Today we had a powerful discussion on how we can stand together and support our Asian American & Pacific Islander friends and family in their fight against racism. The event was moderated by Tammy Meanor, VP, HR Strategy & Enablement, Cox Communications. We were also joined by My Lan Tran, Executive Director at Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce (VACC). Our panel was also graced by Hillary Li, Attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta (formerly AALAC). We were also joined by Chung Yu, Call Center Technology leader, Cox Communications and Alex Shyu, Consultant, Capgemini. Our esteemed panel was rounded out with Elizabeth Friedman, Senior Project Manager at Cox Communications.

This was an impactful conversation that started with our accomplished panel discussing their role models and what has influenced their desire to be a champion for equality. We discussed how to handle stress with events happening in our communities and personal lives. While activists for justice and fairness, our panel was also candid about how they find time for their own mental health.

Our panel shared resources available for those that want to be allies against AAPI hate. One excellent resource we would encourage everyone to visit is https://stopaapihate.org/. Please take the time to understand the real concerns of the AAPI community and the challenges they face. Crisis response is important when gripping events happen but we must carry it forward to advocate for policy reform, voting rights for all and ongoing community care.

Continue to follow NAMIC-Virginia via social media and our look for upcoming opportunities to get involved on our events page.