MICHELLE MIJUNG KIM - EMCEE
Michelle MiJung Kim (she/her) is a queer Korean American immigrant woman writer, speaker, and activist. She is the author of The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change and CEO and co-founder of Awaken, a leading provider of diversity, equity, and inclusion workshops. Michelle has been a lifelong social justice activist and currently serves on the board of Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE).

RACHEL LASTIMOSA - MUSICIAN
Rachel Lastimosa is a second generation Ilokana, community organizer, interdisciplinary artist, producer and performer, scoring for theater and film and has toured nationally and internationally as a performing musician. She founded AGASAN - Acts of Self Preservation, utilizing sound, movement and visual arts as an integrative wellness practice for LGBTQIA+ and communities of color. Rachel’s focus on the intersection of arts, culture, equity and wellness continues to be the foundation for her creative pursuits and community service.

GENNY LIM - POET
Genny Lim is San Francisco Jazz Poet Laureate emeritus. Lim's award-winning play, Paper Angels, was the first Asian American play aired on PBS’s American Playhouse in 1985 and has been performed throughout the U.S., Canada and China. She is author of five poetry collections, and co-author of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, which won the American Book Award in 1980. Lim has worked with past Jazz legends, such as Max Roach and long-time collaborators, Jon Jang, John Santos, Francis Wong and Anthony Brown. She is a member of The Last Hoisan Poets with Nellie Wong and Flo Oy Wong, who recently collaborated with Del Sol String Quartet in the United States of Asian America Festival.

AILEEN CASSINETTO - POET
Aileen Cassinetto is an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and the Poet Laureate of San Mateo County, the first Asian American to hold the post. Widely anthologized, she is also the author of two poetry collections and three chapbooks. She received a Special Congressional Recognition in 2021, and was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to serve as Commissioner for the Commission on the Status of Women through 2025. She is a 2022 Metro Film and Arts Foundation grantee.

MARISA LIN - POET
Marisa Lin (she/her) was born in Fujian, China and grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She began writing poems during her senior year at Stanford University, where she graduated with a BA in Economics. She is an alumna of the Community of Writers and VONA workshops, with work published or forthcoming in Lucky Jefferson, Ekstasis, Poetry South, and Clerestory Magazine. She currently works for the City of San Jose and in her free time, enjoys hiking, reading, and thoughtful conversations.

EVA CHEN - POET
Eva Chen is originally from San Francisco and is currently a resident of Burlingame. She is the first youth poet to be inducted into the San Mateo Women’s Hall of Fame, and is the recipient of the 2020 Scholastics National Gold Medal. Her writing has been published by The Offing, Elan Literary Magazine, Blue Marble Literary Magazine, and streamed on KALW public radio. In addition, she co-founded the lit-mag Footprints on Jupiter, publishing 120+ youth pieces to raise funds for youth literacy, and formerly volunteered at the California State Treasurer’s Office, where she researched legislation regarding AB 369 (The Street Medicine Act). Currently, she volunteers at the Burlingame Public Library and is on a mission to actively advocate for poetry across her community.

Advance Racial Justice
Your support allows CAA to take immediate and aggressive action to educate, organize, and mobilize the community. Help us end anti-Asian hate, xenophobic and racist policies set in motion in recent times.

Learn more about CAA’s work with Stop AAPI Hate and the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice.

Build a Movement
Together, we can advance emerging initiatives and strategic partnerships, like Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE), that bring change to Chinese Americans and all communities of color.

Learn more about our AACRE network partners.

Change the Narrative
Expand CAA’s ability to build a stronger progressive voice in Chinese language digital spaces. Our fact-based analysis and straightforward updates counter the spread of misinformation and keep our community informed.

Subscribe to our CAA WeChat, or visit JusticePatch.org | PiYaoBa

Advocate for Immigrants
Support our immigrant rights work, which pushes back against policies that harm low-income immigrants. We provide a financial safety net and unemployment assistance, critical in-language hotline services, access to legal help.

Learn more about our immigrant rights program.