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General Advocacy Track | Professional Track | Small Business Development Summit | Youth & College Track

General Advocacy Track Day 1
Friday, June 18, 2010

Opening Plenary: Green Energy & Economy
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Location: Woodway III

The Convention’s opening session will center on this year’s theme, Diverse Communities – United Commitment with an emphasis on increasing the APA community’s commitment to the environment, alternative energy, technology, and green businesses. 

Speakers: Nitu Gupta, Sodexo; Laura Spanjian, Mayor's Office of Sustainability, City of Houston; Nick Lampson, Former House of Representatives; Floyd Mori, JACL

Moderator: George Wu, OCA National

Is Everyone Connected? – Accessing the Latest Technology
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Location: Chevy Chase (Wksp A1)

The advent of broadband access is touted as the greatest cultural shift since the industrial revolution – a powerful tool with the potential to empower minority communities and underserved and disadvantaged individuals to communicate and actively participate in society. This panel features Asian Pacific American leaders across industries who will share their expertise on how the technologies developed/utilized by their respective company can effectively help raise our collective voices to create a strong network of advocates through various media outlets. Panelists will explore some of the most effective online marketing strategies and free web tools that help to increase traffic to and sales through your website as well as how to utilize Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other online resources to help get the messages out, but at the same time, demonstrate how they can be utilized to increase access and availability to minority and underserved communities.

Speakers: Huitao Liu, AT&T; Jane Vora, Do Good Media; Yul Kwon, Federal Communications Commission; David Lin, AT&T

Moderator: Mini Timmaraju, Planned Parenthood of Houston, S.E. Texas, and Louisiana


The Gulf Coast Oil Spill and the Impact on the Southeast Asian Community
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Location: West Alabama (Wksp A2)

Southeast Asian Americans make up 40,000 in the Gulf Coast region, with one in five working in the seafood processing industry, which comprises a $3 billion economy and provides the US with one third of its seafood. A disruption of the seafood industry, such as that caused by the BP oil spill, threatens the livelihoods of an estimated 80% of Southeast Asian families in the region. This panel will discuss the current ways in which the BP Oil crisis is impacting the Southeast Asian American community in the Gulf region and will discuss the current crisis, efforts to educate and assist those being affected, and ways that the broader APA community may get involved in assisting these affected communities.

Speakers: Thang Nguyen, City College of San Francisco; Tuan Nguyen, Mary Queen of Vietnam: Community Developement Corporation, Inc; Jennifer Vu, Rapid Response Team, Minh Nguyen, Vietnamese American Leaders Association 

Moderator: Miya Saika Chen, Whitehouse Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Film Festival Day 2 Feature Film:   A Village Called Versailles
Time: 2 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: Woodway III

A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES is a documentary about Versailles, an isolated community in eastern New Orleans that has been settled by Vietnamese “boat people” since the late 1970s. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Vietnamese American residents in Versailles impressively rise to the challenges by returning and rebuilding before any other flooded neighborhood in New Orleans, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed toxic landfill just two miles away. A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES recounts the empowering story of how this group of people, who has already suffered so much in their lifetime, turns a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance for a better future. (68 min.)  Film Followed by Q & A

Perspectives on APA Identity & Self-Awareness
Time: 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: West Alabama (Wksp A3)

This panel is designed to be a forum discussion on the importance of identity, self-awareness, and what it means to be an Asian Pacific American. Topics will include: ways on helping adopted youth develop a positive identity as APAs and transnational adoptees, what it means to be a mixed race APA, and reflections on being an APA in this generation.

Speakers: Kim Delevett, Southwest Airlines; Victoria Rumsey, OCA National
Moderator: Iimay Ho, OCA National

The Changing Faces of APA Ethnic Enclaves
Time: 3:45 PM - 5 PM
Location: Woodway III (Wksp A4)

APA ethnic enclaves such as Chinatowns, Japantowns, Koreatowns, and Little Saigons were historically formed as ethnic or racial ghettos due to ousing discrimination to prevent minorities from settling in other parts of town. While discrimination and racism have played roles in the creation of these enclaves, they are not the only factors. Today’s traditional APA ethnic enclaves are changing and communities are being more proactive in planning and determining the function and direction of their communities whether it is rebuilding from a disaster, to gentrification of older enclaves, to the development of more diversified enclaves “Asia-towns” in suburban areas. This workshop will discuss the evolution of APA community space and its purpose and uses, as well as impact on current residents and future
communities.

