PRESS RELEASE
AAPCHO Mourns the Passing of Norman Y. Mineta
May 4, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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WASHINGTON—The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) today released the following statement on the recent passing of former Secretary Norman Y. Mineta.
Jeffrey B. Caballero, executive director of AAPCHO, said:
“Secretary Mineta was a stalwart leader who was pivotal to organizing and leveraging Asian American (AA), Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (NH/PI) policymakers and communities across the nation. Norm exemplified the best qualities of public service and worked throughout his career to strengthen AA and NH/PI serving organizations and cultivate the next generation of AA and NH/PI leaders.
“During his time in Congress, Norm was a champion for community health centers and supported AAPCHO’s founding members to ensure that community health centers were in and served all communities of color. As the first AA Cabinet Secretary who served in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, Norm paved the way for greater AA and NH/PI representation across government.
“Norm leaves behind an incredible legacy and his friendship will be deeply missed. AAPCHO and our member community health centers extend our deepest sympathies to Norm’s wife Deni, his children David, Stuart, Bob and Mark, and his family and friends. His leadership and lasting contributions to our communities will continue to inspire all to extend a hand to those most in need.”
During his political career, Norman Mineta served on the San Jose City Council, was the first AA big-city mayor, was a 10-term Congressman from California, and became the first AA Cabinet Secretary, serving as Commerce Secretary for President Clinton and Transportation Secretary for President Bush. In the 1980 and 1990s, Mineta was an advocate for addressing the barriers associated with AA and NH/PI data and language access and supporting medically underserved AA and NH/PI communities who were often unrecognized. Mineta was the founding Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) worked to create the first White House Initiative for AAPIs during the Clinton administration. He was the first chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs in 2009. Norman Mineta’s leadership was vital to organizing and leveraging our AA and NH/PI federal policymakers and communities nationwide.
About AAPCHO
AAPCHO is a national association of community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States, the U.S. territories, and Freely Associated States. For more information on AAPCHO, please visit www.aapcho.org.
Contact
Kristine Cecile Alarcon, MPH, (510) 671-5054, kalarcon@aapcho.org