A Thank You Letter from our Executive Director

Dear Friends of Asia Institute – Crane House,

I cannot believe how quickly time has passed. This December will mark my 10 th year as Executive Director at Asia Institute – Crane House (AICH). Founded by the great Helen Lang, who would have turned 100 in 2026, AICH, originally named The China Institute, Inc, received its 501 © (3) non-profit status on February 26, 1987. Since that day, our city of Louisville and our Commonwealth of Kentucky steadfastly transformed into a hub of Asian art and culture in the South, hosting such celebrities and dignitaries as actor B.D. Wong (1992), and Chinese Ambassador Han Xu and Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins (1988), and hosting the Annual Lunar New Year Festival. Today, I am proud to be a part of AICH as we continue to forge ahead with our simple and enduring mission of being a community resource that promotes understanding of Asian cultures and heritage through education, outreach and the arts.

I was born in Manila, Philippines. My immigrant story is a blessed one. I came to the U.S. when I was 6 months old and became a naturalized American citizen soon thereafter. If anything, I was an American from New Jersey who struggled to find my place in the U.S. as an Immigrant Filipino and an American. My siblings and I were the only Asian students in an inner-city Title 1 school in Jersey City, NJ. It was traumatizing sometimes to bring my delicious Filipino lunch boxes to school and be teased by the smell of fish sauce and garlic. Back then, I would have much rather had the sandwiches and chips my classmates were eating. This feeling of my identity struggle continued throughout my young adult life in Chicago and part of my early years in Louisville. It took me a few years into my role as Executive Director of AICH for me to realize how blessed and lucky I am to be an Asian American. This is one of the drivers for me every day to make AICH inclusive for the immigrant first-, second- or third-generation Asians, Asian Americans, Asian adoptees or ANYONE who enjoys Asian culture and heritage.

During my 10 years at AICH, I have seen some changes not only within AICH, but within the local and regional diversity landscape. State actions like House Bill 4 (which eliminates diversity programs in universities) as well as cutbacks in world languages, challenges the work of diversity in our region. AICH works to mitigate these challenges by hosting and supporting our local Asian language teachers and continuing our Language Corner cafes. We have expanded our sites with our long-standing Teach in Asia Program to include sites not only in Jiujiang, CHINA (Louisville’s Sister City), but also Shanghai, CHINA; Xingang and Da Pu TAIWAN; and Seosan-Si, SOUTH KOREA (hometown of Blue SKO Oval, the South Korean company behind the Ford battery plant in Glendale, KY). We continue to support our local Asian entertainment groups, local Asian student groups, and local Asian small businesses through financial support through our many engagement events (Asian Night Market, Lunar New Year Celebrations, Philippines Independence Day Celebrations). AICH advocates for our local Asian immigrant communities by being in the room with local and state officials through participation in Mayor Greenburg’s International Advisory Council and Louisville Economic Development Alliance.

I am happy to report that AICH has had some great recent recognition, thanks in major part to your investment in AICH. 1) AICH received a Director’s Community Leadership Award from the FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2022; 2) I was honored as an Inaugural Honoree of Louisville Business First’s Nonprofit Visionary Leader Awards in 2023; 3) AICH was recognized as a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts, the only BIPOC arts organization to receive this honor from the Commonwealth of Kentucky; 4) LEO – Louisville Eccentric Observer Magazine – named the Asian Night Market as one of the best events to attend in Louisville. Through your support of AICH, we continue to be a convener and hub for our local Asian communities during challenging times like the COVID – 19 crisis or during challenges for diversity expansion in our region, while still maintaining and promoting Asian arts and cultures regionally.

Please help us continue our work by investing any gift amount. However, to honor our founder Helen Lang, please consider a gift of $100 for her 100 years, or $110 to honor Helen and my 10 years at AICH, or $1,100 to help our work continue for the future.

THANK YOU, and I hope to continue our work for 10 more years to come and more.