During Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month this year, Regional Plan Association (RPA) would like to recognize the impacts made on our region and organization by AAPI staff members and Board members.

The history of AAPI individuals at RPA starts around the time of the Second Regional Plan. There appears to be no record of AAPI staff or Board members during the production of the first Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs in the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, due to racist and xenophobic federal immigration laws, AAPI residents made up less than 0.2% of the population of New York City.

This shifted by the 1960s. The AAPI population doubled to around 0.5% and changes in immigration laws enabled more AAPI individuals from overseas to move to the New York metropolitan area. Among the first AAPI contributors to RPA were Yvonne Wong, a staff librarian in the late 1950s, and Kyung Lee Kim, who was hired as a temporary statistical clerk in 1961.

One of the most influential AAPI individuals that collaborated with RPA in the 1960s was Rai Okamoto, an urban design consultant from Philadelphia who directed Urban Design Manhattan. Working alongside RPA staff, Rai demonstrated how urban design principles could be applied to central business districts such as midtown Manhattan. As summarized in the report, ​“This urban design study not only exposes the problem but presents a powerful visual statement of what urban centers can be, always with ultimate concern that human needs and human scale prevail over the forces that are shaping urban centers today.”

Rai was also principal of the planning and architecture firm Okamoto/Liskamm, and later served as San Francisco’s Director of Planning from 1975 to 1980.

Other influential AAPI individuals that worked with RPA during this era include the famous architect, I.M. Pei. He served on the Committee of the Second Regional Plan and designed several ambitious and controversial urban renewal projects across the country, such as the Pei Plan in Oklahoma City, as well as contributed to the Javits Center in NYC.

In the 1970s, Lilly Chin joined RPA as part of the administrative team, typing reports, helping with events, and supporting the Executive staff. She would go on to work for the organization for around 40 years and assisted four RPA presidents. Lilly retired in 2013.

The number of AAPI residents in the region grew significantly from 1980 to 2020, from around 3% to 15%, and the number of AAPI RPA Board members and staff also increased. Among them was Board Emeritus Dr. Luther Tai, an attorney and engineer who was a former senior executive at Con Edison and is now Chairman and CEO of Roberts Bay Marina.

Former RPA staff members from this time period include but are not limited to Christine Hsu, Mandu Sen, Sanjay Seth, Janani Shankaran, and Fiona Zhu. RPA’s first AAPI Vice President was Lauren Tsuboyama, who oversaw the Communications team for two years until 2020.

Current AAPI staff members are Vanessa Barrios, Manager of Advocacy Programs, and Maulin Mehta, New York Director. Vanessa and Maulin were recently honored for their contributions to the region, with Vanessa being listed on City & State’s Nonprofit 40 under 40 and Maulin on City & State’s top 100 Asian leaders in New York City.

RPA thanks these individuals for their contributions to our organization and to the field of urban planning.