APIs CAN - Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network

05/27/2026

As we celebrate 10 years of APIs CAN, we’re launching a monthly Steering Committee Member Spotlight series to honor the organizations and leaders who have helped build our coalition into what it is today.

We’re kicking off with our founding member, the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW), and its Co-Executive Director, Nicole Eigbrett, who also serves as APIs CAN Steering Committee Co-Chair.

AARW is a pan-Asian grassroots organization and political home for Asian Americans in the Boston area, organizing across housing justice, immigration, policing, and climate justice, with a deep commitment to deportation defense for Southeast Asian refugee communities.

We are grateful for AARW’s leadership in building collective power across Massachusetts—and for Nicole’s leadership in helping guide APIs CAN’s vision and growth.

Swipe to read Nicole’s reflections on building narrative power, expanding our coalition, and growing toward a more just future.

05/21/2026

Meet Sabrina Balmaseda, a Pour the Tea alum.

Sabrina is a recent graduate of Northeastern University’s Master of Public Health program and an early-career researcher passionate about community-centered research and storytelling.

During Pour the Tea, Sabrina explored how storytelling and narrative are essential to understanding community experiences beyond data alone. The workshop went on to shape her MPH capstone research, strengthening her commitment to honoring community context, lived experience, and resilience in public health work.

As Sabrina shared:
“The Pour the Tea Workshop deepened my conviction that storytelling has always been the core of communities and is necessary to centering communities in research.”

That’s the power of creating space for our stories to be heard, valued, and connected to broader systems change.

📣 Final days to apply for Pour the Tea: An AAPI Storytelling & Action Workshop (June 12–14)

This free, stipended 3-day workshop helps you connect your lived experience to the change you want to see—through writing, reflection, storytelling, and public speaking.

📅 June 12–14, 2026
📍 Boston @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
🗣️ Open to AAPI community members across MA (interpretation available)

⏰ Deadline: May 22 at 5 PM

Apply now ➜ https://bit.ly/pourthetea3

05/20/2026

In honor of AANHPI Heritage Month, we’re lifting up a major milestone for AAPI communities in Massachusetts: the release of the first-ever statewide Massachusetts Asian & Pacific Islander American (APIA) Community Survey last year.

This groundbreaking survey—led in partnership with our incredible coalition of partners —centers the lived experiences of AAPI residents across the Commonwealth and ensures our communities are seen in their full diversity.

Why it matters: data drives power. This survey is used to advocate for community needs, inform academic research, and challenge harmful narratives about AAPI communities—including the persistent “model minority” and “wealthy AAPI” myths that often erase real disparities.

One key finding: 30% of AAPI residents struggle with housing costs.

As APIs CAN continues our policy advocacy this year, housing justice remains a central priority—because these numbers make clear what communities have long known: affordability and stability are urgent issues across AAPI communities in Massachusetts.

We invite you to read the report, uplift the findings, and use this data to support action, advocacy, and policy change.

📊 Read the report + learn more in our bio
🤝 Tagging our partners with gratitude for making this work possible

05/15/2026

Meet Chia Lam, a Pour the Tea alum.

Chia Lam is a poet, community organizer, and advocate for underrepresented voices in writing spaces.

During the workshop, Chia shared a deeply personal story about her family’s fraught history—and transformed it into a call for action for social and narrative change in AAPI communities, all of which starts with personal accountability.

That’s the power of creating space for our stories to be heard and used for collective action.

Deadline to apply was extended and we are in our final days to apply for Pour the Tea: An AAPI Storytelling & Action Workshop (June 12–14).

This free, stipended 3-day workshop helps you connect your lived experience to the change you want to see—through writing, reflection, and public speaking.

🗓️ June 12–14, 2026
📍 Boston @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Open to AAPI community members across MA (interpretation available)

Deadline: May 22 at 5 PM

Apply now ➜ https://bit.ly/pourthetea3 (Link in bio)

05/14/2026

05/12/2026

Ready to build community power and fight for immigrant justice? ✊🏽✊🏻✊🏿

Join us on Wednesday, May 20 at 6:00 PM for a virtual training on how to navigate the State House, map out power, and take meaningful action for our communities.
We’ll be breaking down:

🏛️ The history of crimmigration, how it was built to oppress AAPI people, and its deep links to working class issues today.

🗺️ How to analyze geographic and relational power in the State House.

⚙️ Understanding key levers of power—like unions, CBOs, and donors.

📝 Real ways to take action on critical issues, including rent control!

Whether you’re a seasoned organizer or taking your first step into advocacy, this space is for you to learn, strategize, and connect. Interpretation will be available.

📍 Where: Zoom

🗓️ When: Wednesday, May 20 @ 6:00 PM

🔗 Hit the link in our bio to RSVP and get the Zoom link!

CommunityOrganizing MAStateHouse Crimmigration Mapoli

05/06/2026

Meet Aditi, a Pour the Tea alum.

After joining our October 2025 workshop, Aditi brought her story to the Massachusetts State House—speaking at Advocacy Day to support policies impacting AAPI communities.

As a trained therapist, Aditi hosts healing and place-making self care retreats for AANHPI communities on the Northshore where immigrant communities are present but invisible.

That’s the power of connecting your story to action.

⏳ This is the final week to apply for Pour the Tea: An AAPI Storytelling & Action Workshop (June 12–14).

This free, stipended 3-day workshop helps you build the skills to turn your lived experience into impact—through writing, reflection, and public speaking.

📅 June 12–14, 2026
📍 Boston @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
💡 Open to AAPI community members across MA (interpretation available)

🗓 Deadline: May 11 at 5 PM
Apply now ➜ https://bit.ly/pourthetea3 (Link in bio)

05/01/2026

This May, your coffee can make a difference ☕

Community is built in the spaces where we gather—and over something as simple as a cup of coffee. This AAPI Heritage Month, we’re proud to partner with and to celebrate culture, connection, and community.

Stop by Lê Madeline and order a Legacy coffee—proceeds will support Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network and our work advancing equity for AAPI communities across Massachusetts.

Small action, real impact. 💛

04/14/2026

📣 Applications Open: Year 2 of “Pour the Tea” — An AAPI Storytelling & Action Workshop

🗓 June 12–14, 2026
📍 Boston

APIs CAN is excited to launch the second year of Pour the Tea, bringing together another cohort of Asian & Pacific Islander changemakers to share our stories, challenge stereotypes, and build the skills to advocate for our communities.

Over three days, participants will:

☕ Learn powerful storytelling techniques
🎤 Practice public speaking in a supportive environment
💬 Connect advocacy to action on key issues
🤝 Build community with other AAPI leaders across Massachusetts

We strongly encourage non-native English speakers to apply. Interpretation will be offered upon request.

Whether you’re new to advocacy or a seasoned organizer, your story matters — and now is the time to tell it.

📩 Apply now to join the June 2026 Cohort https://bit.ly/pourthetea3

🗓 Applications accepted on a rolling basis! Deadline to apply: May 11 @ 5 p.m.

Need help with your application? Send us a DM!

Art/design by Kelly Tan

04/07/2026

JOIN US TODAY 🚨

We are all neighbors.

Across Massachusetts, families, workers, and seniors are struggling to stay in their homes — while legislators have the power to act right now.

On April 7, neighbors from across the state are coming together to call for rent stabilization and housing stability.

Join us.

📣 Rally 12PM
📍 MA State House

🔗 hfama.us/thetimeisnow