Asian Affairs Commission Meeting - April 7, 2026
Asian Affairs Commission Meeting - April 7, 2026
The Asian Affairs Commission (AAC) held its April meeting on 2026-04-07 at 18:15 UTC. The meeting featured a presentation from the Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic and Latinx Affairs Commission, updates on commission finances, leadership transitions, a new leadership roundtable initiative, and planning for upcoming events.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the March 2026 meeting via a motion and second, with all in favor.
Discussion Items
- Fourth Amendment Worksites Playbook Presentation: Jackie Gonzalez, Chair of the Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic and Latinx Affairs Commission, presented a newly created employer-friendly handbook designed to guide businesses on legal practices around unconstitutional search and seizure. The playbook, developed in partnership with Systema NC, includes: (1) management discussion questions, (2) a management checklist for physical environment changes (e.g., posting private space signs), and (3) an employee-facing “what to do if” checklist for encounters with federal agents. The playbook is available in Spanish, with conversations underway to translate it into additional languages. Distribution has focused on community organizations and the Hispanic Chamber, with plans for hard copies. Gonzalez noted that while some businesses expressed skepticism about the playbook's effectiveness, the commission hopes it empowers communities amidst ongoing fear of immigration enforcement. Commissioners asked about the current climate, legal resources (e.g., ACLU), and the importance of language accessibility.
- TCF Funds Update: The commission reported a current TCF (Tulsa Community Foundation) balance of $10,433.26 after settling a previous year’s invoice.
- Leadership Election Process: The chair read a report from Commissioner Pottysaw, outlining that a slate of candidates for all leadership positions (chair, vice chair, committee chairs) will be presented at the May 2026 meeting. Commissioners were asked to express interest in serving on the nominating committee and to send nominations by email. Chair and vice chair terms are two years; other chair positions are one year. The goal is to have a slate ready by May.
- Asian Leadership Roundtable Initiative: Commissioner Cecilia reported that applications were sent out, 16 people applied, 13 were accepted, and 11 have confirmed participation. The first virtual pre-roundtable onboarding meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. The roundtable will focus on health, civic engagement, and advocacy. Cecilia requested additional commissioner support (2-3 hours/week) for one-on-one meetings with participants to build trust. The initiative is seen as a pilot for future community engagement.
- Tabling and Community Outreach: Cecilia also reported on a recent tabling event at the Global Gatherings event at The Gathering Place, which saw approximately 10,000 attendees. The commission’s “Japanese Know Your Rights” cards were all distributed within 2-3 hours. 14 people joined the listserv. Upcoming tabling: Friday, April 10, 2026, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Union Public Schools’ Cultural Showcase Night (in partnership with the Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission). Volunteers are needed.
- Workforce and Education Committee: Commissioner Massoud reported that a sponsorship letter is ready to send, with a finalized scholarship structure (reduced from four to two scholarships). A link for donations to the TCF account is being set up. The committee also noted that November 10, 2026, was selected as the date for the mayor’s availability for an event; the venue (fourth floor) has been requested, and parking logistics are being coordinated.
- Data and Research: Commissioner Pottysaw (via report) shared that a community member (Bobby Lee from Tulsa Public Schools) has created a dashboard using Tulsa County Census data to show where different Asian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups are concentrated. The data is available to support other commission planning.
- Volunteer Appreciation Event: Commissioner Sophia presented plans for a reception at American Solera in the Kendall Whittier area to thank volunteers from this year’s Lunar New Year event. The event will include framed certificates and drink tickets. Commissioners were asked to indicate availability on a circulated sheet (dates from April 20 to early May 2026). The event cost is estimated at $200-300, with individual contributions of $25 proposed; some commissioners offered to help cover expenses.
- Old/New Business – Demographic Change and Seat Opening: A Commissioner noted that the top three Asian populations in Tulsa have shifted: the Indian community is now the third largest (surpassing Vietnamese). Consequently, the commission will open a new seat for an Indian community leader as a “community leadership chair.” Commissioners were asked to recruit interested candidates. The seat will be formally opened in the coming weeks, but applications can be submitted anytime.
- Business Recognition Certificates: Commissioner Massoud raised the idea of creating an official recognition certificate from the commission to honor community businesses and events (e.g., the 20th anniversary of Jerusalem Market). The goal is to build relationships with businesses, potentially leading to a future Asian Chamber of Commerce. An attorney on the board will help draft language.
- Strategic Planning Discussion: A newer commissioner asked about formal strategic planning. The chair explained that the commission has focused on qualitative goals (leadership, events, scholarships) and suggested that the next chair develop data-driven KPIs. No formal strategic plan exists yet.
