AAPI Power Players

Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala is commissioner of environmental protection and chief climate officer for the City of New York. Previously, he was a founding executive at Sidewalk Labs; started Bloomberg Philanthropies’ environmental grantmaking program; led the C40 cities climate leadership group; and led the development and implementation of PlaNYC, NYC’s sustainability plan. Aggarwala holds a doctorate, MBA, and bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s from Queen’s University in Ontario.

John Albert is a partner at Bolton St. Johns. His advocacy portfolio has included leading New York City nonprofits, cultural organizations and business corporations. He has advocated in support of internationally recognized corporations and advised their business operations to help them strategically plan for the changing legal and regulatory environment of New York City. Throughout his career John has secured millions in City and State funding for youth, after-school programs, at-risk populations, parks and cultural institutions. John was raised and currently resides in Queens with his wife and two children where he is deeply connected to the fabric of the community through his participation in political and civic organizations.

Diya Basu-Sen is a Bengali American gender and social justice advocate working to foster wellness in vulnerable communities by developing culturally attuned, linguistically accessible holistic services that center women. She is the executive director of Sapna NYC, a community-based organization that works with South Asian immigrant women addressing health inequities, fostering women’s empowerment, and building community power. Her work ranges from fighting food insecurity to increasing mental health access to supporting survivors of gender-based violence.

If you could give your younger-self advice, what would it be?
Do things that scare you. Growth often lies just outside of our comfort zones. The things that scare us can become things we love and often aren’t as hard as we imagined them to be.

Do you have any event/movie/music suggestions for our readers to check out in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month?
Arundhati Roy is a beautiful writer and fearless social justice activist. Her first book, “The God of Small Things,” will always be one of my favorites, but her non-fiction is equally brilliant and thought-provoking. Listen to her powerful keynote, “Things That Can and Cannot Be Said: The dismantling of the world as we knew it”. Also, go see director Krishendu Bose’s documentary “Bay of Blood” on the Bangladeshi War of Liberation if you can.

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
In South Asia, colonialism and its aftermath are recent history, just a few decades prior. I come from a family of both refugees and immigrants who started over in more than one country over different generations. Because of that I carry with me the idea that power is never given willingly and that you have to fight for the future you believe can exist even if it feels unimaginable or people say it’s impossible.

What can New York policymakers do to support the AAPI-community in the short-term? In the long-term?
At the end of the day there is no one better equipped and more invested in serving the AAPI community than AAPI community-based organizations that are deeply rooted in the communities they serve. Investing in these organizations is the most effective way to support our communities both in the long and short term. Policymakers need to acknowledge and utilize the expertise of these organizations while making sure to fairly compensate them for their essential work.

Anil “AJ” Beephan currently serves as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 105th district. Raised in Hopewell Junction, New York, Beephan graduated from Arcadia University and earned a master’s degree from Harvard Extension School. Prior to his political career, he worked in public relations. Beephan, previously served as a volunteer firefighter and council member in East Fishkill. He is the first Republican of Indian descent to hold a seat in the state assembly.

If you could give your younger-self advice, what would it be?
To my younger self, I’d stress the importance of maintaining a balance between academic/career pursuits and spending quality time with loved ones. While striving for success is admirable, cherish the moments with those who matter most. I have also grown to appreciate Lee Brice’s lyrics: “Go to work, do your best, don’t outsmart your common sense.” I believe following the intuition and common sense instilled during childhood prevents unnecessary hardships in life.

Do you have any event/movie/music suggestions for our readers to check out in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month?
Absolutely! For AAPI Heritage Month, I encourage you to check out one of my favorites of Indian cinema, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.” This film is not only nostalgic, it also highlights the talent of the South Asian community.

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
My South Asian heritage, rooted in a large family, has molded me with a profound love for knowledge, palette for tasty foods, and the value of perseverance. Most importantly, it has instilled a deep commitment for our conservative cultural traditions.

What can New York policymakers do to support the AAPI-community in the short-term? In the long-term?
I believe our role should be focused on listening to the stories of the AAPI community. In combination with our own experiences, we must make decisions in the best interest for all New Yorkers.

Lila Benayoun was appointed chief operating officer (COO) of MetroPlusHealth in September 2022, where she leads transformation initiatives designed to foster growth, innovation, and operational excellence. As COO, Lila is also responsible for plan operations, member retention, provider relations, project management office, organizational process improvement, and the launch of OneX, MetroPlusHealth’s new management service organization. Lila holds more than 20 years of industry leadership experience in leading new managed care markets, new product launches, advancing operational excellence, and outstanding service experiences. Lila holds a bachelor’s degree in health information management from Temple University and has completed post-graduate studies at Columbia University, focusing on strategic growth.

Born in India, and raised in Belize, Sayu Bhojwani is a proud New Yorker who served as the City’s first commissioner of immigrant affairs. For three decades, she has activated change in nonprofit and government settings, speaking nationally and internationally, and writing on how immigrants and women of color can shape the world we want to see. She founded and led South Asian Youth Action (1997-2001), New American Leaders (2010-2020) and Women’s Democracy Lab (2020-2022). Sayu is the author of  “People Like Us: The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door” (New Press, 2018), she now writes regularly as No. 1 Immigrant Daughter.

Brianna Cea is the executive director and founder of Generation Vote, a national organization sparking a youth movement to protect voting rights and a just democracy for all. Brianna was also president of OCA-NY between 2021-January 2024, where she now serves as immediate past president. Brianna is a former senior research and program associate at the Brennan Center for Justice, where she focused on the census, and is a Community Board member for Queens CB4.

If you could give your younger-self advice, what would it be?
To be proud of my pan-Asian identity and to appreciate my family stories! In 2023, I partnered with NPR StoryCorps to create the first oral history project for a Thai community in the Library of Congress, which allowed us to highlight the stories and dreams for the Little Thailand community. Through this project, I was even able to interview my own mother and learned so much about my immigrant grandparents and family history!

Do you have any event/movie/music suggestions for our readers to check out in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month?
As the co-founder of the Representing and Empowering AANHPI Community History coalition – the first statewide coalition to advocate for AANHPI history in K-12 schools – I love a good book about Asian American history! Some of my favorites are “The Making of Asian America” by Erika Lee, “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee and “Asian American Dreams” by Helen Zia.

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
As a Thai-Korean-Chinese American, my parents did a great job introducing many different parts of my heritage in my upbringing and helped me realize that our communities are not a monolith. From celebrating different holidays like Lunar New Year and Songkran, to appreciating the different food and histories of my communities, I believe my pan-Asian identity is the epitome of the beautiful diversity that exists within Asia and the United States.

What can New York policymakers do to support the AAPI-community in the short-term? In the long-term?
Some policy changes that I would like to see to aid my work as a voting rights advocate and community organizer include equitable funding for AAPI and youth-led community organizations (including more funding for Southeast-Asian led organizations), requiring inclusive AAPI history to be taught in schools across New York state, expanding civic education at public universities and increasing language access to AAPI voters across NYC.

Raised with first-generation Korean American values, Stuyvesant-alum Justin Chae built his nationally acclaimed political/public affairs firm with nothing more than hard work and persistence. With zero funding or support, Justin gained the trust of New York’s most influential politicians, unions, developers, and corporations by delivering results. He has directed six-figure ad productions, planted opposition research, deployed thousands of canvassers, secured franchise liquor licenses, and organized minority communities.

Do you have any event/movie/music suggestions for our readers to check out in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month?
Some of Korean cinema’s best: Park Chan Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy or Bong Joon Ho’s “Memories of Murder” and “The Host” (everyone’s already seen “Parasite”) Old Korean rock and pop: Boohwal, Kim Gun Mo, and Deulgukhwa

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
My grandmother, aunt, and mother provided for our family by being entrepreneurs/freelancers in America after the men in our family failed. They taught me to be my own boss and earn my way to a better future. I think there’s a certain resiliency that only Asian Americans have, and I sure think that’s played a large role in my success.

What can New York policymakers do to support the AAPI-community in the short-term? In the long-term?
Fund and build more specialized schools, start gifted and talented programs even earlier, expand extracurricular programming for Asian communities, fund more police patrols in predominantly Asian neighborhood transit hubs, and continue providing more avenues for upward mobility.

Lester Chang was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 8, 2022. He was born in America to Chinese immigrant parents who came in pursuit of the American dream and grew up on Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Assembly Member Chang is the proud product of the New York public education system and attended public school through his master’s degree.He served in the Navy Reserve and New York Naval Militia. In March of 2020, Assembly Member Chang volunteered to return to active duty in support of COVID operations, where he helped convert the Jacob Javits Convention Center into a field hospital that treated more than 1,000 COVID patients.

New York born and raised actor and storyteller Yin Chang is most recognized for her role in beloved teen drama, Gossip Girl, opening up a long overdue conversation about Asian-American representation in Hollywood. As a short film producer and director, her work has gathered over 13 million views. Moonlynn Tsai is a Taiwanese-American restaurateur and entrepreneur who grew up in Carlsbad, California, spending time at her parents’ Chinese-American restaurants leading front-of-house operations, back-end admin work, and marketing. Founded in NYC at the onset of COVID-19, Heart of Dinner‘s mission works to directly address food insecurity and isolation experienced by Asian American seniors – two long-standing community issues. The two have taken different paths in their respective lives and careers to reach the same goal: joyfully centering and uplifting people and communities.