2016 marks the final year of an administration that has been touted as the most diverse in American history, according to a UC Berkeley study reported on by the Washington Post.
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, NBC Asian America spoke with 50 of the many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in President Barack Obama's administration, who served in capacities from the Department of Homeland Security to the National Endowment of the Arts.
Click on the names below to read about each member:
Albert Shen, National Deputy Director, Minority Business Development Agency
Alissa Ko, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs
Camille Calimlim Touton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, Department of the Interior
Chris Lu, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
Daleep Singh, Acting Assistant Secretary of Treasury, U.S. Department of the Treasury
David S. Kim, Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation
David W. Yang, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict & Humanitarian Assistance; USAID
DJ Patil, U.S. Chief Data Scientist, U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy
Doua Thor, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Department of Education
Eduardo Alfonso Angeles, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Associate Administrator for Airports
Eric Nguyen, Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel, Office of the White House Counsel
Erika Lizabeth Moritsugu, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Esther Kia’aina, Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas, U.S. Department of the Interior
Gaurab Bansal, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Cabinet Secretary, White House
Harriet Tregoning, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Heather Fong, Assistant Secretary, Office for State and Local Law Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Jane Chu, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Janet Nuzum, Senior Advisor and Director of Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Jasjit Singh, Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice
Jennifer Park Stout, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
Jenny R. Yang, Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Jetta Wong, Director, Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT)
Juliet Choi, Chief of Staff, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Karen K. Narasaki, Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Kiran Ahuja, Chief of Staff, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Susumu Ken Yamashita, Associate Director, Office of Global Operations, Peace Corps
Maju Varghese, Assistant to the President for Management and Administration, White House
Manar Waheed, Deputy Policy Director for Immigration, White House Domestic Policy Council
Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator, USEPA Office of Land and Emergency Management
Michael Brush, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance and Operations, White House
Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce
Mina Hsiang, Healthcare Director, U.S. Digital Service, White House
Nani Coloretti, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Omar Daniel Khan, Assistant U.S Trade Representative, Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement
Parita Shah, Chief of Staff, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Paul Monteiro, Director, Community Relations Service, U.S. Department of Justice
Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor
Priya Aiyar, Acting General Counsel, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Rakesh Kilaru, Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel, Office of the White House Counsel
Rishi Sahgal, Counselor, U.S. Department of Energy
Rohan Patel, Special Assistant to the President, White House
Ruchi Jain, Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel, White House
Stacy Koo, Special Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for Presidential Personnel, White House
Tarak Shah, Chief of Staff, Department of Energy’s Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Energy
Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President, Chief of Staff to the First Lady, and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls
Dr. Tung Thanh Nguyen, Chair, President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, U.S. Department of Education
Vinai K. Thummalapally, Executive Director of SelectUSA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Vanita Gupta, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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