CAPAVA is a nonprofit pan-Asian policy organization created in 2003 to advocate the grassroots issues of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) in Virginia.  CAPAVA is supported by volunteers who have strong backgrounds in policy who seek to bring Virginia APA issues to the attention of State and local policy makers and provide vital information on key resources to Virginia’s APA communities.

During its short history, CAPAVA has led many policy, cultural and other events on behalf of the Virginia APA community:  

• In 2004, CAPAVA joined the newly appointed Virginia Asian Advisory Board (VAAB) to host a policy Town Hall meeting in Northern Virginia.  Over 20 experts testified on a wide range of APA issues including immigration, equal employment opportunity, education, youth gang violence, domestic violence, health, mental health and social service challenges for APAs.  The testimonies were transcribed by CAPAVA and made available on CAPAVA’s and VAAB’s websites and formed the basis of VAAB’s first statutory report to the Governor.

• CAPAVA collaborated with over 15 grassroots organizations in 2005 to conduct a first-time APA candidates’ forum attended by over 500 APAs with participation by 21 northern Virginia candidates.  In 2010, CAPAVA collaborated again with northern Virginia APA groups on a Candidates Forum hosting a debate between candidates in key northern Virginia districts.

• CAPAVA held a first-ever Virginia APA education forum focusing on the educational needs of APA students and a procurement forum in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Virginia in Northern Virginia. 

• CAPAVA hosted the first-ever APA inaugural reception in Williamsburg in 2006 in consortium with tidewater and central APA groups;  and held a similar APA inaugural reception as part of its APA Policy & Resource Forum in 2010.

• CAPAVA staged an APA film festival in conjunction with the DC APA Film Festival focusing on the story of a Vietnamese family relocating in Virginia. (Jackie Bong Wright) 

• From 2004-2008, CAPAVA worked with the Governor’s cabinet and Legislators to propose an APA outreach office in the Office of the Commonwealth.

• The keystone event of CAPAVA’s activities has been hosting of an annual APA coalition policy forum in Richmond during the Commonwealth’s General Assembly session.  This year will be the 7^th annual APA Policy & Resource Forum hosted in partnership with the Asian American Society of Central Virginia, the Virginia Asian Advisory Board and the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce.  This policy event features a political rally at the General Assembly; a reception attended by key executive branch and elected legislative members, cabinet officials and grassroots groups; and a policy and resource forum for community members.  Typically, over 25 grassroots groups and APA businesses participate in the APA Policy & Resource Forum.

• CAPAVA collaborated in two additional town hall hearings in Richmond with the Virginia Asian Advisory Board as part of CAPAVA’s annual APA Policy & Resource Forums in 2009 and 2010 to gather grassroots issues for VAAB data collection.

• CAPAVA hosted an annual pan-Asian Heritage month celebration in northern Virginia in May 2010.  This heritage month celebration has included APA VIPs, including Secretary of Transportation Norm Moneta, Congressman Mike Honda, US Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency and White House Officials, Senator-elect Jim Webb and state and local elected officials.  A wide diversity of APA communities attends this event highlighted by cultural performances and APA Film Festival previews.

• CAPAVA participated in northern Virginia APA poll monitoring efforts in 2008 in conjunction with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and led APA poll monitoring efforts in central Virginia and tidewater areas in 2009. 

This past year CAPAVA led a series of community Asian Roundtables in northern Virginia focused on issue sharing, networking and resource collaboration among northern Virginia APA grassroots groups.    

CAPAVA played a vital role in bringing important resource information to APA communities and helped northern, central and tidewater APA communities to protect the voting rights of APA voters.   CAPAVA continues to leverage resources to stage many first-time APA-targeted Virginia forums and collaborative projects to bring the concerns and issues of APA communities before State and local policy makers, while raising the visibility of the APA community in the Commonwealth.