About Us

  • The Asian Professional Exchange (APEX) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan community based organization with multifaceted goals and purposes that are charitable, cultural and educational in nature. Established in 1993, APEX currently boasts an e-community membership of 10,000 members.

  • The APEX mission is to be the premier membership organization for Asian Pacific Americans in Southern California who have a strong commitment to excellence in professional development, community service and cultural awareness.

  • The purpose of APEX is to serve as a medium to bring increased awareness about and to Asian Americans through community service, fellowship, charitable fundraisers, cultural events, professional networking and educational seminars. By combining diverse skills and resources to support common goals, APEX strives to benefit not only the Asian American community, but also society at large. Ultimately, APEX hopes to create a unified sense of community among all Asian Americans, here in the United States and abroad.

  • Provide an opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans to develop, refine and achieve their full potential as future community and corporate leaders.

    Address key philanthropic, cultural and business concerns of unique importance to the Asian Pacific American community.

    Support activities that seek to raise the cultural awareness and enhance the perception of Asian Pacific Americans.

    Facilitate increased interaction, communication and the exchange of ideas among Asian Pacific Americans

Our History

04/93 Stephen Liu and Santi Smithsuvan draw out the concept of APEX on napkin at Souplantation in Torrance

05/93 The first meeting of APEX. 30 people meet for dinner at the Westside Pavilion Panda Inn

08/93 “APEX Inaugural Affair” at Jade West Restaurant: Reception attended by representatives from over 30 community organizations and keynoted by Secretary of State March Fong Eu.

10/93 First APEX Professional Workshop “Understanding Your Cultural Values” Workshop, co-sponsor by Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP)

07/94 APEX incorporates as a non-profit California corporation

08/94 First APEX Gala Award Dinner at the Biltmore Hotel

11/94 First APEX Community Service Event “A3M Bone Marrow Drive/Sports Day”

12/94 First Christmas Toy Drive Event

05/95 First APEX Youth Event

01/96 Launch of www.apex.org

09/96 Formation of the APEX Advisory Board

03/97 First Asian American Career Day, later rebranded as the APEX Career Symposium

04/97 Launch printed quarterly X-Change newsletter published and mailed to APEX members

11/98 First APEX Mentoring Program (AMP) geared towards college juniors and seniors

01/00 Special Interest Group (SIG) started. Conduct monthly meetings on various specific interest topics and provide member an informal way to meet other professionals

10/00 Hosted NAAAP National Convention, with about 50 speakers and Ammy Awards

2001 Launch APEX E-mail Newsletter

08/01 Hosted professional event with United States Cabinet members. First event with Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao

10/01 Paid Members exceed 1,000 and mailing list 3,000

04/03 APEX’s 10th Anniversary

03/07 First APEX Community Leadership Reception (CLR), featuring US District Court Judge Ronald S.W. Lew

05/07 Honored by Asian Pacific Women’s Center with the Community Service Award

06/07 Featured on a McDonald’s sponsored commercial aired on KSCI-TV

07/07 Launch of APEX Leadership Luncheon Series to champion leadership by introducing figureheads in the Asian Pacific American (APA) community

06/08 First OC Mixer

01/09 Launch of Premium Membership

01/09 Launch of APEX Cares

03/09 First APEX OC PD Event

04/09 Honored by Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) with the Community Excellence Award

01/10 Formation of the APEX Orange County Board

02/10 Launch APEX Facebook Fan Page

01/11 APEX Board grew to 70 members

05/12 First official OC Newsletter

09/12 Honored by Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)

10/12 APEX’s First Official Office in Los Angeles

04/13 APEX’s 20th Anniversary

06/13 First APEX OC Youth Education Summit

09/13 20th Anniversary Awards Gala

01/14 APEX Rebranding Introduced

02/14 Launch @apexorg on Instagram

09/14 APEX & Martell Icons of Inspiration Program Launch

04/15 20th Anniversary of Youth Event

10/16 Launch Leadership Conference