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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission October Meeting – October 6, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 6, 2026

BodyTulsa, Oklahoma

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, October 6, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:30:00

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:49

We are live.

Speaker 2

0:51

Incredible.

0:52

Welcome everyone to our October meeting of the Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission.

0:59

For our first order of business today, we are going to review our September meeting minutes to approve

Unassigned speaker

1:06

them.

Speaker 2

2:02

Entertaining a motion to approve the minutes.

Speaker 3

2:16

And so does that need to be edited or

Speaker 1

2:19

at the time of the meeting, it was September 30th.

2:23

So

Unassigned speaker

2:24

for

Speaker 1

2:25

the minutes to be an accurate reflection of what happened in the meeting, I think I'm gonna need to keep it.

2:30

Gotcha.

2:30

But we will certainly discuss in this meeting about how that deadline has changed.

2:34

Yeah, good question.

Speaker 4

2:40

Just in case some of you may have forgotten I reserve the right to second them.

2:46

Okay,

Speaker 3

2:47

okay.

2:47

I hear you.

Speaker 2

2:53

All in favor?

2:54

Aye.

2:56

All right.

2:56

September meeting minutes pass.

2:59

And for the chair report, I'll keep it short and sweet because we have an exciting conversation today.

3:04

But if you didn't know, in September, the Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission voted to approve a focus on small business supporting our Asian business donors as our focus for the 2026 and 2027 year.

3:18

We are very excited for that.

3:19

And we'll be spending the bulk of our conversation today talking about that and how we're going to orient our work this year toward that goal.

3:37

Today we have Onighiri from Natsukashi, uh, owned in part by an Asian business owner downtown.

3:45

So excited to always support small businesses with the snacks.

3:49

Very important to me personally.

Speaker 3

4:05

Umigiries are essentially a rice ball with a filling in it and then wrapped in seaweed, and so feel free to grab um is available to anyone.

Speaker 2

4:15

And we are accepting a November sign up for bringing the snack to the meeting.

4:20

So let me know, commissioners, if you'd like to be next.

4:23

But with that, I'm really excited to bring up our guest speaker today for context.

4:27

The data that we use to decide on our focus area for 2026-2027.

4:32

It's from the Tulsa Equality Indicators.

4:34

So we're excited to have the team at United Way.

4:37

Could we welcome our new member here by chance?

4:41

I'm sorry, welcome our new commissioner.

4:43

Um, I was gonna do that in new business, but we can do it right now.

4:48

I didn't need a jump forward.

4:49

That's okay.

4:50

Um we do have a new commissioner here today.

Speaker 5

4:56

Sure.

4:57

Um, my name is Annie Chang.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

Um my parents are from Taiwan.

Speaker 5

5:01

Um gosh, I didn't have anything prepared.

5:05

I work for a an organization called Tulsa Storytelling Lab.

5:08

I'm getting flushed already.

5:11

Um so my friend and I founded this initiative.

5:14

Um we work closely with organizations like Visit Tulsa, Experience Tulsa, Gathering Place, Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, and our work is essentially to tell the story of Tulsa through social media channels, um, just kind of meeting people where they are, ideally to Tulsons first, so they get some city that they live in, and then eventually to everyone around the board.

5:38

Um, so it's great to be here.

5:39

I'm excited.

5:40

I also serve on the Tulsa Valley Board as well as the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, which Reese and I bonded over.

5:47

Um provided scholarships to both of us when we were much younger.

5:51

Not that much younger, but yeah, it's great to be here.

5:56

It's an honor.

5:57

Thank you.

Unassigned speaker

5:57

Thank

Speaker 2

5:57

you, Vinnie.

5:58

I loved getting to connect with you and talk about the stories of Asian Tulsa project, how that can support our small business support.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Historic Preservation████████████████████20%

Data Analysis██████████████14%

Public Engagement████████8%

Community Engagement██████6%

Water And Wastewater Management████4%

Mental Health Awareness████4%

Community Development███3%

Public Safety███3%

Animal Welfare███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission October Meeting – October 6, 2026

The Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission convened on October 6, 2026, to approve previous minutes, welcome a new commissioner, hear a data presentation from United Way on Asian business ownership trends, discuss committee updates, and vote on a public comment regarding the 2030 Census. The meeting focused on the commission’s 2026–2027 priority of supporting Asian small businesses.

Consent Calendar

The September 30 meeting minutes were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

Aiden, founding president of the Tulsa Asian Collective (TAC), provided community updates: TAC’s monthly Asian Tulsa guide is growing; a Tulsa Asian Community Market is planned for November 14 from 2–4 p.m. (location TBD); and background work on the future of Tulsa Asian Fest is ongoing.

