Dr. Andy Szeto: A Sign of Things to Come - The Promise and Pipeline of Asian American and Pacific Islander Leadership

May 6
4 min read

The Promise of the Moment

The election of Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s first mayor-elect of South Asian and Muslim heritage, is more than a political milestone - it is a sign of things to come. As an American whose story reflects the city’s diversity, his victory speaks to the full breadth of our nation’s democratic promise. For decades, Asian Americans have helped build this city’s schools, businesses, and civic life. Yet even as our communities have grown, our presence in leadership has remained limited.

The promise of this moment is not only about who leads City Hall - it’s about what becomes possible when visibility meets voice. That same promise applies to our schools. In the New York City, nearly one in five students identifies as Asian American, but only 8 percent of teachers and about 5 percent of principals share that identity (Elsen-Rooney & Shen-Berro, 2025).

As a professor of educational leadership and president of A3 of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), I know firsthand how representation gaps affect who sees themselves as future leaders. The issue is not a lack of interest or ability — it is a lack of access, mentorship, and visibility.

A Representation Gap That Limits Possibility

This underrepresentation is not unique to New York. Nationally, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) educators make up just 2.5 percent of teachers and fewer than 2 percent of K–12 principals, while AAPI students comprise roughly 6 percent of U.S. enrollment (Superville, 2023). These numbers reveal an infrastructure gap, not a talent gap.

Many AAPI educators lead quietly — through service, collaboration, and persistence — but they are seldom identified or sponsored for leadership roles. Culturally, humility and collective values can make self-advocacy uncomfortable. Structurally, leadership selection often rewards assertiveness over reflection. The result is a system that fails to recognize leadership potential that looks different.

Leadership that reflects the communities it serves is more responsive and equitable. When AAPI perspectives are absent from decision-making, schools lose cultural insight, linguistic understanding, and community trust. The goal is not token representation — it is redefining what effective leadership looks like.

From Representation to Recruitment

Across the city, small but committed networks of Asian American educators are working to close this gap. Within these networks — including the community fostered by A3 — educators gather for networking, mentorship, and leadership development. The emphasis is simple: making leadership visible so others can see themselves in it.

These spaces matter. They build confidence, create connections, and demystify leadership pathways. But awareness alone will not build a pipeline. The real question is: How do we attract and prepare more AAPI educators to lead?

The answer lies in creating conditions of access, affirmation, and alignment:

Access through Mentorship and Outreach: Many AAPI teachers never consider leadership because no one has asked them to. Districts and supervisors should personally identify and mentor promising educators early in their careers. Encouragement from someone who believes in their potential is often the first step.
Affirmation through Visibility: Highlight AAPI administrators in newsletters, conferences, and PD sessions. Representation breeds aspiration — when leadership is seen, it becomes imaginable.
Practical Pathways: Scholarships, flexible scheduling, and hybrid or weekend cohort models can make graduate programs accessible for educators balancing work and family.

When these steps happen together, the message shifts from “You could lead” to “We need you to lead.”

The View from the Pipeline

Each semester reveals how invisible this leadership path can be. Among dozens of aspiring administrators, there may be only one or two AAPI students — sometimes none. Leadership is not only learned through coursework but also through proximity; if you never see someone like you in those roles, leadership can feel unattainable.

To truly strengthen the pipeline, colleges and universities must also diversify who teaches leadership and teacher preparation. There is an urgent need for more AAPI professors in teacher education and educational leadership programs, where representation among faculty remains even smaller than among school administrators. When AAPI scholars teach, mentor, and design preparation curricula, they expand how leadership is defined — emphasizing relational, culturally responsive, and multilingual approaches that better reflect today’s classrooms.

The challenge, then, is not only recruiting AAPI educators into schools but ensuring they can see a full pathway — from classroom teacher to principal to professor — where their experiences and cultural knowledge are valued.

From Symbol to System

Mayor Mamdani’s victory carries symbolic power, but its deeper value lies in what it represents for civic imagination. For too long, AAPI leadership in education and public service has been treated as exceptional. It must become expected.

To sustain this moment, we need more than celebration — we need intentional pipelines of belonging:

Districts can create targeted development programs that mentor AAPI educators and encourage them to pursue administrative certification.
Graduate programs can actively recruit and support AAPI candidates through outreach, funding, and diverse faculty representation.
Professional associations can move beyond cultural recognition toward sponsorship — recommending, nominating, and preparing AAPI educators for visible roles.

These are not symbolic gestures; they are strategies that affirm AAPI educators as essential contributors to public education’s future.

Representation is not a seasonal celebration; it is a sustained invitation. If we are serious about equity, we must be serious about who leads. That begins by looking around every leadership table — from classrooms to cabinet meetings — and asking: Who isn’t here yet, and what are we doing to bring them in?

Because the promise of this moment — embodied in Mayor Mamdani’s historic win — will only endure if we turn it from symbol into system.

And if these ideas resonate, check out my new book Leading Before the Title, available from The Worthy Educator Press, and my writing at drandyszeto.com.

References

Elsen-Rooney, M., & Shen-Berro, J. (2025, February 27). Nearly 1 in 5 NYC students are Asian American; just 8% of teachers are. Chalkbeat.

Superville, D. R. (2023, February 28). Why aren’t there more Asian American school leaders? Here’s what we heard. Education Week.

Lead Forward is an exclusive feature by Dr. Andy Szeto on The Worthy Educator. Check back regularly for new insights for aspiring leaders!