By: Frank Kwan, principal of Celadon Communications, retired director of communications for Los Angeles County Office of Education and NSPRA past president

Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to join many organizations, but two in particular—NSPRA and the Asian American Journalists Association—stand out and are close to my heart.

Like many NSPRA members, I had a background in broadcast news.

The television news environment in Southern California in the 1970s was very competitive and resistant to change. There were almost no Asian Pacific American faces and voices in the media, and for many years, I was the only Asian American male on camera in Los Angeles. My motivation to jump into such a tough business was to tell the stories in the Asian Pacific communities – I had grown up seeing so many stereotypical movies and TV shows that had no connection to my reality. I wanted to help change that.

While at KNBC TV, I joined five other journalists to create the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) in 1978. We came from KNBC, the Los Angeles Times, and the Rafu Shimpo, a Japanese American newspaper.

Before serving as NSPRA President Frank Kwan in 2011-12, Kwan appointed as the first NSPRA vice president at large representing urban education in 1999.

Our original goals were simple : to build a supportive group, develop more representation in newsrooms and ensure accurate portrayals of Asian Pacific groups. By coming together, AAJA met a need among journalists, offering not only professional skills but also guidance on navigating the often brutal politics of a newsroom. Today, AAJA has more than 1600 members in 20 chapters across the United States and Asia.

My experience with AAJA and news taught me the value of being there – bringing my perspective to high-stress, deadline-driven environments, a network of contacts and the ability to quickly get to the core of an issue. More importantly, I found that to capture the breadth of API communities, I needed real stories about real people. The challenge was to dig deeper and work hard to find them. I had to invest time with many different community groups, understanding their cultures and earning their trust to tell their stories.

When I chose to leave news, and having covered education, I thought I knew a bit about schools. I found the perfect place at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, an ESD that served 80 school districts and community colleges. I quickly discovered I had so much to learn, and NSPRA came to my rescue, becoming a valued lifeline. I found that school PR people are the most generous and kind in sharing what they learned. I’m proud to have been the first Asian American to serve as NSPRA president. 

The link between my news and AAJA experience and communications work is that a major challenge is the same: the stories are there, but there has to be an intentional effort to build and nurture relationships with our communities that make up our districts. It isn’t necessarily easy, given the many competing demands on time and attention. The reward is finding the stories that touch and connect people from across the spectrum of the communities we serve.

Throughout Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, NSPRA is highlighting reflections and perspectives from members that explore identity, culture and the importance of communication that recognizes and connects with the many experiences represented in school communities. If you would like to contribute a personal reflection connected to  Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month or share a communications strategy, initiative or campaign your district is leading to celebrate, educate or engage your community during the month, please email editorial@nspra.org.