Ascending to New Heights Through Community Leadership

Last June, I wrote about finding inspiration within our field while volunteering for PEAK Grantmaking as a cochair of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Caucus. Now, as I anticipate transitioning out of that role at the end of this year, I want to reflect on community leadership of the past and present.

The AANHPI Caucus had a strong showing at PEAK2024 in Seattle this March. For our caucus session, we featured Rahul Gupta, director of education and tours at the Wing Luke Museum. It was an engaging discussion about the legacy of Chinese-born immigrant turned equal rights proponent and elected official, Wing Luke, and the Museum, described as “the only pan-Asian art and history museum in the United States.” It gave me a sense of pride to discover the shared histories of AANHPI community members in Seattle, and that they led labor unions and family associations to support immigrants. And with some caucus members representing some of the museum’s most generous donors, it was heartening to know that some funders were leading the way in preserving these legacies. However, reality also set in when one member pointed out the decline in investment in the surrounding Chinatown-International District since having grown up in the Seattle region. For example, the district occupies noticeably fewer blocks than it once had.

By nature, nonprofit work, as a whole, is not easy. Many times, the work can feel personal. I often cite the statistic that for every one hundred philanthropic dollars, only twenty cents go toward the AANHPI community. Thus, when I saw that Jill Nishi, CEO of Philanthropy Northwest and The Giving Practice (who also happens to be a board member of the Wing Luke Museum), was a PEAK2024 keynote speaker, I was ecstatic. On the other hand, listening to her explain gaman while sharing her family members’ endurance in Japanese internment camps, and her own grit during her philanthropic career, brought tears to my eyes. Jina Freiberg, senior grants manager at Katz Amsterdam Foundation and fellow AANHPI cochair, texted that she was also teary-eyed. In that very moment, I knew I wasn’t alone in how it felt seeing an Asian American woman in her position open up about her experiences on the mainstage. To quote Edgar Villanueva in the first keynote, “Representation matters.”

While it may seem daunting, where we can bring our authentic selves and connections to this work is where I truly see the sector ascending to new heights. Another poignant moment during the conference was attending the presentation “Honoring Cultural Values to Reimagine Philanthropy from Within” by Schuyler Marquez, grants manager at the Mellon Foundation, and Jennelyn Bailon, senior program associate at the Center for Cultural Innovation. I learned about the concepts of susu and tanda, which are rotating savings clubs used in West African, Caribbean and Latin American diasporas. In the Filipino culture, balikbayan boxes are filled with items to donate to people in the motherland, which reminds me of the repatriation that often occurs in many cultures. It made me think deeper about my role as a grantmaker, but also reinforced how I value being a community member. I ask myself how understanding my East and Southeast Asian heritages, connections to community, and my unique circumstances can help shape and sustain solutions to some of the very issues we try to resolve in philanthropy. I am convinced that our stories matter.

When I decided to cochair the AANHPI Caucus, I set out to bring together community in lasting, meaningful ways. I hope we accomplished that, knowing that the programming will evolve under each successive leadership team. Even so, I tried to plan gatherings that allowed us to celebrate our identities, invest in our well-being, and to just have fun as a community. Last October, we focused on our personal well-being through guided meditation led by Dr. Jyothi Robertson, a veterinarian and founder of the Journey You Own. This May, we are celebrating having more than 120 members by kicking off our Bimonthly Tea Sessions (aka BTS), an informal virtual gathering to discuss work and other issues over a midday break.

Years ago, I worked at an organization where we would hold an onboarding ceremony for new staff members. During that ceremony, individual staff members would clip a carabiner onto a large, central carabiner. To help elucidate this rock-climbing metaphor, it was about being part of something larger than oneself but also playing an essential part in another person’s journey. Some of us provide the anchor of support and belay for another climber, while the climber forges a path towards the summit. Sometimes, we switch roles. Before I step down as cochair at the end of this year, I want to impart one piece of advice: from wherever your vantage point is, do not be afraid to etch your name in that figurative mountain. You are here, and you matter.

Photo Credit: Julie Harmsen Photography