NQAPIA Staff
Kenrick Ross, Executive Director
NQAPIA Board of Directors
Milap Patel, MSI Integrity, New York, NY– Chair
Shilpa Joshi, Renew Oregon, Portland, OR- Treasurer
Cathy Chu, GSA Network, Los Angeles, CA – Secretary
Navid Ladha, Dallas, TX
Chris Pinto, Crowell & Moring LLP, Washington, DC
Nicholas Kor, Bush Foundation Fellow, Minneapolis, MN
* Affiliations for identification purposes only.
NQAPIA Staff
Kenrick Ross (he/him/his) For the past 15 years, Kenrick has led efforts in building and scaling programs and organizations in social justice and entrepreneurship; urban policy; intersectional diversity, inclusion, and equity; and inclusive sports.
Kenrick has served as Executive Director of the Indo-Caribbean Alliance; Director of Education, Career Services, and Community at the YWCA of Queens; Director of Professional Development and Quality Assurance for The Leaguers, Inc; and Manager of the Small Business Support Project at Brooklyn A;. In 2011 he founded Urban&Out, an LGBTQPOC professional and leadership development network.
Kenrick has made two short films, spoken and presented at 20+ conferences such as Creating Change and the Out&Equal Workplace Summit (planned and chaired a few, too), and served on a dozen boards (currently chairing the Board of Diaspora Community Services). He is also deeply involved in and a fierce evangelist for LGBTQ-inclusive sports, especially tennis.
Kenrick was born in Guyana, raised in the NYC area, and currently lives in Newark, NJ. He holds a BA in Politics from New York University, and an MS in Urban Policy and Leadership from CUNY-Hunter College. You can reach him at kenrick@nqapia.org or check out his LinkedIn.
Former Board Members
Years denote when the individuals stepped down from the Board.
Term ending in 2021
Andrew Chou, New York, NY
Kim Nguyen, Chicago, IL
Term ending in 2020
Julia Rhee, San Diego, CA – Co-chair
Stan Fong, Atlanta, GA – Co-chair
Kham Moua, SEARAC, Washington, DC
Term ending in 2019
Moof Mayeda, Portland, OR
Sharita Gruberg, Center for American Progress, Washington, DC
Kevin Lam, AARW, Boston, MA
Term ending in 2018
Vivian Fried-Chung, Palo Alto, CA
Eri Oura, Oakland, CA / Honolulu, HI – Co-Chair
Amanda Zhang, Harvard University, Madison, WI
Term ending in 2017
Shivana Jorawar, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Washington, DC
Sasanka Jinadasa, Reframe Health and Justice, Washington, DC
Term ending in 2016
August Guang, Providence Youth & Student Movement, Providence, RI
Almas Haider, Washington, DC
Aya Tasaki, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York, NY
Term ending in 2014
Bex Ahuja, Management Center, Brooklyn, NY
Anjan Chaudhry, CAAAV, Brooklyn, NY
Mandy Hu, San Francisco, CA
Alison Lin, Oakland, CA
Michelle Lee, Koreans United for Equality, Los Angeles, CA
Phillip Ozaki, Lambda Legal, New York, NY
Jayden Thai, University of Louisville, KY
Sasha W., Desi Queer Helpline Project, Madison WI
monna wong, API Equality – Northern California, San Francisco, CA
Term ending in 2013
vanessa coe, San Francisco, CA
I Li Hsaio, Invisible to Invincible (i2i), Chicago, IL
Aries Liao, Q-WAVE, New York, NY
Joy Messinger, Invisible to Invincible (i2i), Chicago, IL
Alan Ratliff, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Oakland, CA
Ryan Shen, Q-WAVE, Flushing, NY
Term ending in 2012
Rekha Bachwani, Portland, OR
Mala Nagarajan, Creative Collaborations, Rockville, MD
Term ending in 2011
Lance Dwyer, API Wellness Center, San Francisco, CA
Sel Hwahng, IGLHRC, Brooklyn, NY
Karl Kimpo, Chicago, IL
Asha Leong, Co-Chair, Washington, DC
Rakesh Modi, Trikone, San Francisco, CA
Tawal Panyacosit, API Equality, San Francisco, CA
liz thomson, Invisible to Invincible (i2i), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
NOTE: NQAPIA Incorporates in 2010
Term ending in 2010
Trisha Barua, Chaya, Seattle, WA
Sarav Chithambaram, Queer Asian Pacific Alliance, Boston, MA
Jun-Fung Chueh, Community Health Awareness Council, Mountain View, CA
Alain Dang, API Equality, San Jose, CA
Loren Javier, Lambda Legal, Los Angeles, CA
Gopi Kannabiran, Indiana University, LGBT Student Services, Bloomington, ID
