Lisa: Glad to be with you, Spiffy! The Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) was created to ensure that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) artists and arts organizations have the same opportunities to practice their craft and enjoy a successful career as everyone else in the arts. AAPI artists are often marginalized or typecast in unflattering roles and not given the same chances as others to demonstrate their talents. A4 seeks to change that by creating a supportive network for artists and arts organizations, and by offering trainings, workshops, fellowships, and more to help them succeed.
Ayushi: Glad to be with you, Spiffy! I’ll start by noting that my sister Astha and I have spent the last 15 months sharing Wi-Fi and the past 18 years sharing our clothes. Like many other earthlings, we have loved wearing—and, in our particular case, sharing and designing—leggings during the pandemic-imposed work-from-home (WFH) period. Luckily, wearing comfortable yet stylish clothes is here to stay, and we're all about this new normal. However, there's a problem: contributions from people of South Asian roots are missing from the athleisure industry! Astha and I identified a need for unique and fashionable prints. So, we founded Yustha Yoga, which designs South Asian-inspired athleisure. We are committed to bringing prints that women in our family have worn for generations to the world of athleisure, paying homage to yoga’s roots.
Fabrice: We are working to ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people are better represented on US corporate boards. A board of directors is a group of people appointed as the representatives of a company's shareholders so they can make decisions on their behalf. Our association currently estimates that LGBTQ+ people only occupy 0.6% of board seats in Fortune 500 companies, while LGBTQ+ people are much more numerous than that. Depending on the estimates, the LGBTQ+ population represents 5.7% to 7% of society. In 2022, this disparity has to change, and this is what we are working on solving together.
