APAHE 2027 Conference

Pre-Conference: Wednesday, March 31, 2027
Conference Day 1: Thursday, April 1, 2027
Conference Day 2: Friday, April 2, 2027

Rooted and Rising: 40 Years of APAHE

We are rooted in our history.
We rise through our community.
Together, we shape what comes next.

In 2027, Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE) marks four decades of advocacy, leadership, community, and collective action with the theme Rooted and Rising: 40 Years of APAHE.

Founded in 1987 amid discriminatory admission practices directed against Asian Pacific American applicants at the University of California, Berkeley and other research universities across the nation, APAHE was born from a need to organize, advocate, and act. Over the past 40 years, APAHE has grown into a nationally recognized organization committed to addressing issues affecting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students, staff, faculty, and administrators in higher education.

Rooted in Our History

To be rooted is to remember where we come from and recognize the people, struggles, movements, and communities that made our work possible.

APAHE’s roots are grounded in advocacy and collective action. These roots extend across generations of students, educators, scholars, administrators, and community leaders who challenged exclusion, created spaces of belonging, elevated AANHPI voices, and worked to transform higher education.

As we commemorate 40 years, we honor that history as more than our lore. Our collective memory provides lessons for understanding the present and a foundation for determining where we go next. The questions that brought Asian Pacific Americans together in 1987 remain important today: Who has access to higher education? Who belongs? Whose knowledge and experiences are valued? Who has the opportunity to lead? And how do we build institutions that truly serve our communities?

Rising in This Moment

To be rising is to take what our communities have built and carry it forward.

Across higher education, AANHPI communities continue to navigate complex issues of access, belonging, representation, leadership, identity, and student success. At the same time, new challenges and opportunities require new forms of leadership, scholarship, advocacy, and solidarity.

We rise through the work our community does every day—teaching, mentoring, conducting research, organizing, leading, advocating, storytelling, and creating spaces of belonging. We rise by ensuring that AANHPI students, staff, faculty, and administrators are not merely admitted, employed, or represented within our institutions, but recognized and empowered as knowledge-makers, leaders, innovators, and community builders.

Rising also means recognizing that our progress is collective. It calls us to strengthen relationships across generations, identities, institutions, and communities; to learn from those who came before us; and to create pathways for those who will come after us.

Honoring 40 Years. Rising Toward the Future.

Rooted and Rising captures both the legacy and the promise of APAHE at this important milestone.

The 2027 National Conference invites our community to look back so that we can move forward with greater purpose. We ask: What have 40 years of APAHE taught us? What must we preserve? What must we challenge? What must we reimagine? And what will we build together for the next generation?

We welcome our community to explore these questions across higher education contexts—from research to policy, storytelling to practice, and individual leadership to collective action. Together, we will honor the people and movements that established APAHE’s roots while cultivating the ideas, relationships, and actions that will shape its future.

HOST HOTEL

Oakland Marriott City Center

1001 Broadway, Oakland, California, USA, 94607

Hotel registration link will be emailed to conference attendees after completing registration.

APAHE 2027 Committee

**Takeo Kubo**
*Conference Co-Lead*
conference@apahenational.org

**Cecil Chik**
*Conference Co-Lead*
conference@apahenational.org

Placeholder illustration — **Meleca Consultado**
*Assistant to Conference Organizers*
conference@apahenational.org

**Lori Ideta**
*Hotel Liaison*
accomodations@apahenational.org

**Arnold Paguio**
IT
conference@apahenational.org

**Roger Moy**
*Whova*
conference@apahenational.org

**Kevin Chastain**
*Exhibitors*
exhibits@apahenational.org

**Henry Gee**
*Sponsorships*
sponsors@apahenational.org

**Frances Palu-Latchison**
*Local Arrangements*
conference@apahenational.org

**Sherwynn Umali**
*Graphic Designer / Photographer*
conference@apahenational.org

**Jazzmin Gota**
*Communications / Social Media*
conference@apahenational.org

**Ailene Crakes**
*Plenary Sessions*
conference@apahenational.org

**Chloe de los Reyes**
*Programs*
proposals@apahenational.org

**Andi Fejeran**
*Registration*
registration@apahenational.org

Kare'l Lokeni — **Kare’l Lokeni**
*Registration*
registration@apahenational.org

**Eledy Vargas Gonzalez**
*Registration*
registration@apahenational.org

Event Media Notice
A photographer will be taking pictures and videos of the event and its participants; if you want to opt out of being included in any public photography or videography, please notify an event organizer. Additionally, by sharing your photo with us on Whova or Social Media, you are giving permission for it to be used on public platforms, including social media and promotional materials.