Join NAAAP Pride for a crucial and timely panel discussion during Pride Month 2024 featuring AAPI and queer AAPI organizational leaders.

Join us as we confront the urgent need for action against the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping across the nation. Last year marked a historic declaration by the Human Rights Campaign, recognizing a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans due to the alarming surge in discriminatory bills being signed into law. These legislative assaults not only perpetuate stigma and violence but also enshrine discrimination in our legal system, inflicting profound harm on the mental and physical well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals. Even the debates surrounding these bills tear communities apart, compelling some families to flee their home states as political refugees.

As we anticipate the 2024 legislative session to continue this onslaught, we must unite in solidarity and resilience. Our event aims to inform and mobilize the LGBTQ+ community and our allies, galvanizing support for our fight for equality and justice. Join us as we amplify the voices of leading AAPI and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, shedding light on the importance of staying informed and taking action in the face of this existential threat to LGBTQ+ rights.

Moderator: Keith Nishida he/him

DEI Training & Development Lead, Okaeri, a Nikkei LGBTQ Community

Keith Nishida is a multi-passionate educator and team-builder, with a professional mission to help upskill/uplift people to have fulfilling careers through digital and leadership skills training. He brings 10 years of experience in research, program development and teaching (with subject matter expertise in everything from socio-economic influence of pop culture to diversity/inclusion issues in the digital landscape).

Since starting his bilingual marketing consultancy in 2007, he's brought his multicultural perspectives to inter/national projects with global brands like Toyota Motors, Disney Consumer Products/Tokyo Disney, and Teva shoes, but equally enjoy helping SME companies articulate their digital marketing strategies (including a client who serves the autistic and community and people with disabilities). Keith is committed to bringing a diversity and inclusion lens to his roles as a courses & workshop instructor at General Assembly (an Adecco company), an APIA Scholars mentor, and a traditional Japanese festival performance group member of Rafu Mutsumi Kai for the last 25 years. He is a proud Nikkei-nisei who calls California and Hawaii his homes.

Panelists:

Bob Sakaniwa he/his

Director of Policy and Advocacy, APIA Vote

Bob Sakaniwa (he/him/his) is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at APIAVote having worked in Washington, DC for more years than he cares to remember. Bob does bring a wealth of experience, having worked both on the Hill for members of Congress as well as several civil rights and immigrant rights organizations. Through his various stints on and off the Hill, Bob has gained deep insight into the workings of the House and Senate and brings that knowledge to his efforts as an advocate for civil rights and immigrant rights.

Regine (Reggie) Reyes they/them

Director of Programs​, NQAPIA

Regine joined NQAPIA as the Director of Programs in August 2022. Born in the Philippines and raised in southeast San Diego, their upbringing in immigrant, working class, communities of color informs much of their intersectional approach. This lens grounds their professional and community involvement in educational equity, K-12 classroom teaching, case management, program development, event coordination, progressive media, student-initiated programs, and trauma-informed leadership development for Queer Trans Black, Indigenous, People of Color. They earned their BA in History (Race, Ethnicity, and Migration) from the University of California San Diego and their MA in Special Education from Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles. They treasure their role in their students’ paths to empowered and fulfilling lives.

Regine has previously served as a co-founding Board Member and co-chair of the San Diego Queer Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American Coalition. In their rest time, Regine enjoys tending to their plants, cuddling their dog Goober, and spending time under the sun with chosen family.

Bentley Hudgins They / Them / Theirs

Georgia State Director, Human Rights Campaign

Bentley is an Asian-American union member, organizer, political strategist and LGBTQ+ community builder who has devoted their life to building power for the New American Majority across the state of Georgia with over a decade of experience.

They led organizing efforts to protect public employees in Macon-Bibb County from employment discrimination, cash bail reform at the ACLU of Georgia, fiscal policy and budget justice at GBPI and built the organizing team at the New Georgia Project in the critical 2020 electoral cycle that flipped Georgia blue. In 2022, Bentley became Georgia’s first non-binary, Japanese-American candidate for state representative. Bentley is also a drag Queen known as SHI, the mother of the House of Persuasians. They love cooking for their partner, Robert Bradford and teaching their puppy Beau that jumping on people is not as fun as he thinks it is.

NAAAP Pride is a national program by The National Association of Asian American Professionals. It is here to empower, educate, engage, and celebrate the Asian American LGBTQ+ professional community and its allies by providing education, promoting visibility, and developing current and future LGBTQ+ leaders. We will provide resources and support for those in all stages of the coming out process and for those creating safe and affirming work and learning spaces where Asian American LGBTQ+ students and employees can live, work, and study safely, openly, and genuinely.

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NAAAP San Jose (https://sanjose.naaap.org) cultivates and empowers Silicon Valley’s Asian and Pacific Islander (API) leaders through professional development, community service, and networking events featuring thoughtfully curated programming that reflects the Silicon Valley’s unique business and cultural needs.

NAAAP is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides APIs with resources that will advance their careers and help them become great leaders and valuable employees. Currently, there are NAAAP chapters in major cities across the United States, Canada, and China.
 

Join our Slack channel for event plans, connections, just connecting or coordinating in general https://join.slack.com/t/naaapsanjose/shared_invite/zt-1ysj2257l-nZGdDD635BugCa_695VTDA

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