Asian American Studies 

The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) is a national non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting Asian Pacific American participation and representation at all levels of the political process, from community service to elected office. APAICS programs focus on developing leadership, building public policy knowledge, and filling the political pipeline for Asian Pacific Americans to pursue public office at the local, state, and federal levels.

(APAICS website)

Breakthrough Collaborative is a national non-profit that increases educational opportunity for high-potential, low-income middle school students and inspires outstanding college and high school students to pursue careers in education.

Consistently featured as a Top Ten Internship by the Princeton Review, Breakthrough's innovative Students Teaching Students model partners middle-school students with college and high school students who serve as teachers, role models and mentors, providing real-life examples that it's 'cool to be smart'Drawn from the public school system, 92% of Breakthrough's students are students of color and 65% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch programs. English is a second language for 34% of our students, and most will be the first in their family to attend college.

Breakthrough was founded in San Francisco in 1978 as Summerbridge and serves more than 2,700 middle school students and trains 770 college and high school students as teachers in 35 Breakthrough sites across the U.S. and in Hong Kong.

(Breakthrough Collaborative website)

The Center for California Studies is a public education, public service, and applied research unit of California State University Sacramento. Founded in 1982 and located on the capital campus of the California State University (CSU), the Center possesses a unique trust: to bring the resources of the state's largest university system to the service of public discourse, civic education, and state government. The Center performs functions integral to the mission of the CSU. It fulfills a public service role inherent in the responsibilities of a public university. It encourages research and creative activities in support of the University's instructional mission. It provides resources for the preparation of California students for life in a multi-ethnic world.

(Center for California Studies website)

The Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization dedicated to building leadership and public policy knowledge within the Asian Pacific American community. Its mission is to promote APA interests and success in public service careers, to provide information and education on policy issues affecting the APA community, and to serve the APA community at large.

(CAPAL website)

Coro is an organization begun in San Francisco in 1942 by W. Donald Fletcher, an attorney, and Van Duyn Dodge, an investment counselor, to train young veterans in the leadership skills necessary to assure that our democratic system of government could more effectively meet the needs of its citizens.

Since 1947, when the first program was delivered, Coro has grown to include Coro Centers in six cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles (1957), St. Louis (1972), Kansas City (1975), New York (1980), Pittsburgh (1999), and a new Executive Fellows program in Cleveland, funded in partnership with The Cleveland Foundation (2005).

1000-1200 participants a year go through Coro programs nationwide. At least 10,000 program alumni are currently serving as leaders in local, regional and national/global businesses, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies and elected public office.

The six Centers, Program, and an alumni service organization, are connected, supported and leveraged as a system by Coro National, a 501(c) 3 governing body that serves as the national voice and partner for the regional centers and alumni participants, and works to build capacity for the system and enhance program quality standards and innovation.

(Coro website)

Echoing Green's founders had great success in the private sector and were looking to bring proven venture capital investment strategies to the social sector. The idea for Echoing Green was sparked in an overstuffed car en route from Connecticut to New York. Upon reaching the destination, a commitment to launch Echoing Green was made. Through the creation of Echoing Green, General Atlantic has helped pioneer the strategy of applying entrepreneurial principles to social sector investing.Each year, Echoing Green awards 20 two-year fellowships to social entrepreneurs.

Named after a William Blake poem, Echoing Green opened its doors in 1987 and supported successful recent business school graduates (such as Diana Propper de Callejon—who is credited as our first investment) to work in the social sector. Although Echoing Green's program evolved throughout the years, we have consistently supported visionary leaders and their innovative ideas for social change.

Like some venture capital firms, we consider ourselves active investors—not just providing funding, but also helping our social entrepreneurs achieve their maximum potential through a range of support services, including training, networking opportunities, consulting, and championing. Similarly, we view our fellows as investment partners, with whom we collaborate as they build and grow their organizations and with whom we hope to have a long-term relationship.

Still supported by our original founders, Echoing Green is celebrating its 24th anniversary and continues to search the world for new leaders who have untested, smart ideas that deserve to be implemented.

(Echoing Green website)

Humanity in Action is an international educational organization. HIA educates, inspires and connects a global network of students, young professionals and established leaders committed to promoting human rights, diversity and active citizenship—in their own communities and around the world.

