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Above: APIAVote Executive Director Christine Chen shaking hands with then President Bill Clinton at the receiving line during his last Christmas party in the White House.
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THE GOOD NEWS is Christine Chen–civil rights leader extraordinaire with her battle-tested experience, political and policy savvy, and an enviable Rolodex of Washington’s movers and shakers, and also grassroots contacts nationwide–has decided to stay in the nation’s capital.

            Last October, she left the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) where she was the executive director. She considered moving to San Francisco, California and other cities. "Ultimately," she told Asian Fortune, "I decided that I would be a better fit here in Washington, D.C." She’s even looking forward to finally purchasing a condo in the area. So everybody can heave a sigh of relief now.

            With midterm elections in November and the 2008 presidential elections, Christine is poised to make her mark as executive director of APIAVote, which celebrates its 10th anniversary late this year. Before that, APIAVote marks another major event. In its annual gala on September 21, it will celebrate the achievements of former US Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, one of the pillars of the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) community.

            "Although APIAVote as a project has been in existence for over 10 years, it is now its own entity," Christine said. "Infrastructure and processes need to be thought out and built in place."

            APIAVote began as the 1996 National Asian Pacific American Voter Registration Campaign. It was a coalition of national organizations that recognized the need to politically mobilize the Asian Pacific and Islander American community, with OCA as a fiscal agent. With a Ford Foundation grant, APIAVote (apiavote.org) was incorporated in December last year. Funding also comes from New York’s Carnegie Foundation and Open Society Institute.

            APIAVote aims to raise Asian American participation in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels. It will focus, but not limit, its efforts in nine areas: California, Nevada, Washington State, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, and Minnesota. "Now that APIAVote has been established and we have an institution focused on this goal full-time, we can develop more sophisticated and better-resourced voter engagement programs," Christine said. "This will entail implementing all aspects on voter engagement–voter registration, education, get out the vote efforts, and voter protection."

            US Congressman Mike Honda (D, CA) knows Christine Chen can deliver. "She’s one of the most well-known civil rights leaders of the APIA community. Her strong understanding of the grassroots community, coupled with her knowledge of national and political issues, makes her one of the most effective leaders in the community."

            He cited Christine’s other assets. "Christine has worked extensively with community based organizations, including organizations through the National Council on Asian Pacific Americans, and she has worked closely with legislators in Congress," Honda added. "Her leadership goes beyond her work and is seen through her commitment to building new generations of leaders through her involvement in the Conference on Asian Pacific Americans Leadership Program, and the Organization of Chinese American's internship program."

OCA experience

Gloria T. Caoile, former executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), has played a key role at APIA Vote since its inception. "Christine is passionate about Asian American issues," she stressed. "She wants to see Asian Pacific Americans empowered and wants them to be significant players in the political process. Her leadership skills will enable APAIAVote to get to the next level."

            Christine knows this. Her experience at OCA comes handy. "Throughout my last 11 years at OCA, I had the chance to travel and better understand the community on the local level. I gained an understanding on the capacity and limitations of specific communities and regions. I also met many dedicated community leaders, volunteers and allies. These relationships I have developed throughout these years will help me identify and work with local partners who can help implement voter engagement projects. "

            She added: "At APIAVote, I have to be able to multi- task. Since I worked at OCA when we had a smaller staff and budget and because I started there as an intern, then became project director and executive director, I went through its various stages of growth." She’s the only staff at APIAVote. She has teams of volunteers working in various projects: research, organizing, PR/communications, design work, etc. She’s currently looking to hire an additional staff.

            Right now, she’s probably doing the work of three people. "I’m on email and the phone quite often. Sometimes, I focus on fund raising, on other days on administrative tasks and building our databases and technology needs (infrastructure building). Some days I outreach to volunteers and non-profits interested in doing this work. I also attend many meetings regarding policy issues related to election administration, such as the Voting Rights Act. Or I work with the election assistance commission, or I meet with colleagues from other communities focused on voter engagement to learn about best practices and initiate potential collaboration."

            Recently, she had been focusing on fund raising and preparing for the gala dinner. She has also been following up on grant proposals and individual donors. "Research is also important in our work," she stressed. "We must understand the demographics of the APIA community in specific regions so we can effectively outreach to them."

Coalition Power

Trina DasGupta, a board member of the South Asian American Voting Youth and MTV Integrated Marketing manager, told Asian Fortune: "Christine is an amazing, passionate, caring individual who truly understands the power of coalition. Her effective leadership is not only rooted in her dedication, but also because she makes her work about the entire community, bringing in and mentoring new leaders whenever she can."

            Trina worked with Christine on voter outreach efforts during the 2004 presidential cycle. They also worked together on South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), a program designed to provide support, training, and resources for young South Asian Americans doing voter outreach. The program is now a part of APIAVote.

            Director of Coalition Relations Center for American Progress Brian Komar has worked with Christine on a number of efforts for over a decade. Among these are campaigns to preserve affirmative action, strengthen hate crimes laws, and ensure a fair and accurate census count. They also served together on the Board of Youth Vote 2000, a coalition of organizations supporting youth civic engagement.

"Christine is an incredibly smart, incredibly motivated outside-the-box thinker with an extraordinary ability to deliver results," he told Asian Fortune. "She’s as comfortable interacting with community activists as policy elites, and she’s so good-natured that everyone working with her is sure to have fun along the way."

            Jonathan Tran, a UCLA political science senior who did research as an APIAVote intern this year, attests to Christine’s effectiveness in working with young people, too. "She assigns us tasks and trusts us to do it. She doesn’t have tunnel vision, she’s so open-minded. Christine is a problem-solver who connects to the people who can help achieve stated goals. She knows the value of coalition-building."

            Christine has the confidence and support of her parents as well. "They helped me start an OCA Columbus chapter years ago, and now they’ve been taking an interest in politics and keeping up with Ohio politics," Christine said. "They email me articles and the latest news. They’ve helped identify volunteers and organizations who can help me engage new APIA voters in Ohio." When you have mom and dad behind you, and the community too, how can you lose?