Leadership

• Mental Health is Always on Our Minds

  By: Ari Pak, Programs Co-Director

  Photos courtesy of AALEAD staff

  Did you know that 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18 has a serious mental illness (National Alliance for Mental Illness)? According to the

  #HashtagActivism in the VA Programs

  By Pallavi Rudraraju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator

  Photos courtesy by Pallavi Rudraraju
  

  This week, AALEAD youth in Fairfax County learned about Hashtag Activism, a form of Digital Organizing.
  

  

  Love Your Heart

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director

  Photos from various sources

  

  

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director

  Photos Courtesy of Freidricka Camille, College and Career Mentoring Program Coordinator

  AALEAD’s approach to out-of-school time p

• A Cultural disPLACEment

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director
  
  Photo courtesy of Taquiena Boston
  

  On Thursday, October 18, 2019, Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) connected with the Consumer Health Foundation (CHF) to help celebrate their 20th Anniversary with a tour of DC’s Chinatown and share #ThisFireBurnin inside youth whose history has been erased and ignored. CHF advocates for racial eq

• “I potentially want to be that adult that I needed in High School.”

  By Aaron Orpilla, DC Middle & High School Program Coordinator; and Iftakhar Alam, Communications Intern

  Photo Courtesy of Aaron Orpilla

  

• “I could not have done this alone.”

  By Stephanie Lim, former DC Middle & High School Program Coordinator

  Photos Courtesy of Stephanie Lim and AALEAD Staff
  

  At the time of writing, it is the Monday of my last week at Asian American LEAD. I have cleaned out most of my desk and organized it for the next coordinator. I have packed most of the notes and cards I’ve received from youth, former i

• My Favorite AALEAD Moments, pt4.

  By Vi Bui, Youth Mentoring & Volunteer Programs Coordinator; Freidricka Camille, College & Career Mentoring Programs Coordinator; and Ha Nguyen, Development & Communications Associate

  Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  Founded in 1998, AALEAD initially served the large Vietnamese refugee community in the Columbia Heights area of Washington DC. As the dem

• My Favorite AALEAD Moment, pt1.

  By: Pallavi Rudrataju, VA Middle School Program Coordinator; and Ha Nguyen, Development & Communications Associate

  Photo Courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  
  The Back to School season is finally upon us. Here at AALEAD, this is the time where our program staff work even more diligently together to kick off the AALEAD's After School and Mentoring Programs for the new

• 2018 Summer Program Interns – Final Reflections

  By Sharon Rajadurai, VA Summer Program Intern; Alani Fujii, MD Summer Program Intern; and Ha Nguyen, Development & Communications Associate
  
  Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  
  On August 2nd, the 2018 AALEAD Origins Summer Program officially concluded after serving over 100 youth grades 6 to 12 across the DC metropolitan area in Montgomery County