Vice President Kamala Harris and Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao were named two of the most impactful Asians by Gold House, the premier nonprofit collective of Asian founders, creative voices and leaders dedicated to unifying Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Harris, who is of Black and South Asian heritage, is the first female vice president in United States history. Zhao, who is Chinese, is only the second woman to win a Best Director Academy Award for her film “Nomadland.” Footage from her next project, the Marvel Cinematic Universe epic “Eternals,” debuted this morning.
Harris and Zhao were two of 100 notables on Gold House’s A100 List — the definitive API honor for the 100 most impactful leaders of the past year. Additionally, they were designated A1 honorees, meaning they are the most impactful Asians in their categories (politics and entertainment, respectively).
Other A1 honorees include tennis pro Naomi Osaka (sports) and Zoom founder and CEO Eric Yuan (technology). A group of #StopAsianHate journalists was designated A1s: Benny Luo (Founder & CEO, NextShark), CeFaan Kim (Reporter, ABC7NY), Dion Lim (Anchor & Reporter, ABC7 KGO-TV), Kimmy Yam (Reporter, NBC Asian America) and Weijia Jiang (Senior White House Correspondent, CBS News).
In March, TheWrap profiled Kim and Lim and their efforts reporting on the surge in anti-Asian violence.
Also on the A100 list include Oscar winner H.E.R. (Best Original Song, “Judas and the Black Messiah”) and nominees Riz Ahmed (Best Actor, “Sound of Metal”) and Lee Isaac Chung (Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, “Minari”). “Shang-Chi” actor Simu Liu, Marvel’s first Asian superhero lead, made the list, as well as actors Ally Maki, Ronny Chieng, Olivia Munn and Kelly Marie Tran, TV hosts Jeannie Mai and Padma Lakshmi, among others.
On the business side, Netflix’s head of global TV Bela Bajaria was honored, as well Warner Recorded Music president and CMO Eric Wong, Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Naito and Reddit COO Jen Wong, among others.
The A100 List was launched in tandem to support We Can Do This that provides accessible knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines as communities reopen — particularly those that have been historically omitted due to language barriers or lack of healthcare access.
New this year, Gold House has launched an annual Gold Futures Grants Challenge in collaboration with Asian American Futures, a nonprofit led by philanthropists and community leaders. The challenge will increase and democratize philanthropy by engaging the public in funding projects that help AAPIs be Seen, Heard, and Empowered.
To see the full list of A100 honorees, click here.