All Posts

  • What is Healing Justice? April 14, 2022What is Healing Justice?
    “What is healing?” is the question I have been asking APIENC’s Core Committee ever since we established Healing Justice as a key pillar of our new Theory of Change. In our movements, healing is all the buzz, yet what does ...
  • At APIENC, I learned to lead with love. February 16, 2022At APIENC, I learned to lead with love.
    Dear APIENC Community, I started organizing around my identity as a queer kānaka maoli from a place of great anger. I was angry that my lāhui lived in such dire poverty in our own homeland. I was angry that the university ...
  • 2022 Summer Organizer Program – Apply by March 1st! February 1, 20222022 Summer Organizer Program – Apply by March 1st!
    Do you want to work with trans, non-binary, and queer Asian and Pasifika communities?Do you have a commitment to social justice, liberation, and collective transformation?Are you ready to learn concrete organizing skills and build movements for change? The APPLICATION for APIENC’s ...
  • What time is it on the clock of APIENC? January 28, 2022What time is it on the clock of APIENC?
    Dear APIENC Community, “What time is it on the clock of the world?What time is it on the clock of APIENC?” When Michael—APIENC’s end-of-year Core Retreat facilitator—asked these questions inspired by Grace Lee and James Boggs, my breath softened. After a year ...
  • Welcome APIENC’s New Leadership Development Coordinator! January 26, 2022Welcome APIENC’s New Leadership Development Coordinator!
    Dear APIENC Community, We are thrilled to announce Shivani Chanillo (they/them) has joined APIENC as our new Leadership Development Coordinator! Shivani is an incredible educator and organizer who brings years of leadership development experience. They demonstrate a passion for building relationships, ...
  • Cultivating Growth and Leadership: Reflections on Sammie’s Time at APIENC December 15, 2021Cultivating Growth and Leadership: Reflections on Sammie's Time at APIENC
    I first met Sammie in 2015 when I chaired the Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women & Transgender Community (APIQWTC) scholarship committee, and we awarded Sammie one of the scholarships. On paper, Sammie already had an impressive track record of social ...
  • Shivani Chanillo November 23, 2021Shivani Chanillo
    NOV 2021 | Shivani Chanillo Image description: Shivani smiles with a big smirk at the camera. They are outdoors with a white door and wall behind them. Shivani Chanillo (they/them) has been involved with APIENC for about a year and is part ...
  • A message from Yuan, APIENC’s Incoming Director October 7, 2021A message from Yuan, APIENC’s Incoming Director
    On a hot summer day in 2018, Sammie first welcomed me into APIENC. It was the first day of my Summer Organizer Program, and I didn’t know what to expect. As folks filtered in, Sammie sat our group down and ...
  • Living at the Intersection of Queer and South Asian Identities September 1, 2021Living at the Intersection of Queer and South Asian Identities
    For a huge portion of my life, I’ve been in denial that South Asian society is ready to fully support my sexuality and attraction to the same gender. I’d replay the thoughts in my head: “If they didn’t support me ...
  • I am reminded I am enough August 25, 2021I am reminded I am enough
    Image description: A black & white photo of Sajneel’s right forearm. There is an abstract tattoo of a person’s head exploding and three bold eyes flying in different directions. When my time as an APIENC Summer Organizer came to a close, ...
  • We need to extend humanity to ourselves. August 18, 2021We need to extend humanity to ourselves.
    I sat in a Zoom room with 30 other people—most, I didn’t know, and all, I had never actually met in-person. It was our first weekend of LEX—APIENC’s API Queer Justice Leadership Exchange—and I felt a mix of anxiety and ...
  • Jeff Ramos July 25, 2021Jeff Ramos
    JUL 2021 | JEFF RAMOS Image description: Jeff is sitting behind a desk indoors, smiling with hands folded in front of them. There are reusable name tags in front of them. Jeff (they/he) joined APIENC in 2019 and is a member of ...
  • Trans and non-binary APIs: we have what it takes. July 7, 2021Trans and non-binary APIs: we have what it takes.
    My name is Leo Shanti Hegde, I use he and they pronouns, and I am excited to share that I’m APIENC’s newest community organizer! I’m a second-generation Indian American who grew up in Edison, New Jersey. I attended college on the ...
  • Who’s that new staff person?! – 24 hours to #PowerUpGiveOUT June 29, 2021Who’s that new staff person?! - 24 hours to #PowerUpGiveOUT
    Dear APIENC community, This year, our community has faced crisis after crisis. We’ve been targeted by white supremacist attacks, denied access to gender-affirming healthcare, isolated through the COVID-19 pandemic and so much more. So many trans and queer APIs have been ...
  • What would you do in a world without hope? June 22, 2021What would you do in a world without hope?
    “What would you do in a world where compassion, hope, or liberation doesn’t exist?How would you teach someone about it?” This prompt was etched into my memories from a creative writing opportunity in 2018. Looking back, I would have explained the ...
  • Dorothy Tang May 25, 2021Dorothy Tang
    MAY 2021 | DOROTHY TANG Image description: Dorothy is outdoors slightly smiling at the camera. There is a tree behind them. Dorothy Tang (they/them) joined APIENC last year and is on the Dragon Fruit Podcast production and dissemination teams and is a ...
  • It took me 8 years to write this 😱 May 6, 2021It took me 8 years to write this 😱
    Dear Community,  At one of my first supervisions as a Summer Intern in 2013, Monna turned to me and asked, “why does it feel so difficult for you to ask for help?” I stared at her blankly, the grey partitions of ...
  • Sangeeta Sarkar March 30, 2021Sangeeta Sarkar
    MAR 2021 | SANGEETA SARKAR Image description: Sangeeta is outdoors smiling while holding up a basket of plants. There is a fence and vegetation behind them. Sangeeta (they/them) identifies as a queer non binary South Asian femme. They were part of the ...
  • What will it take to build communities rooted in healing and safety? – APIENC’s Theory of Change March 21, 2021What will it take to build communities rooted in healing and safety? - APIENC's Theory of Change
    Dear APIENC Community, Since 2017, APIENC has been guided by a set of priorities and directions crafted by APIENC staff in order to help the organization make decisions about where to focus our power and grow our work. In the time ...
  • What do we have to offer our movements? March 3, 2021What do we have to offer our movements?
    It’s December 2019, and I’m in a cabin in Guerneville at my first Core Retreat as one of the newest members of APIENC Core. I’m super excited to be spending a weekend with such cool people, but I’m also a ...