The "Forging the Future" special double issue is arguably the most comprehensive publication to date on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), demographic data trends, and federal policy—including policy briefs on Civil Rights, Economic Development, Education, Health, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders by over 50 leading AANHPI scholars, applied-researchers, and community leaders from all over the nation. Answering President Barack Obama’s call to increase participation by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in federal programs, UCLA's Asian American Studies Center is spotlighting ways to improve education, healthcare and housing for traditionally under-represented groups, like Native Hawaiians and Hmong Americans, with this pioneering new AAPI Nexus journal special issue. The release of this journal coincides with the second anniversary of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), established on October 14, 2009, when President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13515: "Increasing the Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs." The special issue includes activities of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from 2009–2011, and research originally presented at a WHIAAPI convening on research and data collection in December 2010.