AAPISTRONG Annual Conference Event Recap

October 3, 2022                                                                    

OVER 500 AANHPI LEADERS GATHER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. TO CELEBRATE AANHPI BUSINESSES AND THEIR ECONOMIC IMPACT


Featured Speakers Included Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, Ambassador Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative, Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development Donald R. Cravins Jr., Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, and Congresswoman Judy Chu.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 19-21, 2022, the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE) hosted the AAPISTRONG Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The Annual Conference focused on the current state of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) small businesses and how to foster a fruitful business environment for AANHPI entrepreneurs.

National ACE, along with their corporate partners, affiliate business organizations, strategic partners, and AANHPI small business owners were eager to collaborate and champion policy and program initiatives that will help diversify and strengthen the AANHPI business presence in the United States. Attendees included over 500 small-business owners, corporate executives, community leaders, and strategic chamber partners from all over the country. 

Across three days of programming, the conference gathered top government leaders and corporate executives who have been outspoken advocates of AANHPI communities, having taken stances against structural inequality, racism, and socioeconomic challenges exacerbated by the pandemic and global affairs. They also shared resources to help AANHPI entrepreneurs grow their businesses to the next level. Speakers included:  

Government and Elected Officials

  • Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27)

  • Congressman Kaiali‘i Kahele (HI-02)

  • Jennifer Kim, Associate Administrator, Small Business Administration (SBA)

  • Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06)

  • Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator, Department of Commerce

  • Michele Chang, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Policy, U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)

  • Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07)

  • Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41)

  • Mayor Sam Joshi, Township of Edison in New Jersey

  • Maurice A. Henderson II, Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation

  • Angela Thi Bennet, Digital Equity Program Director, NTIA, Department of Commerce

  • Mike Fong, Regional X Administrator, SBA 

  • Erika Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President, AA and NHPI Senior Liaison, The White House

  • Krystal Ka'ai, Executive Director, The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

  • Michael Negron, Special Assistant To The President for Economic Policy, The White House

  • Aditi Dussault, Senior Advisor to the Administrator, SBA

Throughout the conference, Presidents and representatives from over 100 AANHPI affiliate partners and diverse business organizations gathered to discuss Federal funding opportunities and how our organizations can best work together for collective advancement. These leaders included: Ron Busby Sr., President/CEO, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.; Candace Waterman, President/CEO, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP); C. LeRoy Cavazos-Reyna, Vice President of Government and International Affairs, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Lauren Schweppe, Director of Programs & Stakeholder Advocacy, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce; Pat Fong Kushida, President and CEO, California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce; and Ying McGuire, CEO/President, National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Though not limited to these, the conference breakout sessions and plenaries covered the following topics: 

Building Strategic Partners through Allyship: As the conference theme was ‘Strength in Diversity’, the Building Strategic Partners through Allyship breakout session gathered diverse business leaders to discuss the importance of collaboration in fostering equity and inclusive policy. Attendees learned about how diverse small business communities can work towards collective goals, support each other, and expand diverse business organizations to the next level.

Equity in the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act: The Equity in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act breakout session discussed the opportunities created from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and how this legislation can foster equity. The IIJA is a historic $1.2 trillion investment in American infrastructure, jobs, and community development that has the potential to transform our neighborhoods and businesses. Attendees learned more about this legislation to ensure that AAPI communities are not left behind.

Investing in AAPI Business: This plenary session on Investing in AAPI Businesses brought together White House and Administration officials to discuss the various investments, commitments, and policies they have undertaken to support and uplift AAPI small businesses and communities. Attendees heard

directly from the Biden-Harris Administration on their initiatives to ensure that AAPIs are not excluded from pandemic recovery efforts and wealth building projects.

Business Opportunities with Large Corporation: Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. They have a major influence on large corporations by providing important sources of outsourced supply, expertise, and services to their larger partners. This breakout session focused on topics such as diverse supplier programs and franchising opportunities, as well as the business benefits of employing a diverse staff that contributes to a healthy bottom line. Our esteemed panel of experts came from renowned companies such as Wells Fargo, McDonald's, and Catalyte.io - a tech talent small business firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Content Creation & Media Influencers: Content creators and influencers use a variety of platforms to distribute their content including social media, email, and blogs. Speakers included Asian Hustle Network Co-Founder & COO Maggie Chui and Founder & CEO Bryan Pham, who spoke about their mission to uplift Asian entrepreneurs worldwide through purposeful content with the aim of increasing representation and laying the groundwork for future generations to succeed. Joining Maggie and Bryan was fellow content creator Daniel Seong, who is the Founder and President of Great Park Insurance in Irvine, CA. His platforms on Tik Tok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram have garnered over 1.5 Million followers by posting content that his followers enjoy. 

