Changemaker_Ngan L

Brief description of what your work entails: 

I am a founder and executive director of Asian Youth Act. As an intersectional activist, I focus on racial justice, feminism, mental health, and climate advocacy. Due to various experiences throughout my childhood and curiosity about the world around me, I began to clearly see racial discrimination and a lack of empathy in many communities. Thus, I began a new journey in meeting people of color and listening to their stories, which subsequently led to the creation of Asian Youth Act. In my free time, I love to perform and do epidemiological research in my spare time. Through my passion, a strong sense of empathy, and desire to see a more inclusive community, I continue to inspire many youths globally.

As the Executive Director of Asian Youth Act, my primary role is to create a strong network to promote deeper education and highlight critical thinking in our everyday lives. As I recruited over 300 people in the past year, I listened to countless stories that showcase their truest identities with a spotlight on intersectionality. Moreover, I have been a guest speaker at multiple significant events such as Stand by AAPI Conference, 1000 Years of Culture, Talk Future Canada Leader Webinar Series, and on ten podcasts thus far.

Asian Youth Act is an organization focused on educating and empowering Asian youths globally to take action through innovation and discussion. The organization holds a strong emphasis on covering a variety of topics that affect the diverse API population through writing articles, creating interdisciplinary projects, posts, and videos. Additionally, we prioritize the power of a conversation between individuals who hold differing opinions on topics; hence, we have formulated events, projects, opened up a community server for anyone to join, and merged another organization into Asian Youth Act -- Circulasian, a platform that distinctly works on podcasting and interviews with influential individuals from our communities.

What inspires you to work towards this change?

I co-founded Asian Youth Act in June of 2020 with the intent to provide a welcoming cultural affinity space for students to address issues with the hope to promote more civic engagement. Throughout the course of my life, I recognized that accepting your identity is not an easy feat in a space where you do not feel adequately represented. As I often moved and resided in different predominantly white spaces, I had lingering thoughts about how to fit in with the dual identity I struggled with as a young Asian American girl. While I had not experienced ostracism firsthand from any of my peers, luckily, I observed how many of my friends had encountered endless amounts of discriminatory instances and began to recognize that it is the "little things" that truly build up and affect us most. By creating Asian Youth Act, I hoped to emulate restorative circles while taking proper action to seek justice.

In the same way that I found myself through the connection shared by my friends in the organization, I seek to inspire more confidence and innovation in my fellow AAPI peers -- to be bold, dare to be unique, and remember they are not alone. 

What would you say to other people our age who are interested in getting involved in activism?

You are incredibly powerful and brave for eagerly wanting to get involved. Before you start, recognize your blind spots, biases, and privilege. Be cognizant of where you stand and when you must step back. Be bold and don't be afraid because there is nothing more frightening than no progress. Hold on tight because there will be days and nights where you feel lonely. Know that you are not alone, join a community, and truly connect from the bottom of your heart. Before a community organizer, you are a human -- one that is capable of compassion, love, and empathy. I hope to support you in all your endeavors -- change comes on a spectrum; don't stop. The turtle will win the race.

Interested in being featured as a GenHR Youth Changemaker? Send us an email at genhryouthchangemaker@gmail.com or fill out our application.