PROGRAM APPROACH
CAUSE’s primary programs focus on these three main areas:
VOTE.
Voter Outreach, Training, and Education (VOTE) Initiatives empower individuals to be active political participants, vote in elections, and share resources that educate API communities about elections. This includes information about in-language resources, voting processes, and insights on issues that impact the API community. CAUSE understands how critical culturally relevant resources are to promoting civic engagement in the API community. Efforts have included producing a comprehensive Los Angeles mayoral video interview series, compiling voter resource lists, and hosting events with elected leaders on important topics such as Stop Asian Hate. CAUSE will continue prioritizing access to information in our efforts.
PARTICIPATE.
Cross Cultural Dialogues discuss the complexity of perspectives around issues that impact API communities. From showcasing nonprofit organizations to sharing diverse perspectives about issues, these conversations provide information about issues and efforts, so that individuals can make decisions about how they want to participate in community efforts. In recent years, the dialogues focused on a series of Multiethnic Statewide Community Polls. The surveys captured perceptions of race relations and identity, responses to COVID-19 efforts, and insights into issues including elections, immigration, police brutality, and hate crime.
LEAD.
Many emerging leaders can often feel alone in their efforts to create community change. To show these leaders they are not alone, one of CAUSE’s central values is connecting cross-sector leaders with each other to encourage network building and to foster camaraderie. For example, in CAUSE Leadership Institute for Professionals and the CAUSE Leadership Academy for students, CAUSE connects fellows with local and national changemakers. In intimate discussions, changemakers candidly share their experiences and words of wisdom to inspire fellows in creating their own leadership pathways. CAUSE will continue to build these connections, sustaining and growing our community relationships with one another.
CURRENT PROGRAMS
CAUSE Leadership Academy for College Students
Summer
A full-time, nine-week, paid, internship program, with legislative and policy organizational placements, that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the API community on their campuses and beyond.
CAUSE Leadership Institute for Professionals
Winter/Spring
A six-month certificate program for mid-career level professionals program that prepares and equips mid-career professionals with the tools, skills, and network to lead and advocate for the API community.
CAUSE on Campus
with California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA)
Winter/Spring
A part-time, 15-week paid student internship focused on a voter education community impact project.
This program is only open to CSULA students.
VOTE Initiatives
Voter Outreach through engagement at events
Voter Resources about the voting process, locations, and what will be on the ballot
Multiethnic Poll Series (Statewide and Citywide) these polls provide information about the state of race relations in California
Cross Cultural Dialogues bringing leaders together for informational dialogues, difficult conversations, and strategies for the future
PROGRAM ALUMNI
CAUSE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (CLA)
Formerly known as California Asian American Student Internship (CASIC) Leadership Academy
1999 - Present
1999 (CASIC)
