View or download a copyof the APAZI Report (pdf)
The State of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Arizona
The Asian Pacific Arizona Initiative (APAZI) is a newly formed initiative that will educate Arizonans about the diversity of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in Arizona, and the specific opportunities, needs, and issues relating to this growing population. Although APAS has envisioned such a project for several years, it was finally able to commence the project through the involvement of “ASU in Arizona,” an outreach program funded by ASU’s Office of Public Affairs.
APAS woredk with “ASU in Arizona” undergraduate students, Craig Lowthorp and Ashley Bales, along with graduate students Joanne Robertson and Kishore Kumar Sivakumar, to produce a report about the status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Arizona. Undergraduate Juliana Crispo and graduate student Sudarshan Ragunathan have assisted with the project in the past.
The initiative has the following objectives: 1) To create a report for policy makers to inform them of the economic and social/cultural impact the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has to offer and to clarify the corresponding policy implications. 2) To raise awareness about the growth, diversity, and challenges facing this community as well as the resources Asian American and Pacific Islanders contribute to Arizona communities. 3) To establish the role of the Asian Pacific American Studies program as a critical source of information about the national and local Asian American and Pacific Islander community. 4) To develop closer ties between the institution of Arizona State University and the community. 5) To encourage a process in this initiative that illustrates the importance of developing future community leaders. 6) To prepare ASU students to participate in a diverse and global society.
The first meeting of the APAZI Advisory Committee took place on October 19, 2007, and resulted in a successful discussion about key issues for the communities. Certain key themes emerged for further analysis: health, education, immigration, access to leadership and critical decision-making, and economic issues. In the next few months, the project team will analyze census and other demographic data, collaborate with local field experts, and conduct focus groups about these themes. The findings will be synthesized into a report that will be made available online and in hardcopy to members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, policymakers, and programs statewide who work with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
APAZI Advisory Council Members
- Randy J. Aoyama, AZ Asian American Bar Assoc
- Lacretia Bacon, Aloha Festival
- Kalpana Batni, Former President of Indian Assoc
- Nga Bui, Vietnamese Volunteers of Arizona
- Varen Berryman, President Aloha Festival
- Albert Celoza, Phoenix College
- Carolyn Classen, Tucson Community
- Sambo Dul, Cambodian Community
- Mona Faussane, Pacific Rim Advisory Council
- Angelo Chin Foo, Community member
- Les Gin, Asian Chamber of Commerce
- Arlyn Herrera, Pacific Rim Advisory Council
- Doug Hirano, Asian Pacific Community in Action
- Claudia Kaercher, Pacific Islander Community
- Dr. Arif Kazmi, AZ Asian American Assoc.
- Leezie Kim, Quarles & Brady LLP
- Michelle Kim, Korean Cultural Center of Arizona
- Jeannine Kuropatkin, AZ Asian American Assoc.
- Dorothy Lew, Pan Asian Community Alliance
- Ted Namba, JACL-AZ
- Genevieve Siri, Vietnamese & Lao Communities
- Charles Shipman, Refugee Coordinator for AZ
- Courtney Smith, Community member
- Michael Somsan, The Minority Bar
- Roxanne Song Ong, Phx. Municipal Court Judge
- Naomi Story, Mesa Community College
- Dr. Pearl Tang, Chinese American
- Choo Tay, Arizona Asian-Pacific Yellow Page
- Barry Wong, Former State Representative
- Jason Wong, National Association of Asian American Professionals
- Marian Yim, Asian Chamber of Commerce