- AAPI Heritage Month Declaration: A commissioner reminded the group that May is AAPI Heritage Month; the chair is working on a declaration from Mayor Nichols.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved unanimously.
- Playbook presented as a resource for businesses; the commission expressed appreciation and support.
- Leadership election process set: nominations due before May meeting; a slate will be presented in May.
- Roundtable initiative: 11 participants confirmed; first meeting April 29, 2026; additional commissioner support sought.
- Upcoming tabling: April 10, 2026 at Union Public Schools (7:00-9:00 p.m.); volunteer confirmed.
- Scholarship sponsorship letter ready; donation link pending.
- Indian community leadership seat to be opened; applications accepted now.
- Business recognition certificate concept approved; language development to follow.
- Volunteer appreciation event date to be determined based on availability; costs to be covered by commission contributions.
- Meeting adjourned via motion.
Meeting Transcript
So we are live. Thank you. I am calling our April meeting to order. Quickly, who has not had an opportunity to look at last month's case? But let's email. Okay, let's just spend the next couple of minutes to gloss three because Jackie's here and we want to make sure she has plenty of time to present. So two minutes. Okay, I move that we approve March's minutes. Do I have a second motion? Do I have to entertain yes? We have a motion to approve April's excuse me, March's minutes. Yes. Thank you. All in favor? Great. So up next is the Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic and Latinx Affairs Commissioner, Jackie Gonzalez, to talk about our Fourth Amendment Worksites playbook. Thank you, Jackie, for coming and offering disputes. This came from our thank you for having me. So I'm the current chair for the Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission. And over the last six months or so, we've been working on this document that we're calling a playbook. I think there are a couple of those sprinkled around. We also have a QR on this, so if you want a digital version, it'll show up as well. But basically, this is a resource that we have recently created, recently kind of approved as a commission, and so I just want to talk a little bit about it and our goals and make it visible to your commission as I think it benefits a lot of people. Okay. So what we did is we put together an employer-friendly handbook to offer guidance that you introduce and the risk of legal practices around unconstitutional search and seizure. Just to take a little step back, our commission has often been inspired by other commissions, and most recently the women's commission, um, because they had a research project and they did, you know, they chose a topic, they dug deep, and so at the time, um about a year ago, maybe two years ago, uh, we started developing our own research project for trying to figure out what our research project was, and we landed on looking at better understanding IDs and how our community, what are barriers to access, what are the impacts of ID possession and non-possession, um, and the effectiveness of support programs of how young people or young people, adults, whoever are getting IDs and what happens when they don't have an ID, and that ranged from giving birth to um getting groceries, and you know, we were seeing various impacts, and so we were starting to do that, we were starting to have a survey, but at the time, you know, the definite like political climate was changing, and we kind of decided we need to be responsive now. Um, this ID stuff is interesting and important, but we really need to have like something. People are coming to us looking for answers. It's been a very precarious time for our community, and so we've been trying to think about how can we be responsive like right away, and so this is part of what we're trying to do in this work, and so um the source of inspiration. So we all have a lot of identities. One of mine led me to being a fellow with the James Beard Foundation, and I was able to go to a conference in Asheville about a year ago called the Chef Policy Action Summit, where I learned about food sustainability and a lot of other things around politics in the world of food. And in that, there was a presentation by an organization called Systema North Carolina. I know that we have a Tulsa chapter, but the North Carolina one was introducing this initiative called Fourth Amendment Worksit. So Fourth Amendment Worksite is really the inspiration, really the bulk of where this partnership comes from. And that is a website that is focused on educating community members and businesses, specifically restaurants in this case, in understanding their rights. And there's talking points, there's ways to help, you know, educate businesses. There's free trainings, they're live trainings, things like that. And so we figured this is an opportunity where an organization is already doing really good work. Let's join forces and create this because our community, our community can still benefit from these trainings. So I'll take a real quick pause. If you want the downloaded, it's also on the back, I think. If everyone has the playbook, so two hours on the back, but we know that there. Yeah, that's okay. I'm often put on the spot. But I appreciate the kindness. Um really just, and you know, you all have done this as well with like the op-ed that was submitted in like after the Tulsa Asia Fest, instead of you know, Chairwoman Gilpin just kind of going off on her own and um submitting an op-ed as an individual person to the Tulsa World or other media outlets. You all voted on the language of that op-ed as a group, and then it was able to be presented as something on behalf of the entire commission. Kind of same thing. Um, you know, being able to have this uh playbook be something that the whole commission came to consensus on and said, yes, we want to share this resource with the community as an official product of the commission, and so we're going to formally vote like yes, you know, this is something that we're wanting to put the full weight of the commission behind. Okay, yeah.
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