Washington, DC — Two weeks ago, Southeast Asian advocates from across the country joined SEARAC’s 2023 Leadership and Advocacy Training (LAT) program, marking the first in-person LAT since 2019. Twenty-seven advocates hailed from 12 different states and Washington, DC, with ages ranging from 18 to 52. This is the 24th year that SEARAC has hosted a Leadership and Advocacy Training, which has graduated more than 1,300 participants from the program.

Over the course of the three-day program, advocates celebrated their Southeast Asian American legacy, gained knowledge on the impact of civic engagement on their communities, and were trained on how to tell their lived truths to their elected officials. Check out some highlights from the week:

Day 1, we kicked off LAT with a powerful group photo activity that provided participants a space for deep reflection of their journey. Moderated by Mandy Diêc, SEARAC California Deputy Director, participants brought a meaningful photo to them and shared the story behind this image. Participants were also split into issue tracks, which included education, health, and immigration, and learned more about SEARAC’s policy priorities in each policy area.

On Day 2, Thuy Do, SEARAC California Program Manager, and Mandy Diêc facilitated a “Big Paper Activity” to the rising leaders, who reflected on and connected with Southeast Asian history and resilience represented by each poster. Participants also learned to effectively tell their stories in a workshop called “Story of Self, Us, and Now” facilitated by Phun H, SEARAC Communications Associate, and Jazmin Garrett, SEARAC Field Associate. The workshops reminded the participants that if they don’t tell their stories, someone else will. Primed with that knowledge, participants began crafting their legislative asks for their upcoming meetings on Capitol Hill.

• “Today, I talked about my father and his experience with the healthcare system. He takes a number of different medications for his kidney disease, hypertension, and high cholesterol. I was 11 years old when a doctor told him, ‘You are younger than me. You are too young to have these problems.’ In that moment, I realized that there are so many deep structural inequities for our communities, the struggles my family encountered as refugees. I held on to that as the day progressed, how our data need to be represented and not hidden.”
• ”Being in a team with my mom at LAT provided me with security. I knew that the team of people I was walking into those meetings with understood me because of all the time we spent working together and sharing our stories. My team understood my character, understood what I wanted to convey, and had my back. If I was put into a situation where I didn’t know something, I knew they would push me along and carry me through the final steps. It was really affirming to have someone in your corner always, especially my mom.”

• National Education Association
• Omsom
• Tuk Tuk Box
• Teach for America
• The John A. Hartford Foundation, supporting our health and aging track participants
• Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, supporting our health and aging track participants
• W. K. Kellogg Foundation, supporting our education track participants
• CareFirst BCBS