Who we are

Asian American Midwest Progressives (AAMP) was founded in December 2018 to build political power with and for Asian Americans. Our mission is to build power through collective advocacy and electoral organizing to achieve racial equity. AAMP endorses progressive candidates, mobilizes Asian American voters, and holds elected officials accountable through issue-based campaigns. Currently, AAMP organizes in Illinois and Ohio.

  • Asian Americans have a stake in ending structural racism for all people of color. AAMP seeks to engage Asian Americans in building political power in solidarity with Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities and movements.

  • AAMP roots its work in 5 core values: Love, Interdependence, Tenacity, Audacity, and Impact.

  • We advocate for policy change and hold decision-makers accountable. We develop grassroots leaders to take action and build power. We endorse and support progressive candidates for elected office. And we mobilize Asian American voters through targeted field plans.

  • Our associated 501(c)(3) organization is Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago.

Our Impact

  • In Chicago, we organized 206 voter contact shifts for our endorsed candidates, made more than 15,000 calls to Asian American voters for Brandon Johnson for Mayor, knocked on over 7,000 doors, and mobilized 51 unique volunteers. We targeted Asian American-dense wards for canvassing, called Asian American voters citywide, and made in-language calls to voters in Cantonese, Hindi, Mandarin, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

    General election endorsements: Denali Dasgupta for 39th Ward Alderperson, Ald. Andre Vasquez for 40th Ward Alderperson, Angela Clay for 46th Ward Alderperson, Ald. Matt Martin for 47th Ward Alderperson, Nick Ward for 48th Ward Alderperson, Mueze Bawany for 50th Ward Alderperson (rescinded).

    Runoff election endorsements: Brandon Johnson for Mayor, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth for 48th Ward Alderwoman

  • In 2022, every single AAMP IL-endorsed candidate won their election, and many made history. Nabeela Syed became the first Muslim woman in the Illinois state legislature. She also flipped state house district 51, which had been drawn to favor Republicans in the 2021 redistricting process. Hoan Huynh became the first Vietnamese American in the Illinois state legislature. Josina Morita became the first Asian American woman on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

    Illinois Primary Election Endorsements: Ram Villivalam for state senator (8th district), Hoan Huynh for state representative (13th district), Theresa Mah for state representative (24th district), Nabeela Syed for state representative (51st district), Josina Morita for Cook County Board of Commissioners (13th district).

    AAMP Ohio launched in 2022 and endorsed Morgan Harper for U.S. Senate in the 2022 Ohio Primary Election. AAMP Ohio played a pivotal role in pushing back against the xenophobic, anti-China, and pro-Trump rhetoric that showed up in that race by amplifying the voices of AAPI Ohioans through traditional and digital media. AAMP Ohio continues to organize AAPIs and mobilize voters across the state with the goal of building AAPI political power and supporting progressive candidates and issues in Ohio.

  • In 2020, AAMP Illinois reached over 5,700 voters and held almost 600 conversations for our endorsed candidates in the Illinois primary election. We hosted almost 90 volunteer shifts.

    Primary election endorsements: Marie Newman for Congress (IL-03), Thersa Mah for state representative (2nd district), Kevin Olickal for state representative (16th district), Halle Quezada for 50th Ward Committeeperson.

    For the general election, we made over 285,000 calls and texts in support of the Fair Tax, a statewide referendum to create a graduated income tax. We had more than 4,000 conversations — nearly half of which were in-language conversations in Cantonese, Hindi, Mandarin, Marathi, Punjabi, and Urdu — and received 60% support from voters we engaged.

  • 2019 was AAMP’s first election cycle. In Chicago, we mobilized over 115 volunteers, reached over 6,000 voters and had over 700 conversations in 3 languages.

    General election endorsements: Marianne Lalonde for 46th Ward Alderman

    Runoff election endorsements: Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez for 33rd Ward Alderman, Andre Vasquez for 40th Ward Alderman, Matt Martin for 47th Ward Alderman, Ameya Pawar for City Treasurer, and Toni Preckwinkle for Mayor

Our Team

  • Grace Pai

    Co-founder & Executive Director

  • May Tiwamangkala

    Organizing Director

  • Andrea Chu

    Midwest Organizing Director

  • Christian Taylor

    Director of Advocacy & Government Affairs

  • Nidhi Shastri

    Chicago Organizer

  • Sarah Tomas-Lemna

    Midwest Organizer

  • Sharon Kim

    Ohio Lead