Yakima Valley Filipino Community Hall Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places
On September 1, the Washington State Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recommended the Yakima Valley Filipino Community Hall for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It is historically significant for being the first purpose-built community hall for Filipino Americans in Washington, and one of the first in the nation. For decades it has been a cultural center and community gathering place for Filipinos, both immigrants and Filipino-Americans, in the Yakima Valley. The hall represents the Filipino Community of the Yakima Valley’s perseverance through discrimination and unjust laws to permanently establish themselves in Wapato and the surrounding areas. The hall and its use as a center for the activities of successive generations of the Filipino community in the greater Yakima Valley continues to have importance and actively contributes to the purpose for which the building was built and the basis for its significance. Construction of the hall began in 1948 and was completed in 1952. To this day, the Filipino Community of Yakima Valley continues to exemplify the purpose espoused by the organization’s former president Ray Baldoz, “To prove ourselves a credit to the Filipino nation and to our adopted country.
The nomination and history can be viewed here: https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/nominations/WA_YakimaCounty_YakimaValleyFilipinoCommunityHall_FINAL.pdf. The nomination was prepared by Northwest Vernacular and was funded by a grant provided to the Filipino American National Historical Society from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Federal funds derive from the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities grant program.
Respectfully, Nick Vann, HAPPEN Sponsor
General Meeting
HAPPEN general membership meetings are scheduled the second Wednesday of the month from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. We hope you will join us for the September general membership meeting on September 13, when we welcome our September guest speaker, Toshiko Grace Hasegawa.
Toshiko was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2018 as Executive Director of the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. She is a member of the Governor’s Subcabinet on Business Diversity and serves upon a number of state committees, workgroups, and task forces. In her time at CAPAA, she has helped grow the agency’s budget and staff, define its legislative advocacy strategy, and improve its communications systems. Special policy areas of interest include criminal legal reform, environmental justice, anti-human trafficking, small business resiliency, and access to democracy. Her full bio can be found here.
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
And in honor of the celebration of the 185th birthday of Queen Lili'uokalani, we created this virtual background for HAPPEN members and allies to use. Enjoy!
Learning Opportunities
Asian American Career Ceilings: An Interview with Professor Margaret M. Chin, Author of "Stuck: Why Asian Americans Don't Reach the Top of the Corporate Ladder"
When: September 11, 2023 from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm PT
The next Committee of 100 Asian American Career Ceilings Initiative event will feature a fireside chat on the topic of “An Interview with Professor Margaret M. Chin, Author of Stuck: Why Asian Americans Don’t Reach the Top of the Corporate Ladder.” Dr. Margaret Chin, Professor of Sociology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, will discuss her award-winning book. The webinar will include a fireside chat interview, Q&A, and a networking session at the end. Peter Young, Chair of the Committee of 100 Asian American Career Ceilings Initiative and a Committee of 100 Member, will be the moderator.
The purpose of this event is to cover why Dr. Margaret Chin wrote the book, the key findings described in the book, and her advice to Asian Americans who are seeking to advance in the corporate world.Virtual networking will follow for 30 minutes after the panel. There is no fee to attend this event.
Asian American Career Ceilings: Voting and Representation
When: September 20, 2023 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm PT
An upcoming Committee of 100 Asian American Career Ceilings event is scheduled for September 20, 2023, from 1:00pm to 2:00pm PT, with the topic being "Voting and Representation." This discussion will spotlight three leading Asian American experts: Christine Chen, Executive Director and Co-founder of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) and Committee of 100 member; Madalene Mielke, President & CEO, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS); and Gregg Orton, National Director, The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans. Peter Young, Chair of the Committee of 100 Asian American Career Ceilings Initiative and a Committee of 100 Member, will be the moderator. The webinar will include a panel discussion, Q&A, and a thirty-minute virtual networking session to conclude. There is no fee to attend.
A noticeable weakness on the part of Asian Americans historically has been a lack of Asian American government representatives in many parts of the country relative to our percentage of the population. In addition, our inability to exert voting influence relative to other minority groups poses issues. This clearly influences a wide variety of rights and protections of Asian Americans, including how laws affecting career ceilings have been enacted. Our three panelists will highlight what they perceive as key issues along these lines, where they believe problems do not exist, potential causes of these issues, what Asian Americans can do to help, and how the panelists’ organizations are making a difference.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): New Regulations and Limited-Time Opportunities
When: October 10, 2023from 12:30-2:00pm (1 hour presentation with 30 minutes for Q&A)
Have you heard about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, but are not sure if you qualify? Do you want to know whether the new PSLF regulations could benefit you? In this webinar, you will get an overview of the PSLF program, including:
The new PSLF regulations that went into effect on July 1, 2023.
