President Joe Biden on Monday announced the members of a renewed President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, including at least five with Hawaii ties.
They are Amy Agbayani, Kimberly Chang, Kerry Doi, Michelle Kauhane and Daniel Dae Kim.
The panel is part of a White House initiative, announced in May, that seeks “to advance equity, justice and opportunity” for Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander communities and help coordinate the federal response to the rise in acts of anti-Asian bias and violence, among other things, according to the announcement.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said those named with Hawaii ties will make excellent commissioners.
“They will bring strong, diverse voices to the commission and continue the important work of advocating for the AANHPI communities in Hawai‘i and across the country. I congratulate them and look forward to working with the commission to support Hawai‘i’s AANHPI communities,” Schatz said in a news release.
The members with Hawaii ties:
>> Agbayani is an emeritus assistant vice chancellor for student diversity and equity at University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is a former chair of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.
>> Chang, a Honolulu native, is a board-certified family physician in Oakland at Asian Health Services, a federally qualified community health center. Her practice has focused on the health of the underserved AANHPI community.
>> Hawaii-born Doi is president and CEO of the Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment in Los Angeles, one of the nation’s largest Asian-led community development organizations, serving 40,000 minority, low-income individuals annually through workforce, small business, environmental justice, affordable housing and early childhood education.
>> Kauhane is senior vice president of community grants and initiatives at the Hawaii Community Foundation and is the former president and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
>>> Kim is an award- winning actor, director and producer who was a regular on the hit shows “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-0.” Kim, who lives in Hawaii with his family, recently starred in the National Geographic Channel’s limited-series “The Hot Zone: Anthrax” and will play top villain Fire Lord Ozai in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
In a statement Wednesday, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey applauded the Hawaii selections and expressed appreciation for Biden’s continuing work “toward elevating our Native Hawaiian voice on the national stage. The appointment of these civic leaders from across America will do much to advance the goals and objectives of the AANHPI community bringing diverse mana‘o and critical thinking to the issues we all face.
“I am especially pleased to see leaders like legendary Hawai‘i educator Amy Agbayani and Native Hawaiian executive Michelle Kauhane represent our people in this effort, as well as Dr. Raymond Samoa, who is considered a national expert on how COVID-19 continues to affect our Pacific Islander cousins. I am confident that the leaders appointed to this Commission will help shape, raise awareness, and speak to the specific needs of the AANHPI community as we together move forward to address the concerns that impact our people.”
