In an effort to target, mobilize, and win the fast-growing Asian American-Pacific Islander (AAPI) electorate, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign will announce today that Lisa Changadveja has been named the AAPI Outreach Director for Hillary for America.
According to the campaign, Changadveja was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Thai immigrants, and has a long history with Clinton campaigns.
She first joined Hillary Clinton's 2007 presidential campaign team, mobilizing voters in Nevada, Ohio, and Indiana. In 2013, Changadveja served as the AAPI and LGBT Director for Ready for Hillary, an independent super PAC created to help launch Clinton's 2016 presidential run.
"Lisa knows the Asian American and Pacific Islander community," said Irene Bueno, a member of the Asian American Justice Center's National Advisory Council, in a statement. "From working with Lisa throughout the years, one thing I've learned is that she will continue to be a voice for so many in the community on a number issues like immigration."
Changadveja's appointment comes on the very day that the Asian-American vote is under sharp focus, in light of comments made by GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush about Asian "birth tourism" in the debate over the use of the controversial term "anchor babies."
The Asian-American electorate, one of the fastest-growing and expected to double by 2040, has leaned heavily-Democratic in recent presidential election cycles, though the voting bloc was almost evenly-split between Republican and Democratic candidates during the 2014 midterms. One recent study found that Asian Americans are the least likely of all groups to be contacted by political parties.
Related: Enthusiasm High Among Young Asian Americans, But Outreach Is Low
In her new role, Changadveja will be reaching out to a part of the population many analysts believe is up for grabs ahead of the 2016 election.
"More importantly, Hillary understands this community and the need to make important investments early on in her campaign to succeed in engaging and earning the support from this growing community," said Bueno.
Changadveja joins a roster of recent AAPI hires to the Clinton campaign, including Vice Chair Huma Abedin, Senior Policy Adviser Maya Harris, Finance Director Dennis Cheng, Surrogate Outreach Coordinator Michelle Kwan, Director of Women's Outreach Mini Timmaraju, Northeast Political Director Lyle Canceko, and Director of Delegate Operations David Huynh.