IDR Account Adjustment and how it may help you get PSLF credit for certain periods of forbearance, deferment, ineligible loans or ineligible repayment plans.
Steps to apply and stay eligible for PSLF.
If you’re unable to attend, we will post a video recording, presentation slides, and transcript on the Student Loan Advocate webpage.
The Washington State BRGs and ICSEW are launching a new book club! Our first selection will be So You Want to Talk about Race, by Ijeoma Olua.
Participants will be invited to read the book and come together for discussions starting this fall. We’re still shaping the details of this new project and trying to gauge interest in the book club.
If you’re interested in joining or have ideas for our new book club, please share your thoughts in our survey.
When: Saturday, September 23 from 10 am to 3:30 pm Where: Millersylvania State Park 1224 Tilley Road SW Olympia, WA 98512
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, LLN is hosting our 2nd annual in-person celebration at Millersylvania State Park on September 23, 2023, from 10am-3:30pm. We are excited to share music, dance performances and lessons, food, and activities that highlight our vibrant and diverse Latine heritage. On behalf of LLN, we’d like to invite members government workers and their agencies to join this celebration of our Latine cultural heritage.
For Washington State agencies, we welcome you to engage with visitors during the event. A limited number of outreach booths are available by pre-registration. Representatives are invited to share information about your agency, recruitment opportunities, and to connect with a wider Latine perspective throughout the day. If your agency would like to staff an outreach booth, please fill out this registration form by 5pm on September 13, 2023 and send to lln@ofm.wa.gov
RAIN provides trainings to Washington state agencies and institutions of higher learning to promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity and best practices in the workplace. For more information you can view our upcoming trainings below or email us at rain@ofm.wa.gov.
Registration is now open for the September 2023 ICSEW membership meeting. Meetings are free and open to anyone, regardless of gender or employment status. There is also an optional networking session that takes place 15 minutes prior to each meeting.
When: September 19 from 8:45 am to noon
Presentation descriptions
ICSEW will be offering four sessions:
BRG share-out: Representatives from Washington State Business Resource Groups, BRGS, will present brief overviews of the groups’ recent efforts and events. Groups present will be Latino Leadership Network, LLN; Hawaiians Asians and Pacific Islanders Promoting an Empowerment Network, HAPPEN; Blacks United in Leadership and Diversity, BUILD; Rainbow Alliance and Inclusion Network, RAIN; Washington Immigrant Network, WIN; Disability Inclusion Network, DIN; and Veteran Employee Resource Group, VERG.
Women leaders in state government: Commissioner of Public Lands Hillary Franz will take about women leadership in state government.
Special presentations on Hispanic Heritage Month:To tie in with National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) Christa Engel and Diana Montero of CultureAlly will present Origins and history of Hispanic Heritage Month. We’ll learn to challenge stereotypes toward Hispanic and Latin American people, explore how to be an ally and celebrate Hispanic and Latin American culture.
Spanish unemployment insurance hearings project: Diane Jennings from the Office of Administrative Hearings, OAH, will present on this groundbreaking language access project.
We try our best to curate meaningful and relevant content, opportunities, news, etc., we think will be of interest for our members and allies. Representing over 100 countries and more than 50 communities makes it difficult to stay apprised of everything HAPPENing related to our collective community. We greatly appreciate when opportunities are shared from our members.
This is your bulletin. Feel free to send articles, resources, event information, etc., to be included in future bulletins, and eventually, our website and social media.
Process:
Submit items by emailing them to HAPPEN@ofm.wa.gov by Thursday morning for the following week's bulletin.
Time sensitive items submitted will be reviewed and included in the next bulletin.
Non-time sensitive submissions will be added to the list to be included in future bulletins when we may be looking for content to share.
Bulletins will usually be distributed on Mondays. Special bulletins will be sent only as needed to provide an update on something already shared or of an urgent nature.
Thank you in advance for sharing, uplifting, and elevating our voices, culture, and opportunities! This is what community looks like.
The Hawaiians, Asians, and Pacific islanders Promoting an Empowering Network (HAPPEN) Business Resource Group exist to improve lives by increasing Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (ANHPI) representation in leadership and general state employment and advocating for policies that promote anti-racism, equity, inclusion, diversity, and belonging in the workplace. We work to build a culture of inclusion and belonging that gives voice to the ANHPI experience.
Please share this information and encourage your colleagues, state-employed family, and friends to attend and get involved! We are a formal, enterprise-wide resource group conducting official state business. Participants are not required to take leave to participate per State HR's policy. If you experience any challenges in participating, please let us know.
