Aloha to the Director
There are some changes afoot at API Equality-LA. We’re happy to announce the departure of Jonipher as the director of API Equality-LA and welcome two API Equality-LA members who’ll be taking on new staff roles. Read on past the break for the full statements.
Here’s the letter from Jonipher, the outgoing director:
Dear API Equality-LA Volunteers and Friends,
Three years ago, I joined an incredible group of people doing amazing work in the API community to help defeat Prop 8. It was inspiring to see the strength of the relationships developed among this coalition and disappointing to witness the passing of a divisive constitutional amendment. Nonetheless, we picked up the pieces and did our best to move forward. Since then, API Equality-LA has grown in leaps and bounds. We doubled and tripled our budget, hired new staff members and developed new leadership. We are now the largest API LGBT organization in the country! I was proud to count myself first as a Steering Committee member and co-chair of the Faith Community and eventually as the Founding Director of API Equality-LA.
I could go on about the projects and programs that our amazing volunteers and staff have implemented, but at the end of the day, it’s about the hearts that have been touched and lives transformed because we exist. It’s about empowering API LGBT people and making allies out of adversaries. It is about education and increasing cultural sensitivity within our diverse communities. All this because of your diligence and perseverance. You are my hero! I am also indebted to Brian Nguyen, who has worked long hours and has motivated so many to join the movement. We are blessed with so many talented young people who are discovering the wonderful world of activism! Brian is officially our longest tenured Community Organizer and has done an incredible job keeping things together behind the scenes.
I will miss working for API Equality-LA, but know you are in good hands with Eileen Ma as my successor and Tommy Tseng as the new Program Manager. I also know that we will still be a part of the same equality movement wherever I go and we will keep working to make sure we achieve our vision of a society that truly celebrates the loves and lives of all people. Aloha means hello and goodbye. Until we meet again, may we continue to strive for justice and equality.
Aloha,
Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong
Director, API Equality-LA
Here’s the official statement from our organizational co-chairs:
During this past year, our organization has been very fortunate to have Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong – a strong, smart, and tireless leader – as our inaugural Director. It is with great sadness that we now must announce Jonipher’s departure later this month as he sets off to fulfill his lifelong calling to become the minister of the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu. We can only celebrate his decision to answer this call, as it is in keeping with his professional training and deepest personal aspirations. And we are thankful that he has devoted this past year to providing the stability, direction and focus that have so boosted API Equality-LA’s success and the growth of our staff, volunteer base, internship program, and attendance at both meetings and special events. He also has helped us grow in intangible ways, by developing our mission, clarifying our vision, and enhancing the commitment of our membership beyond campaign work related to a specific ballot initiative. He has played a key role in forging closer, collaborative relationships with our Northern California counterpart and other people of color LGBT organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area. Our finances are solid, with important new revenue streams and solid commitments from individual donors now sustaining our work. Many of these accomplishments are the result of Jonipher’s efforts. His eloquence and passion have inspired many in our organization, and helped guide our priorities and approach after Prop 8. To say we will miss Jonipher’s warmth, generosity, good humor, and committed leadership is an enormous understatement. We so appreciate all that he has given to the organization and cannot thank him enough.Jonipher, we wish you every happiness and success as you begin your new adventure back in your home community of Hawaii!
While we are sad to say farewell to Jonipher, we are excited that he will be passing the reins to another long-time member of the API Equality-LA family. Eileen Ma has served on our Steering Committee and as the co-chair of our Outreach/Recruitment Committee for several years. She comes to us from the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, where she has been the Campaign Director for the past three years. Eileen has over 17 years of experience in fundraising, community organizing, field work, and coalition-building, having worked at a range of community-based agencies, including the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, the UCLA Labor Center, SEIU Local 399, the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute, and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. As we prepare to welcome our dynamic and dedicated new Director, we appreciate our good fortune at having such a talented and experienced leader to build upon Jonipher’s great achievements and to guide the organization’s next phase of growth and effectiveness.
Marshall Wong & Doreena Wong
Co-Chairs, API Equality-LA
We welcome Tommy as he takes on his new role and look forward to working with Eileen when she joins us in August.There are some changes afoot at API Equality-LA. We’re happy to announce the departure of Jonipher as the director of API Equality-LA and welcome two API Equality-LA members who’ll be taking on new staff roles. Read on past the break for the full statements.
Here’s the letter from Jonipher, the outgoing director:
Dear API Equality-LA Volunteers and Friends,
I could go on about the projects and programs that our amazing volunteers and staff have implemented, but at the end of the day, it’s about the hearts that have been touched and lives transformed because we exist. It’s about empowering API LGBT people and making allies out of adversaries. It is about education and increasing cultural sensitivity within our diverse communities. All this because of your diligence and perseverance. You are my hero! I am also indebted to Brian Nguyen, who has worked long hours and has motivated so many to join the movement. We are blessed with so many talented young people who are discovering the wonderful world of activism! Brian is officially our longest tenured Community Organizer and has done an incredible job keeping things together behind the scenes.
I will miss working for API Equality-LA, but know you are in good hands with Eileen Ma as my successor and Tommy Tseng as the new Program Manager. I also know that we will still be a part of the same equality movement wherever I go and we will keep working to make sure we achieve our vision of a society that truly celebrates the loves and lives of all people. Aloha means hello and goodbye. Until we meet again, may we continue to strive for justice and equality.
Aloha,
Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong
Director, API Equality-LA
Here’s the official statement from our organizational co-chairs:
During this past year, our organization has been very fortunate to have Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong – a strong, smart, and tireless leader – as our inaugural Director. It is with great sadness that we now must announceJonipher’s departure later this month as he sets off to fulfill his lifelong calling to become the minister of the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu. We can only celebrate his decision to answer this call, as it is in keeping with his professional training and deepest personal aspirations. And we are thankful that he has devoted this past year to providing the stability, direction and focus that have so boosted API Equality-LA’s success and the growth of our staff, volunteer base, internship program, and attendance at both meetings and special events. He also has helped us grow in intangible ways, by developing our mission, clarifying our vision, and enhancing the commitment of our membership beyond campaign work related to a specific ballot initiative. He has played a key role in forging closer, collaborative relationships with our Northern California counterpart and other people of color LGBT organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area. Our finances are solid, with important new revenue streams and solid commitments from individual donors now sustaining our work. Many of these accomplishments are the result of Jonipher’s efforts. His eloquence and passion have inspired many in our organization, and helped guide our priorities and approach after Prop 8. To say we will miss Jonipher’s warmth, generosity, good humor, and committed leadership is an enormous understatement. We so appreciate all that he has given to the organization and cannot thank him enough.Jonipher, we wish you every happiness and success as you begin your new adventure back in your home community of Hawaii!
While we are sad to say farewell to Jonipher, we are excited that he will be passing the reins to another long-time member of the API Equality-LA family. Eileen Ma has served on our Steering Committee and as the co-chair of our Outreach/Recruitment Committee for several years. She comes to us from the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, where she has been the Campaign Director for the past three years. Eileenhas over 17 years of experience in fundraising, community organizing, field work, and coalition-building, having worked at a range of community-based agencies, including the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, the UCLA Labor Center, SEIU Local 399, the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute, and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. As we prepare to welcome our dynamic and dedicated new Director, we appreciate our good fortune at having such a talented and experienced leader to build upon Jonipher’s great achievements and to guide the organization’s next phase of growth and effectiveness.
Marshall Wong & Doreena Wong
Co-Chairs, API Equality-LA
We welcome Tommy as he takes on his new role and look forward to working with Eileen when she joins us in August.