2017 Washington Leadership Program Session V: Storytelling in the Media

WLP Session V: Storytelling in the Media will focus on the power of storytelling in influencing and informing the public through news outlets and social commentators.  This session will aim to connect attendees with journalists and public storytellers that reflect their heritage. It will discuss the role of media in all forms – from print to television to podcasts and social media and more – in shaping public opinion through storytelling, as well as introduce attendees to leaders who can help them understand the different aspects of storytelling and journalism in public service careers. Finally attendees will identify ways to harness the power of media to highlight AANHPI issues and be provided resources on how to develop a “pitch” that succinctly highlight their cause or platform to gain media interest. Registration for the event will begin at 5:30pm with our program following promptly at 6:00pm. All WLP sessions are free to the public, but seating is limited. Please register online to reserve your seat. Dinner will be provided.

Speakers

Kat Chow is a founding member of NPR’s Code Switch, an award-winning team that covers the complicated stories of race, ethnicity, and culture. She helps make new episodes for the Code Switch podcast, reports online features for Code Switch, and reports on-air pieces for NPR’s shows like Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Her work has led readers and listeners on explorations of the gendered and racialized double standards surrounding double-eyelid surgery, as well as the mysterious origins of a so-called “Oriental” riff – a word she’s also written a personal essay about. Much of her role revolves around finding new ways to build communities and tell stories, like @todayin1963 or #xculturelove.

During her tenure at NPR, Chow has also worked with NPR’s show Invisibilia to develop a new digital strategy; reported for KERA in Dallas, Texas, as NPR’s 2015 radio reporting fellow; and served on the selection committee for AIR Media’s incubator project, Localore. Every now and then, she’s a fourth chair on NPR’s podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour. And sometimes, people ask her to talk about the work she does — at conferences in Amsterdam or Chicago, or at member stations in St. Paul or Louisville.
While a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, Chow wrote a food column for the Seattle Weekly, interned with the Seattle Times and worked on NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage in Vancouver, B.C. You can find her tweeting for Code Switch at @NPRCodeSwitch and sharing her thoughts at @katchow.

Jenn Fang is founder, editor, and primary blogger of Reappropriate.co. Created in 2001, Reappropriate is one of the web’s oldest and most popular Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) race advocacy and feminism blogs. The blog’s writing focuses on race, gender, identity, Asian American history, and current events. Recent topics include affirmative action, mental health, and criminal justice.

As an undergraduate student at Cornell University, Jenn served in several on-campus organizations devoted to Asian American advocacy, including as president of Asian Pacific Americans for Action. In 2003, Jenn graduated from Cornell with a minor in Asian American Studies.  She earned her Ph.D. in 2010.

In addition to maintaining Reappropriate, Jenn’s writing has also been featured in: Quartz, BlogHer, Good Men Project, Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, Asian Americans for Obama, Angry Asian Man, Northwest Asian Weekly, Change.org, Blog for Arizona and The Nerds of Color.  She can also be found on Twitter (@reappropriate) and Facebook (facebook.com/reappropriate.co).

 Michelle Ye Hee Lee is a reporter at The Washington Post. She writes for The Washington Post Fact Checker, digging for the truth beyond political rhetoric. Her coverage focuses on national politics, and she mainly writes about President Trump, White House and administration officials, and members of Congress. Previously, Michelle was government accountability reporter on the investigative team at The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona. She is senior vice president of Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). She was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Guam. She graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat: @myhlee.

Support for the Storytelling in the Media session is sponsored by The National Association of Broadcasters

More About The Washington Leadership Program

The Washington Leadership Program (WLP) provides a space for young AANHPI students interning in Washington, D.C. to come together, build community, and explore their heritage within the context of public service. Through five sessions over the summer, WLP introduces students to AANHPI public service leaders who can inform and inspire students’ own civic engagement.

The Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) seeks to empower Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth by increasing access to public service opportunities and building a strong AANHPI public service pipeline. We envisions a future with equitable AANHPI representation throughout all levels of government and public service.

We encourage you to join our mailing list, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.

**Registration for this event is now closed. Please contact Camille Sanchez (camille.sanchez@capal.org) to be added to a waitlist or for further questions.**

By registering for CAPAL’s Washington Leadership Program, you give permission to be recorded or photographed during the session. Food provided at this event may contain nuts, dairy, gluten, and other allergens. Vegetarian options will be available.

Check out our other WLP sessions!