Dear CAPA Family,

Looking back at 2022, we have a lot to be proud of. We made tremendous progress in furthering CAPA’s mission while keeping each other safe and creating innovative new programming that positions CAPA for continued success. As always, you were the driving force behind our progress, our innovation, and our continued commitment to serving the community while pursuing our mission. I thank each and every one of the board and advisory board members for giving your positive energy and individual talents and each and every one of our members for attending our events and keeping us motivated to do more for you.

We began the year by spending time taking a hard look at CAPA’s mission statement. It has been 22 years since CAPA was founded, and we wanted to check in to see if our mission was still relevant. It still is, and I’d argue, even more, relevant in light of our current environment. CAPA’s Advisory Board members, especially Dr. Sook Wilkinson and Dr. Jamie Hsu, were instrumental in leading us through this exercise.

In the month of May, we hosted our Leadership Summit in celebration of the Asian Pacific Heritage month to highlight the many contributions that Asian Americans and Pacific islanders have made to the economy in our country. Dug Song, formerly co-founder and CEO of Duo Security and now Chief Strategy Officer for Cisco Security, and Jaspreet Singh, Vice President Corporate Services, DTE Energy, shared their journey and experience with leading from their authentic selves, and Linda Akutagawa, President, and CEO of LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics) led a workshop on the same topic. We heard tremendous feedback on this from all of you. The leadership summit we hosted in 2021 on Bridging the Labor Gap with diversity was also a huge success – thank you, Anand Kumar, for the brilliant idea, and Guiqiu Wang for helping us make the connections with the keynote speakers.

Another feather in CAPA’s cap this year was our Splendor of the East at the end of summer, which was also our first ever SOE outdoors. Suman Desaraju pulled off a spectacular event on the shores of a beautiful lake in Stony Creek Metropark, an event that was attended by hundreds of people and truly brought to life our mission to unite the Asian Pacific American community and the community at large through culture and education. A diverse group of extremely talented performances showcased the Asian Pacific heritage through music, song, dance, and cultural attire. We kept the spirit of SOE live with a virtual event in 2021, and this event this year was a great way to bring everyone back together safely after the pandemic.

During the summer, Krishna Chava kicked off CAPA’s Education committee and re-established CAPA’s scholarship program – look for more information on that coming out in January.

Last year, in 2021, Melanie Steele and I talked to over 500 employees at (BCBSM) Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Diversity Forum about Asian Hate, and we continued that series with Lisa Gray and Katherine Lee sharing their personal experiences, stories and advice with the BCBSM group this year. We also partnered with the Asian Indian Women’s Association (AIWA) for International Women’s Day, where we showcased an amazing and diverse panel of women expertly moderated by Anshi Pacha. Representative Padma Kuppa led with the opening keynote, and Grace Lee, Elisheva Mosko, and Dr. Su McKeithen-Polish provided insights into the industries in which they serve and the unique ways in which bias shows up in their world and their advice on how to navigate those circumstances. Lisa Gray had a brilliant idea in 2021 to bring the Taste of Asia to our community through a virtual series where we highlighted multiple cuisines and restaurants, driving business to them during the pandemic that virtual series continued in 2022 and has been a huge hit.

These are important initiatives, and there are many behind the scenes who worked to make things happen – Dina Keeling, who kept our fires fueled by managing our finances, Julie Rosario, who kept us all in order by stepping up to serve as secretary, Sharon Dow and Josie Sanders, who did countless things behind the scenes to make everything a cohesive success, Ryan Rosario, who always has brilliant ideas and keeps the enthusiasm high with his energy, and Al Pacha, who often chooses to remain in the shadows but who is in the forefront of our minds whenever we launch an initiative or program. None of this would be possible without the advice and counsel of two stalwarts on our advisory board – Dr. Aneesa Rashid and Arcie Gemino – they have been our rock through the difficult times and our beacon of light, guidance, and hope, helping us navigate the way to success.

What I am most proud of is the new idea we kicked off to remain relevant beyond just our signature programs through CAPA’s community building series. Dr. Jamie Hsu and I kicked off the Leadership Circle mid-year 2022, and we will continue this elite discussion in January 2023 and through the foreseeable future. Gongju Baek has been working on a CAPA Golf outing that promises to lead to future fundraising opportunities and will officially kick off in the late summer of 2023, and I am beyond excited about that!

When you reflect on everything that we have accomplished in the past two years, with most of it having been achieved in the shadow of the pandemic, I hope that you feel as proud as I do. This team - our CAPA family – has proven that we have the creativity, grit, and passion for our community that can help us overcome many an obstacle to persevere and succeed.

Thank you to the board and the advisory board for your dedication and for all that you do for the community, selflessly and with love.

I wish all of you and your families a happy holiday season. Enjoy this time with your family, friends, and loved ones, and we look forward to continuing CAPA’s mission with the newly elected Executive Board in 2023!

Happy Holidays!

Pina Vyas

President, Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) 2021-22