President’s Message

As the largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit representing the AANHPI medical community, APAMSA unites healthcare professionals at every career stage—from pre-medical students to seasoned attending physicians—in our shared mission to transform AANHPI health outcomes. For over 30 years, we’ve served as a national leader in health equity through advocacy, philanthropy, leadership, and professional development. What started as an Internet message forum has grown into a powerful network of 180+ chapters nationwide, advancing our work from local communities to national platforms.

By mobilizing medical students, physicians, and community partners, we’re building a future where every AANHPI individual has access to culturally competent care, life-saving treatments, and equitable health opportunities. Through initiatives like bone marrow registration, hepatitis and cancer screening, mental health advocacy, and community outreach, we address disparities with data-driven action. Furthermore, now more than ever, we are deepening our commitment to inclusivity with dedicated committees and programs that uplift the unique needs of all AANHPI subgroups. This is more than medicine; this is justice in action—and we’re just getting started.

Join us in fulfilling our 2025-26 National Goals, which we call the year of “RICE”:

• Recognition & Reverence – Honoring our past, securing our future.

We are committed to ensuring APAMSA’s sustainability for the next 30 years and beyond—through strategic sponsorships, fundraising, and the unwavering support of our community. By deepening engagement with our alumni, we will foster lifelong connections, ensuring APAMSA remains a pillar of support at every stage of a healthcare professional’s journey.

• Invigoration & Initiative – Building pathways for impact.

We will pioneer research opportunities to advance AANHPI health, revitalize our pre-med mentorship program, and launch a robust alumni-mentorship initiative to keep our leaders invested in APAMSA’s mission. Additionally, from local health fairs and cancer and health screenings, to the launching of our inaugural National APAMSA Hepatitis & Health Equities Conference 2025, we will amplify awareness of the disparities facing our communities and drive actionable change.

• Cultivation & Commitment – From advocacy to action.

We will empower our members with the resources, networks, and platforms to transform health equity principles into actionable policy and political impact—through tangible measures such as improving upon our advocacy toolkit and providing more funding for advocacy-based programming. Additionally, by forging stronger alliances with organizations like the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), the Council of Young Filipinx Americans in Medicine (CYFAM), the Medical Student Pride Alliance (MSPA), the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), we will unite the broader medical community in solidarity. Through targeted professional development and leadership opportunities, we will ensure APAMSA champions intersectionality and elevates historically marginalized voices within the AANHPI community.

• Expansion & Evolution – Growing stronger, reaching further.

We will refine APAMSA’s brand as a beacon of hope and unity—from our local chapters to the National Board—ensuring every AANHPI medical student and pre-med feels seen and supported. By expanding our membership through new chapters, scholarships, and travel grants, we will break barriers and create a more inclusive, empowered future for our community.

Now, I would like to personally invite you to join our mission by becoming a member of APAMSA today. If you would like to stay connected with our organization, please consider following our Facebook, Twitter/X, Tiktok, Youtube, and Instagram, or signing up for our newsletter to stay in the loop for all things APAMSA—from scholarship opportunities, professional development workshops, and all other upcoming events. We look forward to you joining the APAMSA family and standing together in solidarity as we aim for true health equity. 

“Sometimes we can offer a cure, sometimes only a salve, sometimes not even that. But whatever we can offer, our interventions, and the risks and sacrifices they entail, are justified only if they serve the larger aims of a person’s life.” – Atul Gawande, MD, MPH

Yours Truly,

As the largest, official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the unique health challenges of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities, we are driven by a mission to enact meaningful change. Since our inception in 1995, APAMSA has been pivotal in combating health disparities through robust leadership, mentorship, advocacy, research, and service. With over 170 chapters spanning nine regions, we are strategically positioned to impact the AANHPI communities directly, delivering critical services and fostering health equity where it is most needed.

APAMSA has intensified its focus on preventative health measures by championing hepatitis, cancer, and mental health education. Our local chapters have been instrumental in enacting change on the ground by organizing health fairs, advocating for policy changes, expanding research participation, and educating the public about health disparities. We have strengthened our commitment to inclusivity by leading committees and initiatives that serve diverse subgroups within our community. Through civic engagement and professional development initiatives, we are amplifying AANHPI voices and preparing a new generation of healthcare leaders.