Discussion Items

Chair Report: The chair confirmed the commission’s 2026–2027 focus on small business support for Asian business owners.
New Commissioner Introduction: Annie Chang was welcomed. She founded the Tulsa Storytelling Lab and serves on other boards.
Guest Presentation – United Way (Tulsa Equality Indicators): Melanie Pulter and Sarah Parmar presented data on Asian business ownership rates. Key points:
- The Equality Indicators compare Asian and Black business ownership rates; the Asian rate has declined from higher levels to 4.5% in the latest data (reflecting 2023).
- Total Asian workers increased, but the number of self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated) dropped by about half over seven years.
- State and national trends show Asian business ownership rates higher than Black rates; Tulsa’s decline appears unique among peer cities.
- The data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) using PUMAs that include areas beyond Tulsa city limits.
- Potential factors discussed included COVID-19 impacts, changes in self-identification, and rhetoric affecting the Asian community.
Committee Reports:
- Commissioner Wynn reported on the AAPI Leadership Roundtable, which held its third session on relational meetings; participants will choose projects focusing on small business interviews or healthcare research. Upcoming Asian community events were noted.
- Masood announced the launch of Luminary Awards nominations (deadline October 15) in categories including business, workforce education, and educator. The awards ceremony is November 9 at 6 p.m.
- The Data & Research committee (chair) announced plans to invite Asian small business owners (aspiring, current, or closed) to the November meeting to share stories. A Google form (bit.ly/COTAsianBusiness) was circulated to collect contacts and business shout-outs.
New Business: The chair moved to submit a public comment before the November 2 deadline to the U.S. Census Bureau, advocating for the retention of race/ethnicity questions and inclusion of all residents in the 2030 Census. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Discussion included coordinating with other commissions for a joint comment.

Key Outcomes

September minutes approved.
Motion to submit a public comment on the 2030 Census passed unanimously.
The commission will continue data exploration with United Way on Asian business ownership (e.g., by subcategory, industry, age, gender, and comparison with similar cities).
The November meeting will feature Asian small business owners’ testimony.
Luminary Awards nominations due October 15; ceremony on November 9.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for November (date not specified in transcript).

Meeting Transcript

We are live. Incredible. Welcome everyone to our October meeting of the Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission. For our first order of business today, we are going to review our September meeting minutes to approve them. Entertaining a motion to approve the minutes. And so does that need to be edited or at the time of the meeting, it was September 30th. So for the minutes to be an accurate reflection of what happened in the meeting, I think I'm gonna need to keep it. Gotcha. But we will certainly discuss in this meeting about how that deadline has changed. Yeah, good question. Just in case some of you may have forgotten I reserve the right to second them. Okay, okay. I hear you. All in favor? Aye. All right. September meeting minutes pass. And for the chair report, I'll keep it short and sweet because we have an exciting conversation today. But if you didn't know, in September, the Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission voted to approve a focus on small business supporting our Asian business donors as our focus for the 2026 and 2027 year. We are very excited for that. And we'll be spending the bulk of our conversation today talking about that and how we're going to orient our work this year toward that goal. Today we have Onighiri from Natsukashi, uh, owned in part by an Asian business owner downtown. So excited to always support small businesses with the snacks. Very important to me personally. Umigiries are essentially a rice ball with a filling in it and then wrapped in seaweed, and so feel free to grab um is available to anyone. And we are accepting a November sign up for bringing the snack to the meeting. So let me know, commissioners, if you'd like to be next. But with that, I'm really excited to bring up our guest speaker today for context. The data that we use to decide on our focus area for 2026-2027. It's from the Tulsa Equality Indicators. So we're excited to have the team at United Way. Could we welcome our new member here by chance? I'm sorry, welcome our new commissioner. Um, I was gonna do that in new business, but we can do it right now. I didn't need a jump forward. That's okay. Um we do have a new commissioner here today. Sure. Um, my name is Annie Chang. Um my parents are from Taiwan. Um gosh, I didn't have anything prepared. I work for a an organization called Tulsa Storytelling Lab. I'm getting flushed already. Um so my friend and I founded this initiative. Um we work closely with organizations like Visit Tulsa, Experience Tulsa, Gathering Place, Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, and our work is essentially to tell the story of Tulsa through social media channels, um, just kind of meeting people where they are, ideally to Tulsons first, so they get some city that they live in, and then eventually to everyone around the board.

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