May is Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, and we use this month to reflect on members of our families and communities who inspire us to keep building toward a better future. AAPI Heritage Month is a time to not only celebrate the contributions made by the generations before us, whose struggles helped paved the way for us today, but also uplift our families, the storytellers, and community leaders among us today who continue to empower and inspire us through strength and resilience.

Below, UpLyft Ascend Executive Sponsor and Director of Product Design, Brian Ng, describes what Asian American & Pacific Islander HeritageMonth means to him, and how AAPI community members are showing up and empowering others.

Brian Ng, Director, Product Design 

Today marks the beginning of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of the AAPI community to the culture, achievements, and history of the United States and across the world. 

In recognition of these accomplishments, UpLyft Ascend has chosen ReshAAPIng Empowerment as this year’s theme. This theme represents how we redefine and uplift the ways in which AAPI community members feel stronger, empowered, seen, and celebrated. We invite members and allies of the AAPI community to reflect upon and celebrate our contributions to society and culture and explore what it means to redefine empowerment. 

While there is a long and rich history of Asian American and Pacific Islanders shaping the culture and society that we know today, this year has been a turning point in the recognition of those contributions. . We’ve seen more of our languages integrated into the modern English lexicon, our faces and stories shared through television and film, and our voices heard in business, politics, and music. In film, we celebrated 7 Oscar awards for the Asian-American movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Naatu Naatu” was  the first Indian film song to win Best Original Song. We cheered for KPop group Black Pink’s Coachella 2023 headliner performance, watched R'Bonney Gabriel get crowned as the first Filipino-American Miss Universe, and saw Anna May Wong become the  first Asian American to appear on U.S currency. We also grew inspiration from Diana Hwang’s accomplishments as founder and executive director of the Asian American Women's Political Initiative (AAWPI), an organization dedicated to empowering and supporting AAPI women in politics. 

UpLyft Ascend is an employee resource group (ERG) that aims to advocate for Asian Pacific Islander identities at Lyft, foster community, and facilitate professional growth in the workplace and beyond. Lyft celebrates the vibrancy and myriad of identities that encompass our Asian Pacific Islander communities.