Acknowledging the historic achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and highlighting their impact on American history is a great way to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

We decided to go hyper-local and celebrate by highlighting our staff’s efforts to make our environmental work more accessible to AAPI communities in Washington. Our work to reach communities that might otherwise be left out is incredibly valuable and is often times behind-the-scenes.

We’ll be highlighting these stories throughout the month. 

Millie Piazza has been Ecology’s environmental justice lead for 15 years, and first worked at the agency 25 years ago. Her research and work in environmental justice (EJ) is grounded in the conviction that we can only solve environmental challenges when we also address social inequities. 

Her work is focused on integrating EJ priorities into agency programs, addressing state EJ challenges, and advancing nondiscrimination practices for Civil Rights compliance. 

Millie also serves as the agency Language Access Coordinator and helps support the work of our Multi-lingual Interpretation and Translation Team. She works closely with our programs and the public to ensure communities have access to information about environmental work affecting their communities.  

As a child of a first generation immigrant, Millie grew up in a multi-lingual household and has had the life-shaping experience of growing up, living, and working in several countries, including Taiwan, Japan, Guam, and Palau. These experiences motivate her social justice work and provide the lens she uses when tackling community access to agency decisions and activities.

Millie serves on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Governor's Interagency Council on Health Disparities, and the Superfund Research Program External Advisory Board. In addition to filling these many roles, Millie is also passionate about working with interns. She's inspired many interns to continue in the field of environmental justice and pursue careers at Ecology. 

To learn more about our Environmental Justice work, check out our EJ webpage.

Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the diverse cultures of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Washington.  

Public entities are encouraged to designate time for activities commemorating the lives, history, achievements, and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Throughout the month of May, various organizations across the state will hold events to celebrate the culture and achievements of Asian Pacific Americans. Visit the site.

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

Standing together against hate  

The Smithsonian Institution offeres online resources to uplift Asian and Asian American voices, encourage self-education and offer solace.  You’ll find resources for educators, exhibitions, videos, activities, blogs and more from museums and units within the Smithsonian. Visit the site.

National Park Service Celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a rich heritage thousands of years old and have shaped the history of the United States and had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history. Every May during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and its partners share those histories and the continuing culture thriving in parks and communities today. Visit the site.

Library of Congress

Collections featured by the Library of Congress include cultural resources, traditions, videos, readings, poems

and more. 

Veterans History Project: Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American Veterans

Today there are more than 300,000 living Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American veterans. The Library of Congress' Veteran's History Project honors those veterans who have shared their stories. Visit the site.