2020.09.08
Views from Inside America
What is Happening in Wyoming? The Coronavirus Pandemic and Other Challenges
Video Interview Series with Asian American State Legislators No. 6
What is happening in the United States as the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic? To take a closer look at the latest developments at the local level including efforts to reopen businesses, discrimination against Asian Americans, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and more, this interview series showcases conversations with state-level legislators who discuss the challenges and opportunities they are seeing on the ground.
The sixth installment in this series features Wyoming House of Representatives, Mike Yin in an interview conducted on August 10, 2020.
Mike Yin
State Representative, Wyoming House of Representatives (Democrat)
Mike Yin was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives in 2018 to represent the area of Jackson Hole covered by Wyoming House District 16. Representative Yin was born in Georgia to immigrants born in China and Malaysia. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon and received his B.S. in Computer Science.
After working as a software developer, he found a calling to be more active in his local community. In 2016, he helped candidates run for office, then in 2018, he was elected to be the first Chinese American legislator in Wyoming.
Representative Yin sits on the Labor, Health, & Social Services Committee and the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, & Cultural Resources Committee.
Irene Kawanabe
Director, National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators
Irene Kawanabe serves as the Director of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators, an organization of 147 state legislators from 31 states. Irene also serves as a Group Director at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Irene oversees the State-Tribal Institute, the Quad Caucus and the Women’s Legislative Network.
For more from SPF's Japan-U.S. Program, please visit the SPF Insights into Japan-U.S. Relations page.
