Filipino American National Historical Society

The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) was created out of a need to document Filipino American history for succeeding generations. Before Dorothy Laigo Cordova and her husband Fred Cordova took up the task, there was a paucity of information available about the Filipino American community's history in the United States.

Founded on 26 November 1982 in Seattle, Washington, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) is a community-based organization whose mission is “to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation, and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation, and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States” with the goal “...to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support scholarly research and artistic works which reflect that rich past...”

FANHS was first chartered in Washington State on 7 January 1985. The national office and archives are housed in Seattle, operating year-round to lend expertise and support to twenty-eight chapters across the United States. It is recognized as the primary informational resource on Filipino Americans for:

The first board of trustees was elected with 27 members from 12 states on 1 November 1986. In the same year, Fred Cordova, who was the founding president of FANHS, created the National Pinoy Archives. Dorothy Cordova is the founder and serves as executive director.

Since 1987, FANHS has sponsored national conferences (later ratified as a biennial event) where community folks of all ages and from all walks of life gather to share and present research, network with other Filipino Americans, and honor those who have produced ground-breaking innovative work in the field of historical research and analysis.

The 2000 national conference was hosted by the Hampton Roads Chapter of FANHS, held June 28 - July 1, 2000 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The theme, "Forever Pinay/Pinoy: Legacies of the Filipino American Experience". Description: The year 2000 marks the beginning of a new millennium and closure of another. For Filipino Americans, this is a rare opportunity to reaffirm, renew, and remember our commitment of preserving, promoting and evolving from Pinay/Pinoy legacies of the past. In order to successfully establish our place nationally and globally as Filipino Americans, clarity in who we are and what we have done is paramount. Thus, this conference hopes to identify voices and experiences of our Pinay/Pinoy past which will be significant and relevant during the next millennium.

The 2002 biennial national conference was hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter of FANHS, and held in late July 2002 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

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