Leverett Wing
Executive Director
Leverett Wing is APIAVote's Executive Director, managing administrative, field, development, communications, and program management tasks. Leverett is a well-known businessman, political leader, community activist, and fundraiser whose ability to organize on a broad scale and break down barriers has led to a number of landmark accomplishments benefiting the Asian American community.
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Most recently, Leverett helped spearhead a two-year, statewide effort which led to legislation creating the Massachusetts Asian American Commission – a permanent entity within the structure of MA government. Having been instrumental in its creation, Leverett was selected to be the Commission’s inaugural Executive Director. During his tenure, he established the Commission’s functioning infrastructure and initiated a first-of-its-kind “Statewide Needs Assessment of MA Asian American Community”, integrating town meetings, sector focus groups and a first-ever, statewide survey/poll of the community.
Previously, Leverett was the Business Manager of the Massachusetts State Senate for over seven years where he oversaw and managed the Senate’s $18 million budget and its day-to-day operations.
Leverett has been active on a national level as well. Working closely with political, business and community leaders from throughout the country, he Co-Chaired the Opening Night Festivities for over 1,500 members of the Asian and Pacific Islander American community, from throughout the U.S. and its territories, as they descended upon Boston for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Leverett serves on several boards including the Joslin Diabetes Center, WGBH-TV/Radio, and the Asian Community Development Corporation. In addition to being a graduate of Tufts University (B.A.), Leverett is an alumnus of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government (MPA-2).
Naomi Tacuyan
Deputy Director
Naomi T. Tacuyan is currently APIAVote's Deputy Director, managing media and partner communications, refocusing the organization's branding efforts, as well as providing assistance in implementing APIAVote programs, outreach, and administration. Naomi has focused her academic and professional endeavors to meld her communications skills with the policy and advocacy needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Recently, Naomi fulfilled a Policy Fellowship with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she worked on Hawaiian homelands community development issues.
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She previously served as Communications Director for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a national philanthropic policy and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. At NCRP, she handled all aspects of media and public relations, and research production and dissemination. She was also Program Coordinator for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development.
Naomi has also served on the board for the D.C. chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, where she and fellow board members worked on a national gathering and lobby day pushing for changes to the reauthorization of the Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA). Naomi has also been active in the legislative push to restore full veterans' benefits to Filipino World War II veterans, organizing hill briefings, coordinating national efforts, advising on media strategies, and speaking at college conferences.
A Filipina who hails from the U.S. island territory of Guam, Naomi recently graduated with a Master's in Public Policy (MPP) degree at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, concentrating on community development and public management. At UCLA, she was a Research Associate on a forthcoming Asian American Studies Center project on community-based organizations and their asset building programs. Naomi graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Print Journalism and Asian/Pacific/American Studies from New York University.
Joie Chen
Communications Advisor
Joie Chen biography
Alvina Yeh
Program Coordinator
Alvina Yeh is the Program Coordinator at APIAVote where she manages the office, runs the internship, youth vote and new media programs. Prior to joining APIAVote, she volunteered for various campaigns at the local and national levels.
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Originally from Denver, CO, she is a graduate of the University of Colorado – Boulder where she studied International Affairs and Ethnic Studies.
She was previously the president of the Asian American Political Alliance of Colorado which worked with other student of color and allied groups to focus on issues like affirmative action, budget cuts, and ensuring diverse faculty and staff hirings. She was also the co-chair of the "Rice y Beans" coalition – a group that focused on leadership development in Latino & AAPI youth.
