Dr. Kirin Macapugay, Vice Chair

Dr. Kirin Macapugay, DSW, MSW, is an educator, community organizer, author, public servant, and proud mama.  She is Vice-Chair for the California Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, chairing the Higher Education Committee, which spearheaded the historical Student Achievement Program to support lower-income Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American higher education students. She is a tenured faculty of Human Services at San Diego City College, created PEER, an award-winning program preparing students to work in homelessness prevention, and is co-principal investigator of the college’s federally supported Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) program. She has a Doctorate of Social Work from the University of Southern California, bachelor’s in Psychology, Master’s in Social Work from San Diego State University, and a certificate in indigenous peoples rights from Columbia University’s Columbia X program. Kirin was awarded “Best Professor” by San Diego State University students, “Civil Rights Woman Leader” by RISE San Diego , “Civic Leader of the Year” by Asian Pacific American Coalition, a “Woman Who Inspires Us” by San Diego Magazine, and named one of the “50 Most Influential Asian Leaders” by the San Diego Business Journal. December 12, 2022 was proclaimed Kirin Macapugay Day in the County of San Diego.

She is Chair of Made in Paradise Hills honoring the community that raised her, a founding board member of the San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, a core member of the statewide FIERCE Policy Forum, and board member for Only Stronger. She founded Asian Pacific Islander Community Actions (APICA) in 2015 to serve as a catalyst for grassroots efforts. An Indigenous person from Kalinga, Philippines, Kirin co-founded Indigenous Knowledge, Art, and Truth (IKAT) advocating and educating for the culture and autonomy of Indigenous Peoples from the Philippines. She has several publications, articles in journals, and was awarded the International Research Hypothesis Excellence Award in 2024.