September 2020 Newsletter

PAAWBAC News | September 16, 2020

Dear PAAWBAC Community,

Thanks to those who responded to our PAAWBAC survey in August. We received great responses, mostly from Woman Warriors, and some Monarchs and Mentors/Sponsors. All of you who responded are adjusting to the "new normal." We continue to adjust as situations evolve. The impact of events around the killing of George Floyd has raised feelings of grief and outrage among many of you. In response to how PAAWBAC can help during these times, many of you suggested a newsletter to help us share our stories and keep in touch for support during these challenging times. We want to support many of your ideas:

• Create more (virtual) spaces and opportunities to connect and engage with PAAAWBAC community.

• Collaborate with other like organizations that expand our ties with the Black, Latino, and Native American communities.

We are responding by publishing our first edition of the PAAWBAC News, to be published quarterly. Thanks to our community members responses, we've incorporated your ideas and event suggestions, and encourage you to continue to share these ideas with us through our email: paawbac@gmail.com.

This newsletter will feature calls to action, highlighted virtual events, local community efforts, resources for racial justice and equity. As part of our goal to share updates from our Women Warriors and Monarchs, we met (virtually) with Angela Chau Gray, co-founder of YINA (5YINA.COM) a natural skincare company based on the integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern science, and a 2016 PAAWBAC Monarch. You can get to know more about her in our Spotlight interview below.

Best,
PAAWBAC Board of Directors

Calls to Action

Stand up and be counted by completing the 2020 Census now! You can respond online, by phone, or by mail, but you must do so by September 30. It takes an average of 10 minutes. The results help determine how billions of federal dollars are allocated across the country, so it is critical that communities of color are counted, to ensure their fair share of resources and services. Census results are also used to determine the number of Congressional seats in each state, and to draw legislative boundaries.

• Register to vote -- and VOTE!!! The registration deadline for California is October 19. Vote early, especially if mailing in your ballot. Better yet, use one of the drop-off sites designated by many Bay Area counties. Keep informed. We are excited that Kamala Harris is running for Vice President because of her Bay Area roots and because she is making history as the first South Asian and Black woman on a major party ticket.

Speaking of voting, PAAWBAC is a sponsor of theW Challenge, pushing for women to register to vote and to exercise that right. This year marks 100 years of the women's right to vote, a right that was previously not available to all women. Each week, as part of the #WChallenge, PAAWBAC is participating in a social media campaign to highlight women who made a difference in each decade beginning in the 1920s. Check out ourInstagramandFacebookpages for our highlighted woman leaders! 

You can watch the rebroadcast of the 2020 Women's Equality Day event with Mayor London Breed and Assessor Carmen Chu (2012 PAAWBAC Monarch) here!

DID YOU KNOW . . .?

The U.S. Postal Service has releasedRuth Asawa Forever stamps, which feature her abstract wire sculptures. PAAWBAC honored Ruth Asawa as a Woman Warrior in 1983, when she was recognized not only for her acclaimed sculptures, but for actively advocating for arts education in the public schools as a way to transcend racial prejudice. Purchase theRuth Asawa Forever stampsand support the U.S. Postal Service while you’re at it! Read more about the remarkable life and accomplishments ofRuth Asawa.

Virtual Events

• September 17:  Asian Women’s Shelter “For Better - 32 Years of Asian Women's Shelter” 

• September 29:  SF Hep B Free - Bay Area “Be a Hero Awards Gala & Fundraiser” For information on the Gala, email info@sfhepbfree-bayarea.org.

• Rebroadcasted: A Place of Her Own, An arts-based healing and transformational series of workshops and art exhibitions, they continued to meet with the 2020 cohort virtually, culminating in their virtual Artists' Talk on August 29. You can watch a rebroadcast of this moving event here! We are in discussions about a special artists' exhibition exclusively for the PAAWBAC community later this year. Stay tuned!

Community Efforts

Here are a few local organizations doing ground-level community work.

• Trybe: provides on-the-ground basic needs to isolated families in Oakland as a community response to COVID-19.

• Filipino Mental Health Initiative: A part of San Mateo County Health, the FMHI has an active Facebook page that offers helpful resources and tips. 

• Hella Heart Oakland Giving Circle of Asians/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (1998 Woman Warrior Peggy Saika and 1994 Woman Warrior Moira Shek): a multigenerational group of API women, the giving circle awarded over $30,000 in grants since the start of the pandemic, as well as solidarity grants to aligned efforts in the black community.

• OCA East Bay: mobilized a volunteer clean up in Oakland Chinatown after many small businesses were damaged in the aftermath of protests. OCA East Bay promotes civic engagement and leadership towards the betterment of APA communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

• San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Committee: contributed over $300,000 in PPE and other health/safety supplies to SF for use by the City’s first responders and essential health workers.

Resources on Racial Justice & Equity

Learn, get involved, or donate.

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice (2008 Monarch Angela Chan): AAAJ’s COVID-19 Resources provides legal resources for API communities in the face of the pandemic and standagainsthatred.org is an online portal for reporting hate incidents against Asians and others.

