OAKLAND, California – Wednesday, December 29, 2021– Julia Liou, incoming CEO of Asian Health Services (AHS), and Vance Yoshida, Board Chair, announced today the appointments of AHS physician Dr. Kimberly Seu Gin Chang and Board Member Luisa Blue to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The 25-member Commission will advise the President on public, private, and non-profit sector strategies to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities.

“We applaud President Biden and his team for creating this important Commission,” said Ms. Liou. “Dr. Kimberly Chang and Luisa Blue are passionate and effective voices in the fight against Asian hate and health inequities. They will help lift the visibility and rights of all underserved communities.” Dr. Chang, a nationally recognized physician and advocate, is a board-certified family physician at AHS. Dr. Chang has dedicated her 20+ year career to focusing on the health of the underserved AANHPI community, including people vulnerable to and affected by human trafficking and exploitation, and developing national clinical and health policy recommendations for this issue. Dr. Chang has received numerous awards, most recently the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2020 Emerging Public Health Professional Award and the 2021 UCSF Alumni Humanitarian Service Award, and has been featured in several national publications. Dr. Chang currently serves as the Vice Speaker of the House for the National Association of Community Health Centers, and as expert faculty for Health Partners on Intimate Partner Violence + Exploitation at Futures Without Violence.

Luisa Blue has been one of the highest-ranking Asian Pacific Islander union leaders in the nation and is an AHS Board Member. She has dedicated the last four decades of her life to organizing and advocating for workers’ rights, civil rights, and economic justice. Blue was recognized in 2015 at the national Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance convention, where she was awarded the Philip Vera Cruz Organizing Award, and was recognized by the Filipina Women’s Network as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World for her commitment to racial, immigrant, and civil rights through her labor union work.

“Asian Health Services’ core mission is to provide high quality health care,” said Ms. Liou, “and also to strengthen our patients’ and community’s voices in asserting their rights to that care. We are honored that AHS physician Dr. Chang and AHS Board Member Luisa Blue now each bring their formidable experience and expertise to this important national body on behalf of AANHPI communities.”