Washington DC, January 4, 2024 – The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) will host an economic summit in the metro Atlanta area in Georgia on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, to connect Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) community members directly with federal leaders and resources.
The event, the sixth in a series of regional gatherings that kicked off in Philadelphia in January 2023, is being held in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, U.S. Department of Energy, the National Asian / Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship, other federal agency partners, and local community leaders.
The White House Initiative’s AA and NHPI Economic Summit series, spurred by a May 2022 recommendation from the President’s Advisory Commission on AA and NHPIs, builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to empowering underserved communities by connecting them directly with federal leaders and resources. It also comes on the heels of the release of the Administration’s first-ever national strategy to advance equity and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities, which outlines agency commitments to strengthen capacity building over the next two years.
Ambassador Tai, Co-Chair of White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI), will participate in a fireside chat at an economic summit to connect Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community members with federal leaders and resources.
Language barriers and limited outreach have historically held AA and NHPIs back from applying for federal procurement, jobs, grants, and programs. Although approximately 10 percent of small businesses in the U.S. are AA and NHPI-owned, only 2.8 percent of federal contracting dollars went to AA and NHPI small businesses in Fiscal Year 2020, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and other initiatives, the Biden-Harris Administration is making once-in-a-generation investments to address these issues, provide direct relief, and expand economic opportunity. Learn more here.
In May 2021, President Joe Biden re-established and reinvigorated WHIAANHPI through Executive Order 14031. The Initiative’s whole-of-government approach engages federal agencies to improve interagency policymaking, program development, and outreach, and address barriers impacting AA and NHPIs across the country.
Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Doors open at 8:30 AM local time; event begins at 9:30 AM
Venue: Gas South District – Convention Center
6400 Sugarloaf Parkway Duluth, GA 30097