Annie Chang
Tina Ching
Bernard Lam
Christine Li
Arthur Tsao
Eugene Yu
Ivana Wong
2001
Lesley Cheung
Jason Lee
Charline Maher
Jack Song
Adam Wu
Cheery Yen
Hong Zheng
2003
Andrea Chan
Christine Chang
Robert Fukumoto
David Hsu
Elizabeth Nakano
Michael Wu
Victoria Yang
2002
Eric Chen
Christina Hsu
Sunny Hwang
Benjamin Lau
Minal Mehta
James Nguyen
Diana Rodriguez-Wong
Kevin C. Shin
Elsa Tung
2004
Linda Chu
Matthew Hui
Grace Osumi
Regina Yeh
Edison Zhang
2005
Teresa Chiao
Diana Chiu
Alan Kwan
John Mou
Elnie Vannatim
2006
Claudia Hon
Angela Shen
Debbie Trinh
Cynthia Vuong
Sandra Yu
2007
Dawn Cheng
Anna Foo
Martin Leong
Kristine Seko
Tiffany Wang
Christopher Woo
Grace Wu
2008
Ann Chau
Patricia Chou
Andrew Chung
Michael Dee
Charles Li
Andrea Liao
Stephanie Ng
Timothy Sae Koo
Schaum Song
Jane Vhung
2009
Margaret Cho
Karina Hermawan
Jessica Li
Christopher Justin Low
Anna Park
Grace Song
2010
Christian Adriatico
Patricia Amoroto
Justin Balagatas
Jamie Chan
Carl Chen
Jean Guo
Jonathan Lau
Monica Lee
Kristina Lieu
Lindy K. Pham
2011 (CLA)
Andrew Angeles
Sungwoo Chon
Connie Chu
Ellen Green
Rebecca Han
Grace Li
Anh Thu Tran
Matthew Wong
Alexander Zou
2012
Wajenda Chambeshi
Grace Hsieh Chiu
Kaitlyn Jeong
Krishnanand Kelkar
Gloria Kim
Lisa Lei
Mary Zhou
2013
Jonathan Chen
Tanya Edmilao
Chee Kwan
Katrina Lei
Lauren Richardson
Christine Sun
Jimmy Q. Tran
Edward Truong
Kim Yamasaki
2014
Alfred Hwang
Amanda Sutima Lee
Hye Rin "Lily" Lee
Daniel Aaron Liu
Bao Nhia Moua
Edwin Saucedo
Rita Zhou
2015
Samantha Gomes
Elaine Hang
Taylor Huang-Boutelle
Jonathan Yedahm Lee
Takuya Maeda
Rhea Manglani
Lianne May
Kristie Sham
Lauren Isabel-Barbara Triolo
Tianyi "Tesia” Zhou
2016
Zenni Duong
Blessing Jee
Sabina Li
Jess Liu
Eric Phung
Edwin Saucedo
Phoebe Shen
Joanna Tien
Xuan Tong
Erika Zheng
2017
Anna Katrina Alvarado
Sylvia Guan
Sabrina Inoue
Jeffery Jen
Nayada "Mint" Katavetin
Diana Lam
Hanah Lee
Dim Mang
Erika Ngo
Sonia Romero
Stephanie Sun
Eric Thai
Allison Vo
Helen Yu
Olivia Zheng
2018
Jordan Agricula
Andy Bui
Pranett Chhunpen
Jocelyn Chi
Jenny Feng
Katherine Hsu
Jae Jin Lee
Yumei Lin
Leann Pham
Hesu Song
Benjamin Tran
Christine Tran
2019
Amber Chong
Shekinah Deocares
Olivia Dulai
Maamaloa Finau
ShuMin He
Amy Ho
Matthew Lee
Yanqing Lei
Nina Long
Thanh Mai
Lena Nguyen
Brandon Tabata
Angela Wang
Maya Wong
Amanda Yuen
2020
Amy Ahmed
Alyssa Choi
Aber John (AJ) Espinoza
Sandi Khine
Ashley Lin
Melody Satele
Lauren Tankeh
Matthew Vu
2021
Byron Briones
Andre Ching
Shanahan Europa
Patrick Fang
Jenn Galinato
Sasha Hussain
Emily Lam
Sean Lee
Andy Li
Lena Rhie
Sean Tan
Fiona Truong
Meiyi Ye
Suki Zhao
2022
Ava Ahlstrand
Carissa Cheng
Charlize Domingo Ott
Olivia Frenkel
Nicole Iwamasa
Pisith Keo
Nicole Lu
Jereme Lua
Isalys Mendoza De La Rosa
Annie Nguyen
Lucy Pan
PaNhia Vang
Arali Weeranarayana Seneviratne
2023
Olivia Anderson
Erika Au
William Chao
Emma Chen
Liam Chia
Naya Dukkipati
Kenny Lê
Pa Houa Lee
Andrea Mac
Meghna Nair
Coby Nguyen
Phong Nguyen
Olivia Sieve
Angel Yuan
CAUSE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (CLI)
Formerly known as CAUSE Political Institute (CPI)
2016 - Present
2016 (CPI)
Alexander De Ocampo
Hyepin Im
Arnold F. Lee
Henry Lo
Polly Low
Robert Park
Suely Ngouy Saro
Stephanie Uy
Thomas Wong
2017
Hildegarde Aguinaldo
David Chiang
Hannah Cho
Adam Hsu
Tae Kang
Claire Kitayama
Connie Lee
Edward Lee
Faith Lee
Gerrard Panahon
Jinha Park
Lauren Pong
Charlotte White
John Yi
2018 (CLI)
Ronald Arruejo
Phylizia Carrillo
Jessica Cha
AndyMike Emata
Jenifer Harris
Jackie Kim
Jennifer Kumiyama
Jessica Lee
Olivia Lee
