Warm Welcome to Cát-Vi (and Queen Kona)!

 API Legal Outreach Executive Assistant Cát-Vi

Say hello to Cát-Vi, who recently joined us as an Executive Assistant to our Executive Director! Born and raised in San Jose, this UC Berkeley grad majored in Ethnic Studies and minored in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies. We took a few minutes to hear from Cát-Vi in their own words.

What excites you about working with APILO and the communities we serve?

A lot of my childhood consisted of translating documents and phone calls for my grandparents who only spoke Vietnamese. When I moved for college, I thought about who would help them if they were alone. I wasn’t there anymore to prevent them from getting phone calls that scammed them out of their money. I then thought about how misunderstood and neglected elderly people in our communities were. When my grandma started showing signs of Alzheimer’s, her doctor would not diagnose her, because “she’s just at that age.” Along with other mistreatment fueled by Western ignorance, I wanted to be a part of something that has our community’s best interests, no matter what their circumstances are.

API Legal Outreach’s mission to provide culturally competent services and advocate for low-income, elderly, immigrants, the youth, and people affected by domestic violence and/or trafficking aligned perfectly with my life’s mission. I was raised by people who left everything they knew for a better life, and I want others like them to live this new life feeling cared for. I’m excited to be able to assist the Executive Director of API Legal Outreach in advocating for the rights and rightful treatment of marginalized communities. It is truly inspiring and an honor to be able to work with and learn from hard-working and experienced staff and attorneys.

What expertise and interests do you bring to the organization?

As a queer/non-binary and neurodivergent second generation Vietnamese-American, my lived experiences only propelled my interests in diversifying the spaces around me and amplifying the voices of underserved and underrepresented communities. Before starting at APILO, I had my fair share of working customer service and capital-centric jobs. Combining those experiences from the food/service industry, the joy I get from organizing anything, and the impact from my team (Syndicate Dance), my love for order and efficiency helped me become the professional I am today. I am proud to be using these skills in a space where I can work with others to make a positive impact.

What are your passions beyond work?

Beyond work, you can find me in very few other spaces. I am an introvert and a homebody, but if I’m not on my couch, I am with my second family/dance team (Syndicate Dance), cooking an unnecessarily complex meal, or serving my one-eyed senior Maltipoo queen, Kona. 🙂 I am also a beverage “girly,” so you can find me being a grocery goblin with my long-time partner. While I’ve watched New Girl about 27 times now, I prefer Kdramas and Kpop (my ult group is SEVENTEEN).

FREE PALESTINE. FREE SUDAN. FREE THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. FREE ALL OCCUPIED SPACES. LIBERATION FOR ALL.

It’s great to have you onboard, Cát-Vi! We just might have to change our in-office dog policy…

Queen Kona