The National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) San Diego  is the premier leadership organization for Asian professionals. Founded in 1982, NAAAP is the oldest, largest, and fastest-growing pan-Asian organization for professionals, with thousands of members in 30 chapters across North America.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to developing and advancing the careers of Asian leaders, we cultivate professional excellence among our members, connect accomplished professionals for mutual success, engage our members in community service, and work with employers in business, nonprofit, and government to recruit, retain, and promote high-achieving individuals.

Since 2006, NAAAP San Diego has served to empower Asian American professionals our local community. We’ve partnered with fellow community organizations such as Asian Business Association, API Coalition, Pacific Arts Movement, Social Artistry, TAP-SD, ignite sparked by BBB, My Point Credit Union, Strategic Alliance, Convoy District, and others to advance the Asian community in San Diego.

NAAAP San Diego holds monthly professional development events that focus developing leaders in the community and corporate sphere. Learn more about NAAAP events by subscribing to our email list and becoming a member.​​​​​​​

we build leaders

As the largest and fastest growing API professionals association, NAAAP continues to provide its members with the tools and resources to further career advancement and to empower Asians and Pacific Islanders to become great leaders as well as valuable employees.

In order to achieve our goals, NAAAP offers a diverse range of professional development programs on the local and national level, engages its membership in community service and organizes professional networking events. These may range from a series of panels, workshops and seminars, and web-based sessions and networking.

What we now know as NAAAP, the National Association of Asian American Professionals, was founded 38 years ago, in 1982, in New York City. At first, the organization was called the National Association of Young Asian Professionals, the name was soon changed to embrace a broader range of Asian Pacific American (APA) professionals and to better reflect the rapidly changing demographic.

The brutal murder of Vincent Chin in 1982 had acutely raised awareness of the importance of activism, not only in the Chinese American community, but amongst all Asian Pacific Americans. Just as we needed civil rights activism, we also need to take our own professional destinies in our hands to overcome discrimination in the workplace and break the glass ceiling. 

To make NAAAP available to a wider audience, beginning in 1997, NAAAP National encouraged the development of chapter start-ups. While some ventures grew slowly, other chapters expanded to 500 members. Today, there are more than 30 chapters across the United States, Canada, and China.

In 2012, NAAAP turned 30 years old. We celebrated our 30th anniversary with the NAAAP National Convention and Diversity Career Fair presented by Macy’s in the city of both organizations’ birthplace, New York City. 

In 2017, NAAAP hired its first full time staff to organize administrative and standards for the national NAAAP programs and work with chapter leaders to do the same in respective 30 chapters that are proficient or refining their operations.

NAAAP’s ongoing commitment to professional and leadership development will help NAAAP and its partners continue to succeed in years to come. These successes do not happen without the enthusiasm, innovation and hard work of NAAAP’s members, stalwart volunteer leaders, and sponsors.

Be a part of NAAAP’s future as an active member, sponsor or officer, and help write the next chapter of NAAAP’s history!