About Us

Founded in 2019, AAUC’s mission is to communicate, advocate, and collaborate with Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) member organizations and individuals to identify our common goals and amplify our voices to address social, political, and economic barriers.

Fostering unity among AANHPI communities has been a longstanding aspiration. The substantial diversity, language barriers, and historical political and social challenges have presented significant obstacles, rendering this objective seemingly insurmountable.

Despite the AAPI community’s remarkable growth, comprising 6-7% of the U.S. population, without unity on key issues, many groups within the AANHPI community remain an invisible ethnic minority, impeding their capacity to effect meaningful change.

Under this premise, the Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) emerged following a pivotal conference held in Alaska in 2018. This groundbreaking event brought together representatives from 12 distinct AANH PI organizations and 20 leaders representing five major ethnicities: Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Korean, and Japanese Americans. At this gathering, they collectively formulated the core values and platform of the AAUC. In 2019, the organization formalized its structure by establishing a Constitution and Bylaws to govern its operations and obtained its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

AAUC Structure

• The General Body consists of all active members
• The Board of Governors is elected by the General Body
• The Executive Officers elected by the Board of Governors
• Executive Committee is made up of the officers and standing committee chairs and the past president

Standing committees

• Board Development Committee
• Constitution and Bylaws Committee
• Educational Program and Conference Committee
• Ethics Committee
• Finance committee
• Public Policy & Advocacy Committee
• Public Relations Committee
• Strategic Development Committee
• Ad hoc Committee

Board of Governors Election

Annual Election

To maintain a staggered board in the AAUC structure, about half of the Board of Governors will be elected each year. Nomination period usually runs in October with the slate of candidates ready for election in November. The term of office is two years from Jan 1 to the end of the term. The installation of the new board of governors will take place in December during the Annual General Meeting.

Eligibility for Voting and Candidacy

• Must be AAUC members with good standing for at least 6 months prior to opening of the poll.
• A list of eligible voters and candidates will be sent out to the general body.
• Must use AAUC Nomination Form and Candidacy Filing Form.

Election Protocol

• An electronic ballot will be sent out to each eligible voter via email after the slate of candidates is established.
• Results of the election will be announced after the poll closes.
• The candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to serve a two-year term.

Bylaws and Constitution

Final Updated Version 1.7.1 (Approved March 2021)
Please download Bylaws and Constitution in PDF format here.

Preamble

Asian Americans shall either win equal citizenship UNITED or suffer discrimination separately. To aspire to live as equals in a free market system like the U.S.A. where we represent one of the smallest minorities, we must UNITE to acquire sufficient strength to fight off discrimination.