Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California Welcomes Liza Chu As New Policy Manager
Former Legislative Aide Will Focus On Advancing Policy Priorities for Immigrant Communities
Sacramento, CA — Asian Americans Advancing Justice-California (Advancing Justice-CA), a joint project between Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus (Advancing Justice-ALC) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA), is proud to announce and welcome its new California Policy Manager, Liza Chu. The California Policy Manager advocates in the state capitol for legislative and budget priorities that reflect the greatest needs of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs), and other underserved and immigrant communities.
AANHPI communities have become the fastest growing racial groups in California. Currently, over 6.6 million Asian Americans reside in California and now make up nearly 17% of the state’s population. Additionally, over 300,000 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) reside in California, making it home to one of the largest populations of NHPIs in the United States.
“In her role as California Policy Manager, Liza will be advocating for communities that have historically been underrepresented,” said Aarti Kohli, Executive Director of Advancing Justice-ALC. “In these urgent times, we need to be communicating to our elected representatives that needs such as immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, health access, education access, language rights, and more are top priorities. Our policies should be addressing these needs in our communities.”
“We are thrilled for Liza to join us in fighting for pro-immigrant policies in Sacramento,” said Reshma Shamasunder, Vice President of Program Strategy of Advancing Justice-LA. “As California pushes forward as the nation’s leader in protecting immigrant communities, it is critical to ensure that all communities have a voice. Liza will ensure that AANHPIs have a seat and voice at the table.”
The California Policy Manager has been an essential part of advancing justice for California immigrant communities. In previous years, Advancing Justice-CA was able to pass bills such as SB 54 (CA Values Act) to keep immigrant families together and AB 918 (California Voting for All Act) to expand language access in elections. We were also able to secure additional funding for local education and 2020 Census planning.
Chu, who comes from a grassroots background, has long advocated for the Vietnamese American community and other marginalized communities in San Jose. Prior to joining Advancing Justice – California, Chu worked for the office of California Assemblymember Ash Kalra, where she developed policies that promoted labor and employment rights, education rights, and housing and community development.
“I have always appreciated that Advancing Justice-CA utilizes both legislative and community work to promote AANHPI and broader immigrant civil rights,” said Chu. “It is my goal to create lasting justice for all Californians, so I’m excited to be joining Advancing Justice-CA. I look forward to utilizing my relationships with community members, stakeholders, and politicians to work in service for workers, families, and immigrants.”
CONTACT:
Christina So
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
(415) 848-7728, christinaso@advancingjustice-alc.org
Jessica Jinn
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles
(213) 241-8817, jjinn@advancingjustice-la.org
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California (Advancing Justice-CA) is a partnership between Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (Advancing Justice – ALC) in San Francisco and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA).
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI). Through direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building, Advancing Justice-LA focuses on the most vulnerable members of Asian American and NHPI communities while also building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (Advancing Justice – ALC) was founded in 1972 as the nation’s first legal and civil rights Asian American organization. Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, Advancing Justice – ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.