2004 (in California) working for Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont. Though inclined to be a democrat, he is economically conservative and socially liberal. Atul was a former regional vice president of National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA). He also was president of Indian Classical Music organization and a secretary of another regional Indian organization, both in Dallas, Texas. He is an entrepreneur and a corporate strategist and brings strong leadership and organizational skills. His main goal in joining the 80/20 board will be to increase participation by Asian Indians into the 80/20 organization activities and is looking forward to working with other members of the Asian community for the betterment of all. Clyde Diao (Florida)I am currently the Florida Governor’s Economist and also the Governor’s Liaison for 2010 Census for Florida. Also, I just finished my term as the Tallahassee Airport Commission Chairman. I was the Chief Economist of Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Currently, I am the Chairman of the Asian Coalition of Tallahassee (ACT), an umbrella organization of several Asian associations and other local organizations since it started 6 years ago. ACT has become the voice of the Asian community in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city. I have been involved in the move to eliminate the Alien Land Law in Florida’s constitution. Under my leadership, ACT has established “Experience Asia – the Annual Asian Festival”, becoming the 3rd largest event in Tallahassee in just 6 years. More than 16,000 people attended this festival this year. I’ve established myself as an Asian American leader in Florida and have been invited in several large Asian American events as keynote speaker. Several politicians have asked for my assistance in their campaign. I have initiated the State of Florida’s recognition of May as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I gave a speech representing Asian Americans at a big celebration attended by hundreds of Asian-American leaders in Florida at the Governor’s Mansion last May. If given a chance, I would like to focus on in increasing Asian American representation in key positions in State of Florida and other states and strengthen the role of 80-20 in grassroots level. I will put 10 hours of my time weekly for 80-20. Chenming Calvin Hu, incumbent (N. California)I am a Distinguished Chair Professor of electrical engineering at University of California, Berkeley. A member of the US national Academy of Engineering, I have received many international recognitions for professional achievements. I currently serve on the boards of 80-20, Friends of Children with Special Needs, and two public companies. I am a former chairman of the San Francisco East Bay Chinese School and a former BOD member of Chinese American Political Association (CAPA). Alice S. Huang, incumbent (S. California) There is a time to pay back and to insure that future generations of Asian Americans have the same access to all of the opportunities (and more) that I have in the United States. I am a former professor from Harvard Medical School and a Dean from New York University. Currently, as a semi-retired member of the Division of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, I consult worldwide and sit on several boards, including The Rockefeller Foundation and Public Agenda, both headquartered in NYC. I am a member of the Academia Sinica and the elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS. I am a founding life member of 80-20. It would be an honor to be a board member to help all Asian Americans, especially our children, gain greater influence and increase our impact in this country. There is much to learn about politics in the USA during my first term on the Board of 80-20. My decision to run for re-election is based on my hope that now I can more effectively help the efforts of 80-20 so that all of us in the USA will flourish and be forever protected from racial bias. I’m honored to be nominated to serve as an 80-20 board member, and applaud its noble quest for equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans. I graduated first in my West Point class at the U.S. Military Academy, the first member of my family to ever attend college. A decorated Airborne Ranger, my gallantry in action is chronicled in a book, Dangerous Games, currently in publication. I earned a law degree from Harvard Law School and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at Harvard, I was named MacArthur Fellow and interned on the US Attorney’s Counterdrug Task Force. From 1990 to 1994, I was an attorney at a prominent Wall Street law firm. My positions include brigadier general in the Army Reserve, Professional Staff Member in the US Senate, the youngest Asian American Senior Executive (three-star level) in the Department of Defense, and a member of the New York and DC bars. I am a two-term (four years) past-president of the Japanese / Asian American Veterans Association and am a member of a military mentorship organization for the Asian-Pacific American officers My background as a senior leader in the military, the federal government and in the Congress, as well as being an officer of the courts and former congressional candidate, give me a unique perspective of our government. . If elected to the board, I will do my best to put my experience