Mitch Chan

Organizing Team Lead
she/they | mchan@nakasec.org

Mitch is the Organizing Team Lead at Hamkae Center. Born in Flushing, New York, she is the daughter of Chinese-Malaysian immigrants. Recognizing that being Asian is not a monolithic experience, Mitch seeks to celebrate the differences in our backgrounds and experiences so that we can uplift Asian voices, while ensuring that we fight and win the tangible changes that our communities need.

She has a strong background in community and labor organizing. Prior to joining Hamkae Center, Mitch was the Lead Organizer at ACE Collaborative and New Virginia Majority. She organized Asian community members around housing and COVID-19 justice in Arlington, Virginia. She was also a staunch union organizer with her own graduate student union (Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO) in Champaign, Illinois. In addition to her work at Hamkae Center, she organizes with Asian LGBTQ community groups in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.

In her spare time, she is attempting to perfect her culinary skills. She can be found in the kitchen, figuring out how to make Malaysian dishes and kuihs. Her dream would be to open up an underground queer Chinese-Malaysian cat cafe and bookstore.