(HIA website)

Founded in 1929, the JACL is the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the United States. The JACL monitors and responds to issues that enhance or threaten the civil and human rights of all Americans and implements strategies to effect positive social change, particularly to the Asian Pacific American community.

The JACL and the Japanese American community are continuously affected by changes in the political environment and in demographics. Our society continues to be impacted by the events of September 11, 2001, which created a worldwide climate of uncertainty and insecurity where we must reconcile the proper balance between issues of national security and our civil liberties. We are also affected by the changing demographics of race, ethnicity and age.

Looking to our future, the JACL constantly assesses the effectiveness of its role in Japanese American, Asian Pacific American and civil rights communities, and what infrastructure is necessary to effectively support our mission and efficiently achieve our goals. Today, with inter-racial and multi-ethnic marriages changing the face of the Japanese American community, the JACL faces additional challenges in looking to its future and to the future of the Japanese American community.

(JACL website)

The Korean American Coalition - Los Angeles (KAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1983 to promote the civic and civil rights interests of the Korean American community. KAC endeavors to achieve these goals through education, community organizing, leadership development, and coalition-building with diverse communities.

(Korean American Coalition website)

The Korematsu Institute was founded in the name of Fred T. Korematsu, a civil rights hero who refused to go to the government's WWII incarceration camps for Japanese Americans. The Korematsu Institute for civil rights and education advances pan-ethnic civil and human rights through education.

(Korematsu Institute website)

Since its founding in 1982, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) has been intent on "growing leaders" within Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities across the world. When LEAP opened its doors 29 years ago, it had a simple yet powerful idea: that in order for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities to realize their full potential and to foster robust participation in this increasingly globalized world, these communities would have to begin producing leaders who could advocate and speak on their behalf.

A national, nonprofit organization, LEAP works to meet its mission of achieving full participation and equality for Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) through leadership, empowerment, and policy by: Developing people, because leaders are made, not born; Informing society, because leaders know the issues; and Empowering communities, because leaders are grounded in strong, vibrant communities.

(LEAP website)

The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) is an eight-week summer program. Interns are placed at a Japanese American community-based organization in the Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Areas for four days of the week. One day of each week is reserved for a training meeting and debriefing, including field trips and speakers for cultural and community exposure.

In addition to the weekly training meetings, interns will also participate in three statewide retreats. With the help of Southwest Airlines, interns from Los Angeles Little Tokyo, San Jose Nihonmachi and San Francisco Japantown will be given the opportunity to visit and meet community leaders in both regions to further their discussions on Japantown preservation and community leadership.

The Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) and Kizuna | Uniting Nikkei for the Future are the lead agencies for the program. Since the number of internships is limited, the key to having broader impact and outreach through this program is to select a team of young people who can effectively organize and inspire their peers.

(Nikkei Community Intersnhip website)

Founded in 1973 as the Organization of Chinese Americans, OCA aims to embrace the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States.

OCA is engaged in organizing its over 80 chapters and affiliates across the nation to develop both leadership and community involvement. OCA chapters and our affiliates are establishing strong local programs in all parts of the country.

OCA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. gives the OCA National Center an effective vantage point for monitoring legislation and policy issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans. In addition, OCA is able to build national support and to work in coalition with other national groups around issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans.

OCA takes no collective position on the politics of any foreign country, but instead focuses on the welfare and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans.

(OCA website)

The Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP) is a project created by a group of health professionals, many of whom participated in a similar and highly successful internship program soon after OSHA was created in the 1970s. Summer 2012 will be the ninth year of our program.

OHIP is a national program committed to recruiting, training, mentoring and inspiring a new generation of occupational safety and health professionals to prevent job injury and disease through partnerships with workers. A project of the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), OHIP has training centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York and Boston.

(OHIP website)

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program provides vision, leadership, and support for Asian and Pacific Islander American initiatives for the Smithsonian Institution and works to better reflect their contributions to the American experience, world culture, and the understanding of our planet and the natural world throughout Smithsonian Institution collections, research, exhibitions, outreach, and education programs.

(Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program website)

The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today's young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service opportunities.

The White House Internship Program's mission is to make the "People's House" accessible to future leaders from around the nation.

(White House Internship Program website)