All Posts

  • 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 ...
  • Boundless Possibilities & Imperfect Experiments February 18, 2021Boundless Possibilities & Imperfect Experiments
    There I was—sitting on my chair at home, hundreds of miles away from the seven other people on my Zoom screen, feeling vulnerable and nervous, and yet, so warm at the same time. I was asking my fellow APIENC Summer ...
  • 2021 Summer Organizer Program – Apply by March 1st! February 1, 20212021 Summer Organizer Program – Apply by March 1st!
    Do you want to work with trans, non-binary, and queer Asian and Pasifika people and communities? Do you have a commitment to social justice? Are you ready to transform, learn concrete community organizing skills, and work to build movements for ...
  • Jessica Mitchell January 27, 2021Jessica Mitchell
    JAN 2021 | JESSICA MITCHELL Image description: Jessica stands outdoors and smiles next to tall sprouting sunflowers Jessica (she/her) is the newest member of APIENC’s Core Committee and has been a member of the Dragon Fruit Network since the summer of 2019. Jessica ...
  • Will we concede to fear, or will we choose interdependence? January 10, 2021Will we concede to fear, or will we choose interdependence?
    Dear APIENC Community,  Throughout the past year, I have often come back to the question, “Will we concede to fear and individualism, or will we choose interdependence?”  This past week, as we celebrated historic Senate wins in Georgia and watched in horror ...
  • Leo Hegde December 8, 2020Leo Hegde
    Dec 2020 | LEO HEGDE Image description: Leo is smiling outdoors along a gravely edge of a lake with hills behind him. Leo (he/him & they/them) has been involved with APIENC for a little over a year. He is a member of ...