History & Vision
CC and Regina Yin, together with like-minded civic leaders, founded the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) in 2001 to empower the API community. The founders of APAPA were responding to an alarming lack of API representation at all levels of government throughout the United States. APAPA, founded in 2001, has grown into a nationwide organization with over 20,000 members. APAPA has 21 chapters in California, Washington D.C., New York, Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington and Massachusetts. The National Headquarters is located in Sacramento, CA.
Inspire. Engage. Empower.
Through our various core programs and events, we strive to support and lead the way for our future leaders of tomorrow.
Goals
As a grassroots, community-based, non-profit, non-political, non-partisan organization, APAPA focuses on increasing API civic participation at the local, state, and national level through voter registration and education, civic leadership programs including internships and scholarships for high school and college students, fellowship and mentorship for adults leading to appointive, judicial and elective offices.
To achieve the mission and goals, APAPA strives to empower APIs through:
Voter Development
Voter registration / education, town halls, forums, and public media
Leadership Development
Internships, scholarships, fellowship, and membership
Appointments
Judicial and political appointments at local, state and federal levels
Partnership and outreach
to immigrants and diverse communities to provide financial, healthcare, job opportunity, Internet and other services
The Future
APAPA has earned a reputation as a trusted and well-respected organization and is now at the forefront of today’s API leadership and civic engagement movement in America. APAPA has built a solid organizational foundation, with strong and effective programs, and created partnerships with many diverse communities, corporate partners, and government. APAPA looks to the future with a renewed commitment to further strengthen its community foundation and organizational structure and continue to expand nationwide to empower Asian Pacific Islanders across the country to become the local, state, national, and global leaders of tomorrow.
Meet the APAPA Leadership Team
National Governing Board
C.C. Yin
Founder and Chair
C.C. Yin, Founder and Chair, is an established entrepreneur with a heart for serving the community. The Yins are owners of 32 McDonald’s restaurants in Northern California. For the past 30 years, he has been actively involved in a number of organizations and institutions. He has received numerous recognitions and awards at local, state and national levels as a statewide business, civic, political and community leader.
Kenneth Fong
Vice Chair & Treasurer
Kenneth Fong, Ph.D., Vice Chair, and Treasurer, is the Founder and Chairman of Kenson Ventures, LLC, a company that specializes in crafting development strategy for early stage biotech companies. Dr. Fong has held a number of leadership positions over the years. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of California State University (2006-2013).
Victoria Li
National President
Victoria Li has an extensive background in executive leadership in both public and private industry. She has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. She served as Department Director of Watershed Protection & Development Review for City of Austin for 10 years. Before that she was the Executive Director of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and was Permitting Director in charge of the Texas State Air Pollution Permits. Ms. Li has served on numerous boards and commissions including the AISD budget review committee, commissioner of the Water & Waste Water Utility Commission, the City of Austin's Smart Growth Task Force and the Travis County Hospital District Board. She was selected as the Community Health Care Hero by Austin Business Journal in 2009, was awarded the Asian Image Award by Austin Asian American Resource Center in 2014 and was recipient of The Legacy Award by the University of Texas in Austin in 2016. Most recently Ms. Li co-chaired the 2015 bond advisory committee for Austin Community College reviewing a bond proposal of 700 million dollars and chaired the Government Advisory Committee with the Texas Board of Professional Engineers. After retiring from the City, Ms. Li is serving as the National President of APAPA (Asian Pacific Islander for Public Affairs), a national organization that engages and empowers the Asian community in civic leadership activities. She is the President-Elect for the Austin Network of Asian Organizations, a conglomerate of 17 Asian organizations. She also serves on the Board of China Center, ICMA (International City/County Management Association) She currently also volunteers as Senior Policy Adviser for Mayor Adler of City of Austin and City of Qing Dao in China. Ms. Li is also the Principle of JKL Company, a real estate investment company in Austin.
