APAPA Leaders Testified in Support of CSU Trustee Wenda Fong’s Reappointment Hearing
Fong is first Asian American to chair CSU Board of Trustees
Members of APAPA & CSU Trustee Fong after the Senate Hearing.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Local APAPA leaders with the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) and its Government Appointments Committee (GAC) delivered strong remarks at the California Senate Rules hearing in support of California State University Trustee Wenda Fong. Appointed in 2018, Fong was reappointed by Governor Newsom in 2024 to the governing board for another eight-year term and appeared before the California Senate Rules Committee as part of the reappointment process.
Among the members of APAPA who spoke in support of Trustee Fong: Reclamation District 1000 Trustee Ed Perez, Eva Robinson, Commissioner for the California Student Aid Commission and Sacramento County Commission on the Status of Women & Girls, Y.K. Chalamcherla, Folsom-Cordova Unified School Board Trustee, and APAPA National Program Director Isa Whalen. Other attendees included: APAPA CEO Mary Yin Liu, Commissioner for the Sacramento County Fair Board Romer Cristobal, and APAPA Chapter Engagement Manager Melody Jimenez.
“I am grateful to APAPA for the unconditional support of my reappointment,” said CSU Trustee and APAPA-GAC Honorary Chair Wenda Fong. “It has been an honor for me to serve on the California State University Board of Trustees and I look forward to a second term to carry on the work with my fellow trustees for our 460,000 students, our faculty and staff for the nation’s largest four-year public university system.”
Trustee Fong was the first Asian American to chair the prestigious governing board from 2022-2024 and joined the APAPA-GAC this month as an honorary chair. With more than 40 years of experience in the entertainment industry, she also holds the dual distinction of being the first person of color and the first woman to have produced the Emmy Awards.
“It is an honor for APAPA and our APAPA-Government Appointments Committee to be a part of the political process to support Trustee Fong for this critical reappointment,” said APAPA-GAC Chair David Yee. “Our mission is to ensure that diverse voices are included in all levels of government and we have been proudly working to support strong and qualified candidates who want to serve. Trustee Fong is one of the incredible leaders that we are happy to support.”
The APAPA-GAC is a committee of dedicated volunteers which ensure that various levels of government have a diverse voice. In 2024, the APAPA-GAC achieved great success with nine gubernatorial political and judicial appointments. Click here to learn more about the committee and the rising stars who have received appointments.
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APAPA, founded in 2001, has grown into a nationwide nonprofit organization with leaders across the country, from Sacramento to Washington, D.C., and a national headquarters located in Sacramento. We are a community-based, non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on increasing API leadership and civic engagement at the local, state, and national level through student internships, voter registration, and civic leadership programs.