Our story
Founded in 1995. Still picking up starfish.
CAPAW began as a circle of 19 women — Martha Lee and 18 Warrior Sisters — convinced that AANHPI women deserved a leadership institution of their own. Three decades later, we are a national community: APAWLI Fellows, sHERO graduates, mentors, circle members, podcast listeners, and donors, all returning starfish to the sea.
0+
decades of women's leadership work
0+
APAWLI fellows in the national network
0
Warrior Sisters who started it all
In our words
We don't develop résumés. We develop the woman who carries them.
We center the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women's experience because the work of women's leadership is still — in 2026 — a work that gets done one woman at a time. But the room is big and the door is open: we develop women of color across the early chapters of their careers, and we welcome anyone committed to leadership and growth.
Our model is the Whole Person Leader: leadership rooted in relationships, intellect, financial agency, history and cultural identity, and physical wellbeing.
What we believe
Five dimensions of the Whole Person Leader.
Relational
The networks, mentors, and chosen family that shape who we become — leadership is built in relationship.
Intellectual
Curiosity, learning, and the sharpened judgment that comes from doing the work of thinking deeply.
Financial
Economic agency — naming our worth, building stability, and stewarding resources for our communities.
History & Cultural Identity
Knowing where we come from so we can lead from a rooted place — heritage as a source of power, not weight.
Physical & Wellbeing
The body, the breath, and the rest that make sustained leadership possible. Sustainable change requires sustainable leaders.
Three decades, measured
From a circle of 19 to a national community.
1995
Martha Lee and 18 Warrior Sisters found CAPAW.
1998
The first APAWLI cohort completes the fellowship.
2015
Sue Ann Hong-Whitaker leads a defining decade of growth.
2021
sHERO Discovery is born after the Atlanta tragedy.
2026
Holly Ellazar steps in as President & CEO. 200+ fellows strong.
