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.