Cultivating APA Leaders for 20 Years

By Brandon F. Shamim
Special to AsianWeek

The rampant corruption in corporate America might have been avoided with more inclusion of Asian Pacific Americans in executive positions. Dr. Bob H. Suzuki, president of California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif., echoed this sentiment during his keynote address at the 20th anniversary leadership Awards Dinner celebrated by Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) on Thursday, July 18 in Los Angeles.

Established in 1982 as a volunteer organization, LEAP has emerged as a national, nonprofit organization that has provided leadership training to nearly 500 nonprofit, community and student organizations, government agencies, higher education institutions and Fortune 1000 companies nationwide.

LEAP operates under the premise that APAs can retain their distinct cultural traditions, values and identity while serving, representing and empowering a diverse society. Essential to LEAP’s vision are three complementary programs: the Leadership Management Institute; the Public Policy Institute, which produces original, public policy research; and the Community Development Institute, which provides select workshops and seminars on empowering community and student leaders.

The Leadership Management Institute offers motivated individuals an opportunity to participate in a range of workshops during a five-day conference and examine culturally specific management training to cultivate participants assuming positions of leadership. The program has graduated over 1,600 alumni representing 83 companies and is held four times a year in various locations throughout the country.

LEAP also offers similar leadership skills training to higher education academia in conjunction with Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education and to journalists through the Asian American Journalists Association.

“LEAP helped me see that [there] are no limitations,” says Debbie Barba, vice president of local operations at SBC Pacific Bell and SBC Nevada Bell, and one of this year’s honorees. “I feel a responsibility to help develop the next generation of Asian leaders. When they see a woman on a board of directors, they know they can pursue that too.”

Other distinguished honorees included Chongge S. Vang, president of the United Lao Movement for Democracy and a Southern California leader of the Hmong community; Sefa Aina, assistant coordinator of Student and Community Projects for the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA; and acclaimed Grammy nominated jazz fusion band, Hiroshima.

Cao K. O., executive director of the Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY) accepted LEAP’s inaugural Humanitarian Award, in light of AAFNY’s coordinated relief efforts to assist the APA communities impacted by the World Trade Center disaster. AAFNY recently completed the first neighborhood-level study post-Sept. 11, examining how business owners, workers and residents of Chinatown — a vital part of Lower Manhattan — will face long-term economic impact in New York City.

A cavalcade of elected officials from Gov. Gray Davis to Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) bestowed commendations upon this year’s honorees for their continuing contributions and leadership to the APA community.