Community Organizing

At APANO, place-based power building is a core component of our work.
Our members create and lead solutions that address real issues in their communities, shifting the balance of power.

Our Approach

Those most affected by an issue should be the ones shaping the solutions.

APANO’s organizing is rooted in the belief that those most affected by an issue should be the ones shaping the solutions. This approach requires disciplined year-round work to support our members in identifying and prioritizing the issues APANO works on, building skills, knowledge and confidence through APANO campaigns, and increasingly taking on public leadership.

Through our organizing we envision:

  • Leadership roles for people and communities most impacted.
  • Solutions that challenge the root cause of the problem.
  • Advocacy efforts that shift the balance of power to the communities who are most affected.
  • Space for reflection that provides for personal and institutional transformation.
OUR Programs

Learn more about our current programs and how to get involved

ALLY (APANO Leaders + Liberated Youth)

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Parent & Caregiver Group

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ALLY (APANO Leaders + Liberated Youth)
Parent Organizing

ALLY (APANO Leaders + Liberated Youth)

ALLY (APANO Leaders and Liberated Youth) is the youth organizing arm of APANO, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon. ALLY is open to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) ages 13-21. ALLY aims to build the leadership skills of working-class youth through community organizing, leadership development, and political education. We do our best to bring a holistic lens to all of our programming, centering intersectionality, healing, and the lived experiences of our youth. ALLY’s engagement opportunities cover a wide spectrum of passions—from poetry to comprehensive sex ed to building relationships with nature!

Read about their 2015-2016 campaign: Missing Pages of our History, in which ALLY youth were victorious in getting the Portland Public Schools School Board to vote unanimously for a resolution to bring ethnic studies to all PPS high schools within 4 years.

For more information, contact Youth Organizing team des@apano.org and brittney@apano.org.

Learn more about our ALLY program

Parent Organizing

The parent organizing program at APANO works with API parents on empowerment and leadership development. Our goal is to help break down the barriers that prevent API immigrant/refugee parents from getting involved in their child’s education. Currently, APANO is organizing Chinese Parents in SE Portland neighborhoods and outreaching to Vietnamese Parents.

Learn more about ourParent Groups