Category: Blog

Image description: Illustration of Yuan and Sammie kneeling on the ground looking down at Yuan's hand. There are dragon fruit plants surrounding them and drawings of memorable APIENC moments laid out in front of them.

It took me 8 years to write this 😱

May 6, 2021 — — By APIENC

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 the cubicle closing in on me. Why does it feel difficult?! How could asking

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)

What will it take to build communities rooted in healing and safety? – APIENC’s Theory of Change

March 21, 2021 — — By APIENC

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 after the 2016 election, this framework felt critical—there were so many issues to focus

Image description: A quote from Huanvy in black text with highlighted text in yellow against a turqouise background. Huanvy is on the right side of the image smiling and looking down.

What do we have to offer our movements?

March 3, 2021 — — By APIENC

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 little nervous. If I listen closely, there are voices in my head saying, I don’t

Image description: Zoom selfie with 25+ smiling people. Some are making peace signs and hearts with their hands.

Boundless Possibilities & Imperfect Experiments

February 18, 2021 — — By APIENC

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 Organizer Team for support around gender identity. I felt so emotional I had to type

Will we concede to fear, or will we choose interdependence?

January 10, 2021 — — By APIENC

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 as armed white supremacists stormed the Capitol Building, this question was again present

Image description: A large group of TGNC API people march up Market St. while holding banners, signs, and trans flags at 2019 SF Trans March. T is in the center, walking backwards.

Building a world of safety, dignity, and care is up to us.

November 18, 2020 — — By APIENC

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 I experienced a lot of scrutiny at home for my gender expression. I read about

Now, we do as we’ve always done.

November 9, 2020 — — By APIENC

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 that power our movements. We are the people working towards change that lasts beyond