Do you know how many subgroups encompass the singular “Asian American” group?

The "Asian American" umbrella includes 50+ UNIQUE ethnic subgroups, from 20+ countries across Asia. We encompass dozens of diverse languages, cultures, histories, & people, and yet in RESEARCH, we are grouped as ONE.

Data and information are what shapes whose needs are met, which resources are allocated, and which voices are recognized.

When certain communities are absent from research, their unique challenges, acts of resilience, and contributions remain largely unnoticed and unseen.

Too often, research is framed as something technical, exclusive, or reserved for academia. This program challenges that idea—by showing that research is something we already engage in every day when we ask questions, gather information, and seek to understand our communities.

Research within REACH equips community members with accessible research tools, storytelling methods, and supportive mentorship to investigate questions that matter to them.

Participants design and conduct research about their own communities, gather insights through conversations and data, and transform their discoveries into stories, creative projects, or community-driven solutions.

Our approach is collaborative, empowering, and rooted in lived experience, ensuring that research is owned and led by the people it impacts.

This program is for Asian American women, femme, and gender-expansive community members who are:

• Curious about research but unsure where to start

• Already engaged in community work, organizing, communications, or advocacy

• Looking to build skills that can support careers in policy, research, or social impact

• Interested in storytelling, data, and making meaning from lived experiences

No prior research experience is required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn.

Through this program, participants will:

• Build foundational research and storytelling skills

• Learn how to turn questions and lived experiences into meaningful insights

• Gain hands-on experience that can be translated into resume content, work samples, or interview talking points

• Develop confidence in engaging with data and research processes

Theory of Change

If communities have the tools, guidance, and space to investigate their own questions, then they can produce knowledge that reflects their realities, amplify marginalized voices, and strengthen civic power.

By transforming research into storytelling and creative expression, participants not only document invisible experiences but also advocate for change, creating a cycle of empowerment, visibility, and community-driven impact.

Beyond the Program

This program isn’t just about learning research—it’s about sharing it.

Our goal is that participants leave not only with new skills, but with the confidence to:

• Apply these tools in their own work and communities

• Support others in engaging with research and data

• Help shift the narrative that research is inaccessible or exclusive

By building collective knowledge, we move toward a future where research belongs to all of us.