As we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we pay tribute to the Bill Imada Top 50 Unsung Heroes, individuals whose extraordinary acts of bravery, selflessness, and community service have often gone unnoticed.

Nominated by the community and acknowledged during the Uplifted Conference 2024, these heroes represent a diverse array of backgrounds and accomplishments, each leaving an indelible mark on the community.

Join us in honoring these Unsung Heroes, amplifying their remarkable achievements, and recognizing the profound impact they’ve had on shaping a more inclusive and empowered society.

The Bill Imada Top 50 Unsung Heroes 2024

In a world where AI is all the rage, two AHN members are using AI to champion authentic storytelling in the publishing industry.

As entrepreneurs and advocates for change, Yobe Qiu and Serena Li have made it their mission to champion diversity and inclusion in children’s literature, ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, sees themselves represented and celebrated. Now they are building a new platform together  – BookAnAuthor.com – which uses machine learning to make it easier for schools, organizations and corporations to book authors for events, and buy directly from authors.

A MATCH MADE IN AHN

We had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Yobe and Serena, whose journeys began with a chance encounter on the Asian Hustle Network community. Yobe is a serial entrepreneur in education and founder of By Yobe Qiu Multicultural Books and Toys, while Serena is the founder of Duck Duck Books and Eco Goods. It was here that Yobe and Serena found common ground:

Yobe: We were both members of the AHN group and I have posted a few times in the group to connect with other “hustlers.” One day I posted about looking for an editor in our community for our newest book, “I Am an Amazing Asian Girl”. I wanted to make sure my editor is someone who my book can speak to and Serena commented on my post that she could help. That was the start of our relationship, and AHN was our matchmaker! 

We started working together on that project and I was extremely impressed with her talent, dedication, and brilliance, we went on to do a few more projects together. What initially drew us to each other’s work was our experience in our fields, our respect for each other’s work ethics, and our support for each other to help one another grow. 

Serena: I am incredibly grateful that Yobe took a chance with me. During the pandemic, where in-person interaction was close to none, Yobe trusted me with her book – a stranger across the country. Our relationship is a testament to the power of community. 

ASIAN AMERICAN BOOKS EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Together, Yobe and Serena embarked on a mission to promote diversity and representation in children’s literature, culminating in the launch of the “Asian American Books Everywhere All At Once” campaign in April 2023. The campaign aimed to provide books featuring AAPI characters and stories to schools across the United States, championing authentic storytelling and cultural celebration:

Yobe: I was inspired by Michelle Yeoh when she said at the Oscars, “Every little girl who looks like [her] to know what’s possible. Dream big.” I wanted to provide books to schools that feature AAPI children, families, and cultures, to help our children feel represented and celebrated. That night, I called up Serena and two other author friends to join forces. We named the campaign, “Asian American Books Everywhere All at Once” as a spin-off from EEAAO’s huge win for the AAPI community in media! The name, despite being very long, received tremendous support among the community. It was very timely. Within a month, we exceeded our original goal and sent over 1500+ books to 20 schools across 5 states and donated books to them. 

Serena: All of the books we donated either featured AAPI characters or were written by an AAPI author. Our effort was a direct response to the book ban that was happening across the U.S. Instead of sitting still, we rallied our community at a grassroots level to support the schools around the country. 

DIFFERENT UPBRINGINGS, SAME GOALS

Yobe and Serena grew up from different backgrounds, but together, they draw upon their rich experiences to advocate for greater inclusivity and representation in children’s literature, ensuring that young readers from all walks of life feel empowered and inspired by the stories they encounter.

Yobe: Growing up surrounded by diversity and a very strong Chinese community in NYC’s Chinatown, I am proud of who I am and my culture because it was celebrated in the city. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t because of the environment I grew up in. I’ve learned to be curious and make friends with people from all cultures growing up in the Big Apple. The hustling culture and welcoming spirit of New York Chinatown is ingrained in my DNA. 

My first job after graduate school was teaching. I wanted to discuss the Lunar New Year with my students, but there weren’t any materials that covered the diverse ways many Asian diasporas celebrate their New Year. I had students who were Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, and Thai in the classrooms, but most of the books were about the Chinese New Year. In my opinion, it was important not only to discuss the culture I was from but also to acknowledge the blended cultures my daughter’s generation would grow up in. So I took the initiative and wrote my very first book, “Our Lunar New Year: Celebrating the Lunar New Year in 5 Different Asian Communities.”

