STAFF
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Seattle, WA
Born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and growing up in San Diego, California, Huy returned to the (Pacific North) West Coast in 2021 to serve as the Preservation Programs Director for the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. After receiving a BS in Architecture, an MS in Historic Preservation, and an MA in Communication Studies from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Huy spent four years in San Antonio, Texas doing preservation outreach and regulatory work.
With over eight years of experience in preservation and advocacy, Huy has proven record of success in managing and administering place-based campaigns, grant programs, educational outreach, regulatory review, special events, and emerging media production. Huy excels in collaborating with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, community members and groups, developers, stakeholders, and policymakers to apply a progressive preservation ethic to their work at the local, state, and national levels.
Huy's involvement with APIAHiP began with a Google search in 2019, where his curiosity for finding "Asian Americans in Historic Preservation" led him to find out that there were dozens of us! His research also happened to be right on time—just as planning for the 2020 Forum in Honolulu began. Nearly four years later: through serving on the board, a global pandemic, and moving across the country - Huy is proud to serve as APIAHiP’s first full-time Executive Director and staff member ever, following in the leadership of now first Past President Dr. Michelle Magalong to put in the work of advancing the mission and vision of the organization set forth as early as 2007.
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Arlington, VA
Zeta graduated from the College of William & Mary with a degree in Global Studies and a concentration in Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies. She discovered her passion for historic preservation following the completion of her undergraduate Honors Thesis which focused on CHamoru oral history during and post-World War II. Identifying the impact of wartime events on her home island led Zeta to working with the Asian American Scholar Forum and the Conference on Asian and Pacific American Leadership. She worked closely with various Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander organizations and communities, allowing Zeta to amplify the needs for marginalized AANHPIs through historic research and policy analysis work.
Zeta has contributed to research and creative projects aimed towards Pacific Islander visibility such as the OCA-National AAPI Hate Crimes in History Webinar and the W&M APIA Department’s Art & Hatsuye Magazine.
Zeta looks forward to working with APIAHiP’s team in building program initiatives and continuing the preservation of all Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander histories.
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Seattle, WA
Cameron is a Seattle-based professional with a passion for historic preservation and community-focused nonprofits. He began his journey in historic preservation while attending the University of Washington, where he worked on fundraising and marketing for a capital campaign project to restore the historic ASUW Shell House. After graduating with degrees in Marketing and Finance in 2021, Cameron spent two years working in market research. He currently serves on two nonprofit boards: Renton Downtown Partnership, a local community/economic development organization that implements the Main Street historic preservation framework, and Renton Rowing Center, a community boathouse on the south end of Lake Washington.
Cameron excels in marketing place-based projects and community-focused nonprofits, fundraising, nonprofit leadership, and collaborating with private and public stakeholders.
While attending the RevitalizeWA Historic Preservation conference in October 2023, Cameron was introduced to Huy and APIAHIP. He is excited to work with the staff and board to advance Asian American places and their stories.
SENIOR ADVISOR &
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Washington, D.C.
Michelle G. Magalong served as volunteer Executive Director and President APIAHiP since 2012, and now serves as Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation at the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. She also serves as affiliate faculty in American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Urban Studies and Planning. She serves on the steering committee for the certificate program for Museum Studies and Material Culture.
Dr. Magalong received her BA in Ethnic Studies and Urban Studies and Planning at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and MA in Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has served in advisory roles in historic preservation & community development, notably for the National Park Service, California State Office of Historic Preservation, and the City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources. She currently serves on the Experts Advisory Committee for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and board of directors for the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions. In 2018, she was recognized as one of the “40 Under 40: People Saving Places” by National Trust for Historic Preservation. She received the Distinguished Alumna award from the UCLA Pilipino American Alumni Association in 2022.
Dr. Magalong’s previous research experience has focused on public health, HIV/AIDS, and viral hepatitis in the Filipino American community as well as in community economic development work and community activism in historic ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles. Her current research focuses on issues of equity and representation for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, from federal preservation policy work to local preservation planning efforts.
APIAHiP holds a special place in Michelle's heart as she serves as a scholar and activist with people passionate about identifying, documenting, and preserving our stories as Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. She also gets to explore incredible historic places across the country, often through the eyes of local advocates and preservationists, which inspires her and affirms how APIAHiP must continue to safeguard and elevate these stories and places. She now serves as a Senior Advisor and an Ex-Officio role in supporting Staff and the Board in APIAHiP’s transition of leadership.
