The National Association of Asian American Professionals is a national, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization where Asian American professionals work together across the country to empower Asian American leadership, overcome barriers that impede our success, promote active participation within the community, and encourage Asian Americans to go into underrepresented professions and higher levels of responsibility.

We are a diverse community with varied interests and backgrounds. We are busy working professionals in the fields of law, medicine, science, engineering, financial services, business, and the arts. We include business owners and entrepeneurs, programmers, analysts, corporate executives, accountants, journalists, musicians, and graduate students. We have both recent immigrants and native-born Americans who can trace ancestries to China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, India, Thailand, and the rest of Asia. at the NAAAP National Convention, in Boston in 2002 and in Chicago in 2005. We are the hosts for the 2005 National Leadership Retreat, became a full-fledged Chapter in 2006.

Spanning many national origins and generations of acculturation, Asian Americans do not unite around a common language, culture, or tradition. Instead, we acknowledge a shared history of racial discrimination and prejudice that, unfortunately, continues to shape our society. NAAAP defines its membership and missions along racial lines because race is relevant to the way we are perceived and treated as Americans and as professionals. Contrary to the widespread "model minority" myth, Asian Americans have not been disproportionately successful; nor do we yet enjoy equal opportunities for economic, social and political advancement.

As Asian American professionals, we recognize a special responsibility to engage with one another, with our professions, and with our community in addressing these issues. Accordingly, NAAAP-RTP is firmly committed to encouraging open dialogue on issues of race and undertaking educational and community service activities to promote racial equality and social justice in our workplaces, in our community, and across the nation and the world.

NAAAP-National (www.naaap.org) was founded in New York City in 1982 and soon expanded to the major metropolitan centers throughout the United States and Canada. The North Carolina Venture was founded in 1998 in the fast-growing Research Triangle Park (RTP) region around the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill area. The NAAAP-RTP Chapter has twice been awarded the coveted Venture of the Year Award by NAAAP-National.

Acknowledgements: the contents of this section were originally written by NAAAP-NC member Andrew Chin, a professor at the Law School of UNC Chapel Hill, with additional remarks by Hector Javier, NAAAP-NC President for 2004-2006.

The National Association of Asian American Professionals is a national, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization where Asian American professionals work together across the country to empower Asian American leadership, overcome barriers that impede our success, promote active participation within the community, and encourage Asian Americans to go into underrepresented professions and higher levels of responsibility.

We are a diverse community with varied interests and backgrounds. We are busy working professionals in the fields of law, medicine, science, engineering, financial services, business, and the arts. We include business owners and entrepeneurs, programmers, analysts, corporate executives, accountants, journalists, musicians, and graduate students. We have both recent immigrants and native-born Americans who can trace ancestries to China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, India, Thailand, and the rest of Asia. at the NAAAP National Convention, in Boston in 2002 and in Chicago in 2005. We are the hosts for the 2005 National Leadership Retreat, became a full-fledged Chapter in 2006.

Spanning many national origins and generations of acculturation, Asian Americans do not unite around a common language, culture, or tradition. Instead, we acknowledge a shared history of racial discrimination and prejudice that, unfortunately, continues to shape our society. NAAAP defines its membership and missions along racial lines because race is relevant to the way we are perceived and treated as Americans and as professionals. Contrary to the widespread "model minority" myth, Asian Americans have not been disproportionately successful; nor do we yet enjoy equal opportunities for economic, social and political advancement.

As Asian American professionals, we recognize a special responsibility to engage with one another, with our professions, and with our community in addressing these issues. Accordingly, NAAAP-RTP is firmly committed to encouraging open dialogue on issues of race and undertaking educational and community service activities to promote racial equality and social justice in our workplaces, in our community, and across the nation and the world.

NAAAP-National (www.naaap.org) was founded in New York City in 1982 and soon expanded to the major metropolitan centers throughout the United States and Canada. The North Carolina Venture was founded in 1998 in the fast-growing Research Triangle Park (RTP) region around the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill area. The NAAAP-RTP Chapter has twice been awarded the coveted Venture of the Year Award by NAAAP-National.

Acknowledgements: the contents of this section were originally written by NAAAP-NC member Andrew Chin, a professor at the Law School of UNC Chapel Hill, with additional remarks by Hector Javier, NAAAP-NC President for 2004-2006.