Serena: My experience was a bit different than Yobe’s. I moved to a suburb in Houston, TX at the age of 14 with my family. I didn’t speak any English. At that time, Houston wasn’t nearly as diverse. I remember my neighbors and classmates genuinely asking me, “Do Asians speak Asian?”. The road to immigration was hard, but I survived it. Being a 1.5-generation Chinese American, I identified equally as a Chinese person and as an American. 

Fast forward, now that I have children of my own, I look at them daily and ponder how they would identify themselves. I want them to grow up being proud of exactly who they are, their family history, and their blended cultures. I want to write books that hone in on the social emotional themes that are cross-cultural, so children can be kind to themselves and kind to others. I want to write books that are bilingual, so children of different cultures can learn to be open-minded. 

BOOKANAUTHOR.COM: YOUR GATEWAY TO LITERARY CONNECTIONS

Building upon the success of their campaign, they set their sights on a new endeavor: BookAnAuthor.com. This innovative platform, set to launch on April 15, 2024, aims to connect authors with schools, organizations, and independent bookstores, making literary engagements more accessible and fostering a love for reading among students nationwide:

Yobe: For the same reasons why literature should feature more diverse characters and stories, coming out of the pandemic, we see an increasing need for in-person literary engagements. There’s nothing that inspires students more than meeting their favorite authors. Currently, there isn’t a platform available that helps schools and organizations discover and book authors for events based on their requirements and constraints. The diverse authors, especially those who don’t have traditional agents representing them, are having a hard time finding which institutions are seeking authors for events at the moment. We want to build an ecosystem that offers literary services in a comprehensive way, from discovery to booking, from bulk orders to fundraising. Our tagline is “Your Gateway to Literary Connections”. 

Serena: Both Yobe and I are passionate about helping other authors. We each have consulting businesses helping authors realize their publishing dreams. Book An Author naturally becomes our next step. It allows us to take the learning from our very successful Asian American Books Everywhere All At Once campaign last year and scale it to support not only our immediate network but also the entire publishing community. We are here to use technology to disrupt the publishing industry! 

With BookAnAuthor.com, authors can showcase their profiles, books, and expertise, organized by zip code, rates, and availability. This allows for efficient management of bookings, event scheduling, and receipt of valuable feedback from schools, ultimately improving services and expanding audiences.

For schools, the platform simplifies the process of finding and booking diverse, vetted authors for visits, workshops, and other activities. It offers flexible discovery and booking options based on location, rates, and genres, as well as the ability to release RFPs and review customized bids systematically.

Additionally, the platform provides access to educational resources, enables educators to share feedback and ratings, and includes money-back guarantees and security features for easy booking processes.

CONNECT WITH YOBE AND SERENA / BOOK AN AUTHOR

“We are so grateful to have this community and if anyone has any insight for us, we are all ears. We are also happy to help anyone else in the community if they need help with publishing!” – Yobe Qiu

Book An Author: @BookAnAuthor (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok) 

Website: bookanauthor.com 

Yobe Qiu, Co-founder and CEO, CFO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yobe-qiu/

Serena Li, Co-founder and COO, CMO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenayli/

By Yobe Qiu – Multicultural Children’s Books and Toys: @ByYobeQiu (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon) 

Duck Duck Books + Eco Goods – Multilingual, SEL Kids Books and Eco-conscious Gifts: @duckduckbooks (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Pinterest, Google, YouTube)

Social media undoubtedly has brought our society many wonders. The connection it can bring and the impact it can make are undeniable. But along with the rise of platforms that prioritize online personas and shortcut conversations, profound connections feel like an endurance test.

Jenny Woo, taking an emotional and deep-dive reading of this pattern, decided to develop the 52 Essential Conversations. She then established Mind Brain Emotion with the hope of helping people stay in tune with their emotions, building happiness, serenity, and wisdom. 

AN INCUBATION AT HARVARD

It was an insightful experience to have this exclusive interview with Jenny Woo, whose keen observation and curiosity have led her to the creation of Mind Brain Emotion, educational card games, and mental health tools to help people build essential human skills and connections.

Delightfully quipping “I earned enough credentials so that my parents and grandparents could each have an honorary degree,” Jenny showcased a strong personality, one that is “resourceful, resilient, and hard-working.” As she would humorously refer to herself as a “knowledge smuggler,” Jenny dug up the problems in current education towards one’s emotional development:

During my study and research at Harvard, I was drawn to the intersection of emotional intelligence and cultural identity. Self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills were three key components of emotional intelligence. As a management consultant, executive coach, and HR leader, I had already observed how essential these skills were for career success. 

And yet, the education system did little to expose students to these skills. Teaching resources were scarce, expensive, and outdated, and only the most expensive private schools had access. I also interviewed Harvard and MIT students on what got them to be where they are today and realized that a large component was having access to essential conversations and connections with mentors and parents. 

Jenny also detailed the inspiration behind her first deck, 52 Essential Conversations, which came from careful investigation into neuroscience and social affairs:

My findings are also aligned with neuroscience research from Harvard/MIT on the power of conversations. For the average Joe or Jenny, like me, we had limited access to social capital and resources like this. So, it inspired me to translate emotional intelligence research and social capital into affordable and relatable card games to help everyone reach their potential. In my research, I also saw a lack of representation and conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion in the emotional intelligence learning framework. For example, how could we practice self-awareness or social awareness if we didn’t discuss the role of race? Being socially aware is also understanding our privilege and past.

NAVIGATION THROUGH RACISM AND MISOGYNY 

Jenny’s journey was never met with only the appraisals but also the scathing criticism of her success as an Asian American. Her detractors claimed many misogynistic things upon her (“women like this die alone”) and called her a CCP spy, because it was never expected of a woman like her to achieve such success. However, it is the meaning of her work and the applauding reaction of her supporters that have kept her moving forward: 

User testimonials are why I do what I do. My card decks are being used in ways that I had never imagined – in veteran hospitals and curriculums, in Federally-funded programs that support homeless youth and displaced families, in trauma-informed social work to help neglected and abused kids and adults, for Ukraine teen refugees, in speech-language therapy to help clients build reading comprehension, in community college and adult learning ESL classes to help immigrants learn language and networking, in gifted and talented programs to help students build both critical thinking and empathy, in workplaces for teambuilding and mentorship, etc. I’ve done university research on the utility of the card decks and it’s amazing to see it benefiting people from all socioeconomic classes, from poverty to affluence. 

At the end of a school district workshop I delivered, the school counselor told me that the divorced parents who had been on toxic non-speaking terms were surprisingly communicating warmly to each other and their child by the end of my hands-on workshop using the card decks. It’s anecdotes like this that keep me going.

AI, GEN Z, AND MIND BRAIN EMOTION

When asked about how AI has transcended society, she brought up the concerns for mental health, fearing the permeating scarcity of personal connection:

I was interviewed on an emerging study on the impact of AI on the mental health of workers (not just in the US, but also in the Asia Pacific) between the ages of 25 – 55. It found that workers were lonelier and craved more social interaction. I love tech and AI, and I believe they have improved the quality of our lives tremendously. However, in the context of emotional intelligence, it’s making it harder for people to experience authentic and unfiltered IRL emotional connections and social interactions. Lately, I’ve been interviewed a lot on emotional intelligence topics like how to initiate a conversation with strangers, phubbing, and how to cope with social anxiety and ghosting. Although people are now much more aware of the importance of mental health, I’m afraid that many are left with little practice (or willingness) for human-to-human connection. 

However, there’s always a silver lining. With the growing acceptance to talk about mental health among younger generations, Jenny sees a glimmer of hope in her products. They have the potential to support young people in fostering greater openness and understanding surrounding mental health issues:

I have a few more decks in the works that support Gen Alpha, GenZers, and Millennials. My card deck topics were created based on user feedback on their needs. For example, I created the 52 Essential Coping Skills during the pandemic to support my college students’ mental health. Many of the cards stemmed from a course I had been teaching, where I created practical Zoom games and assignments to help my students cope with the situations they were confiding in me. My class was oversubscribed with a long waitlist, so I made my exercises into this card game to offer instant support.

I created the 52 Essential Critical Thinking Skills in response to Black Lives Matter and Asian Hate crimes to give younger generations the tools for activism and advocacy. Most recently, a national youth-centered activism nonprofit organization contacted me to discuss collaborative partnerships to support our younger generations. We want to provide concrete tools to help our youth go from civic-conscious to civic-committed while managing the mental health toll of the geopolitical issues. Lastly, reaching younger generations through social media and YouTube would be great. I would love to collaborate with influencers who care deeply about mental health!

Speaking about her vision for Mind Brain Emotion, she expressed her desire to expand Mind Brain Emotion globally, especially in APAC:

I’d love to connect with publishers and distributors to bring evidence-based emotional intelligence resources into those countries. I believe these resources will benefit both the younger and older generations.

CONNECT WITH JENNY WOO / MIND BRAIN EMOTION

Website: http://mindbrainemotion.com

Socials: 

• IG/FB: @mindbrainparenting and @mindbrainemotion
• YouTube: @mindbrainemotion
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyjcwoo/