Asian Girls Ignite is an educational nonprofit creating identity-affirming spaces
for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) girls and gender-expansive youth in grades 6–12
We believe young people already have power.
Our role is to create the conditions where that power can be seen, practiced, and sustained. For us, power looks like self-trust, voice, and the ability to shape one’s own path.
Why we exist & how change happens
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Why we exist & how change happens ✨
Many AANHPI girls and gender-expansive youth grow up without consistent access to spaces that affirm who they are.
Too often, there are few places where their identities are reflected, their experiences understood, or their voices genuinely invited into the room.
Asian Girls Ignite exists to change that experience. Where you don’t have to leave parts of yourself behind at the door. Where the lunchbox moment—the looks, the questions, the feeling of being different—doesn’t determine whether you belong. You do, including the food you grew up with.
This belief guides our theory of change and shapes how our programs are designed.
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Belonging
Belonging
When young people are in spaces where they feel understood and supported, belonging forms without pressure or performance.
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Self-Trust
Self-Trust
In those spaces, young people begin to trust their instincts, experiences, and inner voice.
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Voice
Voice
With self-trust, voice becomes easier to access. Ideas are shared. Stories are spoken. Needs are named.
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Leadership
Leadership
From voice, leadership emerges. Leadership shaped by identity, values, and lived experience. Leadership that feels true.
Where this began
Asian Girls Ignite was founded in 2020 by two Asian American women, during a period when many AANHPI young people were navigating isolation, disrupted schooling, and increased racialized harm.
What began as a small pilot with a handful of middle school students quickly highlighted the importance of identity-affirming spaces rooted in care and connection.
Since then…
Asian Girls Ignite has grown steadily, guided by ongoing listening and collaboration with our students and the communities we serve.
300+ AANHPI girls and gender-expansive youth supported since 2020
250+ AANHPI women serving as mentors, storytellers, and positive role models
5 programs designed with curriculum, facilitation, and youth voice at the center
5+ years of sustained, community-based impact
Ongoing partnerships with schools, artists, mentors, and families
How we design our work
Asian Girls Ignite approaches learning as both relational and intentional. We design educational experiences that center identity, relationship, and agency, recognizing that how young people are supported matters as much as what they are taught.
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Mentorship
### Mentorship grounded in lived experience
Students build relationships with mentors who share cultural context and real-world insight, offering guidance that feels relevant, affirming, and rooted in understanding.
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Community
### Community-based learning spaces
Programs are structured to foster connection, reflection, and shared learning. Students are supported to show up fully and build relationships in environments that prioritize care over performance.
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Stewardship
### Leadership practiced early
Leadership is treated as a skill developed through experience. Students explore voice, choice, and responsibility early, defining success in ways that reflect their values and lived experience.
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Identity-affirming
### Identity-affirming educational design
From curriculum to facilitation, learning environments are intentionally designed to affirm identity and self-expression. Our programs support the whole person.
Our vision
We envision a world where every AANHPI girl and gender-expansive youth grows up with the confidence to advocate for themselves and others, shaping a future where their voices, cultures, and lived experiences are deeply valued.
Meet the team
Asian Girls Ignite is guided by staff, youth leaders, volunteers from Lotus Collective, and board members working together to shape identity-affirming spaces for our community–often fueled by matcha.