During the Awards Dinner on Tuesday evening, National ACE recognized Congresswoman Judy Chu with the Distinguished Service Award for her leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific Islander Caucus and for her efforts to provide more resources for AANHPI small businesses and entrepreneurs. She was instrumental to the SBA's decision to include language translation in several Asian languages in their programming and resources, a crucial step to make SBA resources more accessible to AANHPI small businesses. 

National ACE honored Susi Feltch Malohifo’ou, CEO of Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources (PIK2AR), with the Community Advocate Award to recognize her advocacy efforts on behalf of the Pacific Islander community. In spite of health challenges, Susi tirelessly showed up to meetings and events to amplify the voices of Pacific Islanders. National ACE is honored to have Susi as a member of our network, and we look forward to continuing our work with Susi in advocating for our communities.

The Corporate Champion Award was awarded to Emilio Gonzalez, Executive Director of Public Policy and Strategic Initiatives at Verizon. Verizon has for many years been a valued partner to National ACE and the National ACE network. Emilio is a strong ally to the AANHPI small business community, and he is always quick to ensure that AANHPIs are included in digital broadband discussions. We’re honored to be partnered with Verizon and to have Emilio be a consistent and strong partner for AANHPIs. 

The Executive of the Year Award was presented to Chieh Huang, the CEO of Boxed, a New York City based online retailer dubbed as “the Costco millennials”. Boxed successfully went public in December 2021, eight years after Chieh launched the company from his parent’s basement in Edison, New Jersey. Chieh understands the hard work, grit and self-discipline that it takes to launch and operate a successful company and is just one success story within the AANHPI small business community.

The Awards Dinner concluded with the AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund grand prize winners. This is the second year that National ACE has given these grant awards, and they are the largest grant awards given to date by National ACE to small business owners. All three finalists submitted videos sharing the impact the pandemic has had on their businesses, their families, and their lives. Three AANHPI restaurants from around the country were awarded $100,000 from the Grubhub Community Fund. The grants were presented to Barbe-Queen co-owners Allen Jung and Queen Katsuta; Bonifacio owner Krizzia Yang; and Facing East owner Yu Ling Wong, accepted on her behalf by her daughter Jade Wong. To date, National ACE has distributed 553 grants to small business owners to advance AANHPI small business.

Finally, the Annual Conference concluded with National ACE’s Annual Capitol Hill Day. Over 60 AANHPI small business owners and business leaders met with their Members of Congress and their staff to discuss policy priorities, such as full funding for the Minority Business Development Agency, fairness in federal contracting, data disaggregation, and urging their Representatives to join the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. We held 22 meetings on both the Senate and House of Representatives sides throughout the day. The Capitol Hill Day also included a Capitol Hill Luncheon, during which Members of Congress shared the importance of advocacy and engaging with elected officials. Speakers included Rep. Andy Kim, Rep. Susie Lee, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi. 

Several members of National ACE’s Board of Directors were present at this year’s conference, including: Board Chair Karen Eng, Susan Jin Davis, Pat Fong Kushida, Grace Lee, Jimmy Ferguson, Thear Suzuki, Jacob Hsu, Angela Chang, and Andrew Chau. 

Corporate partners included: Wells Fargo, Grubhub, Coca-Cola, Toyota, EY, Meta, Google, McDonald’s, UPS, BNY Mellon, Bank of America, Paypal, Comcast, Carvana, Verizon, Fidelity, Lyft, MGM Grand, and General Motors. 

Videos, photos, and the conference agenda are available to view on www.AAPISTRONG.com/annualconference22.

                                

###


About National ACE

National ACE’s mission is to serve as a strong advocate of AAPI business interests and effect positive change on all issues that enhance and advance the goals and aspirations of AAPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders. With over 70 affiliate chambers of commerce and minority business organization partners throughout the country, National ACE strives to support and promote issues that impact the AAPI business community by improving economic development and impact, advancing coalitions and enhancing community building, and fostering the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and executives. National ACE provides a unified voice for the business interests of AAPIs nationally. Learn more at: www.nationalace.org