to use in supporting the mission of 80-20. Linden Nishinaga, incumbent (S. California) As a senior civil, structural, and seismic engineer, I’ve worked for the Cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and the Port of Los Angeles. I’m licensed and accredited as a California Professional Engineer and LEED Accredited Professional. Among my many projects I was a program manager on the state-of-the-art 1,000-acre Port of Los Angeles’ 2020 Outer Harbor Expansion Program. I’ve been a member of 80-20 since the Year 2000 and a Life Member since 2007. As the Nominations Committee Chair for the past two terms I’ve sought to pursue member quality and diversity for the Board of Directors. In the process I’ve spent hundreds of hours leading the garnering of sets of outstanding Board candidates. In the past I’ve been a member of the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, which garnered unprecedented redress and justice for the survivors of the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II. I’ve also been on other APA organizations including the Asian American Architects/Engineers Association wherein I’m its current public policy chair. If re-elected I seek to continue to assist 80-20 fulfill its mission and role as a prime mover on issues important to Asian American. One of these is of course the lowest glass ceiling for Asian Americans at the workplace. By garnering timely, significant, and concrete improvement on this very important issue, 80-20 would have achieved a fantastic accomplishment for us and for our children. Thank you for your continued confidence in me as a member of your Board. Subash is the President and Co-Founder of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia. It was founded to facilitate Trade and Commerce between Georgia and Asia-Pacific countries. He serves the Georgia Chamber of Commerce as its Director of the Board. He also serves as a Member of the International Partnership Committee of Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce along with the International Consular Corp in Georgia. Subash is the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Gandhi Foundation of USA with a mandate to promote Gandhi-King philosophy of Peace and Non-violence. He Chairs the sub-committee on Gandhi-King Exchange to promote humanitarian and conflict resolution efforts for Atlanta-Ahmedabad Sister City Exchange. Subash is an internationally renowned Person of Indian origin. He received the most prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor award in 2003 for his dedicated service to the Asian American community and cited in U.S. Congressional record for advocacy of pro Indian-American issues and Indo-US ties. Subash has a prolific record of civic-social and professional accomplishments and recognition. He is a fearless trailblazer, thinker, writer and activist of Pluralism and Interfaith with involvement in numerous philanthropic activities! He has facilitated and organized numerous fund raising events to support victims of natural disasters in India and in USA. Subash is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media. An active public speaker, he has been invited as Chief Guest/Keynote Speaker on several occasions, and a prolific writer who has written for many newspapers and magazines. Munsup Seoh is a Professor of Statistics at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He is one of the co-founders of the Asian American Council in Dayton (http://iis.stat.wright.edu/AAC-Dayton) and has been promoting the interest of Asian American as well as other minorities in the Southwest Ohio region for over ten years. He was president of AAC for 2007–2009 and currently serves AAC as Treasurer. Munsup was awarded the Inaugural MLK Distinguished Service Award in 2010 from Wright State University for his community service. His biography is seen at http://iis.stat.wright.edu/SOS/bio_CmtMember/Munsup_Seoh.htm This year he started 80-20 Southwest Ohio Chapter and helped to kick-off two additional Ohio Chapters with much assistance from 80-20 Acting President S. B. Woo and 80-20 Special Assistant to the President, Suzanna Lin. He believes his success in building Ohio’s 80-20 network of four Chapters is due to utilizing his extensive MPEN e-address database. He will continue building and strengthening the Ohio Chapters and bring his skills and knowledge to the national level to accomplish 80-20’s visions and goals, especially by actively involving in the delivery of bloc votes in Ohio and beyond in our nation, the United States of America. My philosophy to volunteering and serving the community is simple: It starts from home. My family and I have been very active within the regional APA community. We have been active members of the Chinese American Community Center in Delaware for over 9 years. I volunteer much of my time there and I am currently serving as the chairperson for their Martial Arts Club. In May 2010, I organized and initiated the First Asian Pacific Heritage Month celebration in Delaware to promote cultural diversity. My husband is a veteran law enforcement agent who has served as a team leader in an Asian Organized Crime task force. He currently is an elected chapter president of a federal law enforcement officer organization. Prior to becoming a community volunteer/ stay at home parent, I worked at a reputable insurance company in NJ while I received my degree in