[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 127 (Friday, July 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1103-E1104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CONGRATULATING DIANE NARASAKI ON HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 27, 2018

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Diane Narasaki, Executive Director of Asian Counseling and Referral 
Service (ACRS), on her retirement. Ms. Narasaki has served as the 
Executive Director of the ACRS for twenty-two years.
  Diane Narasaki's commitment to help others began at a young age. As a 
teenager, she learned that her parents, Richard and Dorothy, were 
interned during World War II along with 120,000 other Americans of 
Japanese ancestry. Her parents', as well as others stories inspired Ms. 
Narasaki to stand up for victims of oppression and inequality--a 
mission that has defined her remarkable career.
  After getting her Master's Degree from Seattle University's Master of 
Nonprofit Leadership program, she immediately set about making her 
mission happen. She spent two decades as a leader in her community, 
holding director-level positions at the Northwest Labor and Employment 
Law Office, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Wing Luke 
Asian Museum. In 1987, she helped overturn the conviction of Gordon 
Hirabayashi, a fellow Japanese American who was jailed for challenging 
the internment.
  In 1995, Ms. Narasaki joined the Asian Counseling and Referral 
Service, which provides a wide variety of services to King County's 
Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

[[Page E1104]]

During her tenure as Executive Director, ACRS expanded its behavioral 
health and civic engagement programs. In addition, ACRS moved its 
headquarters to a larger facility in Rainier Valley, which allowed them 
to better serve the fastest growing racial group in King County. Today, 
ACRS has a staff of 250 people, a budget of $13 million, and serves 
more than 26,000 people annually in over 40 languages and dialects.
  Outside of running one of the oldest and largest pan-Asian Pacific 
American organizations in the United States, Ms. Narasaki's 
contributions to her community are numerous. She co-founded Washington 
State's Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, a network of local and 
community groups serving immigrants and refugees. She has chaired the 
Washington State Asian Pacific Directors Coalition and the Minority 
Executive Directors Coalition, and co-chaired the Asian Pacific Women's 
Caucus and the Seattle Community Police Commission. The U.S. Secretary 
of Health & Human Services appointed her to serve on SAMHSA's Center 
for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council. In 2005, the Ford 
Foundation named her as one of seventeen people in the country to 
receive the Leadership for Changing America award. She also helped 
organize the Asian Pacific American Legislative day, an event in which 
dozens of community groups join forces at the State Capitol in Olympia 
to voice their concerns to lawmakers.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate Diane 
Narasaki on her well-deserved retirement. Her story is an inspiration 
to all those who strive to serve their communities.

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