Part II of our Speed Dating: Get To Know Your Local APIDA Community Orgs series, a project headed by Catherine Kim, our Diversity Liaison, and Christopher Liu, our External Community Chair.
INTRODUCTION
Speed Dating: Get To Know Your Local APIDA Community Orgs is a new initiative where we will be interviewing APIDA focused community organizations and APIDA professionals around the Los Angeles area and sharing with you all the most exciting highlights! We aim to showcase the organization to USC students, as well as ask about topics that we think are most pressing to USC students right now: ranging from work/volunteering opportunities, APIDA race relations, professional development and how COVID-19 has been affecting org/business operations. We will be posting these on the APASA website as a yearlong project, so you can look forward to them here!
“CONTRARY TO WHAT MANY PEOPLE MIGHT THINK, VOTING IS NOT AN INTIMIDATING PROCESS. RATHER, HAVING THE RIGHT AND THE ACCESS TO VOTE CONSTITUTES THE PLATFORM THROUGH WHICH WE CAN UTILIZE OUR VOICES TO RAISE AWARENESS ON THE ISSUES CRITICAL TO THE APIDA COMMUNITY.
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Nancy Yap currently serves as the executive director of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), where she is in charge of overseeing the various programming initiatives focusing on political and leadership development in the APIDA community. A graduate of New York University, Nancy has been a prominent leader and advocate for the APIDA community throughout the duration of her professional career, such as serving as the former Vice President of Development for LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics). Currently, in addition to CAUSE, Nancy also is the President of the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council, having co-founded the Community Feeding Community and Haunted Little Tokyo programs.
On a radiant, cheery morning in September, I had the chance to conduct a virtual interview with Nancy over zoom to discuss what CAUSE has been up to, how Nancy has been adjusting to her new role at CAUSE (p.s. It had been just over two months since she was appointed as director!), and some future goals and expectations that CAUSE has in mind.
7 QUESTIONS WITH CAUSE
Q: Hi, Nancy! Absolutely lovely to meet you, albeit over Zoom due to the current circumstances. To begin, can you give our readers a little introduction of yourself (name, position at CAUSE, what your everyday tasks/role looks like)?
A: Hello, everyone! My name is Nancy Yap, and I am currently serving as the executive director at CAUSE. I actually was just appointed director in July, so I’m still in the process of transitioning into my role. So far, I’ve mainly helped coordinate and plan upcoming events for CAUSE and getting to know all the amazing staff!
Q: As the new executive director of CAUSE, what do you believe is CAUSE’s mission, and what does that look like within the broader LA community?
A: CAUSE, which stands for the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment, really strives to advance the political and civic empowerment of the APIDA community through nonpartisan voter outreach, training, and education as well as leadership development.
CAUSE was founded in 1993, so we’ve been around for a while. Our board members and staff are from diverse backgrounds and professions consisting of professional, business, community and political leaders. While we are predominantly based in the LA area, our events are designed for the greater Southern California region, and we do have a significant influence and outreach within the greater Southern California community.
Q: Can you tell us about some major projects and initiatives that have or are currently being launched by CAUSE?
A: CAUSE puts on a wide variety of events and workshops throughout the year as a part of our VOTE (Voter Outreach, Training, and Education) initiatives. Back in February prior to the start of lockdown, CAUSE hosted a “Make Us Count” press conference with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, where we discussed voting in the upcoming elections, availability of in-language ballots to encourage voter participation in the APIDA community, and how the public and non-profit sectors can work together to increase voter turnout. In the nearby future, we are planning to hold more press conferences and events in a virtual format, especially as it comes closer to election season!
Another prominent event that CAUSE hosts is our annual gala, which is our largest fundraiser of the year and the premier APIDA event for those interested in politics and community. Typically, we have more than 100 APIDA federal, state, and local officials from all over California in attendance, all dedicated towards advancing the APIDA community’s participation in the civic and political process. The theme for this year is “Let’s Make It Count.” The year 2020 is critical for more than 22 million Asian Pacific Americans. As an organization that has relentlessly been working to empower the APIDA community for over 25 years, CAUSe is really here to lead and influence the civic process and share the message that there is power in being counted. Unfortunately, we had to temporarily postpone the gala to a later date due to COVID, but we’re nevertheless excited to celebrate our work virtually meanwhile!
Q: Given the unprecedented times, many industries, especially nonprofits, have critically suffered from the impacts of COVID. How has CAUSE adapted to the COVID pandemic?
A: I would say that CAUSE has really done a phenomenal job in adapting and shifting all of our programming and events to a virtual, online format. For instance, over the summer, we host leadership development programs for both students and industry professionals, all of which have been conducted through zoom virtually without any significant problems (although we do miss being in-person and seeing everyone’s faces). Furthermore, all of our traditionally held networking and workshops have also shifted to an online platform, and our expectation is that we will continue to utilize the online platform throughout fall as well.
Since CAUSE is comprised of relatively younger staff, the shift from in-person to online has thus been pretty successful. However, as my staff and I always say, with everything now being online, it really made us more conscious of the significance of being in-person. You know, having the ability to conduct direct, one-on-one conversations can add this depth of comfort and warmth to an encounter and exchange while helping to convey the message in a more interpersonal way.
Q: With the 2020 Presidential Election just two months away, what do you think are some effective ways to increase political/voting participation within the APIDA community? Any foreseeable obstacles?
A: One major obstacle I see at the polls is translation. The lack of access to in-language ballots at the polls serves to impede and intimidate many APIDA individuals from voting. Personally, many of the people that I’ve met said that they are discouraged from voting because they are not able to understand the election ballots and materials, most of which are not offered in any other languages besides English and Spanish. Therefore, by providing access to a greater array of in-person, non-English ballots, we can help empower more APIDA individuals to get out there and vote because every vote, voice, and opinion counts.
Q: Are there any upcoming opportunities for students to volunteer, collaborate, or intern at CAUSE?
A: Absolutely! We are always looking for volunteers and community engagement interns. For anyone interested, more information can be found on our website, and there’s actually a direct form there that you can fill out to receive a direct follow-up email with more information from one of our staff members. Also, CAUSE hosts the CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) every summer, which is a six-week internship program for college undergraduates focusing on developing a pipeline of civic leadership for the APIDA community. Through CLA, students are exposed to thought leaders, policymakers, and the issues of the day, while gaining a deeper awareness of the civic issues facing the APA community in California.
Q: Lastly, are there any future goals, plans, and initiatives that CAUSE has in mind?
A: CAUSE is really here as a platform to encourage, empower, and inspire more people in the APIDA community to become involved in the political and civic spheres through voting and thus make their voices heard. While voting can definitely seem and feel like an intimidating process to many, it truly is not, and by working on initiatives to reduce the barrier to voting (e.g. providing access to more in-language ballots and election materials), we can ensure that every person, every voice, and every vote is counted.
Thank you so much once again to Nancy Yap & CAUSE for sitting down and doing this interview with us! I hope everyone was able to learn more about the wonderful work that some of our local APIDA organizations have been conducting, and stay tuned for more spotlights coming soon!