Naomi Tacuyan Underwood (née Naomi Tuazon Tacuyan) is a

Filipina-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

journalist, and AAPI activist. Underwood grew up in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

after her family migrated there from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in the 1980s. In January, 2019 she was living in Annandale, Virginia. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and Asian Pacific American studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and a master's degree in public policy from UCLA. In December 2008, she married Ricardo Hurao Underwood, the third child of

Robert A. Underwood Robert Anacletus Underwood (born July 13, 1948) is an American politician and educator who served as the delegate from Guam to the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 as a member of the Democratic Party. He subsequently serv ...

. In 2009, the Filipina Women's Network named her one of America's 100 most influential Filipina women. At the time, she was the deputy director of APIAVote. In September 2010, she led the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

's outreach program to the AAPI community. Underwood worked as the director of programs for the Faith & Politics Institute prior to becoming the executive director of the Asian American Journalists Association, serving in the latter role since January, 2019. She represented the association in a March 2021 meeting at the White House to discuss AAPI issues and how the Biden administration could address anti-Asian hate.

References

Living people Guamanian women 21st-century American journalists American women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) American writers of Filipino descent American political journalists 21st-century American women writers New York University College of Arts & Science alumni UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Naomi