Speakers: Rogene Gee Calvert, OCA-Greater Houston Chapter; Leo Chinag, Director/Producer; Alice Mong, Museum of Chinese Amercans

Moderator: George Wu, OCA National

General Advocacy Track Day 2
Saturday, June 19, 2010

State of Asia Pacific America: Changing Demographics
Time: 8:30 AM - 10 AM
Location: Woodway III
The State of APA Summit is Generously Sponsored by AT&T

The 12th Annual State of APA Summit will focus on the changing demographics of the APA community in relationship to other national demographic changes. Ethnic minorities are living and working in significant numbers in areas of our country never before found. What changes will the 2010 Census reveal about our APA population? Cities like Houston mirror what the country will look like in the next decade. What does this mean in terms of governance, services, funding and politics? 

Speakers: David Lin, AT&T; Andrew Chang, Former OCA Intern; Stephen Klineberg, Rice University

Moderator: Alice Lee, Greater Sharpstown Management District

APA Involvement in Election 2010 and Beyond
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Location: Tanglewood (Wksp A5)

Training will address APAs role and participation in national electoral politics. What were our triumphs, our lessons learned, and how do we make sure we stay politically empowered and connected? Participants will learn how to run strategic voter education and mobilization campaigns.  

Speakers: Leverett Wing, APIAVote; Mini Timmaraju, Planned Parenthood of Houston, S.E. Texas, and Louisiana; Julia Yang, AALDEF

Moderator: Bryant Yang, OCA-Greater Los Angeles

Film Festival Day 3 Feature Film:   9500 Liberty
Time: 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM
Location: Woodway III

9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens. Alarmed by a climate of fear and racial division, residents form a resistance using YouTube videos and virtual townhalls, setting up a real-life showdown in the seat of county government.   Film Followed by Q & A

Film Festival Day3 Feature Film: Wo Ai Ni Mommy
Time: 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM
Location: Tanglewood

In 2007 Donna and Jeff Sadowsky of Long Island, New York submitted their dossier to adopt eight-year old Fang Sui Yong from Guangzhou, China. From the very first moment Sui Yong meets her new mother, Donna, we get a real sense of the emotional confusion and loss Sui Yong experiences, as adoption workers translate their first words of communication. This day will change Sui Yong’s life, forever. Language, habits, food, everything she knows will never be the same. Her new life in America is filled with happiness and confusion. As she struggles to survive in this new world, we witness her transform into a lively, outspoken American. Sui Yong has become someone neither she nor Donna could have imagined.

Caregivers Understanding Medicare
Time: 2 PM - 3:15 PM
Location: Bellaire (Wksp A6)

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide an overview of the Medicare program which will highlight hospital (Part A, Medical services (Part B), Medicare Advantage (Part C), and prescription drug (Part D) coverage Medicare.

Speaker: Nancy Ng, Division of Medicare Health Plans Operations

Getting it all Out: Coming out to APA Families
Time: 3:45 PM - 5 PM
Location: Tanglewood (Wksp A7)

This panel will focus on the coming out experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Asian Pacific Americans. LGBTQ APAs often face challenges in coming out to their parents and extended families. Panelists will discuss how they came out to their families, and parents of LGBTQ children will share their insights. The panel will also discuss the support and resources provided by regional and national LGBTQ APA organizations.

Speakers: Tracy Luu, Queer and Asian Houston; Joyce Gabiola, Queer and Asian Houston; Ben DeGuzman, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance

Speakers: Liz OuYang, OCA-New York; Qing Wu, OCA-New York; Jasjit Singh, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Annabel Park, Documentary Filmmaker, Political Activist; Eric Byler, American Film Director, Screenwriter, and Political Activist 

Moderator: Gordon Quan, Attorney, Foster Quan, LLP

VIEW SCHEDULE OF OTHER TRACKS:
General Advocacy Track | Professional Track | Small Business Development Summit | Youth & College Track