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Los Angeles, CA
Bill Watanabe was the founding Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center. From 1980 he guided its growth, in conjunction with the Board of Directors, from a one-person staff to a multi-faceted social services and community development program with over 100 paid staff, many of whom are bilingual in any of eight Asian Pacific languages and Spanish. He retired in 2012 and volunteers at the Little Tokyo Historical Society. Bill received a Masters in Social Welfare from UCLA in 1972. He is married and lives in Silver Lake near downtown Los Angeles.
Bill was one of the very few APIA's who attended the NTHP conference in Louisville KY around 2005 and realized the need for a national APIA historic preservation advocacy and information sharing group. With the blessings and help of the NTHP, a caucus was formed and the APIAHiP came into being with the first national conference in San Francisco in 2010. When over 100 persons from across the nation attended, it was clear the need was there and the APIAHiP has been breaking new ground ever since!
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San Francisco, CA
Karen Kai has participated in community planning and historic preservation efforts since the mid-1990s and is a co-author of the groundbreaking JCHESS (Japantown Cultural Heritage and Economic Sustainability Strategy) adopted by SF to guide development and land use in the City’s Japantown Cultural Heritage District. An attorney by profession, she notably worked on the legal team that challenged Fred Korematsu’s conviction in the landmark civil-rights case, Korematsu v. United States.
Karen approaches preservation as a means of advancing and strengthening cultural communities. Preserving the history and legacy of the Issei Women’s Building/Japanese YWCA has also been an ongoing project for her. In addition to serving as APIAHiP’s Vice Chair, she also serves on the board of San Francisco Heritage, an organization that has worked to preserve the unique and special historic and cultural heritages of San Francisco for over 50 years.
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West Sacremento, CA
Jason Sarmiento is an Archivist & Public Historian with an emphasis in archival management, historic preservation, and oral history. He earned his M.A. in Public History at Sacramento State in 2015, became a Certified Archivist with the Academy of Certified Archivists in 2017, and earned a Master of Library & Information Science from San Jose State University in 2023. At the UC Davis Library, Jason serves as the Head of Archival Processing, managing the arrangement, description, and preservation of the University Archives, special collections, and the Welga Digital Archive (a Filipinx diaspora-focused online archive). Along with his archival work, Sarmiento spent three years as a cultural resource management consultant for JRP Historical Consulting and is currently the Archives and Manuscripts course instructor for the Sacramento State Public History M.A. program.
Jason became involved with APIAHiP shortly after graduating from his master’s program. The public history field has a diversity problem as it was very common for him to be one of the few Asian individuals, let alone BIPOC individuals, at public history conferences. After receiving a student scholarship to attend the 2016 Forum, Jason was amazed to learn of this Asian and Pacific Islander community doing similar preservation work as himself. He soon began volunteering for conferences and by 2019 he was invited to join the Board of Directors.
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Oakland, CA
Grant Din consults with non-profits, government departments, and individuals in the areas of historical research, genealogy, and development. He co-curated a permanent exhibit at Angel Island State Park with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation about the Japanese immigrants interned on the island by the Department of Justice and U.S. Army during World War II, and he was lead researcher and writer for the historic context statement of San Francisco's Chinese communities for the SF Planning Department. Grant has worked with numerous local and national non-profit organizations as a staff, board member, and volunteer was a researcher for the film about the Chinese seamen who survived the Titanic, The Six, and historical advisor for the graphic novel The Good Asian. He has a B.A. in sociology with emphasis on urban studies from Yale University and an M.A. in Public Policy Analysis from Claremont Graduate University.
Grant's favorite memory of APIAHiP is the 2016 Forum in Stockton. Having in-laws who lived there, he appreciated that APIAHiP went to a smaller city whose extensive AAPI history is less well-known than the big cities. He especially appreciated the opportunity to visit the country's oldest gudwara (Sikh temple) and the historic but much reduced in size Little Manila. Grant appreciated learning from the late Professor Dawn Mabalon and meeting other community activist historians.
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Stockton, CA
Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal is a PhD Candidate at the University of California, Riverside. His research focuses on Sikhism, Asian American history, and religion in America with an emphasis on Sikh American history. He also serves on the board for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation and is a researcher/historian for the Stockton Gurdwara (Stockton Sikh Temple).
