APISA delights UCOP colleagues with heritage celebrations
June 7, 2022 •
Partha Chakraborty and Cameron Pon take a break from work to attend the APISA Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration in Oakland.
The Asian Pacific Islander Staff Association (APISA), a UCOP employee resource group, has been engaged to increase the visibility of Asian American Pacific Islander communities and culture, highlight these communities’ challenges and successes, and bring relevant events to colleagues.
In May — Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month — APISA invited all UCOP staff to celebrate and explore Asian American Pacific Islander cultures and communities by organizing two highly successful and well-attended events.
Regana Staccato-Johnson and Yvette Gullatt enjoy custom boba teas in the Broadway/Franklin roof garden.
On May 10, we held a Tsai & Yang at the Movies event featuring “ The Donut King,” a documentary film about Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee who built a multi-million dollar donut empire up and down the West Coast. Ben Tsai and Tony Yang provided lively commentary, and on-site attendees were treated to some delicious donuts.
On May 24, we invited Oakland staff to make their own boba tea. More than 80 colleagues joined us on the 5th-floor rooftop garden between the Franklin and Broadway buildings. Afterward, we held a storytelling event — PechaKucha, which is Japanese for “chit-chat.” Lalitha Sankaran, Tony Yang and Shirley Bittlingmeier shared impactful stories about their personal journeys and experiences.
APISA would like to give a special thanks to our executive sponsors, Yvette Gullatt and Nathan Brostrom, who joined us for boba, as well as Charlie Robinson who stayed for the PechaKucha. We would also like to thank the colleagues and friends who supported our events. We wish the very best to UCOP Pride and the Black Staff and Faculty Organization on their upcoming events in June!
See more event photos and watch PechaKucha presentations in Box
Learn more about APISA and other UCOP Employee Resource Groups
Patricia Osorio-O’Dea chats with Tony Yang as Ben Tsai welcomes colleagues to the fifth-floor roof garden.
