February 2021 Newsletter
Lunar New Year Celebration 2021!
CAPA BOARD 2021
Pina Vyas Elected as Next CAPA President
Dynamic, empowered, and with a passion for service - Pina Vyas is the next leader from the APA community to take over the mantle of President of the Council of Asian Pacific Americans! She succeeds Ryan Rosario in this role, whose term concluded this past December.

A member of CAPA since 2013, Vyas first served as Publicity Chair for the organization before taking on the additional role of Marketing and Communications Chair. In subsequent years, Vyas was asked by Bob Riparip to be CAPA’s Executive Director and was elected to this position. During the presidency of Dr. Aneesa Rashid, Pina became her President-Elect but unfortunately, a hiatus from the organization became necessary when Vyas was assigned a role at DTE’s Fermi Nuclear Power Plant. Currently, Pina is Manager of Joint Use Operations at DTE Energy where she is responsible for facilitating telephone and cable companies attaching to DTE assets and infrastructure.

Of East-Asian descent and having lived in England, India, Singapore and now in the United States, her international experience embodies CAPA’s background of diversity and cultural exchange...
“I wanted to get more involved in the community and especially strengthen and deepen my connections with the South East Asian community here in Michigan, having been transplanted here,”
Vacant Roles

Treasurer
On behalf of the Executive Committee, we invite nominations from all of you to fill vacant positions on the board. We have the capacity to add up to 10 new board members. Our basic criteria is that board members should have volunteering experience, preferably with a community organization in a significant role. He/she should be able to devote about 5-10 hours per month to activities related to CAPA. The ability to help bring in donations through their network and contacts is a definite advantage.

We would like to have board members that hold or have held professional positions in medicine, legal, accounting, social work, marketing, or IT fields, however, this is not a requirement. We welcome board members irrespective of their age, gender, race and ethnicity (understanding of South Asian culture is required). 

We are also looking to fill the open position of the Treasurer of the CAPA Board. This is a position on the Executive Committee and is a position of great honor and responsibility.
Please reach out to us at president@capa-mi.org, if you would like to nominate yourself or someone you know. 
Gongju Zoe Baek
Vice President | Membership
Melanie Steele
Executive Director
Kappu Raghunathan
Secretary
Daniel R Moen
Communications
& Marketing
Eleonor Jenks
Community Services
Lavinia Mateo
Community Services
Co-Chair
Ryan Rosario
Nominations | Fund-Raising
Joseph Paul Pacis Javier
Communications
& Marketing Co-Chair
| Publicity
Nikhil Sabharwal
Publicity Co-Chair
Paul Hardwoodward
Publicity Co-Chair
Suman Desaraju
Cultural Director
Al-Azhar Pacha
Webmaster
Armeen Mistry
Director
Not Pictured

Van Ong
Community Services Co-Chair

Dr. Su McKeithen-Polish
Education

Julie Rosario
Education Co-Chair

Josie Sanders
Membership Co-Chair
Not Pictured (cont.)

Justin Hall
Youth Co-Chair

Anshi Pacha
Youth Co-Chair

Akiko Cox
Director

Anand Kumar
Director
Daniel Frederick, President of Wayne State Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity with Eleonor Jenks, CAPA Director of Community Services, and Joseph Paul Javier, CAPA Director of Public Relations
Helping Families in Need through CAPA Cares
Service to the local community is one of the pillars of the Council of Asian Pacific Americans. To ring in the New Year and spread holiday cheer CAPA and our partner sponsors reached out to seven APA families across Michigan that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Whether from lost work because of the lockdown or because a loved one was diagnosed with COVID-19, these families hailed from different APA communities under CAPA’s umbrella: Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Hmong. Each of these families received $250 each to help them during these trying times...
CAPA Splendor of the East 2021
Staying home and staying safe in 2020 meant we had to cancel so many of our plans to share our talents. The CAPA board is pleased to announce that SOE 2021 will be happening virtually this year and we are so excited to start putting together a fantastic show! Show theme and audition information will be announced SOON, so please start forming your teams, planning your acts, and getting ready to be a part of a wonderful program!
 
If you have any questions, please reach out to CAPA Cultural Committee Chair, Suman Desaraju at suman@capa-mi.org

EVENTS COMING UP
Virtual 18th Annual East-West Business Connection:
Disruptions: Opportunities of Growth

Wednesday March 3, 2021

Cost:
Member Ind. Registration: $80.00
Future Member Ind. Registration: $105.00
Member Exh Table (Incl 2 Reg): $325.00
Future Member Exh Table (Incl 2 Reg): $450.00
*No refund

APACC's global supplier diversity matchmaking event attracts nearly 350 attendees including more than 50 Corporate buyers who will meet virtually with minority business owners (W/MBEs) for specific procurement needs.
 
