June 24 Meet and Greet!

ACLF Community Voice June 2008 Newsletter

ACLF Meet & Greet Happy Hour!

Welcome ACLF's First Executive Director
Cherry Cayabyab and the CLP Class of 2008!

Tuesday, June 24
5:30pm - 7:30pm
O'Asian Kitchen
800 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104
RSVP to aclfnw@aclfnorthwest.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ACLF Hires First Executive Director
By Christina Twu

ACLF is proud to announce the hire of our first ever Executive Director, Cherry Cayabyab. "I'm honored and humbled to serve an organization that has so richly contributed to strengthening and building the leadership of Asian Pacific Islanders in the Northwest," says Cherry.

Since November 2007, Cherry has served as interim executive director, managing ACLF's program and curriculum development, as well as fundraising and community engagement efforts. ACLF is proud to have her continue her role in a permanent capacity. "We thank Cherry for all of her hard work during the past months as our interim ED. The board looks forward to our further growth as an organization under Cherry's very capable leadership", says board member Darlene Lee.
Cherry was an ACLF board member and curriculum committee member for two years. Having staffed organizations serving low-income immigrants and workers such as Inter*Im Community Development Association, Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing (LELO), and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, she brings a decade of experience engaging in social justice organizing, research and policy advocacy with communities of color in the nonprofit/public service field.

"Hiring our first Executive Director is a step towards ACLF's strategic direction to expand our community impact and organizational capacity. We are excited to have Cherry's fresh and energetic leadership at ACLF," says ACLF president Mai Nguyen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ACLF Welcomes 2008 CLP Class
By Julien Loh

ACLF welcomes its 2008 Community Leaders Program (CLP) class! On May 16 at the opening retreat, 14 dynamic participants began the challenging six-month leadership program. "I believe that challenge prefaces opportunity," says
2008 participant Jamie Badilla. "Social, economic and political injustice still exists in our community and I'm excited to discover what we can achieve as a group that not only recognizes important differences while uniting similarities, but also cohesively speaks for those who cannot."

In addition to board members and staff getting to know the new participants, the weekend-long CLP retreat brought the participants team-building and bonding activities around social justice and shared experience, thanks to committed faciltators Soya Jung Harris, Brian Hsi, Ann Kim Novakowski and Cherry Cayabyab.

At the end of the retreat, one participant shared, "I can't wait to get to know participants, staff and board more. I'm excited about our group project, the skills I will gain and experiences I will have. This program is so empowering and I look forward to experiencing the rest!"

ACLF uses its extensive network of community leaders, board members, and alumni to encourage emerging leaders to apply to the Community Leaders Program. Each year, participants from all across the Puget Sound region submit applications for the program. ACLF staff and board members review applications and make recommendations on who should be invited for interviews. Applicants that are invited for interviews articulate thoughtful answers on what community means to them, how they will benefit from participating in the program, and discuss their contributions to the CLP.
Like previous classes, the 2008 applicant pool included many who demonstrate a strong interest in social justice and community empowerment.

To learn more about the Community Leaders Program, how to apply or volunteer opportunities, contact the ACLF office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Invest in Our Future API Leaders with Less Paper and Less Hassle

Give Online!
www.aclfnorthwest.org/donate.htm
No more envelopes or postage stamps!

Celebrate the 2008 CLP class through our new expanded online giving function. With a convenient click of a mouse, give directly to the program that will shape these future leaders in our community.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tasveer, Our Community Project Partner!

We are excited to announce that ACLF has partnered with Tasveer on a media project this year! Tasveer, "picture" in Hindi/Urdu, is a grassroots, community-based organization that is committed to bringing independent progressive films from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora to the Pacific Northwest. The community project, proposed by Neelu Bhuman, will be exploring mixed orientation relationships within South Asian communities, these relationships whose members' sexual orientations differ. Uma Rao, CLP 05, has graciously accepted the role of lead community liason/project advisor. Rita Meher is providing filming/media and production expertise. The CLP class will work closely with Uma, Rita and Anju Ganti (ACLF board
member) for the next five months to create a media piece, which they will present and discuss at this year's Independent South Asian Film Festival (ISAFF).

In continuing the tradition of engendering social change through the powerful medium of film and media, Tasveer adopted this year's 5th ISAFF to encompass queer themes from South Asia and its diaspora. Tasveer wanted to take this opportunity to consider a broad range of queer topics. A topic which has a dearth of exposure is that of mixed orientation relationships, which refers to relationships whose members' sexual orientations differ.
Tasveer is looking to include a program that provides visibility for these relationships, the people in them and the issues they face in a predominantly polar society.

We view this as a unique opportunity for ACLF to strengthen relationships with South Asian and LGBTQ (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer)
communities and for Tasveer to connect with the greater Asian Pacific Islander community. This community project may well be ACLF's most challenging yet, given the complexity of political identities, cultures and dynamics that promotes the need for strong cultural competency. ACLF and Tasveer are committed to supporting each other to ensure a positive partnership experience. For more information about the project, please contact the ACLF office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ACLF Administrative Assistant Position

ACLF seeks an energetic & organized Administrative Assistant to play a key role in ensuring the efficient operation of the organization. The Administrative Assistant will provide administrative and program support to the Executive Director and Board of Directors. The Assistant will coordinate and provide support for programs, fiscal operations, board and committee activities, events, communications, and overall administrative functions.
This position reports to the Executive Director. Please contact aclfnw@aclfnorthwest.org for more information and to learn how to apply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save the Date!
ACLF's 9th Annual Graduation Dinner

"The Face of Leadership, The Heart of Community"
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
McCaw Hall, Seattle Center

Gathering over 300 community leaders, professionals, and ACLF alumni to celebrate our CLP participants' accomplishments.

