All Posts

  • It took me 8 years to write this 😱 May 6, 2021 It took me 8 years to write this 😱
    Dear Community,  At one of my first supervisions as a Summer Intern in 2013, Monna turned to me and asked, “why does it feel so difficult for you to ask for help?” I stared at her blankly, the grey partitions of ...
  • Sangeeta Sarkar March 30, 2021 Sangeeta Sarkar
    MAR 2021 | SANGEETA SARKAR Sangeeta (they/them) identifies as a queer non binary South Asian femme. They were part of the 2020 LEX (Queer Leadership Exchange) cohort and are currently leading an Asking for Help workshop series for Trans and Queer ...
  • What will it take to build communities rooted in healing and safety? – APIENC’s Theory of Change March 21, 2021 What will it take to build communities rooted in healing and safety? - APIENC's Theory of Change
    Dear APIENC Community, Since 2017, APIENC has been guided by a set of priorities and directions crafted by APIENC staff in order to help the organization make decisions about where to focus our power and grow our work. In the time ...
  • What do we have to offer our movements? March 3, 2021 What do we have to offer our movements?
    It’s December 2019, and I’m in a cabin in Guerneville at my first Core Retreat as one of the newest members of APIENC Core. I’m super excited to be spending a weekend with such cool people, but I’m also a ...
  • Boundless Possibilities & Imperfect Experiments February 18, 2021 Boundless Possibilities & Imperfect Experiments
    There I was—sitting on my chair at home, hundreds of miles away from the seven other people on my Zoom screen, feeling vulnerable and nervous, and yet, so warm at the same time. I was asking my fellow APIENC Summer ...
  • 2021 Summer Organizer Program – Apply by March 1st! February 1, 2021 2021 Summer Organizer Program – Apply by March 1st!
    Do you want to work with trans, non-binary, and queer Asian and Pasifika people and communities? Do you have a commitment to social justice? Are you ready to transform, learn concrete community organizing skills, and work to build movements for ...
  • Jessica Mitchell January 27, 2021 Jessica Mitchell
    JAN 2021 | JESSICA MITCHELL Jessica (she/her) is the newest member of APIENC’s Core Committee and has been a member of the Dragon Fruit Network since the summer of 2019. Jessica and her older sister, Nicole, heard about a group of people ...
  • Will we concede to fear, or will we choose interdependence? January 10, 2021 Will we concede to fear, or will we choose interdependence?
    Dear APIENC Community,  Throughout the past year, I have often come back to the question, “Will we concede to fear and individualism, or will we choose interdependence?”  This past week, as we celebrated historic Senate wins in Georgia and watched in horror ...
  • Leo Hegde December 8, 2020 Leo Hegde
    Dec 2020 | LEO HEGDE Leo (he/him & they/them) has been involved with APIENC for a little over a year. He is a member of the TJ (Trans Justice) Committee as well as one of newest members of the Core Committee. Leo, ...
  • Building a world of safety, dignity, and care is up to us. November 18, 2020 Building a world of safety, dignity, and care is up to us.
    The summer after I realized I was trans, I spent a lot of time online. I wanted to learn about other trans people and be seen in my experiences. The internet helped me do so discreetly, during a time when ...
  • Now, we do as we’ve always done. November 9, 2020 Now, we do as we’ve always done.
    The day after the 2016 election, I woke up, logged onto social media, and saw outcries of anger and fear from my friends. On that day, I wrote a commitment to myself, and an invitation to others: “We are the people ...
  • Writings from #QTAPIClimateStories October 11, 2020 Writings from #QTAPIClimateStories
    On Saturday Sept. 19th 2020, APIENC’s Ecological Justice League (fka TTAC) brought folks together for a fun and creative Writing and Haiku Party! Participants engaged and connected with each other in order to better articulate their connection with and the ...
  • Paige Chung September 26, 2020 Paige Chung
    Sept 2020 | PAIGE CHUNG Paige (she/they) is a poet and a skater. In their own words, “My last writing project Nail Trap is juicier than your neighborhood gossip and my current project is hotter than your cousin’s mixtape. I’m based ...
  • You Matter: Video Reflection on LEX 2020 September 25, 2020 You Matter: Video Reflection on LEX 2020
    LEX & the APIENC family brought so much… so many things, but what i’m most thankful for is the healing that it brought to me when i felt too overwhelmed to know where to start, & i want to share ...
  • The Main Ingredient to Interdependence is Relationship Building August 30, 2020 The Main Ingredient to Interdependence is Relationship Building
    When we took on the role of coordinating APIENC’s Summer Mutual Aid Project, we were both fairly new to APIENC, just joining as a volunteer and Summer Organizer. Despite our newness, we understood the importance of mutual aid in this ...
  • Hello are you there? Reflections from our Dragon Fruit Phone Tree August 26, 2020 Hello are you there? Reflections from our Dragon Fruit Phone Tree
    It all started with the Dragon Fruit Project (DFP) reunion, scheduled to happen on March 21, 2020. Since last December, a volunteer team had been planning for an in-person event to celebrate all those who had contributed to our intergenerational ...
  • We Are Worthy of Support: Reflections from the Summer Organizer Program (part 2) August 23, 2020 We Are Worthy of Support: Reflections from the Summer Organizer Program (part 2)
    I haven’t always felt comfortable asking for help. Previously, I thought asking for help meant I was not “good enough,” and I thought that struggling on my own was a reflection of true strength. I learned this mindset from my ...
  • Self-Determination & Queer Power: Reflections from the Summer Organizer Program (part 1!) August 20, 2020 Self-Determination & Queer Power: Reflections from the Summer Organizer Program (part 1!)
    To me, APIENC is love — love that the world desperately needs. As a chronically ill, Việt, queer, nonbinary person, I felt unheard, othered, and silenced for far too long, by nearly everyone in my life in some way. I don’t ...
  • Vulnerability is Power: Reflections from LEX 2020 August 16, 2020 Vulnerability is Power: Reflections from LEX 2020
    There I was, on a zoom call with over 30 people who I had just met the weekend before, having a vulnerable one-on-one conversation with Sammie for everyone to watch. This was during the third session of APIENC’s annual Leadership Exchange, ...
  • #QTAPIClimateStories August 16, 2020 #QTAPIClimateStories
    APIENC’s Ecological Justice League (fka TTAC, Think and Take Action Cohort for Climate Justice) Presents: #QTAPIClimateStories Writing and Haiku Party for Queer and Trans Asian & Pacific Islander People A Climate Justice Storytelling Project Register here!👉 bit.ly/QTAPIClimateStories 👈 Co-sponsored by Asian Pacific Environmental Network ...