APANO announces new executive leadership Co-Executive Directors team!

On behalf of the APANO Communities United Fund and APANO boards, we are thrilled to announce we have hired our new executive leadership team of three Co-Executive Directors to lead our organizations:

Allie Yee, She/her/hers
Co-Executive Director of Finance, Operations and Development

Allie is a Chinese-Japanese-American who grew up in the U.S. South and came to Oregon in 2019. She is dedicated to supporting the capacity of social justice leaders and organizations to create equitable and inclusive communities. Allie got started in the nonprofit sector in North Carolina supporting grantmaking at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and later writing about voting and civic engagement in new immigrant communities in the South at the Institute for Southern Studies. She shifted her focus to nonprofit management, pursuing a business degree at the Yale School of Management. Allie joined APANO in 2019 as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives and then as the Development and Communications Director prior to her current role. She is excited to help build a strong foundation for APANO’s work and staff and support the organization in leaning into its values.

Kim Lepin, She/her/hers
Co-Executive Director of Culture and Communications

Kim brings over 12 years of experience working alongside diverse partners in a collaborative manner across complex systems. She has leadership experience in nonprofit organizations and large health systems. Kim is passionate about fostering staff engagement and wellbeing, trauma informed practices, creating equitable and inclusive cultures and systems, and building authentic relationships with community and partner organizations. Kim is committed to her learning and growth to being antiracist, centering equity, and lifting the voices of others. Kim is biracial, a lifelong Oregonian, an avid reader, hiker, and Portland Thorns fan, and loves animals. She currently is working towards her PhD in Health Systems & Policy with her research centering on occupational stress, workforce psychological well being, Asian Community Health Workers, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amy Hwang Powers, She/her/hers
Co-Executive Director of Programs

Amy has over 12 years of experience in supervising and managing staff and teams, working across large nonprofits and smaller community based organizations. She brings leadership experience in the areas of public policy and advocacy, food justice, community and civic engagement, and school-based and youth programming. Amy is experienced in implementing policies and practices that build effective teams, improve organizational culture, and promote greater equity and inclusion of community members’ perspectives. As a leader, Amy brings her whole self, including her lived experience, culture, heart, and passion to build and cultivate programs with love, trust, and care. She is committed to shared leadership and fostering a workplace culture of direct communication, support, and accountability. Amy volunteers as a board member of the Korean American Coalition of Oregon and is a mom of two kids and a rescue pup with partner Brian for 24 years.

We are excited to have Allie, Kim and Amy as the organization’s first Co-Executive Directors team. They are three very formidable, grounded, and heart-led leaders who will bring their valuable experiences and mission-aligned vision to support staff and advance APANO’s work and growth in the coming years.

The boards and staff are committed to this leadership model which emphasizes shared leadership and collaborative decision-making, honors the strength of diverse perspectives, and is supportive and sustainable for leaders over the long haul. It is the right model for our organizational needs at this time. And it is also our great leap of faith to more fully live, learn, and grow from practicing our own values of self-determination, care, solidarity, integrity, and belonging.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to our new Co-Executive Director team as they begin onboarding in March. We look forward to the work ahead and sharing more about our organizations’ leadership journey in the months ahead!

Best,

Jennifer Chang, Chair, APANO Communities United Fund

Michele Ruffin, Chair, APANO

If you'd like to support our new Co-ED team and this next phase of APANO's work, please consider donating here.

This programming message brought to you by APANO, a 501(c)4 non-profit organization.