Here is a comprehensive report of CAPAA Commissioners’ activities between the months of November 2016 and January 2017:

Commissioner Dickinson
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Asian Bar Association of Washington Meeting 12/1/2016 N/A
Minority and Justice Commission Meeting 12/2/2016 Reduce Legal Financial Obligations, outreach to students, meet with other legal leaders to continue supporting the work of the Commission.
Asian Bar Association of Washington Annual Meeting 12/9/2016 N/A
Commissioner Dinh
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
World Café Cross-Cultural Dialogue 11/29/2016 Discussed ways for local government to be included in this conversation and support more cross-cultural dialogue about intergenerational conflicts.
Little Saigon Clean Up 12/4/2016 How can small business owners be more involved in local government? How can small businesses voice their concerns? How can there be more support for maintenance of cultural districts like Little Saigon?
Meeting with Community Leader 12/12/2016 Discuss ways to educate the community about mental health issues.  Ongoing discussions to identify content and format.
Meeting with Community Member 12/12/2016 Provided information about CAPAA and ways the community can be involved.  Provided information about higher education and pathways to increased community involvement.
Meeting with Community Member 1/18/2017 Provided information about CAPAA and the process for community members to apply to be a commissioner.  Discussed issues and concerns in the Cambodian community.
Commissioner Finau

N/A

Commissioner Gaur
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Hate Crime Info Session 1/12/2017 Indian community has been subjected to hate mail after the presidential election. This has become a serious matter for the community to address. I believe other Asian and Pacific American communities might be under similar pressure. I spoke to Bellevue police to address the issue about the Indian community as well as other communities.
Community Conversation on Mental Health – Log Kya Sochenge (What will people think?) 1/19/2017 Encourage other communities to hold similar community conversations.
Commissioner Guerrero
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Pacific Islander Coalition Meeting 12/1/2016 The purpose of this group is to begin a collaborative partnership between Pacific Islanders, PI organizations, Multnomah County Health Department, and other partners to start an intentional conversation around Pacific Islander culture and community, to include SW Washington. There were leaders from respective Pacific Islander cultures that represented Oregon and SW Washington. The Coalition will be an advisory committee to our work at the County Health Dept. We will discuss social and health-related subjects from an equity and social justice lens.
Meeting with Council for the Homeless 12/29//2016 I met with the Executive Director of the Council for the Homeless of Clark County, Mr. Andy Silver. He wants to meet with the commission, as he has met with other WA State Commissions, to discuss the disparities for AAPIs with housing and to make some policy and legislation changes and amendments. He has also reached out to connect with me to provide cultural awareness and competency training for his staff when providing services to AAPIs.
Educator Workforce Development Workgroup Meeting 11/16/2016 The purpose of this workgroup is to focus on the implementation of Washington’s Ensuring Equitable Access to Excellent Educators Plan (the Equity Plan), the implementation teacher shortage bill (E2SSB 6455) and educator workforce development under the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in Washington state.

At this meeting, the main focus topics were on Teacher Shortage Problem – overview of teacher retention and mobility; status of SB 6455 implementation; review of educator workforce legislative proposals. Materials will be sent to the Education Committee for review.
Commissioner Gurung
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
United Front for Standing Rock Fundraiser 11/26/2016 Learned about Standing Rock – their struggles, ceremonies, the importance of water, land, and their traditions.
Nepali Community Education Roundtable Meeting 12/3/2016 Organized a meeting for the Nepali community to hear from the Office of the Education Ombuds about the World Language Credit program and other resources.
Commissioner Nguyen
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Civic Education Coalition Meeting 12/11/2016 There is a need to increase civic education in public schools.
APIC Meeting 1/18/2017 There is a need for an ethnic community center in Thurston County.
Commissioner Pen
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Attended the 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration at the Tacoma Convention & Trade Center 1/16/2017 N/A
Khmer Student Association NW Conference at the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center 1/21/2017 Spoke to 100 Khmer students from UW Bothell, UW Tacoma, Western Washington University, Washington State University, Portland State University, Oregon State University, Oregon University, and Ohio State University. The students were grateful to hear my perspective as a Khmer parent.
Commissioner Sinclair
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Presentation 12/14/2016 Cultural competency in healthcare is needed to address health disparities.
Grant Application 1/18/2017 Grant application to offer a culturally tailored diabetes self-management education program to Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in Washington and Arkansas.
Commissioner Tufono
Activity
Hosted Da Coconut Wireless Radio Show – Serving the Pacific Islander community through cultural music, special events, and public service announcements.
Conference call with CAPAA Executive Board
Meeting with City of Lynnwood Mayor Smith to advise on API small businesses and distributing city resource information.
Participated with CHOICES youth mentoring program
Commissioner Vue
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Planning Meeting 12/21/2016 Goals of the retreat are to build relationships and rapport as well as planning actionable items in subcommittees.
CAPAA Education Committee Meeting 12/27/2016 Work plan will be submitted to staff.
Commissioner Wada
Activity Date Issues & Recommendations
Department of Transportation Conference 12/1/2016 Workforce issue at DOT in the engineering department.  We need to work closely with this agency to ensure equal opportunity is applied to intern or entry level position in the engineering department, especially since 40% of their engineers are facing retirement within the next ten years.
Health Disparities Council meeting 12/14/2016 This was the last quarterly meeting. One of the issues discussed was the diabetic epidemic.   The council will continue studying prevention and provide education to the community.
Korean Counseling Service Center 12/27/2016 Needing funding support for mental health issues in the Korean community.  Will continue to monitor the need and help guide the KCSC staff with resources.
Discussion with staff at the Department of Health 1/4/2017 Scheduled an educational event regarding health disparity issues affecting women in Washington State. The targeted audience is members of the Korean Intermarried Women’s Association.
Radio Hankook – Community education through radio interview 1/9/2017 N/A
Senior Housing – Community Life Foundation 1/17/2017 Language and cultural competency training needed for staff in affordable housing for seniors.