White House Social Outreach to Asians, Pacific Islanders Expanding

White House Social Outreach to Asians, Pacific Islanders Expanding: As it begins its third year, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI) plans to expand its reach into more communities in need of federal programs and protections, officials say.

Those efforts will build upon those by the Initiative in helping to create and implement plans improving AAPI access to educational, health and economic services.

WHIAAPI executive director Kiran Ahuja notes that, when President Barack Obama re-established the Initiative and the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in October 2009, “we didn’t just face a small hill of problems, we faced a massive mountain of challenges. But we’ve clearly started to climb and make real progress for people across the country. We’ve opened doors for hundreds of thousands of people who need programs and services now more than ever.”