Sandy Chau
National Civic Leadership Chair
Sandy Chau, MBA, National Civic Leadership Chair, has been active in IT business investments since 1997. He was the founding president of the influential Asian American Manufacturing Association (AAMA) in Silicon Valley in 1979 and in 1977 opened Universal Semiconductor, Inc. in San Jose, California. He has been actively involved in various real estate projects in the U.S. and Far East since 1984.
Hsing Kung
National Voter Development Chair and California State Chair
Hsing Kung, Ph.D., National Voter Education/Registration Chair & BAR Chair Emeritus, is a well-respected community leader and a successful entrepreneur. In recent years, Dr. Kung has been devoted to promoting Chinese-American participation in mainstream communities. He participates in community organizations in the Bay Area. Currently, he serves on AACI Advisory Board and Silicon Valley Creates Board.
Dr. Albert Wang
BAR Chair & National Policy Committee Chair
Dr. Albert Wang, MD, Vice-Chair, is an internist and a partner at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic. He is a widely recognized civic and community leader in the Bay Area. Dr. Wang is currently the Chair, Bay Area Region (BAR) and Chair, National Policy Committee.
Michael Kwan
Judge Michael Kwan was appointed in 1998. A graduate of Whittier College School of Law, he received the Quality of Justice Award in 2001. His Domestic Violence Program received the Peace on Earth Award from the SL Area Domestic Violence Advisory Council in 2002. He started one of the nation’s first DUI/Drug Courts in 1998, for which he received the 2008 Utah Governor's Award. Judge Kwan teaches courses across the country for the state, national and international organizations. A past Chair of the Board of Justice Court Judges and member of the Utah Judicial Council, he currently serves on the Utah Substance Abuse Advisory Council, as Chair of the ABA Judicial Education Committee, and as a member of the National Asian Pacific American Judicial Council.
Nelson Huang
Secretary
Nelson Huang, Secretary, is the Founder and CEO of a technology company. He has taught at universities and served as a senior advisor for the State of California and major corporations. Mr. Huang has served on the boards of many companies and organizations. He is the founding member and Chair of the Southern California Region (SCR).
Regina Yin
Honorary Board Member
Born in China and raised in Taiwan, Regina came to America at the age of 23 to pursue her graduate degree in social work. She met C.C. at the university, and the two were married two years later. For 17 years, she served as a Clinical Social Worker in Juvenile Court, Child Protective Service, Mental Health, Geriatric and medical services, and family welfare programs. Regina eventually left the social work field to start a McDonald's franchise with her husband in Oakland. Now, their family runs about 30 McDonald's restaurants in Northern California. They also organized an Asian McDonalds’ networking group to assist other Asian owners of McDonalds’ franchises. Passionate about providing opportunities for Asian Americans to contribute to the future of America, Regina and C.C. started the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association.
National Executive Committee
Michael Kwan
Chair
Victoria Li
Co-Chair
Yen Marshall
National Executive Director
Yen is an Executive MBA Candidate (February 2020) and has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. She resides in Sacramento, home to APAPA’s headquarters. We look forward to Yen helping APAPA grow and continue to empower Asian and Pacific Islander Americans through education, leadership and active participation in civic and public affairs.
Vincent Wang
HP Wang
Andy Li
Bay Area Region (BAR) President
Andy is the founding member and past president of APAPA Tri-Valley Chapter. He puts a tremendous amount of effort to empower API Americans in his community. As a Rotarian, he committed time and money to help people local and worldwide. As an appointed Economic Development Advisory Committee member in San Ramon, he is very active in civic work. Andy received his Bachelors degree from Nankai University and Masters degree from University of Wisconsin at Madison. He has his own business in Healthcare IT for more than 10 years. In his spare time, he likes to travel to places of natural beauty.
Michelle Wang
Northeast Region (NER) Chair
Linda Ng
Central Valley Region (CVR) President
Jacqui Nguyen
Joel Wong
Sean Xiong Yang
Central Valley Region (CVR) Chair
Sean is an imaging specialist in the healthcare industry and has his B.S. in engineering and an MBA from Fresno State University. He is a first generation, Hmong-American and passionate about serving his community. He has been an APAPA Greater Sacramento Chapter board member for more than two years and has been instrumental in growing our central valley region chapters.