National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum


National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum –– is a community-based non-profit organization based in Chicago with offices in Atlanta and Washington D.C. and founded in 1996. They have offices in Atlanta and Washington DC, as well as 15 chapters across the country.

History

The idea for the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum started at the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing by Asian and Pacific Islander American female activists who met at the non-governmental organization forums. A year later, in September 1996, 157 women became the founding sisters of NAPAWF at a gathering in Los Angeles.
The founding sisters identified six issue areas to serve as the platform and foundation for NAPAWF’s work:
  1. Civil Rights
  2. Economic Justice
  3. Educational Access
  4. Ending Violence Against Women
  5. Health
  6. Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The organization's historical records are kept as part of the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College in Massachusetts since 2008.

Chapters

There are 15 local chapters across the country including: Arizona; Atlanta, GA; Bay Area, CA; Greater Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA; San Diego, CA; St. Cloud, MN; Seattle, WA; Twin Cities, MN; Washington, DC

Notable Founding Members

Some notable founding members include: