About | Central California Asian Pacific Women (CCAPW)

Empowering Asian and Pacific Islander women in California’s Central Valley to lead, advocate, and thrive.

We uplift API women and girls through leadership development, mentorship, and opportunities to advance gender equity and social justice—locally and beyond.

Our Story

As an all-volunteer organization, Central California Asian Pacific Women (CCAPW) remains a dynamic space for new leaders and ideas to emerge. The current board of directors reflects the diversity of the API community in the Central Valley, with both emerging and seasoned community leaders possessing a wide range of professional experience both locally and statewide. These women are committed to strengthening the organization as vehicle for API women’s empowerment in the Central Valley.

Over 40 Years of Investing in API Women’s Leadership

Central California Asian Pacific Women (CCAPW) was founded in 1980 and continues to thrive as the only pan-Asian women’s organization addressing the needs and concerns of API women in the Central Valley. Over the years, CCAPW has diversified across cultures and generations, with a multiethnic group of young, middle-aged, and elderly women have emerged in the past few years to lead the organization. We are also proud that we are beginning to reap the fruits of our labors in that several past scholarship recipients have now advanced in their professional careers and have become re-engaged with CCAPW as board members, funders, volunteers, and speakers. We hope to continue to build on this momentum and continue to be a crucial resource and support network that crosses generational and ethnic lines.

Since 1980, CCAPW has awarded more than $400,000 in scholarships to women and girls pursuing higher education, and this year, awarded its highest annual scholarship total of $36,000.

The scholarship funds are raised every year from grants, individual donations, and revenues from special events. A majority of our scholarship recipients are from low-income, refugee families and are among the first women in their families to attend college. We are extremely proud to see our investments return in these young leaders who come back to the community and cite CCAPW as part of their early success.

To promote sustainability and to bridge the gap between young and old, the organization has successfully recruited a younger generation of emerging leaders with deep roots in the Central Valley. We hope to build on our rich history of women leaders and continue to recruit and retain a broad cross-section of leaders from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Our Board of Directors

Meet the women leading CCAPW with vision, integrity, and deep ties to the Central Valley.

President: Joanne Lai

Founder of Spiral and Bloom Embodiment Sanctuary

Licensed Psychotherapist

(Term began: 2022)

Joanne Lai is the CEO and founder of Spiral & Bloom Embodiment Sanctuary. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, she runs a holistic practice rooted in trauma-informed care and embodiment. Joanne supports women in reconnecting with their bodies, healing past wounds, and stepping into their most authentic, empowered selves. Her work centers on the belief that healing happens in relationships—with our bodies, our communities, and the networks of support that sustain us.

Her leadership and community impact have been widely recognized. She received the Top Ten Professional Women Award from the Marjaree Mason Center and currently serves as President of the Central California Asian Pacific Women (CCAPW). Her work and expertise have been featured in the documentary Final Fight: When the Trauma of War Comes Home, in publications such as Fig Garden Magazine and Bold Journey, and on ABC30 News.

Alongside her practice, Joanne mentors young Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, as well as therapists who want to bring somatic practices into their work. She also assists in Somatic Experiencing® trainings, helping to equip the next generation of practitioners with trauma-informed care in their practice. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, she provided pro bono and low-fee therapy for AAPI clients in the Central Valley community.

Creativity is another thread in Joanne’s life and work. In 2026, she will publish her first children’s book, co-created with her daughter Jenny, as well as an adult coloring book in collaboration with her daughter Jeslyn.

Vice President:

Dr. Varaxy Yi Borromeo

Associate Professor, California State University, Fresno

(Term began: 2021)

Varaxy is an associate professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at Fresno State. She also serves as the Director of the Research Center and is a core faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. As a first-generation Khmer American graduate and faculty, Varaxy is committed to advancing knowledge to serve racially minoritized communities, specifically Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students. She appreciates the collectivism within her Khmer community and how we show love for each other through food and nourishment.

Treasurer: Maybo Heu

Nurse Practitioner

(Term began: 2021)

Maybo is a Nurse Practitioner in the Central Valley and is honored to serve on the CCAPW Board of Directors as the Treasurer. She is a first-generation Hmong American woman who believes in empowering AAPI women through higher education. Maybo’s other community work includes collaborating with local community-based organizations to advocate for health and wellness in the AAPI community.

Treasurer: Dr. Ahran Koo

Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Art Education, California State University, Fresno

(Term began: 2023)

Ahran is an associate professor of art education at Fresno State. As a first-generation Korean immigrant artist and art educator, she promotes the efficacy of art to address cultural and social awareness. Locally and globally, she focuses on Asian art and culture, socially engaged and community art, and critical multiculturalism, encourages interdisciplinary collaboration through civic engagement, and advocates culturally responsive/sustaining pedagogy.

