The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI) will hold a community action summit at Emory University on Friday, March 16, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. More than a dozen administration officials representing a wide-range of policy areas will meet with Atlanta area community leaders, educators, small business owners and state and local elected officials at the summit.  

White House AAPI Initiative director Kiran Ahuja and President’s AAPI Advisory Committee member Hines Ward will deliver opening remarks and introduce a series of policy conversations with senior administration officials at 10 a.m. in Emory’s Harland Cinema, Dobbs University Center, 605 Asbury Circle. 

Christopher P. Lu, cabinet secretary and assistant to President Barack Obama, who co-chairs WHIAAPI, will give the keynote address at 1 p.m. in Emory’s Cox Hall (569 Asbury Circle, Emory). Following the keynote, a press conference will be held with Lu and other key participants to discuss questions from the media.  

The all-day gathering will include an open town hall meeting and in-depth discussions on jobs and the economy, housing, health care and the need to fix our nation’s broken immigration system. Members of the public must register in advance to participate.  

Southeastern states experienced rapid AAPI population growth in the last decade, according to recent Census data. In Georgia alone, the AAPI population grew by 82 percent. The White House AAPI Initiative works to increase access and participation to needed federal services and protections for these and other populations.  

Media Credentials

Media representatives who want to schedule an interview to discuss the effort or wish to cover the event must pre-credential by e-mailing their name, title, organization and contact information to Toby Chaudhuri by 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 15.  

For more information, visit www.whiaapi2012sesummit.com.