The Rise of the Asian Candidate: Race and Representation in the 2024 Election

Schedule

6 p.m.: Arrivals and check-in
6:30 p.m.: Panel and Q&A
7:30 p.m.: Reception

The 2024 election is just taking shape but already we can expect to see a historic number of major Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) presidential candidates in the running for the White House – from the widely expected re-election announcement from Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Asian-American Vice President to former Ambassador Nikki Haley. But at the same time we are also seeing record-high anti-Asian sentiment in the United States. What does it mean to be an Asian American covering this election as a reporter? What role will race play in this election? How do presidential candidates navigate their own identities as they try to build coalitions across the country? Presented with the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), New York Chapter, this panel of national political reporters will discuss their own experiences on the campaign trail and preview the 2024 presidential election.

Join Zohreen Shah, Deepa Shivaram, Ali Velshi, Dylan Wells, and Ben Pu for this moderated conversation followed by a reception.

Speakers

Zohreen Shah, ABC News is an ABC News reporter, frequently filing for GMA, World News, Nightline and ABC News Live. The UCLA and Columbia alum got her start in journalism at the LA Times before reporting and anchoring in local markets including Los Angeles and Sacramento, where she started a series during her free time called Capitol Conversations with California’s top politicians. She started at ABC as a political embed, closely covering Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang and Michael Bloomberg. Later as a reporter for ABC, she landed multiple exclusives with California Governor Gavin Newsom right before his high-profile recall election, including the only sit-down interview with Newsom and Senator Elizabeth Warren, and every major Republican challenger in the race. She most recently helped cover the midterm election for ABC News.

Deepa Shivaram, NPR is a political reporter at NPR where she covers the White House, Department of Justice and elections. Her work appears on NPR’s flagship shows Morning Edition and All Things Considered, online and on The NPR Politics Podcast. She joined NPR as a digital reporter in 2021, covering domestic and international breaking news. Previously, she was an NBC News campaign embed during the 2020 election, where she followed both the Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren campaigns. She has participated in fellowships with the International Women’s Media Foundation and the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. Deepa is a graduate of George Washington University and is originally from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ali Velshi, MSNBC is an award-winning journalist, host of Velshi and Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, and a weekly economics contributor to NPR's Here And Now. He has covered multiple U.S. Presidential elections and significant news stories around the globe, including extensive reporting from Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion, the Syrian refugee crisis from Turkey and Jordan, the Iran Nuclear Deal in Tehran, the Greek debt crisis in Athens, and the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera America and CNN.

Dylan Wells, The Washington Post is a campaign reporter at the Washington Post, covering the 2024 presidential race and down ballot races. She is part of the Post's Next Generation team, with a mission of engaging younger and more diverse audiences. Dylan joined the Post last fall, covering the 2022 midterms and Georgia Senate runoff. She previously covered Congress and campaigns at USA Today, National Journal and CNN. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

Ben Pu, NBC News (Moderator) is a producer for the NBCU News Group Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team. He previously served as a 2020 campaign embed for NBC News and covered various presidential campaigns. He also covered the Iowa and Nevada caucuses, embedding in those states during the Democratic primary election. Ben was previously an associate producer for MSNBC Dayside and also worked on MSNBC’s Meet the Press Daily with Chuck Todd as a video producer and graphics production assistant. Ben also served on the National Governing Board of the Asian American Journalist Association (AAJA) as well as on the board of the AAJA New York chapter. Ben graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Global Studies.

Presented in association with the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) New York Chapter.