Upcoming Events

The Next Normal – Building a Just and Equal Future for All Women in Washington State

Thursday April 22, from 5pm to 6pm PST

Please join us for this important conversation to learn more about the needs and concerns of Asian American and Pacific Islander women and what we can do to help stop the violence and support them moving forward.

Register today.

Panelists

Grace Huang, J.D., is the Director of Policy at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. For more than 25 years, Huang has worked with domestic and sexual violence survivors, both by providing direct legal representation and by working on statewide public policy as an advocate to improve domestic violence services and increase protections for victims. These policies include advances in victim services, housing laws, employment leave and child welfare. Huang has also worked on several federal policies, including the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Services and Prevention Act. Prior to working on public policy, she practiced immigration law in private law practice and represented low-income individuals in family law, domestic violence, immigration and economic support matters in a statewide civil legal services organization.

Ms. Huang co-chairs the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors and serves on the steering committee of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. She serves on the Washington State Women’s Commission, and on the Sexual and Domestic Violence committee of the Gender and Justice Commission of the Washington Supreme Court. She is the recipient of several awards, including the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence 20/20 Vision Award; the 2000 Cynthia Gillespie Award from the Northwest Women’s Law Center, which recognized her work advancing legal rights for women, and Golden Door Award from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in 1999.

Toshiko Hasegawa was appointed in October 2018 by Governor Jay Inslee as Executive Director of the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, becoming the youngest woman of color appointed to the Governor’s cabinet and youngest Director in agency history. There, she works with twelve appointed Commissioners to advise the Governor, state legislature and all state agencies on the issues, laws and programs impacting Asian and Pacific Islander communities statewide.

She has served as a member of the Governor’s Subcabinet on Business Diversity, the Disaster Resiliency Work Group, the Equity Office Task Force, and the State’s Deadly Force Task Force. Prior to her current role she served the public countywide as Communications/Outreach Manager at King County’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, where she helped implement meaningful police accountability measures. Toshiko has served the public in legislative offices at the county, state and federal levels. Today, she continues to center civil rights and social justice, and enjoys being present in the communities she serves.

Toshiko is a 4^th-generation Japanese American and lifelong resident of the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Seattle where she lives with her husband Michael and newborn daughter Keiko. She holds an M.A. in Criminal Justice from Seattle University with a specialization in Investigative Criminology.

Kim-Khánh Văn is a Renton City Councilmember. Kim-Khánh was born in Vietnam, raised by a mother who took her four children and left a dangerous country when Kim-Khánh was six years old and fled to a refugee camp in the Philippines. Eventually her family received sponsorship from a wonderful church, and civic and charitable organizations in the Seattle area. When she was able, she took advantage of leadership and tutoring programs made possible by non-profit organizations and worked throughout high school and college.

As the primary translator for her family, Councilmember Văn learned how the human services system was designed to help families and this led to her interest in law. After attending the University of Washington, she became the first in her family to graduate from a four-year-university. She then attended and graduated from the University of Dayton, School of Law.  Her upbringing, combined with the kindness and generosity of charitable organizations has developed in her a passion for justice and “paying-it-forward”.

Since moving to Renton with her husband and their two children, Kim-Khánh has been an active member of the Mayor’s Inclusion Task Force, Renton Rotary, Northwest Immigrant’s Rights Project, Seattle Stand Down veteran’s group, Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment, Washington State Association for Justice and the American Immigration Lawyers Association among others.

Moderator

Dr Nina Kim Hanson, is a mixed race mother of two and has a doctorate in Women Studies from UW Seattle. As a bridge builder, anti racist activist, and educator, she has served alongside BIPOC communities in the greater Seattle region since 2006. She is a diversity/equity consultant, small business owner, and is the founder of Let Love Lead Podcast about anti racism.

Reserve your spot by registering today.