Clinton Administration On June 7, 1999, President
Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13125 to establish the first White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "in order to improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased participation in federal programs where they may be underserved (e.g., health, human services, education, housing, labor, transportation, and economic and community development)." The
Executive Order called on all federal departments to mobilize their resources to address the unmet needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Prior to the signing of Executive Order 13125, the last United States Presidential Executive Order related to AAPIs was
Executive Order 9066, which led to the
internment of Japanese Americans during
World War II. Under the Clinton Administration, the Executive Order housed the Initiative under the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the
Health Resources and Services Administration.
Executive director and commission The first Initiative Executive Director Shamina Singh was appointed by
Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala. Prior to her work at the Initiative, Singh served as special assistant to the Secretary at the
U.S. Department of Labor and worked on specialized health care issues for the
Service Employees International Union. The first President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders was chaired by former Congressman
Norman Mineta. The 15-member President's Advisory Commission was seated through June 7, 2001.
Priorities The Interagency Working Group under the Clinton Administration was chaired by then Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Kevin Thurm. The IWG was composed of leaders from 32 federal agencies and departments.
Bush Administration On June 6, 2001, President
George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13216, renewing the Initiative and changing the Order's title from: "Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs" to "Increasing Opportunity and Improving Quality of Life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders." At this time, Deputy Secretary Claude A. Allen of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was named Chair of the Interagency Working Group. On May 13, 2004, President Bush signed Executive Order 13339, superseding Executive Order 13125 and moving the Initiative from the Department of Health and Human Services to the
U.S. Department of Commerce. President Bush signed Executive Order 13403 on May 12, 2006, once again reauthorizing the Initiative.
Executive director and commission In 2001,
John Quoc Duong was named executive director of the initiative. Prior to assuming his appointment, Duong served as Vice President of Bridgecreek Group, Inc. and was deputy director of the Office of Community Relations for California Governor
Pete Wilson. In 2004, Eddy Badrina was appointed as executive director of the Initiative. Prior to joining the initiative, Badrina was an appointee to the White House Liaison Office at the
U.S. Department of State, working on the Bush Administration's transition efforts. In 2006, Jimmy D. Lee began his term as executive director for the initiative. Before joining the initiative as executive director, Lee was a Commissioner on the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and served as executive director of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. He was also a former Special Assistant to the Governor in the State of Illinois. During his time at the White House, Lee was named one of Crain's 40 Under 40. He left the position to run for United States Congress in the 11th Congressional District in Illinois. The executive order included new criteria for selecting Commissioners to serve on the President's Advisory Commission for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including requirements that candidates "have a history of involvement with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities; are from the business enterprise sector; are from civic associations representing one or more of the diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander communities; are from the fields of economic, social, and community development; or have such other experience as the President deems appropriate."
Priorities Under the Bush Administration economic development became the priority of the Initiative. Executive Order 13339 stated its purpose as "providing equal economic opportunities for full participation of Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses in our free market economy where they may be underserved and thus improving the quality of life for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders." The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) under President George W. Bush focused on three key priorities: increasing the appointment of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) to senior government positions and commissions, providing capacity development and resources for small businesses and community-based organizations through federal partnerships, and advancing legislation that strengthened small business support for the APA community. During the Bush Administration, WHIAAPI launched NEXT Conferences, a series of 30 capacity-building workshops held in major cities, including Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston, to provide technical assistance and federal resources to small businesses and nonprofits. Additionally, following Hurricane Katrina, WHIAAPI deployed staff and Commissioners to New Orleans to assist displaced Vietnamese American fishermen in rebuilding their livelihoods. A key milestone was the first White House Summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, held in Washington, D.C., which gathered leaders from federal agencies, members of Congress, and community stakeholders to discuss government resources available to the APA community. Throughout its tenure, the Initiative prioritized bipartisan collaboration, ensuring that both Democratic and Republican leaders were involved in delivering resources and events to support the APA community. Several individuals played critical roles in executing the Initiative's programs and priorities during the Bush Administration: Erik Wang, Associate Director; Piyachat Terrell, Associate Director; and the following Staff Associates and Programming Managers: Cianna Ferrer, Michelle Wong, Stephanie Le, and Christine Choi. These staff members worked to coordinate federal agency partnerships, organize events, and manage outreach efforts to ensure the effective implementation of WHIAAPI's mission The President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the Federal Interagency Working Group worked primarily on the following goals during this time: • Developed, monitored and coordinated federal efforts to improve Asian American and Pacific Islander participation in government programs; • Fostered research and data collection for Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses and communities; and • Increased their level of participation in the national economy and their economic and community development. Commissioners included: Betty Wu Adams (chair), Rudy Pamintuan (chair), Nina Collier, Jeff Sakaguchi, Derrick Nguyen, William Kil, Vellie Dietrich-Hall, Joseph Melookaran, Kenneth Wong, and Howard Li.
