NAKASEC
Template:TOCnestleft NAKASEC is the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, a grassroots organization founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean and Asian Americans within the larger society. Our mission is to organize Korean and Asian Americans to achieve social, economic, and racial justice. NAKASEC has affiliates in Los Angeles and Orange County (Korean Resource Center) and Chicago (Hana Center) and maintains offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Annandale, Virginia.
NAKASEC began its work in Virginia five years ago. Current programs are centered around Immigrant Rights, Civic Engagement, and Parent and Youth Organizing. NAKASEC VA’s work is focused on the most vulnerable community members including low-income, recent immigrants, limited English proficient, undocumented, youth, women, and seniors.[1]
The NAKASEC Action Fund is NAKASEC’s 501(c)(4) advocacy arm.
Officers
As of January 2018;[2]
- Wan-Mo Kang – Chair (Princeton, NJ)
- Inhe Choi – Vice Chair (Chicago, IL)
- Cliff Sukjae Lee – Secretary (Garden Grove, CA)
- Amanda Lowrey aka Kim Eun-Ja – Treasurer (Honolulu, HI)
Board Members
As of January 2018;[3]
- Dan Choi (Philadelphia, PA)
- Helen Gym (Philadelphia, PA)
- Ju Hong (Sacramento, CA)
- Emily Kessel (Arlington, VA)
- Nanwon Kim (Princeton, NJ)
- Julie Kil Joo Lee Kurumada (La Crescenta, CA)
- Edward Chongkuk Lee (Philadelphia, PA)
- Rev. Eun-Sang Lee (Denver, CO) i
- Kent Chaegu Lee (Chicago, IL)
- Felix Lim (Kirkland, WA)
- Doorae Shin (Honolulu, HI)
- Inbo Sim (Irvine, CA);
Staff
As of January 2018;[4]
- Becky Belcore, Co-Director
- Dae Joong Yoon, Co-Director
- Huong Nguyen, Civic Engagement Coordinator
- Min Su Kang, Immigrant Rights Fellow
- Nancy Wu, Finance Manager
- SaeHee Chun, Program Associate
- Serafina Ha, Communications Fellow
- Sookyung Oh, D.C. Area Director
- Maro Park, Immigrant Rights Fellow
- Sumi Yi, Community Organizer
Chu, Gutierrez, NAKASEC arrestees
Nearly 5,000 undocumented young people, immigrant rights advocates, and faith leaders congregated December 6, 2017 at 12:00 PM at the Upper Senate Park for a rally in support of a clean DREAM Act and permanent solution for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Events included: stories from directly impacted people, calls to action by members of Congress, and a civil disobedience on the steps of Capitol Hill resulting in the arrest of Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) and Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and 182 individuals, five from the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC).
Congresswoman Chu, the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), stated, “There is a bipartisan bill ready to be voted on that I know could gain a majority vote if only Speaker Ryan would let us bring it to the floor. We have tried everything from large scale rallies to a small meeting with the Speaker to make our case. But each time, we have been ignored. Today, I know our words were heard, but will Republicans have the courage to act on them? Our ask is simple: let us vote on the DREAM Act so we can do the right thing for our families, our communities, and our economy.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag