The first Hmong to earn a PhD, Dr. Yang Dao, worked for Saint Paul Public Schools and served on the boards of several major Minnesota institutions, and Mee Moua was the first Hmong to be elected to a state legislative office in the U.S. State Senator Satveer Chaudhary was the first Asian-Indian senator in American history and State Representative Cy Thao was the second Hmong American state legislator in the country.

 

Thomas Pham, restaurateur, chef and owner of Azia Restaurant and Temple Bar in Minneapolis, is a local celebrity chef, and Korean Jennifer Arndt-Johns a local filmmaker who documented about her experiences as an adopted Korean child help Minnesotans of all backgrounds experience Asian culture.

 

Eugene Sit, counted among the 50 wealthiest Minnesotans, is an entrepreneur that gives back to the community while Susanna Song, vice president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and a local television reporter, makes sure we are all abreast of the days happenings.