New Executive Director, Yasmin Padamsee Forbes!

As of April 1, 2021, we are pleased to share the news that Yasmin Padamsee Forbes is the Executive Director of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission!

Yasmin Padamsee Forbes (she/her) was selected as the Executive Director of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in April 2021.  She is a proud first-generation immigrant, intersectional feminist, and climate change activist.

Yasmin has had a distinguished career with non-profits and the United Nations, serving in various senior leadership and management positions in Papua New Guinea, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and the US.  She brings extensive experience in strategic partnerships, resource mobilization, management, and sustainable tourism.

In 2019, she was awarded an All-Star Award by the Harvard Kennedy School for co-curating “Pride and Progress,” a film festival showcasing artists and activists working on LGBTQ+ human rights struggles from around the globe. She was also awarded the 2018 Julius E. Babbitt Memorial Volunteer Award by Harvard for her exemplary public service with Kennedy School alumni in Myanmar and beyond and her ability to help alumni forge connections.

Yasmin received a full scholarship and graduated with a Masters in Communications and Film production from New York University and has a second Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University. She served as the Harvard Alumni Representative in Myanmar and on the Alumni Board of Directors for the Harvard Kennedy School.

Yasmin proudly serves as the Chair and Commissioner for the Cambridge Human Rights Commission. Working across Massachusetts, Yasmin has been working with groups to promote sustainable tourism and mitigate climate change.

She firmly believes in the need to connect leaders and activists from multiple cultures and sectors so they can “work together to create a force for positive and sustainable change.”