Making Waves | AAPI Voices

Making Waves | AAPI Voices is a project of ALF Silicon Valley’s AAPI Caucus. Through an ongoing series of “letters” by ALF Senior Fellow guest contributors, we aim to share the experiences of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) with the broader ALF network. We are proud of AAPIs’ contributions to our multiracial society and believe we can help strengthen our community and democracy by sharing our stories to build understanding and solidarity. Read more about this project here.

View the current selection of articles below.

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Dr. Tiffany Ho

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Dr. Tiffany Ho

Journey from Vietnam All of us are called to be of service to others, and in the best of worlds, our story—our own life—leads us to career choices that allow us to make that happen. This is my story, a story with messages of love, trauma, hope, resilience, and joy. I was born in the late 60s, at the height of the Vietnam War. When I was seven, my...

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Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Vandana Kumar

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Vandana Kumar

My Personal Story A Book of Life contains many chapters written by our experiences - I'll give you a Spark Notes version of mine: We spent our winter vacations with my dadi (paternal grandma) in our ancestral home in a small village in rural India. With no formal education and widowed at a young age, she was nevertheless an imposing figure - a...

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Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Buu Thai

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Buu Thai

Dear America, Do you see me? I am a daughter of a single mom who made tremendous sacrifices to bring my siblings and me from Vietnam to the United States so we could have better opportunities. My mom wanted to further her education but was pulled out of school after 6th grade to help her family. Do you see me? I am a proud auntie to six nieces...

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Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Steve Nakano

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Steve Nakano

Letter To My Father Editor's note: Steve Nakano shared this letter with his brothers and nephews, which opened up new learning and sharing among family members across generations. This holiday season, we invite you to consider what letter you would like to write to a family member or what conversations you would like to have with relatives or...

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Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Erica Yew

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: Erica Yew

What Does It Mean to Me to Be an Asian-American? I was asked to write a "Board Boast" when I joined the California Judges Association Executive Board. This was to be published in the association e-newsletter to help people know me better. I am currently one of two Vice Presidents for the statewide organization that represents approximately 2,200...

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Making Waves |  AAPI Voices: De Tran

Making Waves | AAPI Voices: De Tran

Race Relations. It has been more than 30 years, but I remember the details clearly. I was in Southern California for a job interview at the Los Angeles Times. The paper had flown me in a day early and put me up at the Westin. I had been a columnist for the San Jose Mercury News when a Times editor called and asked whether I was interested in...

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Introducing Making Waves |  AAPI Voices

Introducing Making Waves | AAPI Voices

Last June, members of ALF Silicon Valley's AAPI Caucus gathered for an evening of connecting and sharing stories. Gordon Yamate (Class XIX) hosted the group for a private tour of the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) for the purpose of being inspired by the creative approaches artists use to understand and solve problems and express...

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