• Chinese for Affirmative Action: For 50 years, CAA has worked against anti-Asian American violence and recently launched https://stopaapihate.org/ for reporting hate incidents against API populations since COVID-19.  

• Asian Prisoner Support Committee: With the leadership of Eddy Zheng, immigrant activist and former incarcerated person, facilitates the ROOTS program in prisons, provides community-based reentry services, and organizes deportation defense campaigns.  

• Hollaback!: a great resource for virtual, interactive harassment prevention and bystander intervention training.  

• Tsuru for Solidarity: a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates that has established collaborations with Black, Latino, and Native American groups. 

• What Does It Mean to be American: a free, online curriculum on modules such as immigration, civil liberties and equity, civic engagement, leadership and US-Japan relations, inspired by the life and career of Norman Mineta. It is a part of the Mineta Legacy Project, which includes the documentary Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story, directed by 2005 Woman Warrior Dianne Fukami.

Spotlight

INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA CHAU GRAY - August 24, 2020
(Edited for length and clarity)

PAAWBAC:  Please tell us about your background and how you got to where you are today - a successful entrepreneur in a competitive field.

Angela Chau Gray:  I was born in New York City and raised by my immigrant family. My parents wanted the best educational resources for my sister and me and decided that the two of us would move to California to live with my Aunt and Uncle at the age of 10. My family has taught us the importance of hard work, patience, joy and laughter, and the power of education. 

During my studies in plant biology at UC Berkeley, my interest in Chinese medicine was piqued. Memories of the herbal plasters for my sports injuries to the bitter tasting herbal teas I consumed for my colds as a child, my medical ethnobotany class made a whole lot of sense. Invigorated by these memories, I pursued my Masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM). My journey is full circle from curiosity of how my various sports injuries healed with Chinese herbs to now sharing how Chinese Medicine can turn your skin radiant, along with food therapy and wellness education. 

I met my business partner, Dr. Ervina Wu, while studying at ACTMC. She loved the Chinese herbal lip balm I created in grad school and wanted to join forces to create an expanded line of TCM skincare products. We launched our business - YINA (5YINA.com) in 2016. We feature lifestyle health and wellness education along with food therapy, Qi Gong and self-care tutorials. We are in the process of a brand refresh and hope to launch this November.
 
A big interest of mine is culinary medicine. It is a fascinating food topic familiar to many APIs -- the traditional Chinese soups with all those special herbs and spices to repair the body in a natural holistic way. This interest led me to complete the slow food educational and culinary training at Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley after ACTCM. Healthy eating is just as important as what we put on our skin.

P:  How are you personally and professionally adjusting to our new normal? 

ACG: It has been a challenge being a small business owner during this time. Staying adaptable, flexible, and grounded is critical.

I am so grateful for our dedicated staff and for the continued support of our amazing YINA community. Like PAAWBAC, we sent out a survey to our tribe members recently and received many positive feedbacks. Providing more online educational content was on top of the list. In addition to rolling out more content, we have created a Telemedicine Directory to help connect our members with qualified TCM practitioners. The recent events surrounding racial justice affects us all and we’ve added a new blog on the issues and have engaged in conversation about this topic in our community. 

P:  In our recent survey, you highlighted that being a small business owner is a challenge and you just referred to that; please elaborate.

ACG:  Just being a small business owner in itself is challenging let alone trying to promote a niche field. Communicating TCM concepts and education thoroughly is a challenge. Not only is there misinformation and misuse of Chinese medicinal ingredients by those who have no professional training in TCM, there is cultural misappropriation of herbs, techniques and tools. Cultural understanding is important in being an effective TCM practitioner.

P:  You were recognized as a PAAWBAC Monarch leader in 2016.  What did it mean to you?

ACG:  It was an honor! At the same time, I had hoped to have shared more stories and to learn from other Asian Pacific Islander women. I saw PAAWBAC as a space for API women to talk and share from all walks of life. I understand that the organization is undergoing some changes and I am excited to see what’s ahead for PAAWBAC and will be there to support you!

P:  What are you most proud of since 2016?

ACG:  Launching a company that would be a source for demystifying TCM. Creating and sharing clean TCM skincare while promoting health and wellness education in a much needed time. Encouraging peers to share their knowledge and wisdom of TCM to a broader audience.

P:  How has your background informed your response to the current health challenges?

ACG: “Monumental!” If I didn’t have the background in TCM, I would be personally more “anxious and lost”. TCM has been a very important tool in supporting health and wellness throughout the world during this pandemic. 

P:  How can PAAWBAC support you to succeed in your goals?

ACG:   Mentorship! I would love to meet and interact with women of all ages, sharing stories, and discussions. It would be wonderful if PAAWBAC could provide a forum for women to gather and engage with each other personally and professionally. We’re all in this journey together.

We thank Angela for her time and wish her the very best in her personal and professional endeavors. Angela and her business partner are working hard on their YINA brand refresh in their lab and manufacturing facility in Richmond, California. Be on the lookout for their new product offerings and support a fellow PAAWBAC member!