Join us in fulfilling our 2024 National Goals:

1. Expanding Educational Initiatives: Educating both patients and healthcare providers on the unique health challenges and disparities AANHPI communities face.
2. Spearheading Diversity: Strengthening our commitment to inclusivity by advocating for diverse subgroups within the AANHPI community, and creating more opportunities for traditionally marginalized groups.
3. Promoting AANHPI-Centered Research: Creating opportunities for students to learn from researchers who conduct AANHPI-centered research, identify and address specific health and professional challenges that AANHPI communities face, and disseminate this research at national and regional conferences.
4. Strengthen Mentorship Programs: Guiding the next generation of healthcare leaders by matching mentees with mentors who share similar experiences.
5. Grow Our Alumni and Membership Base: Bridging connections between local and national APAMSA through joint initiatives, events, and socials.
6. Enhance Partnerships: Strengthen our partnership with allied organizations and creating more opportunities for inter-organizational collaboration.

We invite you to join us in our mission by becoming a member of APAMSA HERE and following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay connected with us. Stand with APAMSA and become a catalyst for health equity. Let’s ensure that every member of the AANHPI community has access to the quality, culturally-sensitive healthcare they deserve. Together, we can create lasting change!

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King

Yours sincerely,

Founded in 1995, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association is the largest, official 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization of healthcare students committed to addressing the unique health challenges of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities through leadership, mentorship, advocacy, education, and service. Our organization focuses on AANHPI health disparities, cultural barriers to healthcare, advocacy, diversity and intersectionality, community outreach, Hepatitis B/C and cancer initiatives, bone marrow registry, and mental health wellness.

Over the past few years, the AANHPI communities have encountered extreme adversity in the wake of two pandemics: COVID-19 and anti-Asian racism. Instead of shying away from the challenges, APAMSA and our AANHPI communities have risen to the opportunity and flocked together to overcome the challenges that have been imposed on us. We have grown our strength in numbers–now encompassing over 165 local chapters and 10,000 members–by officializing membership and expanding our reach to both pre-medical chapters and alumni. Resultantly, we saw an expansion in the incredible efforts of our local chapters and members advocating and caring for AANHPI communities with a countless number of health fairs, volunteer services, and educational conferences.

As APAMSA continues to grow, our organization remains motivated to improve the health and well-being of AANHPI communities locally, regionally, and nationally.

Join us in fulfilling our 2023-2024 National Goals:

• • Activate additional pre-medical/pre-health chapters and medical chapters, recruit more alumni members, and strengthen existing relationships
  • Advocate for the health and well-being of our AANHPI communities, especially for those among our most vulnerable and marginalized populations 

• Connect members locally, regionally, and nationally through numerous conferences (Annual National Conference, 8-9 Regional Conferences, Hepatitis Conferences), in-person and virtual socials, and events

• Educate the general public and healthcare professionals about specific health challenges and disparities that exist in AANHPI communities

• • Encourage more underrepresented minorities in AANHPI communities to pursue healthcare professions, especially as physicians, through active engagement, recruitment, and support

• Prioritize diversity, inclusion, equity, and intersectionality efforts at local chapters and on national board 

• Promote AANHPI-centered medical and public health research with disaggregated data of AANHPI subgroups 

• Recruit members to pursue leadership opportunities with APAMSA locally and nationally 

• Support local chapters, members, peer organizations, and sponsors in community engagement, advocacy, and educational efforts

Join APAMSA HERE and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay connected with us. Sign up to join your local chapter leadership, activate a new pre-med/health or medical chapter, connect with APAMSA mentors, advocate for your local AANHPI communities, and more. Every individual has the power to pursue leadership opportunities and make a tangible difference in your local AANHPI communities. At APAMSA, with our members’ and allies’ unwavering support, we continue to march toward a better tomorrow.

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard