AIISF Newsletter / January 2025

A glimpse through trees toward the Angel Island Immigration Station.

A Message From AIISF’s Executive Director

Happy new year! First of all, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed on Giving Tuesday, to our end of year fundraising campaign, and/or to our Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign!

The Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign is ongoing, and we still have a significant amount to raise to hit our campaign goal of $500,000 by May 2025. Please do consider joining this campaign and helping to spread the word to others who might be interested in this rare opportunity to not only support AIISF but also have your family or company name engraved on the site.

I recognize that this year in particular, there are many of us who are anxious about what lies ahead of us. Over the holidays, I and the rest of the AIISF (and Angel Island State Park) team had a chance to take some invaluable time off. During that time, I reflected heavily on what we have accomplished together over the past decades as well as how powerful and resilient our communities are. I encourage you to take a moment to read Christopher Chow’s reflections on the early years of the Angel Island Immigration Station Historical Advisory Committee and the community-wide effort to save the site.

Their commitment, determination, and ingenuity overcame the odds, and we owe a deep debt of gratitude for all of their efforts. I believe that we can also draw inspiration from them as we work together in the years ahead to lift up immigrant history and current-day experiences in order to build a future where everyone feels a sense of safety, welcome, and belonging regardless of their heritage or identity.

We also join the nation in mourning the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Amongst his many humanitarian endeavors before, during, and after his presidency, he helped to expand immigration pathways for refugees and laid the groundwork for the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. He also was responsible for issuing a proclamation for the first Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.

Finally, I’m excited to introduce two new members of our AIISF family. Madhuri Jha recently joined AIISF’s Board of Directors. She brings to the board many years of experience as a clinical social work and public health executive. Emma Kwok joined AIISF’s team as our new Administrative Coordinator. With a Master of Arts in Folklore, she’ll be the friendly voice you hear when you call our offices or when you reach out to our info@aiisf.org email. 

I hope that 2025 brings you all happiness, health, and hope.

Edward Tepporn
Executive Director

Welcome our new AIISF team members!

Madhuri Jha

Madhuri Jha
Board of Directors

AIISF is pleased to welcome our newest board member Madhuri Jha.

She is a clinical social work and public health executive with experience spanning executive leadership, research, training, and direct clinical practice focused on health and behavioral health systems strengthening, trauma and resiliency, mental health epidemiology and community capacity building.

Most recently, she was the Vice President of Science, Equity, and Integration at ETR, a 40-year-old public health organization focused on identifying science-based solutions to achieving health and well-being for children, families, and communities.

As the daughter of South Asian immigrants, Madhuri has devoted to her life’s work to championing health equity for populations least reached by systems of care, honoring the legacy of many of her own ancestors and family members who lived with physical and mental illness and could not get help.

Emma Kwok
Administrative Coordinator

Passionate about transnational and intergenerational storytelling, Emma joined AIISF in December 2024. Exploring her family's immigration history catalyzed her love for diasporic narratives and her belief that stories can inspire empathy across borders and time.

Previously, Emma worked for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, where she researched for the National Folklife Network and supported grant programs and media. She has also interned for The 1947 Partition Archive and Montalvo Arts Center.

Emma holds an MA in Folklore (knowledge and practices which bind and build communities) and the title Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Canada. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies with a minor in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign

Through our Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign, you can commemorate your own immigration journey, honor your family’s immigrant heritage, or show your allyship with immigrant communities.

Whether you or your family came through Angel Island or elsewhere and whether you arrived in the US decades ago or days ago, we welcome your name and your support.

Angel Island Immigration Station Poetry Finder | NEW in January! Rooms 115 & 116

The AIIS Poetry Finder allows you to explore, read, listen to, and reflect on the experiences of Angel Island’s immigrants from inside the barracks and at home.Chinese dialect readers; and our supporters, who made the AIIS Poetry Finder possible.

AIIS Poetry Finder Release Schedule

Upcoming Events

A Cage Built of Jade exhibit

Check out AIISF's newest traveling exhibit, A Cage Built of Jade!

The exhibit faithfully recreates one of the rooms inside the detention barracks and provides a glimpse into Angel Island's history and poetry. See the exhibit before it begins touring museums and libraries across the country in 2025.

Angel Island Read-ALoud: I am I.M. Pei

January 15 | 4 pm PST
Online | Click here to register

Join us on Zoom for a fun read-aloud! We’ll read a picture book about Angel Island and answer any questions participants might have.

We’re reading I am I.M. Pei. The world-renowned architect I. M. Pei is the twenty-fourth hero in the New York Times bestselling picture book biography series Ordinary People Change the World. 

This event is free and open to the public.

America's Field Trip Student Essay Contest

Deadline: April 16, 2025
Click here to learn more

Angel Island Immigration Station is one of the 11 landmarks included in the 2024-2025 America’s Field Trip contest. The contest is part of America250, a nationwide initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

25 first-place awardees from each grade level category and a chaperone will receive airfare and lodging for a 3-day, 2-night trip to a select historical or cultural site of their choice!

Save the Date: AIISF Immigrant Heritage Award Reception

Saturday, April 26, 2025
San Francisco, CA

Please mark your calendars for our Immigrant Heritage Awards reception.

Each year these awards provide an opportunity to celebrate individuals who are immigrants or of immigrant heritage and who have made significant contributions to our community. We also will be presenting the Spirit of Angel Island Award, which recognizes individuals whose efforts have been instrumental to preserving the site and uplifting its history.

Stay tuned for additional sponsorship and ticket details.

Community and Partner Events

San Francisco Summer Resource Fair

February 22 | 11 am - 2 pm
San Francisco County Fair Building (1199 9th Avenue)
Click here to learn more

Come see all the amazing things you and your child can do this summer! We’ll be tabling at the Summer Resource Fair and showing off some of the fun activities we’ll host throughout the year.

This event is free and open to the public. No need to sign up!


Taken From Their Families: Japanese American Incarceration on Angel Island During World War II

January 18 - April 6
Japanese American Museum of Oregon (JAMO)
Click here to learn more

Taken From Their Families is coming to the Japanese American Museum of Oregon!

The exhibit and connected programs explore the lesser-known history of Angel Island and its role in the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Come learn the stories of 24 individuals who passed through the former immigration center.

Japanese Genealogy Course

July 27 - August 1
Online | Click here to learn more

The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) is announcing the first genealogical institute course focused on family history for Japanese Americans, Japanese Genealogy: From Japan to the Americas. Coordinated by Linda Harms Okazaki, the course will cover records, laws, historical events, cultural nuances, language and calendar differences, and social issues.

Registration begins on March 1 at 9 am ET. Tuition is $545.00.

 
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