The illustrious city of Washington D.C. opened its doors for a weekend to remember as the #TACLfam gathered for our Fall Convention, hosted by TAP-DC. Our theme for this year centered around leadership and “TACLing You”. With such a diverse group of community members, leaders and advocates from across the country, we were able to gather for inspiring discussions, workshops and opportunities to connect.

The convention kicked off on Friday hosted by TAP-DC with a record-breaking TAPpy Hour at the Royal Sands Bar in Navy Yard, drawing over 100 attendees! This vibrant gathering showcased the strength of the TACL community, with DC board alumni attending from as far back as 15 years ago. Participants enjoyed refreshments, shared stories, and forged new connections, which set a lively tone for the weekend ahead.

Our first day of programming was packed with engaging programming focused on leadership development, with a leadership workshop led by Amy Chin and an emotional intelligence workshop led by Jorinna Tran and Jeannie Shen. We also got to hear from amazing speaker panels starting off with a “Building Political Power” panel featuring: Anny Chiao-Yun Hsiao, Clifton Yin, Ben Wu and moderated by Angelina Liu. Following up we had a panel with AAPI leaders featuring: Ditas M. Katague, Chiling Tong, Stephen S. Kho and moderated by Peter Han.

We were honored to welcome Ambassador Tai to our convention as a special guest speaker. Ambassador Tai serves on the president’s cabinet and is the principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on U.S. trade policy. Her fireside chat was moderated by Phylicia Wu, where she shared the importance of having Asian American representation in politics and her experience being on the presidential cabinet. Attendees were inspired by her journey and insights on advocacy and leadership.

Saturday was wrapped up by splitting off and exploring the finest restaurants and sightseeing that DC has to offer.

On Sunday we had a brief workshop on working with Volunteers that was facilitated by Wellington Tzou. Followed up by separate tracks for our Taiwanese American Professional, Youth Camp and Alumni attendees. Where they each tackled various methods to better serve their goals. Our sessions included GOTV and Case Studies workshops led by Kathryn Quintin and Wellington Tzou, discussions on how to better service campers facilitated by Joel Cheng and how to increase engagement amongst alumni with Belle Lee.

The group gathered back together for some dynamic best practices workshops where our community leaders shared skills and knowledge to improve community engagement and organizational growth. Such as grant writing, cultural festival planning and board recruitment.

And in the blink of an eye, the convention came to an end. Not before we celebrated the weekend of learning and reconnecting with a banquet at Tony Cheng.

The TACL National Convention was not just an event; it was a gathering of passion, purpose, and potential. As we reflect on the weekend, we look forward to the continued growth of our community and the impactful work we will undertake together.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to making this convention a memorable and meaningful experience. We can’t wait to see you next year as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of TACL! We will bring it back to where it all started– Greater Los Angeles! Join us for a weekend in Long Beach with the Anniversary Gala on April 6, 2025.