[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 163 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE RETIREMENT OF DIANE NARASAKI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PRAMILA JAYAPAL

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 2, 2018

  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my congratulations 
to Diane Narasaki on her retirement after 23 years of service at the 
Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS). Throughout her career, 
Diane demonstrated her deep, personal commitment to civil rights and 
social justice by standing up for immigrants and refugees, defending 
diversity and encouraging civic engagement.
  Diane was born in Seattle not long after the end of World War II. She 
was driven to a career in social justice in part because of the 
inhumane treatment of Japanese and Japanese Americans incarcerated 
during the war. She ultimately built ACRS into the globally-recognized 
powerhouse it is today, growing it from 14,000 members to over 35,000 
and from 76 staff members to 270.
  In one of her early acts at ACRS, Diane organized the Asian Pacific 
Islander (API) community to mount a response to 1996 federal welfare 
reform legislation, which barred legal immigrants from accessing 
certain federal safety net programs, including food stamps and medical 
assistance. Thanks to Diane's leadership and the tireless advocacy of 
communities across Washington, the state passed legislation to replace 
many of the public assistance programs for immigrants that were lost at 
the federal level.
  Also, during her time at ACRS, Diane organized the API community to 
increase funding for employment training and naturalization services 
targeted to help low-income immigrants, refugees, and those with 
limited English proficiency to gain citizenship. With her leadership, 
ACRS obtained federal funding to develop integrated mental health 
services, which had an incredible impact on the lives and well-being of 
API people. Prior to joining ACRS, Diane also served as Executive 
Director of the Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office, co-founded 
the King County Asian Pacific Islander Coalition and was named by 
President Obama to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and 
Pacific Islanders. Her contributions to the API community are 
innumerable.
  Diane has received numerous awards to recognize these contributions. 
The Seattle City Council proclaimed a ``Diane Narasaki Day'' in 2006. 
In 2009, Seattle Magazine declared her one of one of their ``most 
influential people of the year.'' She received a Puget Sound Business 
Journal Women of Influence Award, a Ford Foundation Leadership for a 
Changing World Award, the ACLU of Washington's William O. Douglas Award 
and many, many more.
  Still, what makes Diane so special is not these awards but her 
dedication to lifting up marginalized people in our community and 
across the country. Though she is moving on from ACRS, I have no doubt 
that she will continue to thread her passion and activism into 
everything she does. I commend Diane Narasaki and the incalculable 
impact of her life's work. I wish her a healthy and joyous retirement.