#76 Sookyung Oh, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium

As Sookyung Oh explains, Annandale, Virginia is much more than a destination spot for Korean BBQ and Pho. It is home to Korean and Vietnamese Americans and a new wave of Caribbean and African immigrants. Sookyung leads NAKASEC (National Korean American Service and Education Consortium) a grassroots organization with affiliate offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and Chicago. Its power building mission This mission is particularly meaningful for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, which sometimes feels invisible to the broader public. A small staff and a dedicated corps of young Korean American and Vietnamese American organizers, from local high schools and colleges, canvass neighborhoods and engage in one-on-one conversations with community members. They ask questions to gauge which issues are animating the community and then draw them into organizing efforts. Legal permanent residents are absorbing hateful rhetoric and policies by the Trump Administration and fear deportation. An uncertain future for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is another key concern. This scenario is causing young people get involved in the 2020 elections.