We sat down with New Breath Foundation’s Program Manager, Mari Yamagiwa, to reflect on their past four years with the organization. Mari shared what first inspired her path into movement work, how she supports grantee partners across multiple levels, and the importance of care and creativity in sustaining this work. Mari is based in Chicago,…
In March, Kites to Southeast Asia (SEA) traveled to Cambodia to visit with deported community members and their families to hold resource fairs and social events. Kanley Souet-Pich, Program Manager at the Center for Empowering Refugees & Immigrants (CERI), and her husband participated in this year’s trip. In this reflection, Kanley, shares her family’s journey…
This Women’s History Month, we spoke with Chhaya Chhoum (she/her), Executive Director of the Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN), about her three decades of community organizing. Read on as she shares her experiences and reflections as a woman of color in leadership. SEAFN was founded in response to the 2002 U.S.-Cambodia Repatriation Agreement, which created…
Maya Iwata, Director of Strategic Partnerships at New Breath Foundation, reflects on her trip last Fall to Hawai’i to learn about systemic drivers behind the incarceration of Native Hawaiians. As we celebrate Black History Month and welcome the Lunar New Year in February, I reflect on New Breath Foundation’s commitment to cross-racial and cross-cultural solidarity.…
Eddy Zheng, president and founder of New Breath Foundation, shares his thoughts on hope and offers strengthening reminders for the year ahead. 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. wars in Vietnam. This year is especially important to us as an organization that supports Southeast Asian organizations working on the frontlines to address the…
Last month, we announced our 2024 We Got Us Fund grantees. As we wind down grantmaking season, we met with New Breath Foundation’s Director of Programs, Claudia Leung, to learn more about how her background in the arts led her to philanthropy, what makes NBF’s programming unique, and what she’s looking forward to with NBF…
Eddy Zheng, president and founder of New Breath Foundation (NBF), shares insights on the organization’s exciting plans for the next three years. Eddy reflects on NBF’s journey and discusses New Breath’s newly developed strategic framework that looks ahead at NBF’s future steps. Part 1: Creating a Seat at the Table: New Breath Foundation’s Birth and…
New Breath Foundation worked with Frontline Solutions to develop a strategic framework for 2025-2028. Read about what we’ll be focusing on over the next several years. Previous Next View and Download the PDF Version Here
At New Breath Foundation, we are committed to supporting people directly impacted by deportation and incarceration, ensuring they know they are not forgotten, and sharing a platform for their voices to be heard. Since the mid-1990s, over 16,000 Southeast Asian refugees have been deported under the Clinton-era Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA),…
This month, we had the privilege of sitting down with Alina Fa’aola, the founder and executive director of the Oakland Pacific Islander Network (OPIN). OPIN is dedicated to creating confident, high-impact Pacific Islander Leaders in every career path and industry and empowering Pacific Islander (PI) youth to thrive in every aspect of their lives. Alina…