Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans

The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) is a 501c(3) 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 network. The meetings last for about one and 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. Offices include the President, Vice Presidents, Treasurer and Secretaries and various Committee Chair positions.

Current Officers

President - Bibs Teh |[email protected]

Bibs Teh is a Sr. Financial Analyst specializing in the Telecom Industry and is a Masters in Liberal Arts candidate at Harvard University. She has served CAPA in various capacities over the years and is also the founder of NY Fashionista boutique online, an upscale boutique dedicated to the latest fashion trends.

Vice President - Arlene Alegre | [email protected]

Arlene is the Director of Annual Giving at a private college in New Jersey. She has been involved with CAPA since 1999.

TREASURER - Stephen Chen| [email protected]

Stephen Chen is currently an Associate at Bear Stearns and is serving as Treasurer of Brown University's Asian-Asian American Alumni Alliance (A4). He is a former member of the Student Advisory Committee at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) and was coordinator of the Southeast Asian Mentoring (SEAM) program with the Swearer Center for Public Service.

SECRETARY - Wendy Yu| [email protected]

Wendy Yu is currently an Analyst in the Fashion Retail Industry in NYC. In her senior year at the University of Buffalo, she was Vice-President of the Community Action Corps and the American Marketing Association. She was an Events Planning Intern for SHiNE, Inc., a non-profit organization empowering teens, before becoming involved with CAPA in 2004.

PERFORMANCE CHAIR - Jason Chin | [email protected]

Jason is an expert in Asian films and anime. Besides serving as the performance chair for CAPA, he is also the Director of Legal Affairs for Jellybean Recordings. An independent music label and publisher in New York.

TALK TUESDAY CHAIR - Adam Chan | [email protected]

Adam is the CAPA Representative for Talk Tuesday, an monthly professional networking event co-organized by NAAAP. Adam is also a regular contributor to various Asian American nonprofits serving the New York metro area.

Advisory Board Members

Ning Zhang - Former President of CAPA and co-founder of Fresh Concentrate |www.freshc.com

Ramon Gil - Founder of asiansinamerica.org| www.asiansinamerica.org

Julie Azuma - President of Different Roads to Learning www.difflearn.com

Jason Chin - 2007 Festival Performance Chair

Jorge Chang - Former Treasurer for CAPA

Renee Tang Kong - Former board member of CAPA and OCA-NY

Phil Tajitsu Nash - Asian American Studies Program University of Maryland

CAPA History
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 applications, inquiries and correspondonce can be sent to:

The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans
12 West 18th Street, Suite 3E
New York, NY 10011

212-989-3610 Tel
646-619-4430 Fax