Contact aclfnw@aclfnorthwest.org to get on our mailing list and receive an invitation!

Full-time Community Advocate Job Description

About Chaya
Chaya, (translated from the Sanskrit word for “shelter” or “shade,”), founded in 1996, is a community-based, non-profit organization that provides resources and services to South Asian women in situations of domestic violence, and works towards creating awareness about the issue in the South Asian and larger communities. Our work is informed by a complex understanding of the specific cultural circumstances surrounding domestic violence in the South Asian community.

Chaya’s mission is to support South Asian survivors and families impacted by domestic violence and abuse, and to engage communities to change the societal conditions that enable oppression, especially violence against women.

Chaya envisions a just and equitable world free of violence.

Chaya’s Philosophy and Commitment
Chaya understands domestic violence as an imbalance of power within relationships supported and made possible by larger imbalances of power in society, such as racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, sexism, homophobia, classism, and ableism. We believe that part of ending domestic violence involves acknowledging and talking about the larger systems of oppression that give rise to abuse and violence in our lives and communities.

We provide services to South Asian women who are past or present survivors of domestic violence and abuse. This work is grounded in an empowerment approach in which we recognize and support each survivor’s worth, integrity, right to self determination and safety. We understand that the people we work with are unique, complex, and whole beings and that the domestic violence they experience is only one factor of many shaping their lives and the opportunities available to them. We support each woman within her own unique cultural context and are committed to improving a survivor’s access to services. We strive to do our work with compassion, respect and humility.

Chaya is committed to raising awareness about domestic violence issues in the South Asian context and inspiring and involving our communities to be part of this movement. In collaboration with our communities, we strive to achieve our mission by challenging systems of inequality and promoting positive social change.

Chaya also actively represents the South Asian perspective on key issue’s relevant to women at the policy level.

The Community Advocate Position
Chaya seeks a Community Advocate to work on domestic violence issues through providing direct services and community education/outreach.

Chaya has recently restructured its programs to take a more integrative approach. Chaya Community Advocates will work toward the same goals with different areas of emphasis. We’re searching for an individual who can bring flexibility, creativity and openness to our team in this time of exciting change!

The Community Advocate will be primarily responsible for the following activities:

Direct-Services:
- Respond to calls on the Helpline from survivors, family members and friends, and other service providers.
- Provide advocacy-based counseling* to survivors in a culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate manner.
o Advocate for survivors to safety plan, build support networks, process trauma, and heal from abuse.
o Make relevant and appropriate referrals for clients’ legal, medical, housing and related needs.
o Work collaboratively with other’s in the direct-service program, including staff and advocacy committee volunteers.
- Abide by Chaya’s confidentiality policies.
- Complete accurate and timely documentation and reports.
- Develop and maintain relationships with ally organizations, community members, and other
service providers.
- Exhibit congruency between the mission and values of Chaya and one’s interactions with the
community.

Women’s Health Committee:
- In collaboration with volunteers, organize and facilitate quarterly events to engage South Asian college community on topics related to domestic violence, sexual assault, violence prevention,
physical & mental health, healthy relationships, and related topics.
- In collaboration with volunteers, increase participation in Women’s Health Committee
activities and events by conducting outreach.
- Organize and facilitate quarterly meetings with Chaya's Women’s Health Committee
volunteers.
- Maintain and foster relationships with South Asian student groups & violence prevention
services on UW campus.

The Community Advocate will also be expected to devote a portion of their time to supporting some of the following activities:
- Foster organizational and infrastructure development.
- Participate in organizational committees with board members and volunteers as needed.

*WAC 388-61A-0145

- Represent Chaya on select coalitions.
- Advocate for key policy issues.
- Prepare and distribute education and outreach materials.
- Organize community events, forums, and trainings.
- Participate in South Asian cultural celebrations and other community events.
- Participate in fundraising activities and events.
- Conduct basic administrative/maintenance tasks to contribute to smooth functioning of office
operations.
- Actively promote Chaya’s mision by participating in awareness-building opportunities, such as
trainings, forums, panel discussions, etc.

Desired Qualifications:
- Familiarity and experience with issues related to: domestic violence and abuse; South Asian
communities, and refugee/immigrant issues.
- Experience with community-based advocacy, social service work, and/or nonprofit
organizations.
- Experience in grassroots community organizing.
- Fluency in a South Asian language and English.
- Excellent writing, communication and interpersonal skills.
- Experience working effectively with people in crisis situations.
- Experience working respectfully with persons of diverse ethnic, religious, national, educational,
language, sexual orientation, cultural, and class backgrounds.
- Public speaking skills and experience in planning and giving trainings.
- Flexibility to adapt and grow with a dynamic organization.
- Ability to multi-task.
- Reliable transportation and valid WA state driver’s license.
- Basic proficiency in Internet, MS Outlook, Excel, and Word.

This is a full-time position with competitive salary and benefits.
Salary dependent on experience.
Chaya is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Women, minorities and people of color are encouraged to apply.

To apply:
We will begin reviewing resumes on 5/27/08 and the position will remain open until filled. Please send or e-mail a cover letter and resume to:

Chaya
Attn: Hiring Committee
PO Box 22291
Seattle, WA 98122

E-mail: hiring at chayaseattle dot org (written out to prevent automatic spam generation.)