Welcome our Seeding Change Fellows!

APANO is honored to host Seeding Change Fellows, Hera Mir, Heidi Qin, and Monie Seto!

The National Fellowship Program for Asian American Organizing and Civic Engagement develops the leadership of a new generation of activists and organizers who are deeply invested in building the power of and improving the lives of working-class Asian immigrant communities. Running from June to August, the fellowship program provides 10 weeks of intensive training, ground work, and reflection.

For more information about the Seeding Change National Fellowship, visit their website here.

Name: Hera Mir
Originally from: New Brunswick, New Jersey

Why did you decide to join the Seeding Change fellowship?
I decided to join the seeding change fellowship to learn more about community organizing and working to build power in immigrant communities.

What drives you to do social justice work?
My drive to work with and for immigrant communities stems from my own experiences as a Pakistani immigrant in the US in a working class community. I hope to work with improvised Asian communities for worker rights and gender justice.

What song would you use for a lip synch battle?
7/11 by Beyonce because I'm fresher than you...

Name: Heidi Qin
Originally from: Salt Lake City, Utah

Why did you decide to join the Seeding Change fellowship?
I wanted to improve my activism and organizing skills, as well build my network. I'm passionate about social justice, and wanted to move beyond activism scholarship and into grassroots, field work. As a college student, Seeding Change provided the opportunity to put theory into practice, as well as the chance to grow as an activist.

What drives you to do social justice work?
My lived experiences, as well as commitment and love for my family and community is what drives my work. I think about my mother, my sister, my friends, and other communities who are directly impacted by this work. I think about the elders who have come before, and with their work and sacrifice make it possible for me to be here today. I do this work because of the struggle of my loved one, and a sincere desire for the dismantling of oppressive systems.

What song would you use for a lip synch battle?
I would do Diva, by Beyonce. Because I am the female version of a hustler. I am the one they call a Queen.

Name: Monie Seto
Originally from: Manhattan, New York

Why did you decide to join the Seeding Change fellowship?
I heard about the Seeding Change fellowship last summer when I volunteered at CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, an anti-gentrification and anti-policing organization in New York's Chinatown, and met two fellows from Seeding Change. I worked with both of them at CAAAV. I loved working with CAAAV and doing the work that CAAAV did, and I saw the Seeding Change fellowship as an extension of that, and so I applied.

What drives you to do social justice work?
I learned that I wanted to become a community organizer when I was working with CAAAV. Being able to empower marginalized and disenfranchised folks through community organizing drives me to do social justice work.

What song would you use for a lip synch battle?
Thinkin' Bout You by Frank Ocean cuz a potato flew around my room once.