business administration. I know that productivity is no coincidence. It requires strategic planning, appropriate marketing/community outreach, intelligence data collection, and the ability to gather and use resources. Kathleen To, incumbent (Texas) I am currently the President of KATO Foundation, my own charitable foundation. I am a retired business and investment firm owner now living in the Hill Country of Texas. I was the Texas Commercial Attache from 1991-1993. I am an Associate Founder and Life Member of 80-20 PAC, and also a founding member of 80-20 Educational Foundation. I was the President of 80-20 PAC from 2007-2008 and am currently the Immediate Past President. During my tenure as President of 80-20 PAC, our organization expanded the number of board members, made 80-20 known to our Congressional delegates by visiting them in Washington D C, and enacted several ad hoc committees including ones to deal with racial discrimination and legislation. Most important, in 2008 80-20 scored a major victory by first endorsing Senator Clinton in the California primary and then Senator Obama in the presidential general election. If elected, my goal is to help develop 80-20 into an even stronger political force for our community with a committed competent Executive Director and a like minded influential President. I also will help ensure that future generations of 80-20 leaders understand the logic and process behind every one of our political decision. I grew up in New York City and earned my B.E., M.S. and MBA degrees all from NYU. I am married with two adult children, and am retired from employment. Before retiring, I worked as the Director of Development in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a General Manager for AT&T in China. I am a founding member of two OCA chapters, and served as chapter presidents of three chapters. I also served two terms as National President of OCA in 83 and 84. Through OCA, I worked ceaselessly to improve the civil rights of Chinese Americans. As National President, I worked with other organizations to right the injustice of Vincent Chin’s killing, winning initial conviction of one killer. I grew up experiencing the racial discrimination of the 1950s. Even after the civil rights struggle of the 60s, the Asian American community continues to be viewed as less than full fledged citizens. It still has not coalesced into a recognizable group with its own focused interests and is thus politically invisible. It can achieve full citizenship only through full participation in the American political process and build itself into a significant swing bloc vote. As a founding member of 80-20, I fully support its objectives and efforts. I believe 80-20 has a fertile field to build itself into a strong voice for the political yearnings of the Asian American community. I look forward to the opportunity to serve as a Board Member of 80-20. David Yang is a foreign policy/national security policy analyst at the RAND Corp. in Washington D.C.. He is a current 80-20 Board member as well as chairman of its Legislative Affairs Committee. David is completing his doctorate in Politics at Princeton University, and was a visiting research fellow at Stanford University before joining RAND. A native of Canton, China, David immigrated to America as a teenager. After obtaining a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Brown University, David worked as a developer in the defense industry and Wall Street, completing an MBA at NYU along the way before returning to graduate school. David has been active in AA issues since his days as a columnist for the Brown Daily Herald. An 80-20 member since 2003, David assisted SB Woo on various 80-20 projects, all on a volunteer basis. He was elected to the 2004 Endorsement Convention, where he helped draft the Convention Statement. Since his election to the Board in 2006, David has actively participated in Board business, including the visit to Congressional leaders in 2007, and authored a number of 80-20 newsletters calling attention to legislative items of particular concern to Asian Americans. Jing-Li Yu, incumbent (New York) I have been with 80-20 for over eight years: first as full-time Special Assistant and Operations Director from 2002-2006; then as Treasurer until the end of 2010. I would be honored if you will allow me to continue to serve by re-electing me to the Board. An amendment is approved provided a majority of the members voting approve the amendment The Executive Director shall 5.6 be given a discretionary fund up to 5% of the annual budget or $10,000 whichever is the larger, but subject to modifications of the employment contract which may provide a gradual increase. A chapter shall be officially recognized by the national organization upon meeting the following requirements: 6.2.1.c. elect its officers at least once every two years between November 1 and December 31 and submit the names and addresses of the officers to National by January 15 of the following year. All names of officers, board members and members shall be current, updated and posted on chapter’s webpage. A chapter shall be officially recognized by the national organization upon meeting the following requirements: 6.2.1.d. register as an independent Political Action Committee, if the chapter intends to endorse political candidates other than federal candidates, and is required by state laws to do so |