Seattle Convention Late Registration Ends on July 11
đ¨Last chance to join us at #OCACON! Late registration is open only until July 11, so donât miss out!
đBy registering, youâll get access to exclusive luncheons, networking receptions, and a seat at the prestigious OCA Awards Gala.
Flying to Seattle? Make Sure Youâre REAL ID Ready!
On May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers must be REAL ID compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities. Find out if youâre REAL ID ready or map out your path to REAL ID readiness at dhs.gov/real-id.
âď¸Planning your trip to #OCACON? Save on your stay by choosing from three great lodging options that fit your budget: Graduate by Hilton, Silver Cloud Hotel, and Oliver Hall (formerly known as Willow Hall) (on-campus housing)!
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The last day to book your room in Oliver Hall is TODAY.
While all workshops are free and open to the public at the 2025 OCA National Convention in Seattle, WA, we understand that cost can still be a barrier for students who want to have the full convention experience. That is why, this year, we have created a system in which OCA members or the general public can donate $175 (the cost of a Youth ticket) so that a college student can attend the OCA National Convention for free.
Full-package registration gives you access to the following:
Friday: Youth Recognition Luncheon Saturday: The State of Constitutional Law Plenary Breakfast
Saturday: OCA Membership & Chapter of the Year Luncheon
Saturday: OCA Awards Gala
Convention T-Shirt
Interested students must apply to receive a free sponsored full-package ticket. The free registration will be distributed on a first-come, first-served, rolling basis, while supplies last. To be eligible to receive a free sponsored full-package ticket, applicants must be current college students.
If you are interested in donating a free Youth ticket ($175) for a current college student to attend the OCA National Convention, please donate at www.ocanational.org/donate, fill out the donation form, and select â2025 Convention - Youth Registration Donationâ from the drop-down menu.
Side Quest Events in Seattle
đ˛Explore Seattle with the OCA - Greater Seattle Chapter on some side quests! These free, optional events include a UW campus tour, a Mariners baseball game, a Bruce Lee legacy tour, and more. Donât miss out on the fun during Convention week!
Pursuing the American Dream: Tucson Chinese-Owned Grocery Stores
Pursuing the American Dream: Tucson Chinese-Owned Grocery Stores tells the story of the Chinese history in Tucson, Arizona (mid â 1870âs to 2010) and how Chinese-owned grocery stores provided the mean to pursue the American Dream (1881-1991). The book is available at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.
Thank you to our May and June donors Amy Wipfler, Daniel Yuhas, Leslie Moe-Kaiser, Donna Cole, Andrew Lee, Aryani Ong, Kevin Bradley, Martha Watanabe, Sam Luk, Clifford Yee, Anthony Nguyen, and Andrew Lee, for your generous contributions towards the President's Circle Initiative! Your contributions directly support local OCA chapter programs and projects that impact AANHPI communities around the country.
PRESS RELEASES & STATEMENTS
2025 Gold Mountain Scholarship Recipients Embody Academic Excellence and Community Leadership
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates proudly announces the 2025 OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship recipients, twelve graduating high school seniors and four rising college seniors, recognizing their academic excellence, leadership, and financial need. Click here to read more.
OCA Condemns Attacks on Free Speech and Freedom of the Press OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates urges all levels of the U.S. government to uphold free speech and freedom of the press in the face of law enforcement and military responses to demonstrations in Los Angeles and across the country. Click here to read more.
OCA Honors the Life and Legacy of Vincent Chin
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates honors the legacy of Vincent Chin, whose death sparked a national civil rights movement, and reaffirms our commitment to confronting racism and advancing justice for all communities. Click here to read more.
Advancing Justice - AAJC, WLC, and OCA Condemn SCOTUS Decision to Limit Courtsâ Ability to Address Administrationâs Unlawful Executive Orders, Including Attacks to Birthright Citizenship
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates condemns the Supreme Courtâs decision and remains committed to defending birthright citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment through ongoing litigation. Click here to read more.
OCA Condemns Senate Vote on Budget Bill, Calls House for Action
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates condemns the Senateâs passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for endangering healthcare access, undermining civil rights, and putting marginalized communities at risk. Click here to read more.
OCA Calls for Federal Action Amid Political Violence and Gun Attacks
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates calls for federal action to address the surge in politically motivated violence and protect the safety of our communities and democratic institutions. Click here to read more.
EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
NCAPA Story Collection
We are looking for AANHPI perspectives on how recent executive orders have impacted different members of the community. We are looking to collect stories from community members and organizations on how they currently rely on federal programs, such as health care, social security, and language access or adversely impacted by policy changes to immigration, education, equity and inclusion, and beyond. We would be grateful for your perspective on these federal changes if you have them and also if you could support us in sharing our storybank with your partners, members, and community.
For 50 years, OCA has been a powerful voice for our communities, growing and evolvingâfrom the Organization of Chinese Americans to OCA â Asian Pacific American Advocates. But our true strength comes from youâour members, volunteers, and supporters who have shaped this journey.
We want to celebrate your experiences, your impact, and the stories that connect us. Whether you've been with OCA for decades or just joined, your voice matters. Take a moment to share your story and be part of the legacy we continue to build together!These testimonials will play a vital role in our storytelling efforts, helping us highlight the impact of OCA through our members' voices.