Kit Yan, Good Asian Drivers, QAPA, New York, NY
Tom Yang, Pacific Northwest Queer API Alliance, Seattle, WA
Term ending in 2009
Eileen Cheong, Audre Lorde Project, Brooklyn, NY
Ray Hsia, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, New York, NY
Sam Van, Philadelphia Queer Asians, Philadelphia, PA
Urooj Arshad, Advocates for Youth, Washington, DC
NOTE: NQAPIA Transitions from an Unincorporated Association with a Steering Committee to a Tax-Exempt 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation with a Board of Directors in 2009
Former Steering Committee Members who stepped off in 2008
Pabitra Benjamin, Rights Working Group, Washington, DC
George Cheung, Cheung & Lopez, Seattle, WA
Doreen Wong, Asian Pacific Islander Lesbian and Bisexual Women and Transgender Network (APLBTN), Los Angeles, CA
Alex Fukui, Gay Asian Pacific Support Network (GAPSN), Los Angeles, CA
Mary Quant, QWAVE, New York, NY
Hrishi Sathawane, Trikone- South Bay San Jose, CA
Former National Organization Working Group 2007
Alain Dang
George Cheung
Pabitra Benjamin
Glenn Magpantay
Mala Nagarajan
Rebecca Sawyer
George Robert
Hrishi Sathawane
Ben de Guzman
Suresh Dianand
Alain Dang
Karl Kimpo
Koko Lin
Pauline Park
Jamie
NOTE: NQAPIA Transitions from an Unincorporated Association with a Steering Committee to a Tax-Exempt 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation with a Board of Directors in 2009
Former National Convening Planning Committee 2006
Jun-Fung Chueh, LGBT Resource Center, UC-Davis
Rebecca Sawyer, Asian Pacific Islander Queer Sisters, Washington, DC
Pauline Guillermo-Togawa, Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Coalition, San Francisco, CA
Hrishi Sathawane, Trikone, San Jose, CA
Pabitra Benjamin, Action Wisconsin
Nikhil Aziz, Massachusetts Area South Asian Lambda Association, Boston, MA
Robert Bernardo, Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, San Francisco, CA
Ben de Guzman, Asian/ Pacific Islander Queers United for Action, Washington, DC
Karl Kimpo, Invisible to Invincible, Chicago, IL
George Cheung, Cheung & Lopez, Seattle, WA
Diana Ming Yin, Exoticize My Fist!, Oakland, CA
Glenn D. Magpantay, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men of New York
NOTE: Roundtable of LGBT API Organizational Leaders agree to found a national organization that become NQAPIA in 2005
Former National Convening Planning Committee 2005
Jun-Fung Chueh, LGBT Resource Center, UC-Davis
Rebecca Sawyer, Asian Pacific Islander Queer Sisters (APIQS) – Washington, DC
Manish Vadiya, Trikone
Stephan Sastrawidjaja, International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
Khushbu Srivastava, Princeton, NJ
Pabitra Benjamin, Action Wisconsin, WI
Nikhil Aziz, Political Research Associates and Massachusetts Area South Asian Lambda Association
Willy Wilkinson, Transgender Law Center and Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Coalition (APIQWTC) – Oakland, CA
Ben De Guzman, Asian/ Pacific Islander Queers United for Action and National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium – Washington, DC
George Cheung, Cheung & Lopez, Seattle, WA
Diana Min Yin, Exoticitize My Fist
Glenn D. Magpantay, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men of New York
Former QAPL Planning Committee 2004
Jerome Zorrilla
Luna Yasui
John Won
Weiben Wang
Sel Wahng
Irene Villaseñor
Irene Tung
Patty Tumang
Raj Shekar
Pauline T. Nguyen
Frank Mok
Glenn D. Magpantay
Yan Li
Kevin Lee
Doug Lee
Clay Ming Kwong Dollarhide
Alan Khoo
Stephanie Hsu
Ariel Herrera
Kris Hayashi
Monroe France
Mathilda deDios
Trishala Deb
Debanuj Dasgupta
Alain Dang
Conrad Chu
Jih-Fei Cheng
Chris Chen
Nick Chan
Christine Bacareza Balance
Former NQAPIA Staff
Glenn Magpantay, Executive Director – 2020
Sasha W., Organizing Director – 2018
Tia Adams, Program Assistant – 2018
Tracy Nguyen, Conference Coordinator – 2018
Pabitra Benjamin, Organizing Director – 2014
Ryan Viloria, Conference Coordinator – 2015
Mia Nakano, Website/Tech Consultant – 2015
Ben de Guzman, Co-Director of Programs – 2013
Fayzan Gowani, Immigration Coordinator – 2013
Mala Nagarajan, Co-Director – 2012