During a summer internship with SALDEF, Tejpaul was introduced to Michelle and APIAHiP because of his preservation work with Stockton Gurdwara (Sikh Temple). APIAHiP was looking to host their forum in Stockton and wanted to highlight Stockton Gurdwara. Serving as the first APIAHiP intern for the 2016 Forum, he saw firsthand the impact that APIAHiP had on local communities. APIAHiP provided Tejpaul with the platform to focus on Sikh American historic preservation, which hadn't been done by any organizations before. Following the 2016 forum, he joined the board to continue the work on preserving Sikh American sites and stories.
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Los Angeles, CA
Caroline Calderon is a dedicated urban planner and community advocate originally from the San Fernando Valley. Her transformative experiences in San Francisco from 2008 to 2017, including involvement in grassroots initiatives and the discovery of Ethnic Studies, shaped her professional pursuits. A life-altering accident in 2013 sparked her passion for urban planning, leading her to higher education and challenges within a predominantly white academic space, while finding comradery with a strong network of fellow students of color.
Today, Caroline plays a crucial role in the Little Tokyo Community Impact Fund (LTCIF), working to combat gentrification and preserve the legacy of Little Tokyo. LTCIF stands out for its commitment to protecting small businesses and fostering community control. Caroline's role in outreach, marketing, research, and administrative support exemplifies her dedication. Looking ahead, she aims to solidify LTCIF's structure and explore the intersection of art and planning with an EP titled "planning memos."
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Kensington, CA
Erika Gee is an educator, organizer, and cultural worker. She currently serves as fundraising and program manager for National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD). Previously she was a senior planner at San Francisco’s Chinatown Community Development Center, and an arts and culture fellow at The San Francisco Foundation. She has worked at a variety of historic sites and cultural institutions, including the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation in San Francisco and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience in New York City. Erika holds a B.A. in History/Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.S. Ed. in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education.
Erika got involved in APIAHiP as an extension of her work at historic sites such as Angel Island Immigration Station. As a descendant of Angel Island immigrants, Erika brings personal connections and an understanding of the station’s history and preservation efforts. She hopes that she can continue to honor this history and to help safeguard other sites of our Asian American and Pacific Islander people, cultures, histories for our future generations.
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Los Angeles, CA
Lisa Hasegawa boasts over two decades of extensive experience in community development, housing, and public health. Prior to her current role as NeighborWorks America’s Vice President for the Western Region, she served as the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), where she made history by leading the first national advocacy organization committed to addressing the housing and community development needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Over her impressive tenure of 15 years, she orchestrated a coalition of nearly 100 community organizations, tirelessly working to enhance the quality of life for economically disadvantaged populations by championing economic prosperity, civic and political engagement, and racial equity.
In 2017, Lisa returned to her alma mater, UCLA, taking on various roles, including Assistant Director for Federal Affairs, Policy Fellow at the Asian American Studies Center, and Policy Analyst for the Chancellor's Advisory Council on Immigration Policy. She has also previously served on the boards of several advisory committees for government-sponsored enterprises and financial institutions, showcasing her dedication to improving the lives of underserved communities.
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Los Angeles, CA
Kristen Hayashi is Director of Collections Management & Access and Curator at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. She is a public historian with experience ranging from being part of the curatorial team for Becoming Los Angeles, a semi-permanent exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to being on the board of directors for the Little Tokyo Historical Society and APIAHiP. Her interest in the intersection of historic preservation and Japanese American history led her to write several historic landmark designations on behalf of the Little Tokyo Historical Society at the local and federal levels. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in History from the University of California, Riverside, and a B.A. in American Studies from Occidental College.
The Stockton forum in 2016 was incredibly meaningful to Kristen. The sites central to the forum, including: The Little Manila Historic Site, the Confucious Church, and the Stockton Gurdwara reinforced that places have meaning or historic value—not necessarily for their architecture, but rather for their importance to a community.
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Washington, D.C.
Sojin Kim is a curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where she works on projects focusing on migration, music, and public history.
Sojin first became involved with APIAHiP during the planning of the second forum in L.A. in 2012. At the request of Donna Graves, she organized a session that focused on preservation efforts occurring in regions other than the West Coast. Sojin had just moved from Los Angeles to D.C., so she welcomed the opportunity to learn about what people were doing nearer to her new neck of the woods. Through this experience, she was introduced to the brilliant, dogged work of Charlie Lai in NYC, Linda Sopheap Sou in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Ray and Kathy Rufo in Augusta, Georgia.
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Los Angeles, CA
Alan Kumamoto is a founding Partner of Kumamoto Associates, a marketing, management, and communications general partnership. Alan has 40 years of experience in management consulting specializing in all aspects of business planning, resource development/fundraising, human relations, and coalition building. Alan has facilitated and presented workshops and seminars on a variety of topics including corporate volunteering, civil society, and diversity in five different countries. Alan has served as a planning consultant for various national organizations, government agencies, financial institutions, educational initiatives, and nonprofit efforts.
