Throughout May, the “Diversity Unlocks Innovation” campaign will feature Asian and Pacific Islanders in U.S. defense innovation through profiles of emerging leaders, an educational speaker series for staff and NSIN program alumni, and other opportunities for interested communities to learn more and get involved.

Diversity Unlocks Innovation Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Speaker Series

May 31, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. - A conversation with Maj. Gen. (ret) Suzanne Vares-Lum, the first Native Hawaiian woman to become an Army general. Vares-Lum was an intelligence officer whose assignments spanned the Cold War to the Iraq War and is the President of the East-West Center.

Emerging Defense Innovation Leaders

  • Ken Lew, PhD Student, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; National Science Foundation Scholarship for Service Cybercorp Recipient; NSIN Hacks Winner; NSIN X-Force, Vector, and Foundry Program Alum
  • Thanathep “Justin” Nguyen, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa studying Sociology and Peace and Conflict Resolution; NSIN Hacking for Defense Alum
  • Tsz Ching Wong, Computer Engineering Student at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa; NSIN Hacks and Hacking for Defense Alum

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Resources

  1. DoD Observes Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month - Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have helped shape the history of the United States, and many of their lives have been dramatically influenced by moments in U.S. history. Every May, the Department of Defense joins the rest of the nation in celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
  2. AsianPacificHeritage.gov - The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.
  3. Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Products from the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute - DEOMI shares posters, bookmarks, placemats, activity books and other downloadable resources.
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