Andrew Murphy
Lindsey Nitta
Audrey Oh
Liliane Ribeiro
Paul Seo
Jimmy Tang
Alton Wang
Melanie Yamamoto
Rodney Yo
2019
Kenneth Ahn
Jasmeet Bains
Carmen Chang
Stephanie Cherng
Steven Chow
Carolyn Chu
JunHee Doh
Jason Galisatus
Augustine Han
Eunice Kang
Jeffrey Lee
Kyle Lee
Carmille Lim
Denise Luu
Meredith Maimoni
Bianca Nepales
Hoang Nguyen
Derek Oye
Taylor Quan
Chris Teng Balmaseda
Eileen Ung
Xeres Villanueva
Clint Weirick
Cindy Wu
Melody Zhang
2020
Allen Au
Gina Charusombat
Charles Chen
Kent Chen
Wendy Cheung
Winnie Fong
Alexander Fung
Rose Ann Gutierrez
Kimberly Kandel
Minwoo (David) Kim
Cindy Lee
Michi Lew
Cindy Lin
Reiney Lin
John Ma
Amy Matecki
Alfredo Miller
Victor Munoz
Adrian Narayan
Michael Roberts Nguyen
Angela Shen
Victoria Shin
Dahyun (Day) Son
Jennifer Tang
Jessica Wong
Hanna Yi
Samantha Yturralde
Kristina Zhang
2021
Moises Jun Aglipay
Melissa Ann Apuya
Connie Chan
Angela Chang
Jessica Chang
Jen Chiou
Aileen Flores
Ayana Galace
Jazmin Garcia
Rajan Gill
Jason Khoo
Michelle Kuang
Van Le
Cindy Lee
Sarah Lee
Amaris Leiataua
Janet McIntyre
Stephen Phan
Andrew Saetern
Angie Shaw
Nira Singh
Jason Song
Kathleen Soriano
Marlena Truong
Catherine Villaverde
Douglas Yang
Annie Yea
Angela Yip
2022
Jason Agpaoa
Hina Ahmad
Duke Choi
Frederick Alain Docdocil
Justin Fong
Serapia Kim
Raeena Lari
Anthony Nguyen
Benjamin Tran
Ada Tsui
Nicole Williams
Howard Zuo
2023
Annie Chean
Kevin Fang
Bilal Hammoud
Peter Kim
Ashley Mack
Steven Nguyen
Neil Park-McClintick
Emily Ramos
Dara Smith
Alec Tsai
John Wie
William Yen
Shengxiao "Sole" Yu | 虞圣晓
CAUSE on CAMPUS
2021 - Present
2021
Aylin Acosta Vargas
Crisdel Aguila
Amanda Barajas
Abigail Calderon Garcia
Ariana Cao
Maria Castellanos
Wendy Cortes
Waldetrudis Cruz
Golden Gonzales Palmer
Brianna Gordon
Sae Hee Jeong
Marisol Hernandez Nieblas
Sammie Lee
Dannea Marie Zablan
Christine Mercado
Alison Quon
Sulia'anapesi Reed
Felicity Ta
Camilla Torres
Hannah Wong
2022
Lauren Alcala
Eric Bartolo
Ana Bocanegra
Migel Eugenio Luis Dino
Kimi Engelbrecht
Tallon Pedregosa
Zeus Soriano
Natalie Thi
Karlo Toledo
Nicholas Ung
2023
Hannah Chan
Emily Hackley
Jocelyn Perez
Soledad Santana
Helena Tejeda
Emily Wong
Mirabella Zangrilli
CAUSE LEADERSHIP NETWORK (CLN)
2018 - 2019
2018
Craig Ishii
Hogan Lee
Nanxi Liu
Vivian Long
Sean Miura
Jim Song
Amy Watanabe
Mike Zhang
2019
Steve Angeles
Joseph Bernardo
Shikha Bhatnagar
Jessica Caloza
Scott Chan
Ricky Choi
Anna Marie Cruz
Mike Fong
Yoomee Ha
Jennifer Harris
Tony Hoang
Kelly Honda Takasu
Lindsey Horowitz
Emi Kamemoto
Steve Kang
Tae Kang
Stacia Kato
Travis Kaya
Saurabh Kikani
Sylvia Kim
Claire Kitayama
Kavi Lal
Connie Lee
Edward Lee
Olivia Lee
Jessica Lee
Jade Leung
Kevin Lian
Milton Liu
Samuel Liu
Henry Lo
Adam Ma
Jeff Maloney
Andrew Murphy
Farzana Nayani
Stephanie Nitahara
Devin Osiri
Gerrard Panahon
Dora Quach
Max Reyes
Emmanor Rigonan
James Roh
Miguel Sangalang
Paul Seo
Lawrence Shih
Justin Tandingan
John Tang
Lisa Thong
Kenney Tran
Elnie Vannatim
Michael Vuong
Alton Wang
Thomas Wong
Melanie Yamamoto
Bryant Yang
Nancy Yap
Clayton Yeung
John Yi
CIVIc ENGAGEMENT LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP FELLOWSHIP (CELF)
2012 - 2017
2012 - 2013
Lan Chen
Helen Wang
Lizza Wang
Wenyi Zhang
2013 - 2014
Linyun Du
Yuyangzi Hu
Yuxuan Ji
Suran Ouyang
Xuxu Song
Jieru Zhang
2014 - 2015
Andrea Bi
Clare Ge
Joy Wang
Junteng Wang
Xuan Zhang
2017
Angelina Finau
Jina Kim
VETERANS INITIATIVES
2015 - 2017
2015 - 2016
Henry Chan
Yuxing Jin
Jonathan Kim
Wen Wei Lin
2017
Evette Kim
Richard Mai
Audrey Oh
Andrew Saetern
Priscilla Songsanand
Jayce Wolf