Senior Program/Policy Specialist , Office of Minority Community Outreach at the National Education Association thammarath Monica Thammarath is the Senior Program/Policy Specialist in the Office of Minority Community Outreach (MCO) at the National Education Association (NEA), where she serves as the liaison between the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and NEA’s more than 3 million members. Prior to the NEA, Ms. Thammarath was the education policy advocate for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). Ms. Thammarath’s work is grounded in her experience organizing as a college student and providing services locally around access to affordable and high quality education. The daughter of refugees from Laos, Ms. Thammarath was born and raised in Southeast San Diego, California and a proud product of California’s public K-16 education system.