Remarks by Ed Tepporn
for the World Premiere of “Angel Island”
Friday, October 22, 2021, 8pm, Presidio Theatre, San Francisco, CA
On behalf of the Board and Staff of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF), I want to extend our heartfelt congratulations and appreciation to the Del Sol Quartet, Huang Ruo, and Volti on the world premiere of Angel Island – Oratorio for Voices and String Quartet.
From 1910 to 1940, the former U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island was used to enforce the exclusionary, anti-Asian immigration policies of the time. Over 500,000 immigrants from 80 countries across the globe were processed or detained on Angel Island over these 3 decades.
While there are inscriptions by immigrants from many different nations that can still be found on the walls of the detention barracks, it’s the 200+ poems left behind by Chinese detainees that helped to save the site’s buildings from being torn down and that secured the site’s status as both a California Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. These poems give us a glimpse into the emotions and experiences of immigrants who were held in detention then.
For over 40 years, AIISF has served as the primary nonprofit partner to Angel Island State Park to help preserve and maintain the buildings at the site and to uplift its histories and stories. As we all witness the increasing anti-Asian attacks and xenophobic sentiments, it’s even more important now that we all remember and learn from Angel Island’s history.
Thank you to all the artists who are helping to leverage the power of arts, music, and culture to bridge the past with current times. Together, we can envision and work towards a future where all people –regardless of where they were born or where they are from — are treated with respect and fairness.
ED TEPPORN joined the AIISF team in November 2019. He has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He previously served on staff at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) for nearly 16 years, most recently as APIAHF’s Executive Vice President.
He has also served as Director of Education at Saint Louis Effort for AIDS and as Community Co-Chair of Missouri’s Statewide HIV/STD Prevention Community Planning Group. As an associate at Aplomb Consulting, he helped to staff media relations for amFAR’s National AIDS Update Conference and the San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade.
During his time at APIAHF, he oversaw multi-million dollar national programs, functioned as chief strategy officer, served as key liaison to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded national racial equity collaborative, and helped secure over $32 million in funding. He co-developed the 9-month Health Rising Leadership Institute which has trained more than 50 Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to become stronger leaders and storytellers. He has also provided trainings and consulting to hundreds of organizations across the country across a variety of nonprofit leadership and program management topics.
Ed received a B.A. in Biology and Psychology from Washington University. He was also a Nelson Mandela Scholarship recipient in the M.S.W. program at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. He is a certified professional leadership coach. In 2019, Ed was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Equity, He is also currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Fellow.