Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) are one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States. In Illinois, this diverse and often over-looked community of over 425,00 includes Americans of Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Nepali, Pacific Islander, Pakistani, Thai, Tibetan and Vietnamese descent. The Asian American Institute is a pan-Asian non-partisan organization, whose mission is to empower the Asian Pacific American community through advocacy utilizing research, education, and coalition-building. Specifically, the Institute works to: Increase public understanding about APA communities by gathering analyzing and disseminating data about them. Raise the visibility of the APA community and spotlight its concerns to elected officials, policy makers and the general public. Improve cooperation and mutual understanding by bringing together ethnic communities, as well as other like-minded organizations.