One on One Business Connection Networking
One on One networking provides attendees the opportunity to participate in random interactions. Much like speed networking, this is a great tool to mingle. Networkers will be matched with other attendees and have the opportunities to create business connections.
 
Exhibit Booths
Attendees can enter booths and interact live through videos with exhibitors as well as through text chat, all controlled by the exhibitors. Exhibitors can embed rich content into their booths including videos from YouTube or Vimeo, social media links, websites, and more.
 
All paid attendees will receive a copy of our Lexicon which contains the company and contact information of all event participants.
 
* Cutoff date to be included in the Lexicon is Friday, February 19, 2021.

For Sponsorship opportunities, please email apacc@apacc.net
To attend as a Buyer, please contact Leonie Teichman at events@apacc.net
Podcasts: A Dialogue To Unity
Unfiltered Identi-Tea the Podcast
APIA Vote - MI just launched Unfiltered Identi-Tea in partnership with Dan Moen bringing together the APIA community and allies to have deep conversations surrounding topics that focus on issues that impact the APIA community. Looking for participants for the upcoming topic CULTURAL APPROPRIATION recording on February 16th, 2021 for our March episode!
3rd Paradigm

In a world that feels so isolated and divided, CAPA Communications & Marketing Chair, Dan Moen, has been pioneering a new podcast series called 3rd Paradigm with his show partner, Sterling.

Together they bring on guests from all over the world and have round table dialogue over heavy and difficult topics. Guests are allowed to use a fake name for privacy.

Done completely remote from the comfort of home. They are live on Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Be sure to like, share, ad subscribe!
Organizations You Can Help
Welcome to the first newsletter from the Protect Michigan Commission, the bipartisan effort to ensure that everyone in the state of Michigan who wants the COVID-19 vaccine gets one.

The Protect Michigan Commission (PMC), established under Executive Order 2020-193 has life-saving work ahead of it. This diverse group of leaders from across the state is tasked with educating and empowering Michigan residents about the approved COVID-19 vaccine. PMC will work with communities across the state to heighten public awareness about the vaccine and to overcome hesitancy about receiving the vaccination.

Yesterday, Governor Whitmer announced that over one million approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Michigan. This means Michigan now ranks 7th nationwide for vaccines distributed...
APIA Scholarship & MICH.GOV COVID-19 UPDATE

PNAM donated face shields and visors to Maple Manor of Novi and to Four Seasons Nursing and Rehab Center. We also conducted virtual Seminar on Dementia and Brain Health to our Filipino Senior Citizens.
Resources to Fight Racism
List of Contacts & Resources 

Eastern Michigan University - Center of Health Disparities Innovations and Studies 
 
Padma Kuppa, State Representative  
517-373-1783

Chris Matus, Regional Director for State Senator Gary Peters 
313-318-5770

Stephen Zannetti, Licensed Banker, Citizens Bank  
 
Department of Attorney General’s Hate Crimes Unit

HateCrimes@Michigan.gov 
313-456-0200
 
Call this number if you are a victim of a hate crime or have credible information about a hate crime
OK2SAY App  
The app for students to download and confidently speak out when they are concerned about their safety or safety of others.

Downloadable on Apple and Android devices
Sign the petition to Educating Our Children On Racism Throughout the School System
COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance
(MIOSHA resources)
Work Plan template mentioned by Fayrouz Sadd
Global Detroit Website - for translated material and entrepreneurial support for APA immigrants
SUNandMOON: A Story of Love So Big
It Creates an Eclipse
One day the Sun catches a glimpse of the beautiful Moon,
and he falls in love. But the Moon is night, and the Sun is day. How can they ever meet?Here’s a clue…whenever you see an eclipse, know that the Sun is with his love, the Moon.Welcome to the first children’s picture book by internationally recognized artist...
Have Your Graduate Featured on CAPA’s Social Media!
Do you know a student who is graduating from high school or college? CAPA would like to honor them with a feature on our social media. Send a photo of your graduate with their name, school, program/degree, and their plans after graduation to newsletter@capa-mi.org.
Some photos displayed provided through istock and not owned by CAPA & affiliates.