Your story could be featured in IMAGE Magazine, on our social media, or in our monthly newsletter!
The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative (USWAI) is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, translators, and journalists in addressing short-term financial emergencies. To be eligible, applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported. Grant decisions are made on a quarterly basis by a volunteer committee of literary peers in consultation with PEN America staff.Â
Writers currently enrolled in degree-granting programs are also not eligible. Writers do not have to be Members of PEN America to receive a grant, but all recipients of emergency funding will be given a complimentary one-year PEN America membership.Â
Help us update our OCA Intern Alumni Directory
We are requesting all OCA National internship program alumni to fill out the OCA Intern Alumni Directory Form to help us update our internal database so we can stay in touch with our intern alumni from the last 35Â years. Fill out the form.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
OCA - Greater Los Angeles Chapter
OCA - Greater Los Angeles AAPI Heritage Luncheon
Sunday, May 18, 2025
OCA - Greater Los Angeles Chapter herald 2025 Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month at a celebratory awards luncheon on Sunday, May18, 2025, at NBC Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park. Co-sponsored with the Asian American Studies Center (AASC) of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the program included the oath of office for the 2025 OCA-GLA Board in addition to the welcoming of three new full Board members and a Board intern recruited through the Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) Board leadership program. The highlights of our luncheon event which included more than 100 attendees was presenting Monterey Park City Councilmember Henry Lo with the OCA-Greater Los Angeles 2025 Generational Hero Award for his years of public service and especially acknowledged for his leadership as mayor presiding the city during one of its deadliest crises: the mass shooting by a lone gunman at that claimed the lives of 11 people and injured nine at a dance studio.
The event guest speaker was Norman Wong, the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, the petitioner in the landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case that affirmed birthright citizenship is a constitutional protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. A Northern California native, Mr. Wong has been speaking out against the current administration's aggressive immigration policies and attempts to erase the legacy of the United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) decision, which applies to âchildren born, within the territory of the United States, of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States. Every citizen or subject of another country, while domiciled here, is within the allegiance and the protection, and consequently subject to the jurisdiction, of the United States.â The question and answer session addressed broader themes of historic discriminatory practices that led to legislative actions of exclusion and Normanâs own experience growing up in mixed Chinese-Japanese household and the legacy of wartime incarceration.
OCA - Greater Los Angeles Honors Veterans on Memorial Day Monday, May 26, 2025
The American Legion Chinatown Post 628 performs annually the flag-raising ceremony at the Chinese Cemetery in East Los Angeles and OCA - Greater Los Angeles Chapter joined in the observance of the mostly Chinese American servicepersons who are buried. OCA - Greater Los Angeles, along with C.A.C.A. Los Angeles, contributed towards the purchase of a mantle floral arrangement for the ceremony as well white roses for attendees to place on the headstones. OCA - GLA Board of Directors that were present at the ceremony were Tom Eng, Christopher Nakatsuka, and Rick Eng.
OCA - San Mateo Coach Swims Across English Channel to Raise $5000 for Kids
OCA - San Mateo Chapter is reaching out to share an exciting opportunity to support the Speak and Lead program, which helps AAPI high school students develop public speaking and leadership skills. This July, Jimmy Hong, the director of Speak and Lead, along with his son Marcus, daughter Mila, and friend Pierre, will attempt to swim across the English Channel as a relay team. This challenging swim is not just a personal goal; itâs a way to raise awareness and funds for a program that has been empowering students for over 20 years. A generous benefactor will match donations up to $5,000, making this a perfect time to contribute. Your donations will directly benefit the Speak and Lead program, ensuring it continues to thrive. Join in supporting this important cause and help make a difference. Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute.
OCAâs Everything Employees Need to Know Dim Sum Workshop by OCA - Colorado
OCA - Colorado Chapter is hosting the Dim Sum Workshop on "Everything Employers Needs to Know" on 7/13/2025 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Diana's Palace Event Center at 4359 West Florida Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80219. We have three speakers: Employment Lawyer Deborah YIM; Criminal Lawyer Andrew HO; and Immigration Lawyer Margaret Choi.
Please contact OCA - Colorado Vice President Attorney Choi at 303-830-8880 or email [email protected] to register for this FREE workshop.
Monterey Park Mahjong Returns! by OCA - Greater Los Angeles
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Back by popular interest, the Intergenerational Community Mahjong begun by OCA - Greater Los Angeles Chapter in late February and through March returns to Langley Center, a community facility primarily serving seniors in Monterey Park. The free mahjong sessions for the community were designed to encourage and educate future generations to engage in gameplay of the classic mahjong game. In addition to preserving and passing down this popular cultural pastime, the program aimed to provide a space for interaction among multiple generations of the Southland community. Opened to players of all skill levels, volunteer instructors are present to teach the game, while several tables are available for advanced players.
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The current program is directed by Mahjong Underground, a grassroots movement that played a valuable supporting role in the inaugural games under OCA - GLAâs direction. See flyer for dates and times of the new program.
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The ongoing mahjong program is made possible by a grant through the Monterey Park Community Healing Fund, established following the tragic shooting on January 21, 2023, at a local ballroom and dance studio where a lone gunman killed 11 people and injured nine. The grant was awarded to Golden Guide, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving as the fiscal agency for Underground Mahjong.
