Michelle Meow Show End of the Year Celebration: BAE

Dec 20, 2025

Guest

Nancy Tung

Guest

Marjan Philhour

Guest

Kiki Lopez

Join Marjan Philhour, Nancy Tung, and Kiki Lopez as they dive into the vibrant Big Asian Energy (BAE) initiative aimed at uplifting AAPI leadership. Marjan shares insights on breaking cultural norms while Kiki discusses transgender advocacy within queer AAPI communities. Nancy highlights the importance of civic engagement and the challenges faced by Asian American women. The panel also explores fostering mentorship and the need for accessible services for monolingual Asian elders. It's a celebration of identity, activism, and community empowerment!

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INSIGHT

Representation Shapes Power

Asian representation matters because it shapes which stories get covered and which communities receive resources.
Dion Lim left journalism to amplify Asian stories in new ways and wrote a book about reporting on hate.

ANECDOTE

Trans Advocate And Performer

Kiki Lopez shared lived challenges as a trans Asian immigrant and community advocate.
She also performs in drag and holds a leadership role in the Imperial Council of San Francisco.

ANECDOTE

Childhood Sparked A Medical Mission

Monica Gandhi traced her HIV and infectious disease focus to growing up amid stigma in Utah.
Witnessing the HIV epidemic and friends' suffering led her to study medicine and move to San Francisco.

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BIG. ASIAN. ENERGY. is a Bay Area cultural force, elevating Asian power, women’s leadership, and the unstoppable vitality of our AAPI communities. Through headline events and community activations, BAE champions economic recovery, public safety, and support for small businesses by bringing bold visibility to Asian stories year-round. It’s a catalyst to celebrate, amplify, and activate the future of San Francisco.

Come and hear more about BAE and how you can join the force.

Speakers:

Dion Lim, our moderator, is an Emmy Award–winning journalist known for nearly two decades as a TV news anchor and reporter, most recently in San Francsico and the Bay Area.

Marjan Philhour is managing director of Mercury’s San Francisco office, bringing more than three decades of experience in government, politics, strategic communications and community advocacy to the firm.

Nancy Tung was elected as chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party in April 2024. She previously served as an elected member of the party's local leadership for four years. She deeply understands the impact the Democratic Party has on our local elections and is guiding a new caucus of moderate Democrats in the party.

Monica Gandhi M.D., M.P.H., is a professor of medicine and associate chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is also the director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the medical director of the HIV Clinic ("Ward 86") at San Francisco General Hospital.

Kiki Lopez is a proud immigrant transwoman living with HIV. She is a program manager for the Stop the Hate Program and the California Reducing Disparities Project at San Francisco Community Health Center. She passionately advocates for people living with HIV, immigrant communities, and transgender folks, especially queer and trans Asian and Pacific Islanders.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming.

See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

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