Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month | The Fifth District’s Bold AANHPI Leaders
Minnesota has an incredible Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community full of leaders working to strengthen our North Star state. This year, for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I wanted to highlight the barrier-breaking work of a few of CD5’s AANHPI leaders. These changemakers are making their mark on our communities!
Mary Niedermeyer
Mary Niedermeyer is the CEO of Communities Advancing Prosperity for Immigrants (CAPI USA), an organization that provides comprehensive support services for immigrants and refugees in the Twin Cities. As a Korean American adoptee and immigrant, Mary takes the work at CAPI to heart and believes in creating welcoming spaces and places of belonging for all who walk through the doors, no matter where they have come from. Last year, Mary was named one of Twin Cities Business Magazine’s 2025 Notable BIPOC Executives.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Watching CAPI’s headquarters expansion and renovation come to life — from leading the capital campaign to seeing the project through to the finish — has been my proudest accomplishment. We reopen in October 2026, and I’m honored to help bring this new space to Brooklyn Center and the community.
What is the best advice you’ve received in your line of work?
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received came from Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning by Vanessa Priya Daniel. It reinforced that sustainable leadership isn’t about fitting into systems that weren’t built for us, but having the courage to change them. As an Asian woman leading CAPI, it affirmed the importance of values‑driven leadership, community accountability, and long‑term vision — and reminded me that investing in people and building collective power is how lasting change happens.
What is your favorite way to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month in Minnesota?
I’m excited to attend CAPI’s virtual AAPI Rising Summit on May 29th and our reception at Arbeiter Brewing from 5–8 p.m. that same day. I can’t wait to connect, celebrate, and learn alongside so many inspiring local and national AAPI leaders.
Yia Vang
Yia Vang is a Hmong-American chef and founder of Minneapolis restaurants Union Hmong Kitchen and Vinai. Through sourcing what’s in season and combining local traditions with those from his family and cultural traditions, Yia brings Hmong flavors to American palates and invites people to change how they think about food by considering the influences in each bite. Yia is the host of Outdoor Channel’s “Feral” along with TPT’s “Relish” series and has been featured on National Geographic and CNN’s United Shades of America. Last year, his food and culture show, “Relish,” won the James Beard Media Award.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My mother told me that when she was younger and had just left Vinai, the refugee camp, she would shake with fright upon hearing the name Vinai. But she learned that my restaurant, Vinai, was named one of the best restaurants in the country, she no longer associated that name with fear and sadness. Now, it brings her joy to hear the name “Vinai.”
What is the best advice you’ve received in your line of work?
A clear area, in your kitchen or on the line, means you have a clear mind. By constantly making sure your space is clear and clean, you can organize your area and your thoughts. It’s a practice I apply to my personal life.
What is your favorite way to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month in Minnesota?
Spend time with my parents and visit them on their farm. They’re my north star and lighthouse, no matter how much the darkness consumes, the beacon of hope, which is the beam of light they shine, cuts through the darkness like a surgical razor.
Ange Hwang
Ange Hwang is the Executive Director of Asian Media Access, a comprehensive, multimedia-based, community advocacy agency. For over 30 years, Ange has worked to bring in more understanding about different communication patterns among diverse groups, and how to design public health information targeting the specific ethnic community to eliminate health disparities through communication. She’s developed and produced numerous National Initiatives, including: What About Us, and Bicultural Healthy Living, etc., which aim to increase cultural resilience among AAPIs by catalyzing the development of high-quality educational materials and training nationwide.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest moment has to be when a young person who had gone through our program came up to me at a professional conference and shared how the Asian Media Access experience had shaped who they are today. Hearing directly from someone whose life was touched by our work — that means everything to me.
What is the best advice you’ve received in your line of work?
The best advice I’ve received is to approach everything in a balanced way — whether that’s working, engaging with communities, or making decisions. It means taking context seriously, honoring both your heritage and host cultures, then arriving at a decision that reflects that thoughtful balance. It’s a principle I return to again and again.
What is your favorite way to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month in Minnesota?
Besides joining all AANHPI community celebrations throughout the month, one of my favorite things is simply stepping outside to take in the cherry blossoms as they bloom in Minnesota in May. There’s something quietly powerful about nature itself marking the AANHPI season for all of us. It’s a beautiful, grounding way to honor Pan Asian heritage and the communities that make Minnesota so rich.
MJ Carpio
MJ Carpio is the Executive Director of Move Minnesota, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that’s pushing for an equitable and sustainable transportation system that puts people first. MJ is a lifelong public transit rider — from jeepneys and tricycles, to the New York City subway, and Metro Transit — and sees the expansion and reimagining of multimodal transportation systems as integral to improving everyday lives, connecting communities, and adapting to climate change.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment so far is becoming the Executive Director of Move Minnesota in 2025 and continuing the work of creating an equitable and sustainable transportation system, while also making transportation advocacy and education spaces more welcoming and diverse in the state. I’m especially proud to do this work after leading as the Campaign Manager on our transformative wins in 2023, such as long-term, dedicated funding for transit and our nation-leading policy to curb climate pollution from highway projects.
What is the best advice you’ve received in your line of work?
Join a peer learning group, have mentors, and lean into your strengths as you navigate systems that are not built for you.
What is your favorite way to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month in Minnesota?
I love having my mom over for an extended visit, going to events that bring families together, uplifting shared histories, and imagining better futures with friends.
