MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota woman is now a commissioner working with the White House on issues close to her heart.
KaYing Yang said it was a honor when she was appointed to President Joe Biden's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, or AANHPI.
"It's a lot of work, but it's worth it because it's investing in our communities," she said.
Commissioner Yang said the group will find ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for every the AANHPI community. She said there are seven areas of priorities for the group. Some of their tasks include making recommendations on policies to address anti-Asian bias, finding opportunities to advance inclusion, advocate for policies and practices to include research and equitable data disaggregation regarding AANHPI communities, and strengthening policies and practices to improve language access services to ensure that communities can access federal programs and services.
Commissioner Yang said the advisory commission will have two years to make recommendations recommendations to the interagency working group and executive branch.
"My community is my power, I often say, and that's what I bring to any table and I will bring that same spirit to the commission as well too," Yang said.
Commissioner Yang has been a social justice advocate for more than three decades, building and leading community organizing, public policy engagement and development efforts locally, nationally, and globally. She is also a Hmong refugee who came to the U.S. in 1976 when she was 7 year old.
"My 20 years of work in the nonprofit sector, my lived experiences taught me that I come from a multi-rich cultural and linguistic heritage and that brings an abundance of assets right and unfortunately it is not fully yet harnessed," she said.
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