The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) is a non-profit organization staffed solely by volunteers working together to build a sense of community among the tri-state area's Asian Pacific Americans. General meetings are held once a month where we plan logistics, set policy and eat. The meetings last for about one and a half hours and the board members represent a wide range of ages, professions and cultural backgrounds.

Every two years, new officers are elected to preserve the tradition of bringing in new ideas and approaches for continuing the success of the Festival. Officers are elected by the consensus of votes tallied at the annual Board Meeting. Offices include the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Co-Secretaries and various Committee Chair positions.


President - Ramon Gil ([email protected])
Vice President - James Yee ([email protected])
Treasurer - Allen Hsieh ([email protected])
Co-Secretary - Marcos Caceres ([email protected])
Co-Secretary - Patrick Lau ([email protected])
Publicity Committee Chairperson - Telly Wong ([email protected])
Booths Committee Chairperson - Chuck Lee (212-245-3066)
Site Committee Chairperson - vacant
Demonstrations Committee Chairpersons - Dee Hamaguchi ([email protected]) and Ken Lo
Performance Committee Chairperson - Toni Wang ([email protected])
Program Book Committee Chairperson - vacant
Theme Committee Chairperson - vacant


In 1979, the first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was proclaimed by President Jimmy Carter. Following this was the creation of the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Associations, organized to: promote cooperation and understanding among Americans of Asian Pacific descent and among their representative organizations; foster friendship among Americans of Asian Pacific descent and others in the community; promote, represent, and advocate the interests of Asian Pacific American communities; and provide a conducive environment for encouraging Asian Pacific Americans to utilize their history, culture and art to foster self-esteem and respect for their heritage.

The Coalition established as its principal activity the celebration of an annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival during the first week of May, now expanded to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by President George Bush. In 1994, the Coalition changed its name to Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) to reflect the growth of the organization which is comprised of unaffiliated individuals in addition to representatives of Asian Pacific American organizations.
All materials © CAPA, 2001. All photographs courtesy of Corky Lee, Kitty Katz,Joseph Songco and various CAPA members.
Contact CAPA at 12 West 18th Street, Suite 3E, New York NY 10011, 212-989-3610