Clinton Appoints API Advisory Commission
By Janet Dang

A diverse group of 15 API leaders from a range of sectors has been appointed by President Clinton to serve on the historical Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Established by Executive Order 13125 in 1999, the commission will advise the president on the development, monitoring, and coordination of federal efforts to improve the quality of life of APIs.

The commission aims to study ways to increase public sector, private sector, and community involvement in improving the health and well being of APIs, and to increase their participation in federal programs, in which, advocates believe, APIs may be under-served.

“We are very pleased with the ethnic and regional diversity of the Commission. There were approximately 200 very qualified candidates who applied and the selection process was a tremendous challenge to all,” said Maria Haley, Deputy Director of the White House office of Presidential Personnel. “We are truly honored that the Asian Pacific American community was so engaged in the process.”

“This diverse group of leaders have an important role to play in representing the Asian Pacific American community and leading the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in addressing the issues of concern to this important community,” said Laura Efurd, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison.

The executive order is the second in history to deal with an API issue. The first was issued in 1942 by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt to intern Japanese Americans during World War II.

Norman Y. Mineta

A former member of the U.S. House of Representatives with a distinguished record of public service, Mineta, will chair the commission.

“I’m really pleased and applaud the president on taking this initiative so the whole issue of how to improve the quality of life for Asian Pacific Islanders becomes a focus of this commission,” Mineta said.

“Some of the issues to be brought up before commissioners, he said, will be health , education, small business administration, equal employment opportunity … We’ll have enough issues to occupy the times of the commissioners.”

“Through the inter-agency working groups and members of the commission, we can come to an agreement as to what should our work agenda be.”

Mineta currently serves as Vice President of Special Business Initiatives at Lockheed Martin. First elected to Congress in 1974, Mineta was the first Asian American to chair the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation. While serving in Congress, he founded and chaired the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and was the driving force behind the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided an official apology and redress to over 100,000 Japanese Americans interned in camps during World War II. Prior to his election to Congress, Mineta spent seven years in local government serving on the City Council and as mayor of San Jose, Calif.

Haunani Apoliona

Apoliona is currently serving her fourth year as Trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs of the State of Hawaii, a semi-autonomous agency dedicated to improving the quality of life for Native Hawaiians.

Apoliona has held positions in numerous community-based organizations including president of ALU LIKE, a non-profit service organization whose mission is to assist Native Hawaiians in their efforts to achieve social and economic self-sufficiency.

Gloria Caoile

Caoile, of Springfield, Va., is special assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a 1.3 million-member labor union. In this capacity, Caoile is considered the highest-ranking Asian Pacific American in the American labor movement. She is currently the first vice president of the National Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and formerly served as president of the Metropolitan Washington chapter.

Martha Choe

Choe is the Director of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development of the State of Washington. Prior to her appointment, she served as a member of the Seattle City Council, having been elected in 1991 and, again, in 1995. Choe has also held the position of vice president of the Bank of California in commercial lending, credit administration and private banking.

Susan Soon-Keum Cox

Cox, of Eugene, Ore., is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of international adoption and child welfare. Currently, she is the vice president of public policy and external affairs for Holt International Child Services, an international adoption agency.

She has advised the First Lady on public policy regarding adoption and foster care and has participated in White House briefings on these issues. Cox also serves on the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

Vinod Dham

Dham is the chairman, president, and CEO of Silicon Spice, Inc., a communications technology development firm in Silicon Valley. Previously, he was the COO and executive vice president of NexGen, Inc. where he executed the launch of the world’s fastest PC microprocessor.

Dham earned a reputation as a “technology trailblazer” during his time at Intel Corporation, where he headed the team responsible for the creation of the Pentium chip processor. He has also developed a non-profit virtual community for Bay Area seniors.

Wilfred P. Leon Guerrero

Guerrero is the president and owner of W. P. Leon Guerrero & Associates, a consulting firm based in Guam. Guerrero is also a prominent advocate for education, having served as president of the University of Guam, in addition to being the founding dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, dean of the Land Grant Program, and associate dean of the College of Education. With his knowledge as a working professional in the Asia and Pacific region, he has authored numerous articles emphasizing agriculture and education issues.

Tessie Guillermo

Guillermo serves as the executive director of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, a national health policy and advocacy organization based in San Francisco. Guillermo has served as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Minority Women’s Panel of Experts, and on the boards of the Community Technology Foundation of California, the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, and the Intercultural Cancer Council.

Guillermo is a published author on health policy issues and was recognized by the American Journal of Health Promotion for her distinguished work on behalf of the health needs of under-served ethnic communities.

Dennis Hayashi

Hayashi currently serves as the director of the State of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the first Asian American appointed to this post. Previously, he led the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and held the position of Counsel to the Deputy Secretary.

During his tenure in Washington, D.C., Hayashi served on the president’s working group on affirmative action and the White House interagency group on immigration policy. He has been an advocate for civil rights for APIs as an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, Inc., and as the National Director for the Japanese American Citizens League.

David D. Ho

Ho, of Chappaqua, N.Y., is a distinguished AIDS researcher who serves as Director and CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. He has sat on numerous councils and boards, and has acted as advisor to the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute and the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health. Ho has taught at Harvard Medical School, UCLA School of Medicine and the NYU School of Medicine. He is currently a professor at Rockefeller University. Ho was named TIME magazine’s 1996 Man of the Year for his groundbreaking work in HIV research.

Ngoan Le

Le currently serves as the deputy commissioner of Human Services for the City of Chicago. She has served as a special assistant for Asian American Affairs to Gov. James R. Thompson and as executive director of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois, a non-profit agency providing services in business and community development, employment services, and women’s services.

Le has been recognized by the National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans.

Jonathon R. Leong

Leong, of Piedmont, Calif., is a businessman and president of JLA Companies. He is also the founder of the Asian Business Association and a past board member of the Council of Asian American Business Associations. He served as an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1986 as well as in 1995.

Leong is currently the President of the Asian American Donor Program. He recently initiated an API-based umbilical cord blood bank.

Mukesh “Mike” Patel

Patel, of Atlanta, Ga., is a leader in the hospitality industry. He is a founding member of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and served as its chairman from 1997-1999. In 1981, he co-founded the Diplomat Hotel Company and currently serves as president. AAHOA represents the almost 15,000 hotel properties owned by Asian Americans, comprising about 40 percent of the hotels in the United States.

Jacinta Folasa Titialii

Titialii of Philadelphia, Pa., has been involved in the healthcare industry for 15 years and is currently vice president and assistant general counsel for Tenet Healthcare Corporation, the second largest investor-owned health care management company in the United States. She has been active in the Samoan and Pacific Island communities in the continental United States, Hawaii, and in American Samoa.

Lee Pao Xiong

Xiong is the director of government and community relations for Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn. He presently serves as a member of the Metropolitan Council, a regional planning agency for the Seven Counties Metropolitan Area. Previously, he was the executive director of the Minnesota Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, where he advised the governor, the state legislature and other government agencies on API issues. He has also been the executive director of the Hmong American Partnership and the Hmong Youth Association of Minnesota.