STAFF

Ellen Somekawa
Executive Director
Ellen is a third generation Japanese American from Minneapolis. There she was an activist in the Asian American student movement, the anti-apartheid movement, the anti-nuclear movement, and the movement for indigenous land rights in the Black Hills. Over the past 20 years, Ellen has played many roles at AAU, including directing the summer youth program, serving on the board of directors, and working on campaigns as an active member. She worked on campaigns such as pushing the justice system to respond to a racially motivated murder; mobilizing community opposition to the closure of a library serving an Asian and African American neighborhood, halting the proposed stadium construction that threatened to close off the only side of Chinatown not already blocked off by corporate development, and most recently the campaign to create a public institution in Chinatown, our own school, the Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School. In 1996, Ellen became the Executive Director of Asian Americans United.

Judy Ha
Assistant Director
Judy Ha is our Summer and After School Program Director. She has four years of teaching as a Pennsylvania state certified teacher as well as years of experiencing working in after school, Saturday, and summer youth programs. In 2009, she helped to plan and coordinate AAU’s Paths to Leadership summer program for middle school students. As a college student Judy was also an intern in AAU’s 2000 Freedom School Program.

Xu Lin
Youth Organizer
Xu Lin has been on the staff of AAU since late 2010.  Xu has six years of experience as a community/youth organizer. Prior to becoming an organizer, Xu was involved in AAU as a high school student advocating against anti-Asian violence at Furness High and then continued his involvement working on issues ranging from workers rights to solidarity with the Apache Nation. Xu is fluent in Mandarin, Fuzhounese, and English. He uses his bilingual and bicultural skills to organize high school immigrant students to address concerns in the community.
 

top