1997
AQUA D.C.s is founded by Denys Lau, Edwin Lau, Chen Wen, and 2 other individuals.
Accomplishments:
- Started collaboration with Asian and Pacific Islander Partnership for Health (APIPH).
- By-laws—modeled after GAPA in San Francisco—drafted.
1999
Accomplishments:
- AQUA D.C. members participate in Washington, D.C.’s Capital Pride for the very first time.
2000
Co-Chairs: Ben DeGuzman | Hector Vargas
Other members: Ben DeGuzman, Hector Vargas, Alex Benjamin, Denys Lau,Kevin Lee, Charmaine Manansala, Ann Surapruik, Alfred Bagamasdad, Allan Pacheco, Chen Wen.
Accomplishments:
- Began on creating bylaws – Vince Crisostomo (GAPA) facilitator at retreat.
- “aquadc” listserve is launched on Yahoo! Groups.
- AQUA supports the nomination of Frank Wu to the DC Human Relations Commission.
2001
Co-Chairs: Ben de Guzman | Irwin Gueco
Secretary: Allan Pacheco
Treasurer: Kevin Lee
Other members: Alan Cariaso (at-large)
Accomplishments:
- Second QAPA Heritage Month event: “The Many Faces of Queer A/PI Activism”.
- Bylaws formally ratified in April.
- http://www.aquadc.org is launched in May.
- First issue of AQUALADs is launched in September. The first three issues were called AQUAmen.
- First AQUArap sessions begin. The first self-identified A/PI GBTQ safe-space session is facilitated by Denys Lau and subject was about body-self image.
- AQUA first sponsors film Waterboys at the Reel Affirmations First Festival.
- AQUA co-hosts a reading of Rolling the R’s by gay A/PI writer R. Zamora Linmark at SEARAC. (March 2001).
2002
Co-Chairs: Ben de Guzman | Irwin Gueco
Secretary: Allan Pacheco
Treasurer: Kevin Lee
Other members: Alan Cariaso (at-large)
Accomplishments:
- Third QAPA Heritage Month event – Asians and Pacific Islanders OUT Loud, with local and national artists and performers.
- First AQUA Happy Hour at Thirty Degrees (FoodBarDC/Cobalt).
- AQUA meets with David Tseng- Executive Director of PFLAG National.
- Along with the Domestic Violence Resource Partnership (DVRP), AQUA is co-recipient of APA Community Gala Awards.
- AQUA members participate in Gay Games VI in Sydney, Australia.
- First AQUA survey of membership makeup is conducted.
2003
Chair: Joseph Truong
Secretary: David Mori
Treasurer: Kevin Lee
Other members: Shin Inoue (at-large)
Accomplishments:
- Fourth QAPA Heritage Month event retains the Pride & Heritage (P&H) moniker. AQUA & APIQS co-host slam poetry event Tea & Poetry.
- AQUA as a member-driven organization, votes against officially protesting the U.S. invasion of Iraq. However, many AQUA members and community partners actively participate in several protest events on their own.
2004
Chair: Joseph Truong
Treasurer: David Mori
Other members: Samson Huang (at-large)
Accomplishments:
- AQUA active at Queer Asian Pacific Legacy Conference, New York City (March).
- First AQUA Scholarship created by Denys Lau to fund participation in QAPL Conference.
- Bylaws amended to include grievance policy.
2005
Chair: Don Verde (G8)
Treasurer: Jerome Flores (G8)
Other members: G8 (Interim Operating Committee): Henry Ocampo, Alex Sun, Gerry, Umali, Nick Nadal, Linh Hoang, Loi Luong, Charlie Ahn
Accomplishments:
- Mid-Summer Soiree at Gallery Place.
- AKA Community Thanksgiving Potluck.
- Started Spicy Asian Crunch Mixer @Halo.
- A:Y Anniversary Celebration.
- AQUA participates in DC-MAPS, first national survey focusing on GBTQ A/PI men.
- AQUA participates in national gathering of queer APA organizations at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change Conference.
- AQUA members are key in securing funding and providing programming for the event.
- AQUA and other queer and progressive organizations hold a Town Hall Forum on Marriage Equality and the APA Community, “How Do You Say ‘I Do’ in Punjabi?” at the University of Maryland-College Park.
2006
Co-Chairs: Don Verde (Jan.-Dec.)|Linh Hoang (July-Dec.)
Secretary: Linh Hoang (Jan.-June)
Treasurer: Alex Sun (Jan-Dec.)
Other members: Van Do, Go Kasai, Loi Luong, Michael Sun (at-large July-Dec.), Vinh Nguyen, Irwin Gueco, Jack Wang
Accomplishments:
- Lunar New Year Dim Sum.
- Pride & Heritage at Chaos.
- First AQUA float in the Capital Pride.
- Start of ‘AQUA’s Night Out’ at Apex, First Fridays.
- AQUA enters the annual Dragon Boat Festival
- Won 3rd in the 500m, 4th in 250m
- DC Mayor’s office declares Pride & Heritage Day.
- P&H featured as cover article in MetroWeekly.
