2026 APAICS Alumni Program

M AY 1 1 , 2026 AT &T FOR UM WAS HINGT ON, DC

2 0 2 6 A L U M N I AWA R D E E S Moh Sharma

APAICS ALUMNI TRAILBLAZER AWARD Moh Sharma is the Director of Member Services for Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. She has worked in Congress for over a decade and previously worked for the House Judiciary Committee, the House Small Business Committee, the House Democratic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). Moh began her Hill career as an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) fellow in the Office of Rep. Judy Chu and CAPAC. Moh holds various positions on volunteer boards and currently serves as the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association (CAPASA) Advisory Board and the chair of the APAICS Alumni Advisory Council. She also is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law School. Moh received her B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. in Economics from the University of Connecticut, M.S. in Global Affairs from NYU, and J.D. from CUNY School of Law.

Adi Sathi

APAICS ALUMNI HORIZON AWARD Adi Sathi is currently serving as an Infantry Officer in the Army National Guard. He is preparing to move to Cambridge, Massachusetts this summer to pursue a Mid-Career M.P.A. at the Harvard Kennedy School. Since 2010, Adi has managed or advised numerous successful political campaigns during 10 election cycles in 27 states across America. From 2016-2017, Adi was an APAICS Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, who served as the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate as well as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. During his time on Capitol Hill, Adi traveled on a Congressional staff delegation trip to China to discuss trade policy and financial services. Adi’s work within the foreign policy and national security space has also taken him to Japan, Taiwan, India, Israel, and France. In April 2018, Governor Rick Snyder appointed Adi to complete a four-year term as a State Commissioner on the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission. In 2019, he was invited to join the US-Asia Institute’s Congressional Council. Most recently, Adi served as a Presidential Appointee and Special Advisor at the Pentagon with a focus on East Asia security policy from 2025-2026. Adi received both his B.A. in Political Science and M.S.W. in Community Organization from the University of Michigan. Over the years, he also shared his passion for the sport of wrestling as a high school wrestling coach.

Alton Wang

APAICS ALUMNI IGNITE AWARD Trustee Alton Wang was first elected to the Pasadena City College (PCC) Board of Trustees in 2022, representing his hometowns of Arcadia and Temple City. On the Board, he has fought to expand access and affordability for students, improve working conditions for faculty and staff, and deepen partnerships across the region. Alton is the first openly queer person elected to the PCC Board in the College’s history. During his nearly two-year tenure as Board President, Alton held the distinction of being the youngest thenserving community college leader in the state of California. As Board President, he led Pasadena City College’s response to the devastating Eaton Fire, made historic investments in plans to build a new campus, passed a community workforce agreement to enshrine labor protections, and implemented policies to defend immigrant and LGBTQ+ students. Outside of his work on the Pasadena City College Board, Alton has worked as a civil rights attorney fighting to protect and expand voting rights and fair representation, as a policy advisor in Congress advocating on issues impacting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, and as an organizer to increase civic engagement in underrepresented communities. Alton earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Sociology from Wesleyan University and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law with a focus on public interest law.

Dr. Mary Therese Perez Hattori APAICS HELEN RUGGIERO AWARD

Dr. Mary Therese Perez Hattori is a daughter of Guåhan (Guam), of the clan Familian Titang, born to Paul Mitsuo Hattori† of Kalihi, O’ahu and Fermina Leon Guerrero Perez† of the village of Chalan Pago. She recently retired from her role as Director of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) with the East-West Center and previously enjoyed a long career in various technology and education-related positions. She is affiliate graduate faculty in Pacific Studies, Learning Design and Technology, and the Educational Doctorate at UHM and also teaches courses in Indigenous leadership for the Educational Doctorate program at Chaminade University. She is currently cocurator for the Ocean of Peace Exhibition on several islands in the state of Hawai’i.

Dr. Hattori is a community organizer, advocate for Pacific Islanders in the US, public speaker, and poet, and co-organizer of cultural events such as the Cultural Animation Film Festival and the Celebrate Micronesia Festival (facebook.com/ CelebrateMicronesia). She serves the state of Hawai’i as a member of the Board of Education and Associate Member of the Consular Corps of Honolulu. Learn more about her at maryhattori.com.

P RO G R A M WELCOME REMARKS

Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke

HORIZON AWARD PRESENTATION

BOARD CHAIR REMARKS

Chair, Fellowship Alumni Association

President and CEO, APAICS

Jason Chan

Board Chair, APAICS CONGRESSIONAL REMARKS (VIDEO)

The Hon. Grace Meng Chair, CAPAC

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAIR REMARKS

Mia Ayer

HORIZON AWARD ACCEPTANCE REMARKS

Adi Sathi

IGNITE AWARD PRESENTATION

Thien Huynh

Programs Associate, APAICS

Moh Sharma

IGNITE AWARD ACCEPTANCE REMARKS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD PRESENTATION

HELEN RUGGIERO AWARD PRESENTATION

TRAILBLAZER AWARD ACCEPTANCE REMARKS

HELEN RUGGIERO AWARD ACCEPTANCE REMARKS

Chair, APAICS Alumni Association

Nisha Ramachandran

Moh Sharma

Alton Wang

Dr. Florie Mediola

Mary Therese Perez Hattori CLOSING REMARKS

Mia Kawamitsu

Senior Programs Associate, APAICS