Our Work

Building Power

APIENC builds queer and transgender Asian and Pacific Islander power to amplify our voices and increase the visibility of our communities. Through organizing in the Bay Area, we inspire and train grassroots leaders, transform our values from scarcity to abundance, and partner with organizations to sustain a vibrant movement ecosystem.

Uplifting Our Histories

Our work is rooted in the many legacies of queer and trans API people who have fought isolation, battled for our rights, and created communities of care. To understand where we’re going, we need to understand the successes and challenges of our elders and ancestors. We want to make new mistakes.

Supporting Transformation

We are a political home for QTAPI people to transform. Together, we learn and practice organizing skills, unlearn ancestral and collective traumas, and relearn values of abundance and interdependence. Our organizing is centered on the transformative potential of relationships and organizing.
Image description: A graphical illustration of APIENC's Theory of Change. It starts at the root of a large tree, continues upward to 4 apples in the tree resulting in new growth below, and ultimately leads to a large tree in the background. There are star people holding up a trans flag in the background. White arrows and text describe the progression of the Theory of Change. (art by Trời-Tim Trần)

Our Theory of Change

APIENC is a bridge between personal transformation and political work to meet our needs. Grounded in the histories and experiences of trans and queer API people, our role is to build movement leaders across oppressed communities. Check out our full Theory of Change here.

ORGANIZING THROUGH OUR VALUES

At APIENC we educate and organize to build a world in which all people are empowered with the tools to create change and show up as their full, authentic selves. To achieve this goal we center all our work in our values.

Abundance

We believe that our communities have everything we need to support ourselves and each other, and that there will always be enough time, money, and people to do the work.

Honesty & Vulnerability

We will never be successful in this work if we can’t be our full selves. We’re committed to being honest about our needs, limitations, and desires–even when it is hard or scary–because we know that our work is a practice ground for living out our visions.

Honoring our hxstory

We all came from somewhere, and we do not do this work alone. In order to be strategic and intentional, we need to honor the hxstories that ground our movements and communities. We believe that we need to understand our context in order to effectively work for social change.

Innovation

The fight for social justice requires risk taking and creative problem solving. In order to stay fresh on our game, we need to create and implement new tools for advocacy, education, and visibility.

Reciprocity & Interdependence

Systems of oppression do not exist in isolation from each other, and similarly, our struggles for liberation and empowerment are intertwined. We believe that social justice is everyone’s responsibility and we must share in our work and learning in order to realize our visions for an equitable society.

Self-determination

We believe that our communities should have the right to decide for ourselves how we want to be present and seen in the world.

WHAT WE DO

Through our values, APIENC’s role is to build alternatives—real solutions—that are centered in our communities, build self-determination, and promote healing and restoration for the land and the people. All of our programs are led by QTAPI members who are directly impacted by the issues we address. Our core programs include:
Our History

Contact Us

WE WANT TO CONNECT WITH YOU!

Office 17 Walter U. Lum Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108
Email info@apienc.org
Telephone (415) 274-6750 ex. 317

Our building is ADA accessible, has gender neutral bathrooms, and is a low-scent space. Folks can navigate the building by stairs or an elevator. Please contact us with any other questions about access.