DNC AAPI Updates

Dear Friends and Fellow Caucus members:

Happy AAPI Heritage Month to all of you!  I hope most  of you if not all of you have been able to get vaccinated, and gotten the protection  that we all need, and FINALLY can get because of our New President!  I look forward to the day when we can get together in person.  Hopefully that will not be too far into the future!

It has been a long time since we got together virtually, and I thought it would be a good time to reconnect.  

Before I go any further, I want to let you know that I am planning on having a Virtual ZOOM AAPI Caucus meeting the first week of June.  So please consider this as  advanced notice, and you will hear from me with further details, as we firm up date and time.  The meeting will likely start around 6:00pm, to accommodate a lot of our Pacific Islanders members.  We are the only Caucus that have members in 17 time zones. 

Ahead of our next Caucus meeting,  I want to update you quickly on a few things, and I want to introduce you to two Senior AAPI staff at the DNC

• Roger Lau is the new Deputy Executive Director of the DNC (previously known as the Deputy CEO of the DNC), as such he is the HIGHEST ranking AAPI on the DNC staff.  We are very lucky to have Roger in that position, as we have a staunch ally at the staff level.  Many of you may know that Roger Lau was the very dynamic and effective Campaign Manager for the Elizabeth Warren Presidential Campaign; and following that he was a Senior staff for Senator Warren in her MA offices.  We are very lucky to have Roger who has both the campaign experience and the managerial experience to bring to the DNC table. 

• Our new AAPI Political Director,  Eric Salcedo came on board on May 3, 2021, just in time to launch the DNC celebration of  the AAPI Heritage month !  Please reach out to Eric and help me welcome him to the DNC!! Many of you already know him from working with him on the Campaign.  Eric was the AAPI Coalition Director for  the Midwest , and during the campaign, when we were having the weekly calls under the banner of AAPI for Biden, Eric was there.  For those of us that do not know Eric from the political side, you may know him from his previous 5-years stint as senior staff on the APIAVote .  We are fortunate to have Eric in this critical position for our community, since he understands our AAPI Community needs, at the political and at the community level

• Please help me welcome both of them, and the other AAPI staff in the DNC. 

Also, please keep a look out for announcements, emails, and notices, asking for your participation in the multiple AAPI events we are planning to celebrate AAPI Heritage month this year.  Please respond to me or Eric when we ask for your support, input or participation.  MORE TO FOLLOW!!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to actually say a few words to POTUS, and I took that opportunity to tell him two things:

1. Thanked him and told him how fortunate we are to have him as a President, that I can actually breathe easier and not constantly worrying each day as I wake up, as to what horror or atrocities we may be faced with ; and

1. Thanked him for standing with the AAPI Community in our hour of needs, showing up in Atlanta and being there for all of us  in our   Anti-Asian hate fight.    POTUS was most gracious, and told us that the Justice Department will be active in this fight, and will be actively dealing with these crimes as hate crimes.

With Senator Duckworth as the new Vice Chair, Roger and Eric on the staff,   and me as your Caucus chair, I feel more confident than ever    that our voices will be heard, as we   continue to advocate for all of us!

Thank  you, and look forward to meeting with you in June, and working with you towards a very successful Midterm elections

ONE LAST ASK:  I am not sure if I have the most current roster for our Caucuses.  I also know that there have been elections in the state parties, please let us know if there are any changes in your delegation.  THANK YOU!!!

Thanks,

Bel Leong-Hong

Chair, DNC AAPI Caucus

Member, DNC Executive Committee

Member, National Finance Council

Member, BFP Finance Council

Co-Chair DNC/NFC AAPI Leadership Council