A Look Back

Tell us a little bit about how you started at A4 and what brought you to the organization

Well, I'm a writer. I grew up in Ohio, and it had always been a dream to come to the big city, have a career in the arts, and also to be in a more diverse environment in all ways, whether socially or creatively. So, I moved to New York in 1993, and that year I went to the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, which at that time was being held in Union Square. There were two tables there that I was so excited to learn about; one was the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and the second was the Asian American Arts Alliance. I signed up (A4 offered a membership program at the time) and, later when I became Director, I actually found a copy of the original check that I first wrote for my membership back in ‘93. It was exciting to see that and know that my bonds to the organization really go back to when I had first moved to New York, was working on my novel, and was really looking for a way to connect with other Asian American creatives. And it's been a kind of home since then.

As a staff member, I started in 2010. I was following in the footsteps of Lillian Cho, who had been a long time Executive Director and really continued to build the organization and do so many wonderful things in the community. And it was really exciting for me to be able to sort of take the reins after she stepped down. In New York, I've had a career in nonprofit communications and it was wonderful to be able to really devote my daytime work to both the Asian American community as well as the creative community.

Do you have any favorite stories or events that you want to talk about from your tenure?

Well, there are a lot of favorites. Certainly anything that involved our artists and being inspired by the wonderful passion and dedication of the Asian American community. I would say that one high point for me was the Locating the Sacred Festival. One especially fun moment for that was an event was a dance flash mob in Washington Square Park. I remember it being this beautiful, beautiful summer day. The sun was out and all of a sudden - sort of like out of nowhere - all these wonderful dancers appeared and danced around the fountain. It was really a magical moment, and it just sort of reinforced and emphasized for me the power of arts and culture to bring people together, and enrich the wellbeing of communities. Not only on a beautiful summer day, but even when times are tough, as I think we've all had to experience lately. That was definitely a high point. But I always loved the Town Halls and all of our engaging and interesting programs and lectures.

We also had times when we came together to remember members of our community we had lost. When we started the Wai Look Award, for example, that was really something that was very meaningful to me. Unfortunately, I never knew Wai, who was a long-time board member with A4. And when I first started, I didn't know this at the time, she was actually already very ill with cancer and at the end of her life. Her family really wanted to remember her by having an award in her honor. It recognized Asian Americans who volunteered to support arts and culture in New York City. It was an important part of our programming and something that was just really terrific to remember Wai and to bring together people who loved her. Unfortunately, her sister Rachel, who is someone who I had known and become very fond of, also passed away a few years later from cancer. So that family has gone through a lot, but that award really reminds me about how we can come together to recognize creativity, to recognize this passion, and honor the work of so many who come before us.

That was such a loss, and it is so important that we continue to honor those people who've made incredible contributions to our community and are bringing the community together. So, what would you like to see for the future of A4 and the AAPI community?

Well, of course I'd love to have the Asian American Arts Alliance around forever, to be thriving and to be well funded. I'd love to be able to offer more opportunities for financial and career support for Asian American artists. And one thing that I'd love to see, I think this is especially because of my recent work in public health, is arts and culture as a whole fall under the umbrella of health and wellness, and really be considered a part of what is needed in a community to be healthy, to be happy, to be thriving. I mean, those of us who work in arts and culture of course already know this, but I would love to see it adopted more widely, also within the funding community, especially because I think that's a way for arts and culture to continue to thrive and to be supported in the way that it deserves to be.

Not only for the Asian American community, but for societies as a whole to consider arts and culture an important part of how an entire community and an entire society can thrive. And certainly with everything that's been going on within the Asian American community and all the hate crimes and the particular struggles that we've had recently. That's a really hard bit of work that I know so many advocates, including yourself at A4, have been really working towards. So I appreciate that and really applaud all that work. And I really hope that, as we come through this really challenging time, that we are able to have more understanding and more compassion overall.

Thank you for your time and for sharing a few reflections with us. Is there anything else that you would like to add in closing?

Well, you know that A4 is a service organization, and I think service organizations are more important than ever to provide that sort of connective tissue between communities, between other arts organizations; they're such an important conduit. And I would love to see not only more collaboration, but more support of that really important work. Everyone always likes collaboration but many times it's hard to get the funds, as you know, so I would love to see that honored.