Jo-Ann Yoo is the Executive Director of the Asian American Federation (AAF) and a recognized community leader with extensive experience in grassroots advocacy, capacity development, program design and fundraising. Ms. Yoo has played a crucial role in enhancing the capacity of AAF’s 70 members to meet the community’s needs in mental health care, support for older adults, and economic empowerment. She has also been instrumental in building a united and robust advocacy network, ensuring that Asian American New Yorkers have a seat at the table.

With a background in law, Ms. Yoo led the organization’s efforts in addressing the anti-Asian hate crisis by launching the Hope Against Hate campaign in 2020, an initiative that continues to provide innovative community-centered programs to counter anti-Asian violence. 

Through her leadership role and advocacy efforts, Ms. Yoo has made substantial contributions to advancing racial justice and health equity in her community. Ms. Yoo has been asked to represent the Asian American community as an advocate at the national, state, and city level including in the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Washington D.C, the AAPI Mental Health Task Force for the New York State Office of Mental Health, and as one of New York City’s Racial Justice Commissioners. 

Before joining AAF, Ms. Yoo served as the Director of Community Building & Organizing at Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and as the Administrative and Special Projects Director at the New York Immigration Coalition.

Ms. Yoo is on the Board of Non-Profit New York and The Advocacy Institute and was named to City & State NY’s Power of Diversity and Non-profit Power 100 list and its Asian Power 100 list for the last several years, highlighting her impact on New York City’s policy stances affecting Asian Americans.

Read Ms. Yoo’s past op-eds here: 

• Politicians must engage with Asian American voters, Newsday, July 10, 2024
• The cost of anti-China rhetoric: Chinese-Americans are the victims, New York Daily News, September 17, 2023
• This AAPI Heritage Month, Let’s All Take a Closer Look at Mental Health Care in Our Communities, Gotham Gazette, May 22, 2023
• Asian-Americans must feel at home in New York: A fast-growing community’s social and economic needs have to be met, New York Daily News, April 19, 2023

“Grassroots organizations are the eyes and ears of our communities. We’re the ones on the ground every day working with Asian New Yorkers. We hear things first because we speak their languages and come from the same cultures. The concerns that would be otherwise overlooked, or dismissed, or lost in translation, we at AAF serve as the conduits who make sure that the voices of our most marginalized are heard by our elected officials and decision makers.”

– Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director, AAF

Joo Han is the Deputy Director of the organization and plays an integral role in guiding AAF’s programs, including mental health work and community-centered safety initiatives. As an internal leader of the organization, Ms. Han has directed the organization’s work focused on mental health, community safety, and capacity-building, empowering service providers and community leaders to become catalysts for change within their communities.

Han also oversees the organization’s funding initiatives that provide Asian American focused groups with financial support and capacity development in high-need sectors.  For the past nine years, Ms. Han has spearheaded transformational work that benefits vulnerable pan-Asian immigrant communities, setting up and funding innovative projects, working with community leaders, providers, counselors and front-line nonprofit staff to systematize knowledge sharing and best practices.

“When it comes to mental health care we need to acknowledge that our most vulnerable are facing a crisis within a crisis. Asian Americans have among the highest rates of suicide – yet sadly they also lack access to mental health care in the languages they speak, and from providers who understand the cultures they come from. As we strive toward racial justice for Asian and other communities of color, it has never been more urgent to guarantee that all New Yorkers have a basic right to culturally competent mental health care.”

– Joo Han, Deputy Director, AAF

Andrew Sta. Ana (He/They) is the Deputy Director of Research and Policy at the Asian American Federation (AAF). As an external leader of the organization, Sta. Ana leads the Policy & Advocacy, Research, and Small Business programs, which use data and deep community collaboration to steer AAF’s advocacy agenda. As a co-lead of the New York State AAPI Equity Budget Coalition, he helped organize over 130 community based organizations to secure a historic $30 million dollars to fund social services for AAPI communities in 2024.  In recognition of his deep understanding of the community’s needs and capacities, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Sta. Ana to New York’s first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission to advise on policies affecting the AAPI Community statewide.

Andrew is also an Adjunct Clinical Professor at New York Law School, where he launched the nation’s first law school-based legal clinic to represent victims of cyber harassment. His legal practice centers on the intersections of technology facilitated abuse, the legal system, youth rights, and LGBTQ+ survivors. For over a decade, he was a director and leader at Day One, a non-profit that serves young victims of dating and sexual violence. Having studied at the CUNY School of Law and SUNY Binghamton, Sta. Ana is a proud graduate of public education and a lifelong New Yorker. Watch a recent interview with Sta. Ana here.

Ahyoung Kim is the Director of Economic Empowerment at the Asian American Federation (AAF). She oversees AAF’s small business program, which serves over 400 small businesses annually in New York City and State. Under her leadership, the program provides comprehensive support including navigation of city and state agencies, language assistance, and direct help for immigrant small business owners to establish an online presence. Ms. Kim has been instrumental in expanding the program’s reach and impact, building strong relationships with member organizations and new funders. Significant initiatives under her direction include AAF’s commercial corridor revitalization project in Murray Hill, Queens, and delivering emergency assistance grants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before joining AAF, Ms. Kim was a reporter at Korea Daily, covering the evolving landscape of the Korean small business community and significant educational policy changes. She also served as a consultant for the World Resources Institute and The World Bank, contributing to global training materials on climate change and urban transport planning.

Coming soon