Founded by Rose Chung in 1985, the Miss Asian Global (MAG) Pageant has been the longest running Asian pageant in the United States and the premier event in the Asian American community for the past three decades. Founded at the Asian American Arts Festival, the pageant has been recognized internationally, with regional competitions nationwide. Originally founded as Miss Asian California, the pageant evolved over the years to meet the requests of its supporters and to expands its impact worldwide.

Miss Asian Global established its non-profit status under the umbrella of the Asian America Foundation in 2014 and continues its active participation in nationwide events. From its partnership with the American Legion, the nation’s largest veteran’s organization, to its participation in America’s largest Chinese New Year celebration held in San Francisco, the pageant continues its positive representation of the Asian community.

Celebrating the three pillars of beauty, intelligence, and culture, Miss Asian Global is proud to contribute significantly to community causes. Portions of proceeds from the event are donated to APA Family Support Services, a nationally recognized child abuse/domestic violence prevention program, and to the Stanford University Asian Liver Center, an organization who aims to raise Hepatitis B awareness in the Asian American community.

The pageant has hosted almost 1,000 delegates over the last three decades and boasts a range of titleholders who have gone on to become leaders in their fields. Mona Lee Locke (Miss Asian California 1986) went on to a successful journalism career and became First Lady of the State of Washington. Gwendoline Yeo (Miss Asian America 1995)  has a successful career in the film industry and has starred in Grey’s Anatomy, American Crime, NCIS, and Criminal Minds. Amrapali Ambegaokar (Miss Asian California 1999) is an accomplished Cirque du Soleil dancer and film actor. Miss Asian Global takes pride in being a stepping in shaping the leaders of the future.

In 2014, Miss Asian Global addressed the pageant’s relevance to meet the needs of today’s forward driven woman who are focused on leadership, entrepreneurship and social impact. Thus, Imagine Talks was created to meet these interests and to help further the delegates’ personal and professional development. Held annually in January, the Imagine Talks conference is a collaboration with mentor agency Edge Interns to inspire the community to make a difference in the world. Imagine Talks promote mentorships, empower aspirations and foster growth by sharing arts, business big ideas and stories of humanity. With its growing popularity and great support, Imagine Talks was inspired to add the year-round Imagine Talks Forums to its program. MAG’s innovative approach to pageantry attracted the attention of the tech industry and its story was covered in Wired Magazine: BIKINIS AND TED TALKS: CAN THIS ALL-ASIAN COMPETITION TRULY DISRUPT BEAUTY PAGEANTS?

Asian America Foundation with its Miss Asian Global Pageant and Imagine Talks Conference is looking ahead to further develop programs to address the interests and needs of this new generation of leaders.