2026 | Austin AAPI Professional Summit
Join us for the 4th annual Austin AAPI Professional Summit (AAPS), an event designed with community & action in mind.
📅 Friday, May 29th, 1:30 PM - 5 PM
📍 City of Austin Permitting & Development Center
Agenda:
1:30 pm - Check-in and networking
2:00 pm - Keynote Panel: Healing the past, building the present, designing for the future
Featured panelists include Judge Denise Hernandez, Lau Lau owner Hannah Foy, writer & therapist Sara Bawany, civil rights attorney Andrew Hairston and ACC Board of Trustees chair Sean Hassan.
3:00 pm - Workshop: Solidarity in the Age of AI (Amy Pandit & Minjae Lee)
4:00 pm - Workshop: Finding our Voice in a World that Tries to Silence Us (Saamiya Seraj, A Better Force)
Mentorship circles, interactive activities, and networking with non-profits available all throughout event! Workshops each have a cap of 30 attendees - first-come, first-served.
This Year's Intention
By 2025's event, we had almost 300 attendees show up and tell us what they actually wanted more of: conversations, relationships, & support. So this year, we decided to build the Summit around that, inspired by the Year of the Fire Horse.
In a climate where budgets are tightening and uncertainty is rising, the most valuable asset we have is community. We hope that AAPS 2026 allows you to meaningfully connect with the full ecosystem of Austin's AAPI professional community: mentors, community builders, nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and allies. Join us as we discover how we can best show up for each other.
What to Expect
🐎 The whole ecosystem, not just your industry bubble! AAPI professionals across corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurial Austin will be in one room, with programming designed to introduce you to each other.
🐎 Meaningful conversations: More participation and opportunities to connect. We will have different activities available based on your own networking style. For example: Not in the mood to chat much? We'll have a crafts table so you can take a break!
🐎 Being part of a growing community: AAPS is part of a sustained, multi-year effort to build lasting bridges between Austin's for-profit and nonprofit AAPI communities.
🐎 Bites & Refreshments: Small bites and drinks will be provided, so you can snack throughout the event! (These are all restaurant-donated small bites. 😊)
Built BY Community, FOR Community
AAPS is led by a team of individual volunteers and supported by organizations who believe in what we're building — including A Better Force, The Cultured Chefs, HDR's Central Texas API ENG, Dell Technologies' Asians in Action ERG, Applied Materials' Asians in Motion ERG, Insights4Equity, tphan.studio, Rao Coaching & Consulting, and Austin Optometry Group, with additional support from Linh Judin Solutions and the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (GAACC).
Our food & beverage donors: Lao’d Bar, KAPATAD Kitchen and Cafe, Red Dragon Bao, Bake Your Feels, Little Miss Sourdough, Central Matcha, Teaspoon, Loro, Junbi, Kopi Catfé, and De La Calle.
Our survey prize donors: Applied Materials, Happy Lemon @ the Linc, & Quality Seafood Market.
If you were there previous years: You helped build something real, and we are so grateful. Come back and bring someone who needs to be in the room. :)
If this is your first time: Welcome! You belong here: AAPI professionals, allies, and supporters are all encouraged to participate.
👉 RSVP now to secure your spot.
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