Sherry Hirota is the Chief Executive Officer of Asian Health Services and a dynamic advocate and pioneer in the national, state, and local Asian American and Pacific Islander health movement. In particular, she has played a critical role in the establishment of linguistic and cultural competence standards in managed care. As an appointee to national, state, and local health policy bodies, she continues to advise Congressional leaders and take the lead on issues such as eligibility criteria for indigent care, population-based medically underserved designations, strategies for urban health policy, language access standards, and stabilization of core infrastructure funding for community-based organizations.