About the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission

Ambrosia Kaui is the Director of Grants & Contracts at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), where she is responsible for overseeing CACF's contracting and subcontracting processes that support over 100 AAPI-led and serving community-based organizations across New York State. A proud Pacific Islander originally from the town of Anahola, Kaua'i in Hawai'i, She is a first-generation college graduate and holds a Master of Public Administration from New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Science from Boston University's College of Communication. Ambrosia currently resides in the Hudson Valley. Before CACF, Ambrosia worked as the Assistant Director for Operations & Evaluation at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC). She was responsible for agency-wide operations and systems development, including contracting process management, coordinating fiscal and other departments, and developing systems for new programs and initiatives.
 

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Andrew Sta. Ana, Deputy Director of Research & Policy, Asian American Federation(He/They) is the Deputy Director of Research and Policy at the Asian American Federation (AAF). Andrew raises the influence and well-being of New York’s pan-Asian community through partnership with our 70+ member agencies. He directs the Policy, Research, and Economic Empowerment programs, which use data and deep community collaboration to steer AAF’s Policy agenda. Further, Andrew serves as an Adjunct Clinical Professor at New York Law School, where he launched the nation’s first law school-based legal clinic on Cyberharassment.His legal practice centers on the intersections of Cyberharassment., antiviolence, youth rights, and LGBTQ+ survivors. For over a decade, he served as a leader at Day One, a non-profit organization that serves young victims of dating violence, where he represented hundreds of survivors. Andrew is a proud graduate of public education and a lifelong New Yorker.

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Neeta Bhasin came to NY with my parents 47 years ago. She has always wanted to showcase the vibrant Indian American and South Asian culture, art, heritage, and diversity in mainstream America and invoke a sense of pride among the newer generations of the South Asian community. In 1997, she started the first South Asian advertising and marketing company in the USA, ASB Communications. In 2013, she started Event Guru Worldwide, which created history by conceptualizing and producing Diwali at Times Square. Neeta was one of the honorees for "50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business." In 2008, Mahatma Gandhi Samman (Honor) was in the House of Lords in London in September 2015, and she was awarded the India Republic Day Award in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County in New York for her dedication and commitment towards the community. She was the proud recipient of the IAA WOMEN ACHIEVERS AWARDS from Shabana Azmi in 2017 and, recently, on the eve of International Women's Day. 2018, she received the South Asian Empowerment Award From Miss World 2017, Manushi Chillar, in a glittering ceremony held in New York. In 2023, she was awarded the 'Shakti Award '(woman empowerment award).

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Dr. Joyce Wu received her Doctorate of Pharmacy (Pharm D) from St. John’s University and her Master of Global Public Health (MPH) from New York University. She is a life-long volunteer at nonprofit organizations and is currently working at a world-renowned nonprofit cancer center as an oncology pharmacist. Dr. Wu’s passion and future initiatives as Director of Leadership under the Asian American Caucus involve helping future leaders participate in civic, governmental, and private sector internships that prepare the next generation for the future workforce. The Job Force initiative will help future generations become some of the most highly trained, qualified, and prepared young individuals in the workforce, bringing the economy and small businesses back to New York for a successful NY that gives everyone a chance to succeed.

 

 

 

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Jeffrey Gu is a Co-Founder and the Policy Director at Make Us Visible, a grassroots nonprofit spearheading the nationwide movement to integrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) history in K-12 classrooms. Make Us Visible has passed seven bipartisan laws across five states (NJ, CT, RI, FL, DE) over four years and comprises 24 state chapters. Before Make Us Visible, Gu was Legislative Director for the Every Voice Coalition Connecticut, where he oversaw the unanimous passage of a bill lowering the barriers to reporting for student survivors of sexual misconduct. Gu serves on the Board of Directors for CUNY’s Guttman Community College Foundation, as a Member of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)’s Anti-Asian Violence Task Force, and on the Advisory Board for Friends of the National Asian Pacific American Museum. Gu has a BA from NYU.

 

 

 

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Faustina Sein is the Executive Director of the Karen Society of Buffalo (KSB) and has led the growth of this grassroots organization since 2019. She has served within and advocated for Buffalo's growing community of New Americans since 2008. Faustina seeks to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees from Burma and other fellow humans by providing civic services. She is incredibly passionate about addressing mental health and overcoming substance abuse. She has a Master of Social Work from the University of Buffalo (2019) and a Master of Education from the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines (2003). She is honored to serve as a voice for issues facing AAPI residents across the state.

 

 

 

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Marjorie Hsu is the Co-Chair of the Westchester Asian American Advisory Board, which produced a Community Needs Assessment highlighting the demographic trends and unmet needs of AAPI in Westchester. Hsu is Vice Chair of the New York Community Trust - Westchester advisory board and on the Boston University Center for Computing and Data Science advisory board. She previously served as the Board Chair of the Asian American Federation, which is comprised of 70 pan-Asian health and human service non-profits in NYC. Hsu advises technology startups and the Telecom Infra Project, having been Chief Technology Officer at Singtel in many executive roles at Verizon and Chief Revenue Officer at The Experience Engine. Hsu holds a BSEE and MBA degree from Boston University.

 

 

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Kyung B. Yoon, President, Korean American Community Foundation

Peter Tu, Executive Director, Flushing Chinese Business Association

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Tai Shaw, Chair, Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association

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Tim Law, Founder, Chinese American Social Services Center

Dr. Tim Law is a  New York City Department of Education administrator who received a Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling Education from Long Island University, a Master of Education from New York University, a Professional Diploma in School Administration, and a Doctorate Degree in School Administration and Supervision from Fordham University.

Based on my 35 years of experience with New York City Agencies and education background, he has worked closely with community members, elected officials, and land law enforcement officers to improve the community's well-being that we cherish. He has mainly emphasized the spirit of teamwork to combat hate speech and hate crimes in our most excellent neighborhood in Brooklyn.

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Maf Misbah Uddin was born in Bangladesh; his father was a leader from Bengal who was jailed together with Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violence movement against British colonialism. He attended the University of Dhaka, where he attained two master’s degrees, the first in Mathematics and the second in Demography, where he was first in his graduating class. In 1984, Maf obtained a Graduate Teaching Assistantship to study at Ball State University in Indiana, where he obtained his third Master's degree. In May of 2000, Mr. Uddin ran a brilliant campaign and unseated a popular incumbent by more than a two-to-one margin to become President of Local 1407. In 2004 Maf Misbah Uddin became the Treasurer of DC 37, an umbrella organization of 62 Local unions with 135,000 members and 60,000 retirees. In 2005 Maf Misbah Uddin was elected as an at-large Executive Board member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO. In 2008, Mr. Uddin was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and Barack Obama was nominated for the presidency. In 2008 Mr. Uddin called upon all South Asians in the American labor movement and community leaders to come together in New York City. He formed the Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL) to empower South Asians in America through education, activism, and participation. In 2022, the New York City Speaker appointed him as a member of the Districting Commission.