Big Transitions at APSC!
Dear Community,
After many years of service to the Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC), Ny Nourn and Nate Tan will move on from their Co-Director roles. We wish them well as Ny steps out in December as Co-Director, and Nate shifts into a new role in 2025. We are deeply grateful for and celebrate all they have contributed during their time with APSC and ask for your support as we kickstart a search for new executive leadership.
“It has truly been an honor to serve as Co-Director of APSC over these past three years. With a full heart, I am so grateful for all the support as I step back, reflect, and plan the next phase in my journey. I am proud and excited about APSC's ongoing power-building work, commitment to centering the voices and leadership of impacted communities, powerful narrative shifting and storytelling, all of which is rooted in the diversity and culture of our communities to continue to kindle the burning and growing flame at APSC. APSC has immensely impacted, inspired and informed my life’s work to continue to create a world without borders and cages.” Ny Nourn, outgoing Co-Director
“In my 10 years of service to APSC and four years as a Co-Director, I am excited for APSC and myself to embark on this journey of transitions. It’s pivotal that we develop new leadership while finding places in the movement for ourselves. While APSC has been a political home to so many phenomenal leaders, it has also served as a jumping pad into greater opportunities to further grow and foster this movement to cease systemic carceral violence. As I transition into a new role at APSC, I am reminded that I have been so privileged to have served the community in this way, and with Ny as Co-Director.” Nate Tan, outgoing Co-Director
Under Nate and Ny’s leadership, APSC has grown into a leading organization at the intersection of criminal justice, immigrant justice, and anti-detention/deportation for Asian Pacific Islander communities and fueled a critical phase of growth of impact, programming, and staffing. Responsive to the growing needs in the community, Ny and Nate oversaw an array of strategies that deepen the leadership pipeline centered on healing and transformative justice and advocate for freedom for impacted communities. They played instrumental roles in leading individual and collective freedom campaigns, coalition building with partners to stop ICE transfers and push for clemency grants in California, deepening the ROOTS program in prisons, focusing on the re-entry needs for system-impacted people to thrive after returning home, expanding gender justice and equity by seeding women’s prisons programming and launching CARE reentry services for women and TGNC community members, spearheading efforts to advocate for the HOME Act (a racial justice bill to end the double punishment of immigrant communities impacted by incarceration, detention, and deportation with the ICE Out of California Coalition) and helping to lead the Impacted Leadership Council. Together with APSC’s staff team, support from our funders and donors, and the trust of our partners and community, APSC will continue its impactful work and move into our next chapter of organizing and advocacy.
#FreeVithea Campaign Rally in LA
Nate Tan and Ny Nourn advocating for Vithea Yung, a Cambodian refugee. In a rare victory, shortly after this rally, Vithea was released to his family and not turned over to ICE.
“As a person who has experienced ICE detention, and incarceration, and is living with the threat of deportation, APSC is a beacon of hope for me. Everyday I find the strength to continue to fight for my right as a human being to live without the fear of being torn away from my family, community, and everything I love. At APSC, I have the opportunity to bring that hope to other impacted communities, and to those who are marginalized and oppressed by the "Crimmigation System." I look forward to the future as APSC continues to grow and inspire hope and create meaningful changes in the lives of all impacted communities." Peejay Ai, Senior Community Advocate
"We in the Human Rights program of the Heising-Simons Foundation have long been impressed by APSC’s success at creating a home for systems-impacted API community members to engage in education and advocacy. We are proud to support their vision, grateful for the conscientious way they approach transition, and excited to see their impact continue in this new chapter.” Rose Cahn, Program Officer at the Heising Simons Foundation
Nate and Ny will always be APSC family and remain deeply connected in our collective movement for freedom and justice for all people. At the heart of their leadership, along with compassion, integrity, and fierce commitment to a vision of freedom, lies a deep value for developing and bringing in new leaders, voices, and energy to this work and continuing to grow the movement. This work demands a lot of us, especially as formerly incarcerated and systems impacted people. APSC continues a deep commitment to walking the walk of building a healthy and sustainable organization.
“I first got involved with APSC while incarcerated where I met Nate and started participating in ROOTS. APSC was my safe place to develop my leadership, get politically educated, and participate in advocacy in spite of my incarceration. Since coming home, I joined the Advisory Council and I'm constantly amazed by how APSC has been able to hold and care for our communities inside and out. I look forward to the future of APSC because I know it will always be a home for people like me." Thanh Tran, current Council member
“APSC grew from a handful of volunteers dedicated to supporting APIs in prison, many of whom were given life sentences as juveniles. Together, APSC helped to shift momentum towards community-based safety and healing solutions - at the policy, systems, and community levels. I am excited to continue building with the next generation of APSC's leadership.” Ben Wang, current Council member and founding Co-Director
In the spirit of growth and embracing new energy, we are excited to kick off the search for our next executive leadership! Our new Executive Director/Co-Director will be a seasoned and visionary leader deeply passionate and connected to, ideally through lived experience, APSC’s mission, vision and values and experienced in managing healthy organizations (internally through systems, people, finances and externally through public representation, partnerships, and fundraising). This leader is an approachable, thoughtful communicator who can collaborate with our talented staff team and partners to move APSC forward into our next chapter. APSC’s Council (oversight and decision-making body) along with input from staff and administrative support from fiscal sponsor AACRE will lead the search process. Formerly incarcerated people and systems impacted people are highly encouraged to apply. Please see the job announcement for more details and how to apply. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis but preferred by November 8, 2024.
To apply: https://www.asianprisonersupport.com/career-and-opportunities
We are grateful to our community to help us find our next leader!!!
In Solidarity,
Audee Kochiyama-Holman, Ben Wang, Elijah Chhum, and Thanh Tran
APSC Council