Pakistani American Khydeeja Alam Named Executive Director of California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs

Policy and advocacy expert Khydeeja Alam has been appointed executive director of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (CAPIAA). In her new role, the Pakistani American will work with policymakers and state agencies to tackle issues impacting Asian and Pacific Islander communities across the state, according to a commission press release. She plans to focus on anti-Asian hate, spearhead outreach efforts and address issues related to cultural language sensitivity with state agencies, and prioritize uplifting communities across California.

In a statement, Alam said she wants “to be able to uplift our contributions to the state from education to tech to housing to entrepreneurship to health care to California cuisine.” She said she would like to work with the state and the Department of Social Services and community organizations to “tackle (anti-AAPI hate) head-on” through aid work and campaigns. Moving forward, she wants to further include Islamophobia and anti-antisemitism in that work. “This opportunity embodies and represents everything that I hold near and dear to my heart,” she said “I want to give back. Especially for Pakistani Americans, and Muslim Americans. There’s not a lot of people who look like us in such positions.”

Alam and her family immigrated from Pakistan in 1996 when she was 13 to Hollister, California. Her life wasn’t easy. “She struggled to find a sense of belonging at school,” as she “barely knew the language or culture,” the commission said in her profile. But instead of letting those experiences define her, she “learned from it and built from it,” the profile added. Noting that the Pakistani community is “resilient,” she said she feels “part of that resilience as well, and we need to showcase more on that and build each other up.”

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During her last semester at UC Berkeley in 2006, Alam applied for an internship at the University of California Center in Sacramento, which educates the state’s future leaders in politics and policymaking. “It was one of the best decisions I made because it led me to where I am today.”Her career has focused on political, economic, and social issues impacting Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

As a legislative advocate for the Advancement Project, a civil-rights organization focused on racial justice and human rights, she worked on Proposition 38, which increased funding for early education and K-12 schools using state tax revenue.  She worked on reformative budget advocacy that focused on early education and census representation and later served as director of external and legislative affairs for California Volunteer.