Esther Wu, Candidate for National President

Esther Wu
Current National Secretary
Columnist/Reporter, The Dallas Morning News

Having been an active member of AAJA for the PAST 10 years, I've come to understand that this organization represents different things to different people. For students, AAJA is a resource for jobs and training; for the young professional, this group offers a network of friends and business contacts; and for the mid-level journalists it offers management training. The APA community members look to this organization as a resource and platform to channel information on important issues. And last, but not least, industry leaders look to AAJA as a voice of reason as well as a resource as they strive to bring diversity into the newsroom.

AAJA has become many things to many people. And I've watched as this organization has matured and evolved.

Along the way I've made contributions where I could - volunteering to work on convention programs, from organizing panels to coordinating volunteers and the one-on-one critiques to judging the scholarship awards and working on the student newspaper. In 1994 I had the honor of serving as the AAJA publisher of the UNITY student newspaper. I've served as the Texas chapter president and represented our members on the national board. I've also served on The AAJA governing board, and was elected National Secretary in 2001. Two years later I was elected UNITY Vice President.

Now I am asking for your vote to become AAJA's next president.

It is a request I don't take lightly. Along with your vote, I am asking you to trust me to lead this organization for the next two years.

I hope to focus my administration on three areas: personal participation, chapter relations and fundraising.

We have seen a tremendous amount of growth at the national and local level in the last few years. The creation of the AAJA Governing board has helped make administration easier, and AAJA has instituted such programs as Camp AAJA and business writing seminars to help keep members involved.

But we must do more outreach to our members. I would like to change the format of our annual general meetings into town halls or open forums where members can give the board feedback on ongoing projects and proposals.

Also, as our local chapters grow stronger, it becomes increasingly important to strengthen the lines of communication. Because each chapter derives its non-profit status from the national organization, it is important that we work in tandem to stay within federal guidelines. AAJA is only as strong as its smallest chapter, and even the largest chapter cannot stand without the national organization. We must develop a system of checks and balances to allow local chapters autonomy without jeopardizing the national organization.

And as we look forward, we must address the issue of fundraising.

As you know, AAJA has embarked on a two-year $2 million endowment campaign. It is an ambitious task especially now, as the industry recovers from a down economy. But if AAJA is going to continue its economic momentum, we must move forward. And it will take the efforts of each and every one of our more than 2,000 members to help reach our goal. Being AAJA president is no easy task.

In fact, I can come up with more reasons NOT to run than TO run. But for every excuse I came up with, there was one fact that I could not ignore.

I have been serving AAJA for the past 10 years. I do it because I believe in its mission. I do it because through AAJA I can make a difference - I can help improve the quality of journalism as well as raise the profile of Asian Americans everywhere.

I do it because I believe in giving back to this organization.

So I plan to reinvest my time, my energy and my money in AAJA. And I hope you will join me. The dividends are enormous.