Breakout Sessions

Go back to basics on how to properly function as an OCA chapter, from the logistics, fine details, and structure, to bring it to its best. Reflect on your own individual strengths and weaknesses as advocacy leaders and actively plan how to use them for your OCA chapters' goals and trajectory to serve your local AANHPI communities.

This panel brings together a diverse group of leaders who champion equity, justice, and opportunity for AAPI communities. These government officials hold positions of influence and work tirelessly to address the unique challenges faced by AAPI populations.

Hear from a panel of AAPI women with rich experiences in careers and industries that are not typically associated with AAPIs, including a commercial pilot, a park ranger, and skincare company entrepreneur.

Hear from experienced Asian American professionals in a wide range of fields, including dance therapy, forensic science, and the restaurant industry!

In this session, experts from the Vincent Chin Institute will present lessons learned from the media onslaughts and emergency fundraising of the Atlanta GA, Monterey Park CA, Bloomington IN, and Half Moon Bay CA hate crimes and shootings, and will provide copies of newly released Crisis Communication FAQs and Crisis Funding FAQs to participants. OCA chapters and allies can learn from past experiences to prepare our AAPI communities for possible crises, recognizing that political tensions and campaign rhetoric continue to inflame anti-Asian prejudice.

Join our expert panel as we delve into the evolving landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within corporate environments. Our distinguished speakers will explore the shifting language utilized by corporates in addressing DEI concerns and the actionable changes being implemented within internal programs.

We will examine the impact of the changes to DEI initiatives on relationships with external community partners, highlighting strategies for fostering authentic engagement and collaboration. Furthermore, our panelists will shed light on the legal frameworks essential for navigating DEI efforts, providing valuable insights into compliance and best practices.

Join us for a session dedicated to unleashing the full power of AAPI voters at the grassroots level. This plenary will focus on mobilizing AAPI voters around three critical issues impacting our communities at the local level: alien land laws, DEI laws, and protecting cultural districts. Get ready to make a difference – the power lies within our local communities!

Following this plenary, attendees are encouraged to participate in the individual "strategy sessions" at 2 PM, with each session dedicated to one of the plenary's three issue areas.

These strategy sessions aim to develop coordinated action plans to address pressing concerns facing AAPI communities across the US. These sessions will focus on raising awareness of key issues and advocating for policies that protect the rights and interests of AAPI populations and combatting discriminatory policies. Participants will collaborate to craft strategies for communities to organize electorally, as well as to create effective messaging and storytelling to galvanize engagement.

This strategy session will focus on raising awareness on this issue, advocating for policies that protect the rights and interests of AAPI populations and combatting discriminatory policies.

These strategy sessions aim to develop coordinated action plans to address pressing concerns facing AAPI communities across the US. These sessions will focus on raising awareness of key issues and advocating for policies that protect the rights and interests of AAPI populations and combatting discriminatory policies. Participants will collaborate to craft strategies for communities to organize electorally, as well as to create effective messaging and storytelling to galvanize engagement.

This strategy session will focus on raising awareness on this issue, advocating for policies that protect the rights and interests of AAPI populations and combatting discriminatory policies.

These strategy sessions aim to develop coordinated action plans to address pressing concerns facing AAPI communities across the US. These sessions will focus on raising awareness of key issues and advocating for policies that protect the rights and interests of AAPI populations and combatting discriminatory policies. Participants will collaborate to craft strategies for communities to organize electorally, as well as to create effective messaging and storytelling to galvanize engagement.

This strategy session will focus on raising awareness on this issue, advocating for policies that protect the rights and interests of AAPI populations and combatting discriminatory policies.

How can we be better allies for our trans and non-binary friends? How do we create safe, inclusive, and welcoming spaces? Ultimately, how can the AANHPI community be a home for our LGTBQIA+ family? Join Philly Asian Queer, a local volunteer-powered organization working to engage queer Asian/Asian Americans, to answer these questions and learn more about trans and nonbinary identities!

AA/NHPI communities are known to utilize mental health services the least out of any other racial group. Sometimes we avoid caring for ourselves by caring for others or we ignore this care to avoid reliving our personal or intergenerational trauma. In this workshop, we will sit with professionals in psychology as well as community healers to explore what are ways in which we can take care of our mental well-being as individuals and in our communities.

Does your chapter struggle to keep your social media up to date? What are the best practices when utilizing your chapter’s social media? How can I be creative on all of the different apps, platforms, and websites to keep track of? Join this joint JACL-OCA workshop to get a basic understanding on how to create and run a website, understanding the uses of a social media campaign, and what different social media platforms and apps offer for our chapter’s advocacy efforts – all while keeping the content accessible for all.