International Leadership Foundation

Announces 2013 Summer Civic Fellowship Program for Asian Pacific American College Students in Washington, DC

The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) is proud to announce that it is accepting applications for the 2013 Civic Fellowship program. For the fourteenth year, ILF will award over 30 fellowships to Asian Pacific American col¬lege students who the ILF identifies as exhibiting the qualities and potential of a future business, community or professional leaders. The ILF Civic Fellows will spend eight to ten weeks next summer interning at federal government agencies in Washington, DC, gaining firsthand knowledge of the workings of American government.

“I am proud of ILF’s track record of promoting public service and civic engagement of Asian Pacific Americans; our goal is to teach our future leaders how to use the government to serve the community,” ILF Chief Executive Officer Chiling Tong said.

Any undergraduate or graduate student of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage with at least a 3.0 GPA is eligible to apply. Applicants must be United States citizens. Students who wish to apply must submit their applications by February 1, 2013. Interest­ed students can visit ILF’s website at www.ILEADER.org to apply online or learn more. The ILF works with government agencies to place each Fellow in a structured summer internships in his or her area of interest. In 2012, ILF Fellows interned in fourteen federal agencies, including Congress and the White House.

ILF Fellows attend weekly seminars and other events to learn about government in addition to their internships. Each Fellow re­ceives a paid internship or $2,000 stipend, funded by the ILF and its sponsors. Students must pay for their own travel, housing and living expenses during their fellowships.

The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta and the Honorable Elaine Chao serve as the Honorary National Chairman and Chairwoman of the ILF. Mineta and Chao were the first two Asian Pacific Americans to serve as Cabinet Secretaries. “The ILF promotes and fosters bright APA youth to experience the inner-workings behind this great country’s national government, and provides effective training classes to enhance leadership skills,” Secretary Mineta said.

The ILF is a non-profit organization that promotes civic involve­ment and entrepreneurial spirit of the future leaders of the Asian Pacific American community. Each year at its annual Awards Dinner, the ILF recognizes public service by distinguished APA community leaders. Past honorees include Hawaii Senator Dan Inouye, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Jackie Chan, AIDS activist David Ho, Olympic medalist Tony Dawson and business entrepreneur Kanwal Rekhi.

Gene Kim (2007 Fellow)

In 2007, I had the privilege of serving as an ILF Fellow in the office of Congress­man Al Green (TX-9). The fellowship was my first job after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, and it helped launch my career in public service. After the fellowship, I was hired on as a Legislative Staffer for Congressman Green and went on to serve as the Research and Policy Director of a Congressional campaign, as the Director of Communications and Program Development for the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, as Chair of the Board of the Directors for the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, and now as Executive Director of the Congressional Asian Pacific Ameri­can Caucus. Like hundreds of other young people throughout this country, I benefited greatly from the resources and opportunities that ILF provides as it works to develop the next generation of Asian Pacific American civic leadership.”

Gene Kim is the Executive Director of the Congressio­nal Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) under the leadership of Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-32).

Edward Chen (2002 Fellow)

“My ILF fellowship in the summer of 2002 gave me a head start in politics and government. This program gave me the resources and skills that en­abled me to serve in a elected school board position, work for both houses of the California Legislature and work as Deputy Coalitions Director on Gov. Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign in 2006 and Deputy Regional Communications Director for seven states in Senator John McCain’s campaign last November. I am so pleased that the leaders at ILF are continuing this supportive community of friends who will take Asian American civic leadership to the next level.”

Edward Chen was the District Director for Assembly­man Jeff Miller of the 71st District of California.