Speaker: Angelica Cortez
Summit Event: AAPI Mobilization for Voter Registration, 2:30 pm
- Moderator: Richard Konda, ALA Executive Director
- Mary Ann Dewan, Superintendent, SCC County Office of Education
- Angelica Cortez, LEAD Filipino
Dr.Dewan mentioned that the Santa Clara County Board of Education and Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) have taken action to improve outreach to hard-to-count populations in Santa Clara County by adopting a resolution that the Santa Clara County Board of Education and County Superintendent of Schools will encourage Santa Clara County school districts to promote participation in the 2020 U.S. Census. “It is an education campaign to raise awareness in our schools, in our neighborhoods and our communities,” stated Dr. Mary Ann Dewan.
Angelica Cortez, Founder of LEAD Filipino, mentioned that efforts are underway. LEAD is pleased to be working in concert with the San Francisco Veterans’s Equity Center, Bayanihan Community Center, Filipino American Development Foundation, and Filipino Advocates for Justice on devising strategies and materials to ensure that the Filipino/a community in the 9-County Bay Area is completely counted in the 2020 Census under the rubric of a Filipino Complete Census 2020 Count Committee.
The panel of Asian American Community Leaders
The panel discussion moderated by Joel Wong, the editor of CLUSA, provided the viewpoints of established community leaders, with a focus on political involvement. Cathy Peng, CEO of ROCS Global, spoke about the low voting turnout of Chinese Americans and her work with United China to improve this form of civic participation. Angelica Cortez, Founder of LEAD Filipino, works with Filipino to build coalitions with the first and second generation students, as well as with other Filipino organizations. Soma Chatterjee, the Diversity Ambassador for India Currents, cited the successful election of Mason Fong, who is the first Asian to serve on the Sunnyvale city council. Soma also stressed that media coverage is a powerful force for building awareness.
All community leaders stressed the importance of civic participation and building coalitions among groups. Getting involved requires showing up consistently at meetings, and getting to know others.