Secretary:

Michelle Fabros

(Term began: 2024)

Michelle is a psychology instructor at Fresno City College, where she co-runs a psychology lab that provides research training and mentorship for SCCCD transfer students. As a 2nd-generation Chinese-Filipina, her grandparents emphasized the importance of education. She has a master’s degree in General/Experimental Psychology and is pursuing a PhD in General Psychology: Cognition & Instruction. Her dissertation research focuses on the academic achievement of Southeast Asian American college students. In her free time, Michelle enjoys traveling, dancing with the Fresno Polynesian Club, and spending time with her family.

Board Member:

Summer Connery

Medical Education and Outreach Specialist
UCSF Fresno

(Term began: 2025)

Summer was born and raised in Clovis/Fresno and is a 3rd generation Japanese American. Her great grandparents traveled from Hiroshima, Japan and settled in Fresno, CA to become farmers. After leaving the Central Valley to live in San Diego and more recently San Francisco, Summer returned to Fresno to join the University of San Francisco, Fresno Branch Campus, in 2019. She has experience in social work, continuing legal education, and continuing medical education. She has a passion for food, travel, and dance.

Board Member: Jenny Banh, PhD

Associate Professor, Asian American Studies and Anthropology, California State University Fresno

(Term began: 2024)

Jenny is an keynote speaker, memoirist, curriculum developer and Associate Professor at California State University, Fresno in Anthropology and Asian American Studies. She received her Anthro BA from UCLA, her Cultural Studies (public Policy focus) MA from Claremont Graduate University, and her Anthro MA & PhD from the University of California, Riverside. Her research focuses on Asian American/Asian studies, cultural anthropology, and Asian female characters in popular culture. Her current research is on Asian restaurants, barriers/bridges to SE Asian college students, and a Hong Kong transnational corporation.

She is the author of “I Have an Accent in Every Language I Speak!”: Shadow History of One Chinese Family’s Multigenerational Transnational Migrations." (Genealogy Journal) and “Workers’ View on Indigenization of Theme Park: A Case Study in Hong Kong” (International Journal of Business Anthropology). She previously has published in and co-edited Anthropology of Los Angeles (2017) and American Chinese Restaurants (2019).

Board Member:

Dr. Mai See Xiong

Clinical Manager, Fresno Hospice

(Term began: 2024)

Dr. Xiong has been a Registered Nurse since 2014. She earned both her ASN and BSN through Brigham Young University-Idaho. Her background in nursing includes Medical Surgical, Oncology, Hematology, and Hospice Care. She completed her Master’s in Nursing Education with a Certificate in Gerontology and Doctorate in Nursing Leadership at the University of Utah. Dr. Xiong is currently a Clinical Manager for Fresno Hospice and is an Adjunct Faculty for Arizona College of Nursing for the Murray, Utah and Aurora, Colorado campuses. Dr. Xiong’s program of research is focused on enhancing the diversity in the nursing workforce to mirror the diversity of the community. Dr. Xiong has shown a passion for teaching and gerontology.

Board Member: Diana Chandara

(Term began: 2025)

Diana Chandara (she/her) is a 2nd-generation Lao American queer woman from Fresno, California. She is the Ethnic Studies/Asian American Studies Instructor and DEIA Coordinator at Clovis Community College. In addition to teaching, her service and practice orientation include being a part of the AANHPI Workgroup as well as a representative on the SCCCD Chancellor's Task Force on Protecting Vulnerable Students. Through the partnership between Laotian American Community Fresno (LACF) and the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD), Diana serves in an advisory role on creating Lao supplemental resources. She’s a PhD Candidate in Culture and Teaching at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research interests are in identity development of Southeast Asian Americans, culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogy, and Asian American femininity and feminism. She has been published in Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality in Education, AAPI NEXXUS, and others. Diana believes in education as a form of liberation and radical hope for communities. While she has lived in other places, it is her dream come true to return to and collectively nourish the Central Valley.

Board Member: Mackenzie Saephanh

Miss City of Fresno 2026

Clinical Research Coordinator Assistant at UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL

(Term began: 2026)

Mackenzie Saephanh (she/her) is a first-generation Iu-Mien American woman and the daughter and sister of Vietnam War refugees from Merced, CA. She is an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator with UCSF Fresno’s Mobile Health and Learning (HeaL) program, supporting the delivery of free, culturally responsive healthcare services to underserved ethnic minority, immigrant, and refugee communities in Fresno County.

She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, with a concentration in Health Policy and Management and is on the path to becoming a physician committed to serving underserved communities in the Central Valley. Mackenzie is Miss City of Fresno 2026 and the first Iu-Mien and Southeast Asian woman to hold this title. She made history as the first Iu-Mien American woman to compete for Miss California and perform a traditional Iu-Mien dance for the Miss America Organization. As a board member of the Central California Asian Pacific Women’s Organization, she is honored to contribute to leadership, mentorship, and advocacy that centers community-rooted care and intergenerational empowerment.

2026 Advisory Board