Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 26, 2023

It’s AAPI Heritage Month 2023! We celebrate past and present Asian American and Pacific Islander YWCA Leaders and showcase their amazing work locally, nationally, and internationally.


As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month 2023, we're reminded that sometimes with great intentions come unintended consequences. In our latest blog post, we celebrate YWCA Leaders who came before us while acknowledging and learning from our history


During AAPI Heritage Month 2023, we're exploring our YWCA legacy of advocating for AAPI communities and celebrating incredible YWCA Leaders while acknowledging the times that we missed the mark in helping those we served. Read the latest blog from YWCA USA bit.ly/3VozDoM #AAPIHM2023 and learn about some of the YWCA leaders highlighted this month below.


A woman is smiling on a poster for the legacy of advocating.

For the past 20 years, Eun Kyung Kim has focused on advocacy, management, and fundraising in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and she is the first AAPI Executive Director of YWCA Queens. We are proud to celebrate her many achievements within the YWCA movement and beyond it in the myriad ways she supports her community. Learn more about her and her amazing work: bit.ly/3ViY3jB

A poster for the legacy of advocating for aapi community

After she and her family were sent to a Japanese internment camp during WWII, Joy Hashimoto became active in the YWCA movement after her mother helped establish YWCAs in the camps. Learn more: bit.ly/3VozDoM 

A woman is standing at a podium speaking into a microphone.

Lillian Kimura was 13 during WWII when she and her family were incarcerated at the Manzanar WRA Center in California. Influenced by her experience with YWCA—which served to educate Japanese American women and girls interned at the camp—she later joined the YWCA movement at the local and national levels. During #AAPIHeritageMonth2023, read more about her inspiring legacy: legcy.co/3LpuOXC

A woman is featured on a poster for the legacy of advocating for aapi communities.

Former Interim CEO of YWCA USA and current Interim Chief Strategy Officer for the YWCA National Board, Gloria Lau’s involvement with YWCA is deep and profound, and her experience as a #YWCALeader has been extensive and varied at both the local and national levels. Today, we are proud to celebrate her and her far-reaching impact on the YWCA movement

Gloria chan hoo is the legacy of advocating for aapi communities.

A #YWCALeader at the local, national, and international levels, Gloria Chun Hoo served on the boards of @YWBoston, @YourYwca, and YWCA USA, and she is currently on the executive committee for the YWCA World Service Council. During #AAPIHeritageMonth2023, we celebrate her long-standing involvement in the YWCA movement: bit.ly/44fEVqL

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