Contact Us

Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment (CAPISE)

Email: capise@sjsu.edu
Main Phone: 408-924-3674

Office Location
Diaz Compean Student Union
Room 1520 (next to Veterans Resource Center)

Mailing Address
Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment
San José State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA  95192-0196

Are you a SJSU class or high school/community college group interested in physically visiting us? Scroll below for more information.

Meet Our Team

Professional Staff

Headshot of Jinni Pradhan

Jinni Pradhan, Ph.D.
Program Director
Pronouns: she/her
jinni.pradhan@sjsu.edu

Jinni Pradhan is the inaugural Program Director for the Center of Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment at San José State University and has been working in Multicultural Student Affairs for nearly 10 years. She is a second-generation South Asian, Nepali American, born and raised in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. She did her undergraduate education at the University of San Francisco, and has a Master's degree (M.A.) in Communication from University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in Cultural Studies from University of California, Davis. Jinni is a huge pop culture and media fan and enjoys watching Japanese dramas, anime, and Marvel films. She also likes to explore different cultural foods and languages, and has varying levels of fluency in English, Japanese, and Nepali. In her position, she promotes the academic and personal growth of Asian and Pacific Islander students by leading the CAPISE team to provide culturally-relevant programs and services through the center and advocating for resources that support student retention and success on campus. 

 

Melody Vang headshot

Melody Vang, M.A.
Interim Program Coordinator
Pronouns: she/her
melody.vang@sjsu.edu

Melody is the interim Program Coordinator for the Center of Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment at San Jose State University. Originally from the neighborhoods of Santa Ana and the Fresno area and being of Hmong descent, Melody is also a first-generation graduate and values the endless opportunities education and knowledge can bring. As a proud San José State University alumni, Melody was originally accepted into the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering and changed her major to join the College of Social Science where she found her true calling in the Department of Psychology and flourished as a Spartan. After graduating from San José State University, Melody went on to receive her Master's degree at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology and has previously been featured in Harvard Business Publishing Education. She is also currently a psychology professor for Pepperdine's Online Psychology Master's Program. She is a huge Kobe Bryant fan and during her free time she loves to play basketball, piano, travel, and dance at local studios. She listens to latin/hip-hop & rap/RnB music, watches anime, sews, and likes to learn new things. In her position, Melody supports Asian and Pacific Islander students in getting connected to resources that support their holistic success, works with the CAPISE team to develop culturally-relevant programs, and fosters community and belonging through coordinating the center’s operations.

2024- 2025 Student Staff

Community Organizers (organizing programs)

  • Coming soon!

Community Marketing Specialists (managing social media & marketing outreach)

  • Coming soon!

Visiting CAPISE?

CAPISE is a brand new department at SJSU. At this time, CAPISE is unable to:

  • Host large impromptu visits (more than 10 people) from SJSU classes, visiting schools and pre-collegiate programs (due to space constraints).
  • Host student panel presentations (due to space constraints).
  • Lead any campus tours at this time. (We recommend that you reach out to the SJSU Student Outreach and Recruitment (SOAR) department regarding campus tours.)

If you are planning in advance to visit with a large group, please email us a minimum of four (4) weeks in advance, and someone from our professional staff will reach out to you to see if and how we can support your group.