The reach of APALI’s Student Leadership Academy for Young Adults (SLAY) has expanded rapidly, building a powerful statewide infrastructure for Asian American and Pacific Islander college students.

• 2024 Launch: SLAY organized the inaugural NorCal AANHPI Student Leadership Conference, empowering 265 students across 16 community colleges. Participant leadership confidence surged from 60% to 86%. This October, De Anza College will host our 2026 annual conference and training.
• 2025 Expansion: Partnering with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), APALI recruited 50 college students to participate in the Thriving AANHPI Leadership Accelerator (TALA) fellowship. This two-year pilot champions economic mobility and holistic well-being for underrepresented AANHPI college students.
• 2026 Scaling: In a landmark partnership with the Foundation for California Community Colleges, SLAY expanded leadership development across 51 colleges. Following staff webinars in May, we are currently designing a new student leadership curriculum to launch in 2027.

The “model minority” myth masks the severe academic and financial barriers faced by immigrant, low-income, and first-generation AAPI students. APALI dismantles this invisibility. From San Francisco to San Jose and Sacramento, your investment equips overlooked students with the training and mentorship to achieve civic and career success.