Asian American and Pacific Islander Veteran Celebration 

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a rich heritage thousands of years old, have both shaped the history of the United States, and had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have answered the call to duty through every major war, and continue to serve diligently today through all branches of our military.

 The California Department of Veterans Affairs Minority and Underrepresented Veterans Division is hosting an informational webinar to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, recognizing and celebrating all Asian and Pacific Islander American Veterans and their contributions to our Armed Forces.

Vito Imbasciani MD, Secretary

Vito D. Imbasciani PhD MD completed medical school at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and his surgical and urologic residencies at Yale-New Haven Hospital and the West Haven VA Hospital (Connecticut). He earned MA and PhD degrees from Cornell University, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Rome, Italy in 1973. He held academic teaching positions at the University of Florida, Cornell University and Middlebury College (VT).

Dr. Imbasciani was commissioned in the Medical Corps of the United States Army in December 1986 and retired after 27 years in 2014 with the rank of colonel. He has deployed four times in support of the wars in the Gulf, and received the Meritorious Service Award, the Combat Medic badge, the Army Commendation Medal (four times) and California Order of Merit. Campaign ribbons include Operation Desert Storm; the Liberation of Kuwait; and Global War against Terrorism (both expeditionary and service).

Dr. Imbasciani has practiced urologic surgery in Los Angeles since 1991 and with Kaiser Permanente since 1997. He is presently the Past President of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and the past President of the California Urologic Association. He was a member of the California Medical Association's Board of Trustees for ten years. He also served on the Board of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente) from 2003-2013, and was its Director of Government Relations from 2007-2015.

Governor Edmund J. Brown appointed Dr. Imbasciani as the 16th Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in September, 2015, and he was confirmed by the State Senate several months later. A member of the Governor's Cabinet, he also serves on the Board of the California Housing Finance Agency, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Honor Committee, and the Governor's Military Council.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, District 66

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) represents the South Bay of Los Angeles County and California’s 66th Assembly District, which is home to the largest number of Japanese and Japanese American residents and businesses in the mainland United States.   He is a former prosecutor and Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice and a former Torrance School Board member.

Assemblymember Muratsuchi has been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Japan External Trade Organization, and others to introduce legislation to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the State of California and Japan.  He is the Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.  Al and his wife Hiroko are raising their family in the South Bay, where he has lived for 25 years.

Ashley Daga, Training Coordinator CalVet, CalTAP

Ashley Daga began her military career as a Reservist with the 940^th Air Refueling Wing at Beale Air Force Base, CA in January 2006.  She’s worked as a Public Health Technician and is currently a Readiness Non-Commissioned Officer with the Airman & Family Readiness Center at the 349^th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, CA.  She attended Ashford University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.  

In her current role, Ashley provides information on the earned benefits and resources to service members, veterans, and family members throughout the state of California. Her daily responsibilities include developing and teaching curriculum at military installations and higher education campuses, as well as, working with internal and external stakeholders.

LTC Kamal S. Kalsi, D.O. graduated from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He then went on to complete his residency in Emergency Medicine and subspecialty training in EMS and Disaster Medicine. He trained in Israel as a special guest of the IDF to learn about their Disaster Preparedness and Response. He joined the Army in 2001, and has served in active and reserve duty positions for 16 years. He became the first Sikh to be granted a religious accommodation in nearly a generation. LTC Kalsi deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and treated hundreds of combat casualties. LTC Kalsi was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his service there. He served as EMS Director to the military's largest stateside EMS system at Fort Bragg for 3 years.

LTC Kalsi's operational experience includes mass casualty planning and response, triage, tactical medicine and expeditionary care in austere environments. In his spare time he advocates for civil liberties with regards to religious freedom. He has been featured in TIME, CNN, BBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Stars and Stripes, NPR, PBS, and many other news outlets. His efforts to improve diversity in the military led to the recent Army policy change 2017-03 which opened the doors for religious accommodations in the Army. He has been an honored guest and speaker at both the White House and the Pentagon. LTC Kalsi has recently transitioned back into the Army Reserves and is the medical officer for the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion in Ft. Dix, NJ. LTC Kalsi is a Truman Fellow, serving on the National Defense Council of the Truman National Security Project.

LTC JASON I. KUROIWA, USA (Ret.), MPA

Executive Council Member-Japanese American Veterans Association 

Jason is an independent consultant who serves on the Board of Directors for the Japanese Americans Veterans Association, Alameda County Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, and Northern California Coast Guard Retiree Council. He also serves as a member of the Supervisory Committee for the Sea West Coast Guard Federal Credit Union and the Military Relations Committee for the Go For Broke National Education Center.

As a human resources executive, he served on numerous command and staff positions from platoon to corps-level. His service tours include assignments in the United States, Republic of Korea, Germany, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait. He has served as a Director and later Commanding Officer of a logistics organization in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM. His unit was awarded the third highest U.S. Army organizational award, the Meritorious Unit Commendation. Jason is also the recipient of the Combat Action Badge and two Bronze Star Medals. He retired from active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Jason received his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, M.A. in Human Resources Management from Webster University, and a M.P.A. from Golden Gate University.