LINCOLN- Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen recently appointed 13 inaugural members to the state's new Commission on Asian American Affairs. Similar to other state commissions in sentiment, they will focus on "enhancing the cause of Asian American rights." Their duties as advocates for Asian Americans in Nebraska are outlined in Legislative Bill 1300. Members of the commission serve four-year terms and a fourteenth member will be named in the future.
There will be an executive board to oversee operations and ensure that meetings are held quarterly at the least. State Senator Rita Sanders of District 45, the only current Nebraska lawmaker of Asian descent, introduced the legislation last year before it was approved this session. Sanders emphasized the importance of the commission's development to a small but growing population in the state. The members so far are listed below.
Maureen Brase of Raymond (founder and director of Kokyo Taiko, Nebraska’s only Wadaiko performance group — Japanese style drumming).
Weysan Dun of Omaha (a former FBI special agent).
Dr. Deepak M. Gangahar of Elkhorn (a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon).
Maorong Jiang of Omaha (director of Creighton University’s Asian World Center).
Tram Kieu of Lincoln (grants manager for the Cooper Foundation).
Joanne Li of Omaha (chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha).
Yunwoo Nam of Lincoln (professor of community and regional planning at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln).
Arunkumar Pondicherry of Lincoln (president of the India Association of Nebraska Lincoln and member of the Nebraska Library Commission).
Rebecca (Jueyezi) Reinhardt of Lincoln (cultural program coordinator and Chinese community advocate for the Asian Community and Cultural Center).
Vickie Sakurada Schaepler of Kearney (Japanese Hall and History Project coordinator for the Legacy of the Plains Museum).
Ryo Suzuki of Kearney (senior director for strategic marketing and external relations at the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s College of Business and Technology and the Nebraska Safety Center).
Hiep Vu of Lincoln (associate professor at UNL’s Nebraska Center for Virology).
Carol Wang of Omaha (executive director of the Metro Omaha Medical Society).
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