Author: Alfred Twu

Saturday, August 19, 5:45-7:30pm
Visalia Convention Center, 2nd Floor, Sequoia Room
Open to the Public

Moderator: Rachel Hernandez, (she/her), Vice Chair CV AAPI Caucus and Vice Mayor, Riverbank

Panelists

Uriah Kishon Ikaika Napaepae Blackwell (he/him), Community Engagement Coordinator CVPIA

Uriah is 25 years old and identifies as Kanaka Maoli and Black. As the eldest of 9 siblings, qualities of being of service come natural to him. He began his organizing journey while attending UCLA from 2016 – 2020 with UCLA’s Pacific Islands’ Student Association (PISA) mobilizing around issues such as low Pacific Islander retention rates on and off campus, as well as the Mauna Kea Movement and much more. Uriah’s work with UCLA led to more opportunities with other organizations such as EPIC, APIFM and SOCAL PICRT, to name a few. He envisions our community as one who thrives here in the states, while also being connected to roots back home on our islands. Through CVPIA, he is able to work towards making that vision a reality everyday! 

Leng Power (she/her), Community Builder

Leng Power is a first generation Cambodian American who grew up in the Central Valley Modesto Community where she is committed to causes related to poverty alleviation, strengthening the leadership fabric of the Valley, and building resilience among marginalized groups. Leng has served professionally as part of the Stanislaus County Behavioral Health department, Homeless and Housing Systems and currently serves as a Community Services Manager for an East Bay municipality. Leng is the past chair of the Salida Municipal Advisory Council, a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum Great Valley Chapter and a 2020 Emerge CA alumni.

Dr. Jasmeet Bains (she/her), Assemblymember District 35

Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains was elected to the California State Assembly  in November of 2022 to represent the 35th Assembly District. Assemblymember Bains worked as a family doctor providing primary healthcare to families throughout the Valley. Dr. Bains also serves as a volunteer with Global Family – an organization dedicated to combating ​human trafficking and child abuse, on the San Joaquin Valley Air District’s Environmental Justice Advisory group – working to improve our Valley’s air and water quality, and on the Taft College Foundation – fighting to expand access to higher education.

The daughter of immigrant parents from India, Dr. Bains grew up in the Central Valley. After graduating from medical school, Jasmeet returned home and completed her residency at Clinica Sierra Vista in Kern County, choosing to work in underserved healthcare settings to increase access to healthcare. 

Lilian Thaoxaochay (she/her), Small Farms Community Educator

Lilian Thaoxaochay is a first-generation Hmong American born and raised in Fresno, 

CA. Her family has farmed Asian specialty and vegetable crops in the Central Valley for three decades now. She completed her MA in Cultural Anthropology at UC Santa Cruz and has a BA in Medical Anthropology and Asian American Studies from Stanford University. Her previous work and research interests revolved around community racial/ethnic health disparities and policy, cultural competency in medical education, and Southeast Asian oral histories as political protest. 

Lilian is currently a Small Farms Community Educator with the UCANR Cooperative Extension Office in Fresno County for the Small Farms and Specialty Crops Program where she provides technical assistance to Southeast Asian and other small scale and minority farmers for disaster relief; translation and education around soil health and water efficiency practices; and connects growers to resources on a variety of agricultural regulatory concerns.