The Department of Aviation’s Racial Equity Advisory Council (REAC) is hosting a series of activities throughout the month of May in recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month 2024.
REAC's programming will celebrate the contributions of individuals from the following cultures:
- Central Asians: Afghani, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgians, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek.
- East Asians: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Tibetan.
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (in the U.S. Jurisdictions & Territories): Carolinian, Chamorro, Chuukese, Fijian, Guamanian, Hawaiian, Kosraean, Marshallesse, Native Hawaiian, Niuean, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Papua New Guinean, Samoan, Tokelauan, Tongan, Yapese.
- Southeast Asians: Bruneian, Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Timorese, Thai, Vietnamese.
- South Asians: Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivians, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan.
- Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Activities include:
East Meets Sweets| Thursday, May 16, 12-1 p.m., International Plaza 2, Suite 400 Conference Room 4514
Bring your favorite Asian American or Pacific Islander desert to share. RSVP to Kim Tran
Visit to Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center, followed by meal at EMei | Saturday, May 18, 3 p.m.
Attendees should reserve their Shofuso tickets for the 3 p.m. entrance slot
ThursYay! Virtual Games | Thursday, May 30, Noon
Look for email invite with details
Employee Spotlights
The Department of Aviation is proud to have diverse representation within the AAPI Community. Learn more about our colleagues below!
Sobi Babu, Engineering Specialist, has been a member of the Capital Development/Engineering team since January 2001.
Describe your personal and professional journey that led you to where you are now.
I immigrated from South India, Kerala and took my citizenship. Kerala is a very beautiful place for sightseeing, rich with palm trees and was often referred as “God’s own country”. My professional journey started when I joined Mahatma Gandhi University for my Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and graduated in 1992. I was the first women engineer in my family.
My true passion came true when I immigrated to the City of Brotherly Love in 1994. Even if I am miles and miles away from my dear and near ones, I consider Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) as my own family. I am proud to say that we have 25 women working at Capital Development Group (CDG): women from various origins and ethnicities working as a team with remarkable roles in improving the aviation industry. Here, I met lot of women in aviation, and we honor Women’s Day at CDG on March 8 for the last three years.
Being at PHL, I was introduced to various engineering disciplines by managing different engineering projects, including civil, electrical, and mechanical work. My primary focus now is to add geothermal heating and cooling systems with architectural and structural rehabilitation of the existing administration building at our Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), the airport that provides flight operations in conjunction with fixed base operators (FBO) which service General Aviation aircrafts. The design of this project was on hold during the pandemic and is regenerated with the help of funding from Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). When completed, this project will be the first geothermal project for our airport. The earth’s core has a constant temperature irrelevant of atmospheric temperature and we are making use of this gift from Mother Nature to heat and cool the building. The renovation of the building will be completed for Philadelphia's 2026 celebrations. Currently, I am preparing the bid documents. I can’t wait to see this big accomplishment at PNE.
Why is AAPI Month important to you?
May is Mother’s Day. As an AAPI, I will recall three important days in this month.
First, May is important in transportation history. The transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, with majority of workers being Asian immigrants.
Second, May 7,1861 is Ravindranath Tagore’s birthday. The Indian national anthem was written by this Bengali poet, who was a philosopher, writer, composer, social reformer, and painter. In 1913 he became the first lyricist to win Nobel prize in literature.
Third, May 15 is Budha Poornima Day, the birthday of Sri Budha, the founder of Buddhism.
Please tell us one of your favorite Asian American or Pacific Islander iconic or historical figures.
The historic Asian American figure I admire is Shyamala Gopalan (1938-2009), an Indian American biomedical scientist who was a Tamil Brahmin, immigrated to the United States at the age of 19 with her parent’s retirement savings. She earned her master’s and Ph.D., married a Jamaican immigrant and gave birth to two daughters who became lawyers and one of which is the current vice president of United states of America. Shyamala worked at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory in isolating and characterizing the progesterone receptor gene that stimulated advances in oncology. She also served on President’s Special Commission on Breast Cancer. Dr. Gopalan was a good mentor to lot of girls who were in the research field. She also promoted her interests in clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.
Anything else you'd like to share.
The “Gold Pros” at PHL is an Airport Empowerment group (AEG) for women over 40 plus allies to empower women by volunteering and dedicating their time and effort in “Conversations, Community and Connections” with many activities, event, and seminars. In our monthly meetings we have a segment called “Tips, Tricks and Life Hacks” and conclude the meetings with “Moments of Gratitude”. I would like to welcome and encourage more women at PHL to join the Gold Pros. Together, we are one family!