CAPAL and Teach For America’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Alliances is pleased to co-host the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Reception, bringing together members of the AANHPI community in Washington, DC to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the accomplishments of our community to date. The APAHM reception will include a short program recognizing the Month and the work of CAPAL, as well as recognize our partners and sponsors that make it possible. The APAHM Reception takes place right before the start of CAPAL’s summer programming, thus the program will provide a brief overview into our Washington Leadership Program (WLP), AANHPI Roundtable Series and Public Service Scholarship and Internship Program taking place this summer. The reception is open to all members of the DC community, but advance registration is required. Refreshments will be served. Dress is business professional.

Speaker

Kristen Castro is a Professional Recruitment Director at Teach For America, where she facilitates career changes for professionals interested in teaching and educational equity, and leads the organization’s virtual engagement strategy. She also serves as Board Co-Chair for the DC Collective. She is a triple Gator, having graduated from the University of Florida with her Juris Doctor, B.A. in Criminology and B.S. in Public Relations. After graduating from law school, she worked in D.C. as a pro bono attorney and nonprofit manager. In 2012, she joined Teach For America’s corps to teach in her hometown, Miami-Dade, Florida. She taught third and fourth grade at an elementary school in her own high school’s feeder pattern. Her students made incredible academic growth, moving the school’s overall performance grade from an “F” to a “B” and improving the school’s percentile ranking in writing scores from the 12th percentile to the 68th percentile in the district. She is committed more than ever to ensuring that all kids have the opportunity to realize their full potential.

Godfrey Plata is a Filipino immigrant and a proud product of the Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified School Districts in California. As one of two Directors of Regional Leadership Development for Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), he supports efforts to deliver quality leadership development to current and former educators interested in translating their service in the classroom into systemic change via policy, advocacy, organizing, or elected leadership — without leaving their full-time jobs (unless they want to)! Before joining LEE’s staff, Godfrey worked with The Metropolitan Organization – Houston (TMO Houston), organizing families and community leaders around issues like gentrification, education, infrastructure, and public safety. In his work, Godfrey draws from his experiences as an ’06 corps member and as a staff member of Teach For America institutes from 2007-2015. Outside of work, he has organized with Houston’s students, parents, and educators as a founding leader Organizing Network for Education, Houston (ONE Houston), working toward a Pre-K through 2 suspension ban, the creation of a district-wide social-emotional services team, and the defunding of a privately-run alternative school campus. He is currently organizing with Angelenos Organizing 4 Education (AO4E) in Los Angeles. He holds a BA in Theater and American Studies (concentration: Ethnic Studies) from the University of Richmond and a MA in Performance Studies from UC Berkeley, where his thesis focused on notions of “performance” in education policy.

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.

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This event is now full, please fill out the form below to be added to the waitlist.

By by attending our APAHM Reception, 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.