A Samoan doctor is among 23 members appointed by the White House to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI).
The commission will offer President Biden counsel on ways to advance equity and opportunity for the target communities.
Dr Raynald Samoa is Assistant Professor, Department of Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism at City of Hope, Cancer Research Center in Los Angeles.
He is believed to be the only endocrinologist of Pacific Islander descent on the U.S. continent. He was clinical lead of the Pacific Islander Covid-19 Response Team that raised awareness about the disproportionately high number of Covid deaths among Pacific Islanders in California and helped design a Covid response plan for the PI population.
Aside from advising the U.S. president on how the public, private and non-profit sectors can work together to improve opportunities for AANHPI communities, the commission will also offer counsel on combating anti-Asian hate and capacity-building to those facing intersectional barriers.
Last week, Biden launched the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, which will focus on coordinating a comprehensive federal response to the spike in anti-Asian hate, addressing the lack of disaggregated data on AA and NHPI communities, and expanding language access for AA and NHPI individuals across federal programs, among other tasks.
The commission will also advise ways on federal grantmaking and policies to address barriers faced by those at cross sections.
Priority will be given to AANHPI women, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.
