Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Profiles
May was chosen to commemorate the contributions and influence of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the U.S. because the first Japanese immigrated to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. You can learn more from this site, hosted by the Library of Congress on behalf of other government institutions. Periodically, the PLDIC features profiles of our Asian/Pacific American lawyers.
Lakshmi Davar
“It is important for those who are non-AAPI to speak up and be supportive of us. Battling microaggressions is a way to show solidarity,” said Lakshmi, a staff attorney at UPMC Health Plan.
Alexandria Iwanenko
“Employers can initiate conversations by offering trainings that empower everyone in the workplace to speak up, victims and bystanders. Creating safe and inclusive corporate culture is a good first step,” said Alexandria, a 3L Duquesne Law student.
Yuanyou (Sunny) Yang
“The simplest thing managers and organizational leaders can do for their AAPI employees is to use their privilege to acknowledge the recent news of anti-Asian violence, and give space for impacted individuals to process, grieve, and heal,” said Sunny, of counsel at Porter Wright.
Mark C. Zheng
“I wish people focused more on individuality rather than heritage. Although there are some cultural commonalities and experiences shared by many Asian-Americans, the individual differences are far greater,” said Mark, an associate in the Vorys Pittsburgh office.