Ms. Lagdameo is committed to the social, economic, and political empowerment of marginalized communities including low-income individuals, women and youth. As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, she led the successful struggle to establish the first Asian American Studies Program in the DC metropolitan area. She is a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow, a Presidential Management Fellow and received her Master’s in Public Policy from the New School for Social Research in New York City. Ms. Lagdameo very recently returned from India where she worked for over 2 years with an organization that rescues and rehabilitates women and children survivors of sex trafficking.

Honorees (AAPI appointees) should RSVP to pmehta@advancingequality.org.

Ms. Vaughn holds a master’s degree from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College.

Ms. Tui’one holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Quenga also directs the Pacific Islander Epidemiology Center, a national program housed at GCN, which focuses on collecting, analyzing and reporting on the health status of Pacific Islanders in this country. He also co-directs Kutturan Chamoru Performers, a volunteer group dedicated to learning and promoting the traditional folkdance of the Micronesian Marianas Islands. Mr. Quenga received the Tan Chong Padula “humanitarian of the year” award and the “Maga’lahi” award for “off-island contribution” Guam governor’s award.

Mr. Quenga holds a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University.

While at San Diego State University, Mr. Lepule was one of the co-founders of the Pacific Islander Student Association. As an officer, Mr. Lepule was instrumental in ensuring that the Pacific Islander cultural influences were combined with educational futures of high school students. He helped to coordinate many high school conferences and spoke with many future college students about his experience as a Pacific Islander/Samoan university student.

Mr. Lepule holds a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University.

Mr. Ichinose was a member of the Los Angeles Police Commission’s Hate Crimes Task Force and the APIA Vote! Committee of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council. He also sat on the boards of the Japanese American Citizens League’s Pacific Southwest District and Hapa Issues Forum. Mr. Ichinose holds a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Mr. Choi sits on the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia’s board and runs the independent Virginia Asian Pacific American Roundtable. He was also a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador.

Mr. Choi holds a bachelor’s degree from New York Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Dr. Jeung is the author of “Faithful Generations: Race and New Asian American Churches” as well as articles on race, religion, and community organizing. He is also co-producer and co-director of the documentary “The Oak Park Story,” which details the unlikely housing struggle of a group of multiethnic tenants.

Dr. Jeung holds a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.