Alan is a founding board member of APIAHiP that attended the first San Francisco Forum representing Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation (WW2 Japanese American Concentration Camp). Alan continues to recognize the importance of remembering the legacy of what came before us and connecting with young and old professionals dedicated to making sure future generations can see the preservation of the physical past.
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Los Angeles, CA
Munson A. Kwok has served on over 15 nonprofit boards and key committees including El Pueblo Park Association, L.A. CACA Community Action, and the National C.A.C.A.Community Involvement Fund. Kwok co-founded the Chinese American Museum, managed National Chinese American Studies Conferences, produced “Heading East: California’s Asian Pacific Experience,” a state-sponsored photo exhibition that toured California from 1998 through 2000, and advised on “Gold Mountain: Chinese Californian Stories,” an exhibit at California Museum. He was National President of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.), the oldest Asian American civil rights group, from 2005- 2009 and remains on the National Board. He helped supervise the cataloging and transfer of over 160 cubic-foot boxes of National C.A.C.A. archival collections (1907-1970) to Stanford University.
As a founding board member of Asian Pacific Islanders in Historic Preservation, he has participated in the management of the organization's biennial forums.
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Los Angeles, CA
Christina Park is a preservation planner for the City of Los Angeles, overseeing the Miracle Mile and Angelino Heights Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs) since 2016. A native of Los Angeles, hailing from the San Fernando Valley and now residing in El Sereno, Christina's background in ethnic studies and historic preservation fuels her passion for leveraging the historical built environment to shape a more sustainable, inclusive, and livable future. Christina's role in the HPOZs involves project and policy planning, aligning with the department's historic preservation objectives. Additionally, she is part of a subcommittee within the Office of Historic Resources, diligently working over the past year to formulate strategies addressing equity and inclusion in City Planning's preservation programs.
For Christina, the most rewarding aspect of her work with the Department lies in its mission-driven nature. She considers it a privilege to be part of one of the world's most dynamic and forward-thinking municipal preservation programs, all within her beloved hometown of Los Angeles.
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Hagåtña, Guam
Joe Quinata, the Chief Program Officer of the Guam Preservation Trust, is a founding board member of APIAHiP, and serves on the Advisory Chair for the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Joe was recently appointed as a Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation representing the National Trust Advisory Group. His career in historic preservation started 30 years ago when he opened the office of the Guam Preservation Trust, a non-profit, public corporation.
His community contributions include the Chairman and Founding Member of the Humatak Community Foundation, Board Member of the Inafa’Maolek Mediation Center, and Executive Council Member of the National History Day, Inc. Joe Quinata received the 2011 NTHP Trustee’s Award for Organizational Excellence for his administration of the Guam Preservation Trust. He was cited an Honorary Architect from the American Institute of Architects, Guam and Micronesia Chapter and a recipient of the Pioneer in Preservation Award honored by APIAHiP.
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Riverside, CA
M. Rosalind Sagara has a professional background in historic preservation, community organizing, and storytelling. She is currently the Neighborhood Outreach Manager with the Los Angeles Conservancy where she develops local preservation leaders throughout Los Angeles County. She is a co-founder of the Save Our Chinatown Committee and co-author of the award-winning Asian Americans in Los Angeles Historic Context for SurveyLA.
One of Rosalind's fondest memories took place in 2014 when APIAHiP organized a Citizen Lobby Day in Washington D.C. as part of our 3rd biennial National Forum. Forum attendees visited Capitol Hill and met with members of the U.S. Senate and Congress to discuss legislation and issues impacting AAPI historic places, including historic tax credits, the Historic Preservation Fund, and threatened historic sites in our communities. As an organizer of the program, it was exciting to empower AAPIs to take action to preserve AAPI historic places.
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We believe that diversity and representation are essential in our organization, and we're seeking dynamic individuals who share our passion for preserving the rich cultural heritage of Asian and Pacific Islander American communities.
As a board member, you'll have the opportunity to influence our strategies, programs, and initiatives that make a tangible impact on preserving and celebrating the history and culture of APIA communities across the United States and its territories.
If you or someone you know is driven by a desire to preserve and promote the heritage of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, we encourage you to nominate candidates who can help lead APIAHiP into a vibrant future.
Email the Executive Director to inquire about or initiate the nomination process.