5 minute read
CULTURE
Hmong, Denver
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Connected Culturists
These community influencers are preserving and sharing Asian culture like there’s no tomorrow, especially encouraging young people to keep the traditions of Asian cultures alive today and for years to come.
Namita Khanna Nariani
Yangmee (she/her) co-founded MAI (pronounced ‘my’), which stands for Making An Impact, to present more opportunities to the Hmong community. The organization recently released its first e-magazine highlighting Colorado’s Hmong community (found at: iam-mai.org). The intercultural guide was published by Adams County.
Yangmee is also a board member with the National Lao-Hmong Memorial Foundation, which works to to remember the Lao-Hmong’s sacrifices in the Secret War. She is a founding board member with the Asian Chamber Foundation and a board member for Colorado Dragon Boat. She is a life insurance agent who teaches others how to start their own life insurance business, and she also helps create courses and content for life coaches. Connect with Yangmee at: yangmeelor@ffsmail.com,
betterfuturefinances.com, or iam-mai.org.
Sara Moore 50
Sara (she/her) is the Executive Director of Colorado Dragon Boat, the umbrella organi- Japanese, zation that encompasses the Colorado Dragon Mixed Race, Boat Festival, Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festi- Golden val, and AAPI Emerging Leaders Program. Sara’s passions include rock climbing, hiking, and learning about her Japanese heritage. She can talk on end about her grandfather, Masamichi (Mac) Suzuki who was interned during WWII as a nisei at Tule Lake, California. He later served on the ABCC (Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission) in Hiroshima, Japan, as a OBGYN studying fertility in the victims of the atomic bombs. Connect with Sara at: sara@cdbf.org, cdbf.
org, or @COdragonboat.
Phong Vo
As leader of the Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center (CACHC) and a Deputy with the Denver Sheriff’s Department, Phong (he/him) has dedicated his life in service to the community. Phong started CACHC as a nonprofit in 2005 and has since been keeping the culture of dragon and lion dancing alive and thriving in the Denver community. Through his enduring efforts and vision, the center functions as a safe 51 space for youth to learn, perform, and compete in dragon and lion dancing. As part of his vision, all training and equipment is provided at no cost to ensure Vietnamese, that there are no barriers to community youth having the opportunity to
Denver learn about the art and culture. Connect with Phong at: @CACHCdragonlion
(Facebook) or cachc.dragon.lion (Instagram).
Namita (she/her) has a Bachelors in Architecture from Mumbai and a masters degree from the University of Colorado Denver, but a heart and soul of a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She founded Mudra Dance Studio over 25 years ago through which she passes down Indian dance traditions and uses dance as a teaching tool in schools and festivals to promote diversity and inclusivity. Her influence has spanned decades, generations, and borders. She empowers young people —boys and girls— to be authentic and confident. She rejuvenates older people—professionals—to rediscover creative expression. Connect with Namita at: namita@mudradancestudio.
us, mudradancestudio.us, or @mudradance. Indian,
Aurora 52
Pasha Ripley 53
Korean, Caucasian Denver
Born in Wonju into a family who escaped from North to South Korea, Pasha (she/her) immigrated to the US as a toddler. Growing up, she hid being queer from family fearing judgement and shame.
Now Pasha is the co-founder of Parasol Patrol, which protects youth from hate groups that show up at LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC events. Parasol Patrol uses umbrellas to shield kids from seeing signs, angry faces and ear protection to muffle taunts shouted at them. Pasha is proud to organize communities showing kids that they are loved not in spite of who they are but because of who they are. Connect with Pasha at: pasha@parasolpatrol.org or
parasolpatrol.org. Taiwanese,
Yeong (he/they) is a founder of Denver Asian Collective and be- 54Denver lieves that Asians need to consolidate power, especially here in Denver. A first generation Taiwanese-American, they moved here from Dallas expecting a safer, more progressive environment and instead found that racism in Denver hides under a veil of progressive language and yard signs. They’d like to make Denver feel a little safer. For income, Yeong builds collaborative partnerships with Fortune 500 companies; he seeks to do the same between the various Asian organizations and intersections in Denver, so we can come together as a community and collect our power toward Asian solidarity greater than the sum of its parts. Connect with Yeong at: yeong@denverasiancollective.com.
LGBTQIA+ Innovators
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersexed, asexual, and pansexual LGBTQIA+ AAPIs have been on the forefront of movements for survivor advocacy, LGBTQIA+ liberation, bodily autonomy, and sex positivity. They have been instrumental in achieving civil rights progress in the US. We celebrate the intersection of AAPIness and queerness by recognizing the contributions these AAPI innovators bring to our communities, across the diverse intersections within the AAPI experience.
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Kat
Chinese, Denver Kat Ling (she/they) is a queer, Asian Ling Laila American leader and the Interim Chief Ireland Executive Officer for Moonshot edVentures, a nonprofit dedicated to surfacing and supporting a diverse pipeline of leaders to launch innovative schools and programs in Metro Denver. In her role, Kat leads a team of three to support a 68-leader network that is >80% people of color and >60% women and non-binary. Prior to Moonshot, Kat worked at Teach For America helping found the Arkansas region, taught fourth grade in rural Mississippi, and served in various leadership capacities for GLSEN, a national
LGBTQ+ educational equity organization. Kat attended Cornell University and received a Masters through the University of Arkansas. Connect with
Kat at: linkedin.com/in/kat-ling-34981620. Laila (she/her) is a retired 12 year Army veteran, who serves on the Board of Directors for Minority Veterans of America. Born and raised in Hawaii, Laila dedicated much of her work by making a career in public speaking through advocacy and activism for LGBTQIA youth, transmilitary members and veterans, and AAPI equity. She talks about the intersections of being transgender, female, a person of color, a veteran, AAPI, Hispanic and a spouse to a transgender service member serving in the military. Laila and her husband were recognized as the one of the first transgender service members to publicly transition in the military before the trans 56 military ban was lifted in 2016. Connect with Laila at: @lailaireland (TwitHawaiian,
