Catalyst for Responsive Civic Leadership (CRCL) Project
“Strengthening the Circle of Leadership”

Background

Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) are the second-fastest growing population in the state of Illinois, numbering over 428,000 statewide and comprising about 4% of the state’s population, according to the 2000 Census. At the same time, the APA community’s civic representation has not kept pace with this growth.

Currently, with the exception of a small number of judges and village township officials, there are no APA elected officials at the city, Cook County, State or Federal levels. APAs are also not well represented on the boards of mainstream civic institutions (corporate, governmental, non-profit, and philanthropic organizations). This means that there are few APA voices participating in key decisions that affect the distribution of local resources, opportunities, and services.

Goals and Activities

Funded by the Chicago Community Trust and Southwest Airlines, the CRCL Project aims to more equitably distribute resources to the APA community by increasing APA representation in the leadership of key civic institutions. Working in partnership and consultation with community-based organizations and leaders, the CRCL Project will:

• Conduct an initial assessment of the civic institution landscape (in partnership with SAAPRI, the South Asian American Policy & Research Institute);
• Develop an inventory of Asian American leaders; to join the database, please complete this form.
• Create a leadership training program in partnership with existing leadership organizations; please see the attached application form.
• Build relationships with civic institutions to advocate for the placement of qualified candidates;
• Host educational roundtables that bring board and commission members and community leaders into relationship with one another.

Steering Committee (in formation)

The CRCL project is assisted by a Steering Committee that includes:

Noreen Abbasi, Maven Cosmetics
Kevin Bradley, McDonald’s Corporation
Joseph Chan, Roosevelt University
Nancy Chen, U.S. Department of Labor
Libby Chiu, Illinois Arts Council
Michael Chu, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Thomas Lhee, Metropolitan Bank Group

Expanding the Circle report

AAI’s recent CRCL report, Expanding the Circle (click to download): An Assessment of Asian American Participation in Metropolitan Chicago Civic Institutions, includes current statistics as well as recommendations for overcoming barriers at both the systemic and individual levels. This report was published in collaboration with the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI) and is made possible with the generous support of The Chicago Community Trust.  For more information, or to get involved, please contact Joanna Su.

Questions?
For more information, or to get involved, please contact:

Joanna Su, MSW
CRCL Project Manager
(773) 271-0899
Joanna@AAIChicago.org

Sponsor