Obama Administration On October 14, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13515, reestablishing the Initiative and superseding Executive Orders 13125 and 13339. The Executive Order moved the Initiative from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Education. President Obama appointed then Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan along with then Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke as heads of the Interagency Working Group. Amendments to the Executive Order include Executive Order 13585 and Executive Order 13652 which both ensure the continuance of the
Federal Advisory Committees.
Executive director and commission Kiran Ahuja was appointed on December 14, 2009, to the position of executive director of the Initiative. Prior to her work at the Initiative, Ahuja served as founding executive director of the
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) and worked at the
U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. In 2015, Doua Thor became the executive director of the Initiative, following the departure of Ahuja. Prior to taking on the position, Thor had worked with the Initiative as a senior advisor and member of the President's Advisory Commission. A refugee herself, Thor is the former executive director of the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center (SEARAC). The commission included 20 members and was chaired by Dr. Tung Thanh Nguyen with Dr. Mary Ann Young Okada as Vice Chair. Other Commissioners include: Dr.
Nina Ahmad; Michael Byun; Lt. Col. Ravi Chaudhary; Lian Cheun;
Billy Dec;
Jacob James Fitisemanu Jr.; Bill Imada, Kathy Ko Chin, Daphne Kwok,
Dee Jay Mailer, Diane Narasaki, Shekar Narasimhan,
Maulik Pancholy, Linda X. Phan, Sanjita Pradhan, Lorna May Ho Randlett,
Bo Thao-Urabe, and Dr. Paul Y. Watanabe. Past Administration co-chairs of the Initiative are
Chris Lu, who served with Secretary
Arne Duncan during his tenure as Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to President Obama, and
Gary Locke during his term as Secretary of Commerce.
Priorities Under the Obama Administration, the Initiative has worked to expand the outreach capacity of the Commission and IWG. The IWG created and implemented agency plans to increase the AAPI community's access to federal programs and services, housing four subcommittees that coincide with the initiative's four cross-cutting goal areas of research and data disaggregation, language access, workforce diversity, and capacity building. These subcommittees respond to the community, share best practices, and recommend strategic goals that can be incorporated into agency plans The Initiative also formed a regional IWG, called the Regional Network, of more than 250 regional administrators, district directors, and regional staff to help facilitate information sharing and coordinate community engagement with the AAPI community across the federal regional agencies. The Regional Network meets quarterly to share information and discuss ways in which regional offices can work together, convenes regional roundtables with local AAPI communities, builds partnerships between the federal regional offices, the commission, and the local and state commissions, and submits an annual progress report on its engagement efforts. The Initiative has also worked more extensively on data disaggregation, hosting a national symposium in partnership with National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education to relay best practices for data collection, analysis, and dissemination. In addition, the Initiative has advised federal agencies on disaster response efforts after the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, released an AAPI women's record, developed educational tools and resources on the
Affordable Care Act, and helped launch the
Senior Executive Service (SES) Development Program. The initiative has also seen the creation of a
Nail Salon Interagency Working Group, created a federal resources page with grants and training information, and worked with the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) on challenge issues for the community. Other key accomplishments and priorities of the Initiative under the Obama Administration include: •
Organizing the first-ever White House Summit on AAPIs. Nearly 2,000 community members and federal officials from over 40 states and the Pacific Islands came together to share their experiences and gain tools to mobilize their communities to further expand opportunities for AAPIs through federal resources and programs. Six Cabinet Secretaries and multiple federal agency leaders joined the Summit and highlighted their work benefiting the AAPI community. •
Advancing data collection, analysis, and dissemination on AAPI communities. The Initiative launched Data.gov/AAPI, the most comprehensive hub of government data on AAPIs. The Initiative also convened data experts during two iCount Symposiums and released a best practices report to promote innovative approaches and methodologies to further disaggregate race and ethnicity data within federal agencies. •
Supporting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. The Initiative led the Administration's first-ever regional summit in Guam to discuss specific needs of the community for grant programs, capacity building, and technical assistance. The Commission held its first-ever listening session in Hawaii to discuss Native Hawaiian needs and opportunities. In addition, the Initiative supported the Department of Interior in its engagements to create an administrative procedure for re-establishing a government-to-government relationship. •
Promoting Public-Private Partnerships. During the first-ever National Philanthropic Briefing on AAPIs in 2012, the Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Kresge Foundation made a commitment of $1 million, the first-of-its-kind coordinated public and philanthropic investment in the AAPI community. •
Engaging a new generation of young leaders in understanding the federal resources dedicated to college affordability, bullying prevention, mental health, pathways to public service, naturalization, and the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy through the E3! Ambassadors Program and annual White House AAPI Youth Forums. •
Expanding healthcare access for AAPI communities. Nearly 2 million previously uninsured AAPIs became eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the Initiative worked to get AAPIs covered under the ACA through collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, community health centers, and ethnic media. •
Welcoming and creating opportunity for immigrants and new Americans through the Stand Stronger Citizenship Awareness Campaign, in-language outreach around the DACA program, and roundtables with the
Task Force on New Americans. •
Forging educational equity for AAPI students through support of
Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). •
Supporting AAPI-owned businesses. Through coordination with the
Minority Business Development Agency and AAPI chambers of commerce, the Initiative works to ensure AAPI businesses are equipped with the knowledge to compete for grants and government contracts. •
Protecting vulnerable AAPI workers. The Initiative participates in two interagency working groups addressing the needs of vulnerable workers in high-risk and low-wage industries and the myriad of health and safety issues affecting AAPI nail salon workers, who account for 40 percent of the national nail salon workforce. •
Protecting the civil rights of AAPI communities. The Initiative launched the interagency AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force to analyze data and formulate effective policies to better understand and address bullying. The Task Force hosted more than 25 listening sessions, and the Initiative launched the Act To Change national public awareness campaign with translated resources and a coalition of 50+ supporting organizations and influencers, including
George Takei and
Jeremy Lin, encouraging youth to take the pledge against bullying.
First Trump Administration On May 13, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order 13872 once again reestablishing the Initiative. The order effectively reversed the transfer made by President Obama and moved the Initiative from the Department of Education back to the Department of Commerce. President Trump appointed then Secretary of Commerce
Wilbur Ross and then Secretary of Transportation
Elaine Chao serve as the Co-Chairs of the Initiative. The order also established an Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to help broaden access to more employers and other economic resources for the AAPI community.
Executive director and commission On November 13, 2017,
Holly Ham was appointed as executive director of the Initiative. Prior to this appointment, Ham served as Assistant Secretary for Management at the
U.S. Department of Education, also in the Trump Administration. On December 17, 2019, the Department of Commerce confirmed that Tina Wei Smith, a Former Department of Labor appointee, would replace Ham as executive director. Ms. Smith was a former graduate of the University of Illinois and a key advisor of then Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. On January 27, 2020, Vice President Mike Pence swore in 13 members of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders including Paul S. Hsu, Congresswoman
Amata C. Radewagen, Herman Martir, Governor
Eddie Calvo,
Doris Flores Brooks, Grace Y. Lee,
Prem Parameswaran,
Michelle P. Steel,
Chiling Tong,
Jennifer Carnahan, George Leing, Jan-Ie Low, and
Keiko Orrall.
Biden Administration On May 28, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14031 reestablishing the Initiative at the Department of Health and Human Services and renaming it the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI). On December 9, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador
Katherine Tai would become a co-chair of the Initiative alongside Health and Human Services Secretary
Xavier Becerra. Each entity of the Initiative worked to "advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities in the United States."
