The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders held the 1st Annual WH DC Summit on September 29 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the nation’s capital.

                The Office of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders coordinates the activities of the President's Advisory Commission and the Interagency Working Group.

In his welcome remarks, Jimmy Lee, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, said: "It is an honor to welcome all of you today to our First Annual DC Summit here in Washington DC. Being a former Director of a local Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, I understand the importance of building capacity and serving our communities that we are a part of. I hope to be able to personally meet all of you and looking forward to a continued working relationship with all of you."

Present at the 9 a.m. opening were top-level Asian American appointees. They were Susan Ralston, Special Assistant to the President and Assistant to the Senior Advisor, the White House; Deputy Assistant Secretary Betty W. Adams of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and former Chair of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Howard Li, DC Summit Chair, President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Edmund C. Moy, Director of the Mint and former Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel.

At the awards luncheon, the speaker was Norman Y. Mineta, former Secretary of Transportation and former Secretary of Commerce. Mineta is now vice chairman at Hill & Knowlton. Joel Szabat, Chief of Staff of the US Small Business Administration introduced Mineta, after remarks by Director Ronald Langston of the Minority Business Development Agency in the US commerce department.

Stephen Johnson, Environmental Protection Agency and Reverend The Vien Nguyen, Mary Queen of Vietnam Church received the Norman Y. Mineta Leadership and Legacy Awards.

The all-day summit featured the following topics: State of Small Business in America; Faith Based and Community Initiatives; Applying for Governmental Grants; Effective Corporate Partnerships; Government Appointments; and Congressional Briefing, co-hosted by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).