Asian American
Progressive Student Union
About Us
Asian American Progressive Student Union (AAPSU) was founded in the summer of 2020 by Amy Zhai and May Soemin. AAPSU is an organization that hopes to unite progressive Asian American student leaders and promote racial equity in the Asian American community.
This organization aims to address the racism within the Asian community and form alliances with other people of color. The purpose of AAPSU is to: create networks with other minority groups and produce translated educational resources and workshops to combat racism, colorism, and anti-blackness in our community; work with other advocacy organizations in order to address the segregation within MCPS; promote community development; promote Asian American rights and representation, and increase civic engagement within the Asian communities.
Although AAPSU was founded in Montgomery County, Maryland, we are expanding to other states across the country from South Carolina to Oregon. Each region focuses on issues that are relevant to them and will work with the main organization to provide the public with means of actions/education. Please email us through the contact page if you’re interested in forming a chapter in your state!
Our Mission
To unite progressive Asian American student leaders and promote racial equity in the Asian American community.
Meet our Team
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Executive Board
Tanirika Choudhry
President
Tanirika is a senior in the Global Program at Poolesville High School. She joined AAPSU in her sophomore year and has previously served as Advocacy and Policy Director and Vice President. She is excited to continue her journey with AAPSU and work on implementing data disaggregation, expanding the APIDA course, and addressing other AAPI issues. She can’t wait to work with the amazing executive board to achieve AAPSU’s goals.
Oorja Munot
Vice President
Oorja Munot is a sophomore and International Baccalaureate candidate at Richard Montgomery High School. She is thrilled to continue her journey with AAPSU after serving as the past Community Accessibility Director. As Vice President this year, Oorja hopes to alleviate the barriers that AAPI youth face and create a supportive environment that fosters empowerment. She is excited to be working with an amazing team and is looking forward to fulfilling AAPSU’s mission by driving legislative changes.
Keerthi Thentu
Secretary
Keerthi Thentu is a sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School. She joined AAPSU to connect with and empower Asian Americans in my community. As secretary, she is looking forward to starting new projects and hopefully meeting in person with the executive board.
Myla
Leung
Co-Policy & Advocacy
Director
Myla Leung is a junior at Winston Churchill High School. From climate change to social justice inequities, she has heavily immersed herself in political activism to advance social change in her community. She is very passionate about Asian American advocacy and joined AAPSU to leverage her leadership skills to make Montgomery County a more equitable and respectful environment. Myla is so excited to see what AAPSU will accomplish this year, and can’t wait to meet everyone!
Linda
Huang
Events
Director
Linda Huang is a senior at Montgomery Blair High School. She joined AAPSU as events director to help create initiatives that will benefit the Asian American community and connect with minority groups. I am looking forward to a great year with wonderful people!
Nishtha Srivastava
Co-Community Accessibility Director
Nishita Srivastava is a senior at John F. Kennedy High School. As Community Accessibility Director this year, they hope to build inclusivity by working with a diverse group of individuals who share similar goals while having different backgrounds. They are looking forward to working with AAPSU to push for racial equity, empower other asian leaders and combat issues at a national level, drawing from their own experiences.
Pranavi Kamana
Co-Outreach
Director
Pranavi Kamana is a senior at Seneca Valley HS. She joined AAPSU in order to build stronger connections with those within the community. She is looking forward to making positive changes within APIDA issues and promoting racial equity! :)
Hali
Duong
Co-Policy & Advocacy
Director
Hali Duong is a sophomore and International Baccalaureate candidate at Richard Montgomery High School. She strongly believes in the transformative impacts students have on policy and aims to foster an inclusive AAPI community. As the Advocacy and Policy Director this year, Hali hopes to further her deep commitment to racial equity as a united front and delve into data disaggregation issues.
Savya
Miriyala
Co-Public Relations
Director
Savya Miriyala is a senior at Damascus High School. She joined AAPSU as the Public Relations Director in order to promote more inclusivity and address the issues the Asian American community faces. Savya is looking forward to working with an amazing team and helping AAPSU grow.
Josie
Kim
Co-Community Accessiblity Director
Josie Kim is a sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School and joined AAPSU because she wants to make a difference in Asian representation. She is looking forward to working on the various projects and ideas she has in mind to increase Asian ESOL accessibility!
Ashley Liên
Morrow
Co-Webmaster
Ashley Morrow is a senior in high school living in Thousand Oaks, California. She joined AAPSU with the goal of engaging youth in advocacy and activism pertaining to issues affecting the AAPI community, and also with the hope of learning more about her Southeast Asian heritage. She is looking forward to fostering an inclusive environment, promoting effective discourse, and advocating for data disaggregation. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing short fiction and runs a literary magazine.
Jason Liaw
Co-Outreach
Director
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Jason Liaw is a junior enrolled in the Science, Math, Computer Science program at Poolesville High School. Jason is passionate about promoting equity and cultural understanding in business and education. This year, he looks forward to engaging the community with new media strategies and growing AAPSU
Aditya Kumar
Treasurer
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Aditya Kumar is a sophomore at Clarksburg High School. He joined AAPSU to show the younger Asian generation that there are people fighting for them and their culture and hopes to incorporate the AAPIDA course into as many high schools as possible while also focusing on a range of topics from data disaggregation to addressing the disparities that Asian Americans face on a daily basis. Aditya looks forward to working with the executive board to help achieve the AAPSU’s goals!
Krish Putta
Co-Public Relations
Director
Krish Putta is a sophomore at Poolesville High School. This year as Public Relations director, he hopes to create content that represents AAPSU goals and builds a sense of community amongst students across the county.
Kevin Nguyen
Co-Webmaster
Kevin Nguyen is a senior at John F. Kennedy High School. He joined AAPSU to find ways to address the model minority myth. It's clear that Asian American hate has grown tremendously since COVID-19 and he wants to advocate across Montgomery County in order to remedy that.He is looking forward to meeting with Asian Americans and learning more about the problems he and his peers face today.