MADISON, NJ – ATNJ Education Fund (ATNJEF), a leader in vote by mail (VBM) education and election infrastructure advancement in New Jersey, announces the appointment of Board Trustee, Samantha Bobila, to the New Jersey Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission.

The establishment of this Commission comes after the 2020 Census which showed New Jersey as the fourth state in the nation with the largest population of Asian Americans. New Jersey has over 1.05 million Asian Americans and had the biggest growth of any ethnic or racial group since the last Census at a monumental 44% expansion. Earlier this year, the Governor also signed a bill requiring AAPI history in the school curriculum for grades K-12, becoming the second state to do so. With the rise in violence against Asian Americans nationwide, educating our children about the historic and contemporary contributions of Asian Americans is more critical than ever.

It is quite significant that the announcement of the 28 members on the AAPI Commission comes during AAPI Heritage Month. The AAPI Commission is tasked with “developing policies to address the social and economic needs of the growing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in New Jersey.”

“It is a true honor to serve on the Asian American Pacific Islander Commission. Thank you Governor Murphy for your support of this commission. I hope to honor my fellow Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and use my voice and this platform in a way that uplifts and amplifies the hard work and contributions of the AAPI community,” said Samantha Bobila, a resident of Burlington County.

Founded in 2018, ATNJEF is focused on providing voter education and expanding access to New Jerseyans who have difficulty voting on Election Day, such as individuals without transportation; with accessibility needs; and who cannot take off work to vote. Known as the leading experts of vote by mail in New Jersey, ATNJEF has been the driving force in educating voters on correctly returning VBM ballots to avoid rejections through a number of initiatives, including its website: www.votebymailNJ.org.

Samantha Bobila is a member of a majority AAPI board: Founder and Executive Director, Uyen Khuong, a Vietnamese refugee; Ahmed Al-Shehab, co-founder of CAIR-NJ and Treasurer on the CAIR National Board of Directors; Cindy Matute-Brown, West Orange Council President and Associate Director for NJEA’s Human and Civil Rights, Equity & Governance Division; and Scott Salmon, Counsel at Jardim, Meisner & Susser, P.C., specializing in employment law, election law, and governmental representation.

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ATNJ Education Fund (ATNJEF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization based in New Jersey. ATNJEF envisions a state of citizens who are informed and engaged in democracy; where the power lies with working class people; and where elected officials form policies that create and maintain a just, fair, and inclusive community. Visit www.ATNJEF.org.