Our friends at Asian Pacific Americans for Progress have put together a list of the Top Asian American Pacific Islander Unsung Heroes 2009, celebrating community leaders who often go unrecognized for their important behind-the-scenes work. The winners are:

1. Siwaraya Rochanahusdin for work on Save Berkeley Thai Temple.

2. John Delloro for work in the labor movement.

Yuh-Line Niou for public policy work at Poverty Action Network.

Steve Nguyen for work on increasing media representation of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) and role on channelAPA.

Steve Ngo for electoral campaign work, legal advocacy, and education

Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu i for work in Pacific Islander issues and education.

Helen Gym for work in various sectors and particularly as a board member of Asian Americans United.

Ben de Guzman for dedication to the passage of Filipino World War II Veterans Equity as the National Coordinator of National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE) and in the AAPI LGBT community.

Congratulations and thank you to all. To learn more about each of these Unsung Heroes and the important work that they do in their communities, go to the Asian Pacific Americans for Progress website here.