About Senator Mazie K. Hirono (Hawaii):
Mazie K. Hirono was elected to the Senate in 2012, becoming Hawaii’s first female senator and the country’s first Asian-American woman senator. Throughout her career, Hirono has fought on behalf of Hawaii families and communities whose voices are not often heard in Congress, working to protect and build upon the progress generations of Americans have fought to secure.

In the Senate, Hirono is a leading champion for women’s rights and reproductive freedom, voting and civil rights, the Native Hawaiian community, sustainable communities, and early education. In 2021, Senator Hirono introduced the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, legislation signed into law to help communities combat the rise in anti-Asian hate and violence.

Hirono serves on the Committees on Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, the Judiciary, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Veterans’ Affairs. She is also Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, where she is leading the fight to modernize military infrastructure in Hawaii and across the country.

Born in Fukushima, Japan, Hirono was nearly eight years old when her mother brought her and her siblings to Hawaii to escape an abusive husband and seek a better life. Hirono served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 to 1994 and earned a reputation as an advocate for consumers and workers. After being elected as Hawaii’s lieutenant governor in 1994, Hirono led the creation of Hawaii’s Pre-Plus Program to expand access to quality, affordable early education. In 2006, voters in Hawaii’s second congressional district elected Hirono to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served three terms before being elected to the Senate.

About Senator Tammy Duckworth (Illinois):
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who was among the first handful of Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sen. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2014. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after representing Illinois’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms.

Sen. Duckworth serves on several influential committees that give her a vital platform to advocate for Illinois’s working families and entrepreneurs: the Armed Services Committee; the Environment & Public Works Committee; the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee; and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee. The first Senate bill she introduced—which supports Illinois jobs by helping prevent bureaucratic delays in infrastructure projects—became law in record time. As a result of her achievements, Sen. Duckworth was ranked as a "highly effective lawmaker" and as the most effective freshman Democratic Senator in the 115th Congress by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.

Speakers:
The Hon. Mazie K. Hirono, United States Senate, Hawaii
The Hon. Tammy Duckworth, United States Senate, Illinois
Irene Bueno, NVG. LLC.

About LLS:
The 2023 APAICS Legislative Leadership Summit brings together nonprofit and corporate leaders, subject matter experts, as well as local, state, and federal elected officials to discuss important issues that affect the Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AA & NH/PI) community and the nation at large. Past events focused on issues, policies, practices, and trends in the AA & NH/PI community in an environment that facilitates solution-oriented dialogue and building public service pipelines in communities of color.

Learn more at https://www.apaics.org/legislative-le...