Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 6, 1 June 2000 — Presidential Advisory Commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Presidential Advisory Commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders

ALOHA MAI kākou, e nā 'ōiwi o Hawai'i. In this 41st article in the series of 46, we highhght the estabhshment of the Presidential Advisory Commission on AsianAmericans and Pacific Islanders. On May 4, the White House released the names of 15 AsianAmericans and Pacific Islanders selected to serve on this commission estabhshed by President CUnton's Executive Order 13125 whieh directs it to "advise the President on the development, monitoring, and coordination of federal efforts to improve the quahty of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders... smdy ways to increase pubhc sector, private sector, and community involvement in improving the health and well being of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and to increase their participation in Federal programs where they may be undeserved." Fifteen commissioners were swom May 18 in Washington, D.C.: • Commission Chair Nonnan Mineta of Maryland, former

member of the U.S. House of Representatives, founder of the Congressional Asian-Pacific-American Caucus and the driving force behind the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 whieh provided official apology and redress to Iapanese Americans intemed in camps during World War II; • Haunani Apoliona, MS W, of Hawai'i, serving the 4th year of her term as OHA trustee, Chair

of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Advisory Committee to the Bureau of the Census, and former CEO of ALU LKEIne.; • Gloria CaoUe of Virginia, speeial assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Munieipal Employees, a 1.3 million member labor union, and vice-chair of the Naūonal Federation of the Fihpino-American Associations; • Martha Choe of Seattle, director of the Department of Community, Trade and Eeonomie Development of the State of Washington and former vice-president of the Bank of California in commercial lending, credit administration and private banking; • Susan Soon-Keum Cox of Oregon, vice-president of public pohcy and extemal affairs for Holt Intemational Child Services and nationally recognized for expertise in the field of intemational adoption and child welfare; • Vinod Dham of Cahfornia, chairman, president and CEO of

Sihcon Spice ine. a eommunieations technology development firm in Sihcon Valley, who eamed a reputation as a technology trailblazer during his hme at Intel Corporation where he headed the team responsible for creahon of the Penhum ehip processor; • Dr. Wilfred Guerrero of Guam, a prominent advocate for educahon, former president of the University of Guam and current chair of the University of Guam Endowment Foundahon; • Tessie Guillermo of San Francisco, execuhve director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Ameriean Heahh Forum; • Dennis Hayashi of Sacramento, director of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and former director of the Office of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Heahh and Human Services; • Dr. David Ho of New York, a distinguished AIDS researcher who is CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and formerly a professor of medicine at Harvard, UCLA and NYU;

• Ngoan Le of Chicago, deputy commissioner of Human Service for Chicago and former execurive director of the Viemamese Association of Illinois; • Jonathan Leong, Piedmont, Cahfornia, founder of the Asian Business Associahon and presi dent of ILA Companies; • Mukesh Patel of Ahanta, founding member of the AsianAmerican Hotel Owners Associahon represenring 15,000 hotel properhes, and a trustee of the Morris Brown Cohege; • Jacinta Titialii of Philadelphia, vice-president and assistant general counsel for Tenet Heahh Care Corporahon, active in the Samoan and Pacific Islander community, and former chair of the Seattle Arts Commission; • Lee Pao Xiong of St. Paul, Minnesota, director of govemment and community relahons for Concordia University in St. Paul and former execurive director of the Hmong-American Partnership and the Hmong Youth Associahon of Minnesota. ■

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