Priorities According to Executive Order 14031, the Initiative was tasked with advancing "equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities by coordinating Federal interagency policymaking and program development efforts to eliminate barriers to equity, justice, and opportunity faced by AA and NHPI communities, including by advancing policies, programs, and initiatives." This includes: Ka'ai previously served as executive director of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and is the first
Native Hawaiian to lead the Initiative. On December 20, 2021, Biden announced his intent to nominate 25 individuals to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders including Amy Agbayani, Teresita Batayola, Ajay Bhutoria, Luisa Blue, Kimberly Chang, Emily Chen, Kerry Doi, Grace Huang, Victoria Huynh,
Mia Ives-Rublee, Kamal Kalsi, Michelle Ka'uhane,
Daniel Dae Kim, Kevin D. Kim, Sarah Min, Simon Pang,
Ai-jen Poo, Naheed Qureshi, Raynald Samoa,
Sonal Shah, Smita N. Shah,
Robert A. Underwood, and KaYing Yang. On October 7, 2024, the Initiative announced Ka'ai's departure, and that Helen Beaudreau had been appointed by Biden as its new executive director. The Commission provided advice to the President on: • the development, monitoring, and coordination of executive branch efforts to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities in the United States, including efforts to close gaps in health, socioeconomic, employment, and educational outcomes; • policies to address and end anti-Asian bias, xenophobia, racism, and nativism, and opportunities for the executive branch to advance inclusion, belonging, and public awareness of the diversity and accomplishments of AA and NHPI people, cultures, and histories; • policies, programs, and initiatives to prevent, report, respond to, and track anti-Asian hate crimes and hate incidents; • ways in which the Federal Government can build on the capacity and contributions of AA and NHPI communities through equitable Federal funding, grantmaking, and employment opportunities; • policies and practices to improve research and equitable data disaggregation regarding AA and NHPI communities; • policies and practices to improve language access services to ensure AA and NHPI communities can access Federal programs and services; and • strategies to increase public- and private-sector collaboration, and community involvement in improving the safety and socioeconomic, health, educational, occupational, and environmental well‑being of AA and NHPI communities. The Regional Network (RN) institutionalized the work of the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on a more local level across 10 federal regions. The RN facilitated the exchange of information across regional offices, coordinated community engagement efforts with other federal agencies, and collaborated with Initiative staff and IWG members in D.C. to potentially incorporate specific community recommendations into agency plans. Through regional
roundtables,
technical assistance programs, regular planning calls, resource-sharing, in-person convenings, and
webinars, the RN worked on the ground to respond to community needs. The Regional Network included over 400 federal agency officials based in the 10 federal
agency administrative regions. They sought to build relationships between the federal government and AA and NHPI communities by coordinating outreach efforts and connecting community stakeholders with federal resources across regional offices.
Efforts by Biden's Initiative Under Biden, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) has participated in various efforts across government agencies and nonprofits to promote equity and alleviate issues stemming from COVID-19. Through the use of public outreach and funding, these efforts have been robust in tackling a variety of issues faced by the AANHPI community. These are a few examples of those efforts: • In October 2021, the Justice Department announced that its
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) would award more than $21 million to state and local partners to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and assist hate crime victims. • The "Slow the Spread" campaign and the "Building Vaccine Confidence" campaign, which includes public information about vaccines in 14 AA and NHPI languages. • In July 2022, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made available over $19 million in
American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program to address discriminatory housing practices related to the COVID-19 pandemic. • The American Rescue Plan provided more than $36 billion in support to institutions of higher education, including institutions that primarily serve AA and NHPI students, to ensure learning continues during the COVID-19 pandemic. • The Department of Interior's
Office of Insular Affairs provided $55 million in
CARES Act grants to support Pacific Islander communities in United States territories and Insular Area Pacific Islander populations in the contiguous United States prepare for, prevent, and protect against COVID-19. • HHS's Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $20 million to six Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act award recipients in August 2021 to strengthen vaccination efforts, respond to and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and enhance health care services and infrastructure in their communities. Through the Indigenous Communities program, the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Agency (EDA) is allocating $100 million in American Rescue Plan funding specifically for Indigenous communities, including Pacific Islanders, which were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Second Trump Administration On January 20, 2025, President
Donald Trump issued Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders
Executive Order 14148, eliminating US federal recognition of AANHPI Heritage Month and shuttering the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) and the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (PACAANHPI) == Publications ==