About AAA-Fund of Greater Chicago
In Illinois, Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) make up nearly five percent of the total population. Although there are several APAs in elective office on the local level in several cities surrounding the Chicago area, there still are no APA elected officials in the City of Chicago or on the State and Federal levels.
The mission of the AAA-Fund of Greater Chicago is to encourage APA Democrats to participate in the political process and to empower the APA community so that we can address the under-representation of APAs in the political life of the Greater Chicago area. We also support non-APA candidates who are supportive on issues of concern to the APA community.
The Asian American Action Fund achieves its goals by identifying qualified Democratic candidates, providing them with financial and technical assistance, and building a local network of activists, funders, and supporters.
AAA-Fund members join by making a contribution to the Fund and pledging to help the candidates we endorse. Through our membership, the AAA-Fund empowers our candidates with the tools, financial resources, and grassroots assistance they need for victory.
Executive Committee Biographies
President Selma D'Souza: Selma is a partner in the law firm of D'Souza & Gosrisirikul Ltd. in Chicago, practicing in the areas of real estate, family law, litigation, and estate planning. In addition to the AAA-Fund, she has served as a board member on other PACs, and volunteered on numerous local, state, and federal campaigns. She is a Past President of the Indo-American Democratic Organization (IADO), having served on their Board for ten years, and also has served on the Board of the Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C). Selma currently serves on the Boards of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and WilPower, a political action committee of the Illinois Women's Bar Association. She also serves on Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Lt. Governor Pat Quinn's Asian Advisory Councils, and served for three years on the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations, Council on Asian Affairs. Selma was a delegate to the 2000 and 2004 Democratic Conventions and is a 2008 Obama delegate.
Vice President Naisy Dolar: Naisy is a committed community leader whose professional experience in the non-profit and government sectors has distinguished her as an influential citizen advocate for diverse populations in the city of Chicago. Since 2000, Naisy has been a leading voice for the community through her role as a director for the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations. Representing a constituent base of over 125,000 people, she raised the visibility of the Asian American community in Chicago, while also conducting outreach to communities previously underserved by the city. As former co-president, vice-president and board member for the League of Women Voters of Chicago, and national board member for Public Allies, Naisy developed her foundation and philosophy of public service — that it is a vehicle for enriching community life and is a personal responsibility. In addition, Naisy continues to serve as Secretary on Decatur Classical School's Local School Council, Board Member of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO), and the Indian Boundary Park Advisory Council member. Naisy ran for Alderman on Chicago's City Council, nearly defeating a 34-year incumbent in the April 2007 run-off election. She is currently serving as a DNC 2008 Alternate Delegate for Barack Obama in the 9th Congressional District.
Secretary Joanna Su: A second-generation Chinese American, Joanna has worked and volunteered extensively in the AAPI community. She was the founding Executive Director of the Asian Health Coalition of Illinois and previously worked as the Director-Liaison for the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Asian Affairs and as the Women's Health Program Coordinator for the Vietnamese Association of Illinois. As a volunteer, Joanna has served as past president and board member of the Asian American Institute, a founding board member of the Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative, a founding board member of the Leadership Center for Asian Pacific Ameicans, and an advisory board member of Chinese Mutual Aid Association. In the political sphere, Joanna volunteered as the operations manager for Naisy Dolar's aldermanic campaign in 2006-07 and coordinated volunteers for Judge Sandra Otaka's campaign in 2001-02. Joanna grew up in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She earned a master's degree in social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.
Treasurer Ben Lumicao: Ben is a Counsel in the Allstate Insurance Company Law Department, where he advises Allstate and its affiliates on regulatory, legislative and compliance concerns affecting property and casualty insurance operations. He was an Angier B. Duke Scholar at Duke University, earning both an A.B. in Public Policy Studies and his law degree there. Ben is a member of the Allstate Law Department Diversity Committee and Executive Director of 3AN, the Allstate Asian American Network, one of Allstate's employee network groups. He is a Vice Chair of the Property Insurance Law Committee of the ABA's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. Among his civic activities, Ben is on the Board of Directors of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area. He is on the Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and has chaired its Advisory Council on Asian Affairs since 2001, and was a past Board Member and Organizer of the Leadership Center for Asian Pacific Americans. He was a member of the Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows Class of 2004. In 2002, the Organization of Chinese Americans honored him with both its Corporate Achievement and national Community Service Awards. In 2005, Ben was named a recipient of the Chicago Bar Association's Vanguard Award, given to institutions and lawyers who have made the law and legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community at-large. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association recognized Ben in 2006 as one of its "Best Lawyers Under 40."
Communications Chair Marissa Graciosa: Marissa is an organizer with the Center for Community Change, a national organization committed to social justice through community organizing. Previously, Marissa was the Political and Communications Director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Campaign Manager for Naisy Dolar for Alderman in the hotly contested 2007 municipal race. She is a former board member of the Leadership Center for Asian Pacific Americans in Chicago and also sits on the advisory council for the Center for Community Change's Generation Change. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in Sociology. She is the daughter of Filipino immigrants and hails from the booming metropolis of Burlington, Wisconsin.
Lawrence Benito: Lawrence has worked on social justice issues in various communities for the past 15 years. Prior to working for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, he was the program coordinator for the national Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. He is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, West Africa, and past board president of the Crossroads Fund in Chicago. Lawrence also served as the Director of Newcomer Initiatives at ICIRR for 3 years prior to working as an organizer in the northwest suburbs. Currently, he is the associate director and in this capacity directs ICIRR's legislative affairs in Springfield.
Anjana Hansen
Bethann Hester
Grace B. Hou is the Assistant Secretary at the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). She is responsible for the oversight of DHS' six program areas: Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Division of Human Capital Development, Division of Mental Health, Division of Development Disabilities, Division of Community Health and Prevention, and the Division of Rehabilitation Services. Prior to her appointment by Governor Blagojevich as Assistant Secretary in 2003, Ms. Hou was the Executive Director of Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA). She was selected as one of 21 Rising Stars by Today's Chicago Woman Magazine and as Crain's Business Chicago's "40 Rising Executives Under 40." She has received the Asian American Institute's Milestone 2005 Award, the Asian American Coalition's Community Service Award, SGA's Youth and Family Services 2006 Honoree, the PACTT Family Foundation's Work of Heart Aware, and the Asian Health Coalition of Illinois' 2006 Awardee, amongst other recognitions. She is also a 2001 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and a 2002 German Marshall Fellow.
Eric Mah
Eric Salcedo: A transplant from New Jersey, Eric Salcedo has been active in the Chicago community for nearly a decade. As a student, he pushed for the establishment of an Asian American Studies program at Northwestern University. He is an alumnus and former board member of Public Allies Chicago and has held positions with the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. Most recently, Eric served as the Field Director for Naisy Dolar's 2007 aldermanic bid to become the first Asian American elected to Chicago's city council.
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