#9 Seema Agnani, National CAPACD

Before Seema became executive director of National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD), she led Chhaya CDC, an influential nonprofit representing South Asians in Queens, New York. That experience informs her work with National CAPACD, whose 100 member organizations provide housing, youth, and small business services for East Asians and South Asians across the nation. It focuses on asset building, from homes to businesses, that create stability and generational wealth in low-income communities. This work is vital in an increasingly hostile political environment. As Seema explains, an attack on immigrants is an attack on CAPACD's staff and members. Far from being discouraged, Seema sees the current moment as the time to exercise CAPACD's advocacy muscle.