THE 2011 APA Heritage Awards Finalists

is a writer and a co-founder and editor of New America Media, an association of over 2000 ethnic media organizations in America. He also contributed over 60 commentaries to NPR's All Things Considered. His essays have appeared the New York Times, The LA Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Baltimore Sun, The Atlanta Journal, and the Chicago Tribune. He has also written essays for magazines like Mother Jones, The Nation, San Francisco Focus, Proult Journal, In Context, Utne Magazine, California Magazine and many others.

Lam was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University during the academic year 2001-02, studying journalism. He lectured widely at many universities and institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, UCLA, USF, UC Berkeley, Hawaii, William and Mary, Hong Kong, and Loyola.

His book, "Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora" won a Pen Award in 2006. His latest book, "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres," examines the impact of Asian cultures in California and the West.

is the publisher of Hyphen, a nonprofit, all volunteerrun Asian American culture magazine and website. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley with degrees in mass communications and theater and performance studies, Lisa is committed to using her communications and social media background to help Hyphen reach a broad constituency and to create a more complex representation of Asian America. Lisa is also the co-founder, along with the actress Lynn Chen, of Thick Dumpling Skins, the first online forum dedicated to body image issues and eating disorders within the Asian American community. She is a frequent speaker on media-related Asian American issues and has led workshops for college students, young professionals, and nonprofit managers. When not volunteering at Hyphen, Lisa daydreams about the coffee shop that she'll own one day and works at Facebook as a user operations site integrity associate.

known as Bay Area's sunshine, Nicki Sun is a multimedia host, journalist, social media activist, and leader, utilizing her experiences in radio, television, online media, print, live chat, and social media to spotlight underrepresented communities and social awareness. At 23, her work has been published on the cover of Hyphen Magazine, broadcast on CNN, CCTV, the CW Television Network, Comcast, KOFY TV, AggieTV, and most reputably…YouTube. A product of the online generation, she has created her own channel, website, and show and has interviewed everyone from YouTube celebrities to community leaders in hopes to inspire viewers not only to learn about our community, but to also pursue their passions as well. She is on her journey to being America's next entertainment and lifestyle host, but her focus now is to bring her past and present networks to a larger scale, working with MYX TV as their newest Production Coordinator to continue building a channel where all ethnicities are represented.

has been a reporter for ABC7 News for 40 years and currently covers the technology and business beat in the Bay Area. David has built a reputation of trust and experience with viewers and has covered a wide range of APA issues ranging from tobacco companies targeting Vietnamese immigrant youth to smoke to the Bay Area's role in the Pacific Rim economy.

David was the first minority elected Chairman of the Board of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1994, which bestows TV's coveted Emmy Award. He helped establish and lead the San Francisco Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and served as chapter president and National President where he helped raise money for student scholarships and mentoring dozens of youth aspiring and entry-level journalists. He currently serves on the board of the Radio Television Digital News Association and trustee of the foundation where he was instrumental in the creation of a new national "UNITY" Award for coverage of communities of color.

As founding co-host of "Evening Magazine," a television magazine program which aired on KPIX-TV from 1975 to 1990, Jan Yanehiro had "the best job in the world."

For her radio and television work, Jan received an Emmy, a Clio, and Telly; The Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award from the United Nations of San Francisco; and induction into the Academy of Television and Radio Hall of Fame and The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

She is Director of the School of Multi Media Communications at the San Francisco Academy of Art University and serves on the boards of Kristi Yamaguchi's Always Dream Foundation, Osaka-San Francisco Sister City Association, and is a Founding Member of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Jan graduated from California State University, Fresno, with a degree in Journalism. She has three children and three stepchildren, and co-authored the books "Having a Baby," "After Having a Baby," and "This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down."

Founded in 2003, Hyphen is a volunteer-run nonprofit news and culture organization that illuminates Asian America through hard-hitting investigative features on the cultural and political trends shaping the fastest-growing ethnic population in the country. Hyphen engages people through its print magazine, website, and events to fulfill its mission: to tell the untold stories of Asian Americans with accuracy, nuance and complexity; to showcase emerging artists, creators, and leaders of our community; and to build a socially and politically aware community through media, dialogue, and cultural event.

Hyphen has been honored by Chinese for Affirmative Action with the "Flames of Justice" award in June 2008, and nominated by The Utne Reader for the 2004 Utne Independent Press Award for Best New Title, in 2007 for Best Design, and again in 2010 for Best Social/Cultural Coverage. Additionally, Hyphen's seventh issue ("The Body Issue") won "Best Cover" at the Independent Press Association's 2006 Convention in San Francisco.

KQED has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KTEH 54 (San Jose/Bay Area), and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5FM SF & 89.3FM Sacramento); the interactive platforms kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television, one of the nation's most-watched public television stations, is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; This Week in Northern California; Truly CA; and Essential Pépin. KQED's digital television channels include 9HD, Life, World, Kids, and V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Education brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents, and the general public through workshops, community screenings, and multimedia resources.

Based in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, New America Media (NAM) organizes the nation's first and largest network of ethnic news services. Founded by the nonprofit Pacific News Service in 1996, and under the direction of Sandy Close, New America Media works to get stories about and from African-, Asian-, South Asian-, Caribbean-, Indigenous-, Middle Eastern-, and Latino- American communities out to the mainstream media as well to more than 3,000 ethnic news outlets. New America Media's editor and journalists have won numerous awards and accolades for their reporting efforts.