2007
Co-Chairs: Linh Hoang | Wee Lee Sim
Treasurer: Danny Leung
Other members: Kham Moua, Eugene Lee, Alex Tsao (communications), Kevin Lee (membership)
Co-Chair: Linh Hoang (2008) | Danny Leung (2012) | Matthew Ong (2013)
2012
Co-Chairs: David Lee, Thuan Nguyen
Secretary: Michael Nguyen
Treasurer: Troy Pham
Organizational Advocacy
– Co-hosted events for NQAPIA’s National Conference in Washington, DC
– Visited the White House with a delegation of NQAPIA and PFLAG advocates, received signed Presidential Proclamations of LGBT Pride Month
– Attended NQAPIA’s Leadership Retreat in New York, NY
– Launched newly-branded AQUADC and Out2Paddle identity systems, which are in use today
Political Action
– Rallied at the Supreme Court to support marriage equality during opening arguments for ‘United States v. Windsor’
– Raised funds for the ‘Marylander for Marriage Equality’ campaign to vote for Question 6
– Co-sponsored phone banking operations with the Human Rights Campaign, which helped pass same-sex marriage legislation on 1/1/2013
– Hosted 2012 Presidential debate watch parties with recap discussions
Community Outreach
– Held a Date Auction fundraiser and a Lunar New Year potluck benefit party
– Revived aZen, our weekly Saturday mixer, across two venues; Cobalt and MOVA lounge
– Competed at DC’s annual Dragonboat Festival, winning Gold in the 500m finals
– Marched at DC’s Capital Pride and hosted a festival booth
2014
Co-Chairs: Ben Chou | Vincent Wang
Secretary: Michael Tzeng
Treasurer: Troy
Accomplishments:
- Winter party.
- Thanksgiving Member Thank You event.
- AQUA marched at Pride and had a booth at the Capital Pride Festival.
2015
Co-Chairs: Vincent Wang | Eugene Hwang
Accomplishment:
- Collaboration with MOAPIA on DC AAPI LGBT Visibility Campaign.
2016
Co-Chairs: Jeffrey Wong | Ben Chou
Other members: Jack Wang, Nhia Lee
2017
Co-Chairs: Jeffrey Wong
Accomplishments:
- AQUA 20th Year Anniversary, honoree at NQAPIA Catalyst Dinner.
- Supported the formation of the Korean American Rainbow Group (KARG).
2018
Co-Chairs: Jeffrey Wong (Jan.-June) | Kevin Chen
Other Board members: Clarence Cabañero, Heejun Choi, Eddie Chong, Peter Cruz V, Kyle Livingston, Hoang My “Ping” Nguyuen
Accomplishments:
- Jeffrey was speaker for the 2018 NQAPIA DC Community Catalyst banquet.
- Hosted a Pride and Heritage Potluck (fundraiser for 2018 NQAPIA conference).
- Started monthly QAPI Support Group at the D.C. Center with APIQS, from Jan. 2018.
- Out2Paddle reformed after 2 year hiatus with MOAPIA sponsorship.
- Won the Government Open division trophy, A-minor division gold in 250M, and A-major division bronze in 500m
- Established a relationship with Capital Pride and their API board members; Awarded Best Showcase by Capital Pride.
- Spill the Tea—monthly tea social series at Teaism Penn Quarter—initiated in June.
2019
Co-Chairs: Kevin Chen | Kyle Livingston
Other Board members: Clarence Cabañero, Sean Munar, Bianca Humady Rey, Shutian Wang, Daniel Chapman
Accomplishments:
- Celebrated Lunar New Qyear with a dumpling making party
- Joined the greater AAPI DC community in an AAPI Salute to Service at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery
- Joined other LGBT+ QAPI organizations in a celebration of heritage and pride headed by the National LGBTQ Task Force
- Led the reinstatement of Asian and Pacific Islander Capital Pride with other QAPI organizations in the DC area
- AQUA’s Dragon Boating team “Out2Paddle” won the Government Open Champion gold trophy, the silver medal for the 250 meter A Major Division, and the bronze medal for the 500 meter A Major Division at the 2019 DC Dragon Boating Festival
- AQUA DC among other DC QAPI groups won the 2019 NQAPIA Community Catalyst Award for Building Community Coalition
- Hosted a Barbequeer Fundraiser which saw over 100 guests and over $1,000 raised
- Hosted Queergiving, a Thanksgiving event that brought together different LGBT orgs in the DC area and over 120 people for food and friendship
- Joined with other QAPI organizations to enjoy a stroll through the National Zoo’s “Zoolights” event
2020
Chair: Daniel Chapman (Starting April 2020)
Other Board members: Clarence Cabañero, Sean Munar, Bianca Humady Rey, Shutian Wang, Nick Hatcher, Ben Falk
Accomplishments:
- Created the position of Political Chair
- Participated in Census education and promotion efforts in tandem with NQAPIA
- Hosted Law workshops on topics including immigration law, domestic violence, and Covid-19 resources with the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center
- AQUA DC joined with a number of DC API professional and advocacy organizations for a Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month series of workshops and events
- Joined in organizing “One Diva, One Mic”, a DC APIDA Queer virtual Pride Night
- Joined the 57th Annual March on Washington with the Caribbean Equality Project to show up for #BlackLivesMatter and to rally against police brutality
- Joined in organizing the first national LGBTQ Filipino American History Month Celebration with the Kamayan Coalition
- Began a number of event series, including: hiking, cooking demonstrations, tennis, watch parties, and more!
2021
Co-Chairs: Daniel Chapman | Bianca Humady Rey
Other Board members: Sean Munar, Bianca Humady Rey, Shutian Wang, Nick Hatcher, Ben Falk, Kenny Rakwong, Eddie Carreon, Thomas Nagata, Sam Bhutia
Accomplishments:
- Hosted “RPDR 101: Purse First,” a virtual drag fundraiser with drag queens both local and across the US
- Started selling AQUA DC-branded face masks
- Rewrote our Constitution for a clearer purpose and more structured workflow
- Began utilizing committees to handle ongoing work: Finance, Marketing, Operations, Political, Programming
