Jag Nagendra: From AAPI LIFT Participant to Civic Candidate

Representation-centered leadership development empowers an experienced community leader to step confidently into public life.

Impact Snapshot

Industry: Civic Leadership/Public Service
Region: Folsom, California
Support: Civic leadership training, representation-centered dialogue, policy and campaign insight
Program: AAPI LIFT
Result: Strengthened civic leadership confidence and candidacy for Folsom City Council

Overview

Jag Nagendra had spent years supporting his community through nonprofit leadership, mentorship, and public service roles. Yet despite his deep involvement in civic life, he often saw himself as someone working behind the scenes rather than stepping forward as a public leader.

Participating in AAPI LIFT, CalAsian Foundation’s civic leadership development program, helped shift that perspective. By exploring representation, identity, and pathways into public leadership, the program helped Jag recognize that his lived experiences and voice belonged in civic spaces.

Today, he is running for Folsom City Council, bringing decades of community leadership into the public arena.

The Challenge

Despite extensive community involvement, Jag faced an internal barrier common among many AAPI leaders:

• Seeing himself as a contributor rather than a front-facing leader
• Questioning whether his lived experience belonged in formal civic spaces
• Navigating cultural expectations and self-doubt
• Lacking clear insight into how electoral leadership pathways function

While committed to service, he had not fully embraced the idea that his voice deserved space in civic and political arenas.

CalAsian Foundation’s Support

Through AAPI LIFT, Jag gained:

• Deeper understanding of how government and campaigns function
• Insight into how advocacy connects to electoral leadership
• Exposure to the campaign experiences of successful Sacramento-area candidates
• A community of AAPI leaders navigating similar questions of identity and representation
• A safe space to discuss cultural expectations, leadership norms, and self-doubt

Conversations around representation and identity were especially impactful. Hearing other AAPI leaders speak openly about hesitation and belonging helped normalize his own internal questions.

The program helped make civic engagement feel concrete, accessible, and achievable.

The Outcome

While Jag’s decision to run for Folsom City Council was not a direct requirement or outcome of the program, AAPI LIFT influenced his confidence to step forward visibly.

Since participating, Jag has:

• Transitioned from supporter to candidate
• Applied campaign insights shared by regional leaders
• Strengthened his belief that authenticity is leadership
• Continued mentoring and building pathways for future leaders

The experience reinforced a core realization: representation is responsibility. For Jag, leadership is not about fitting a mold—it is about showing up authentically and creating space for others to follow.

Why This Matters

AAPI LIFT exemplifies CalAsian Foundation’s role in strengthening civic leadership pipelines. By centering AAPI voices and lived experiences, the program helps participants see themselves as leaders in spaces where representation has historically been limited.

For many AAPI professionals, the barrier is not capability—it is confidence, access, and exposure.

Programs like AAPI LIFT build all three.

By investing in civic leadership development, CalAsian Foundation advances inclusive representation, stronger public engagement, and long-term community impact across the region.

In Jag’s Words (Quotes Preserved Exactly)

“Hearing other AAPI leaders speak openly about self-doubt, cultural expectations, and navigating systems where our voices are often missing made civic engagement feel more accessible.”

“AAPI LIFT reminded me that I belong in civic spaces and that my voice adds value rather than disruption. It reinforced my belief that part of my role in public life is to open doors and create pathways for others.”

“Programs like AAPI LIFT are essential because they build confidence, community, and access. Civic engagement does not have to start with running for office… your voice matters, and there is room for you in public life, exactly as you are.”