THE STORY OF

LILY LEE CHEN

Former mayor of Monterey Park, California, Lily Lee Chen was elected in 1983 making her America's first Chinese American female mayor. Born in China and raised in Taiwan, Chen later moved to America during the 1950's. In her life she has dedicated 27 years of service to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services and has received several Presidential appointments. Named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the "8 Los Angeles Women You Should Know", Chen's story is an integral part of American history.

Award winning journalist, Lisa Ling, is the host and executive producer of This is Life with Lisa Ling. Since the age of 16, Ling has hosted and reported for many programs including Channel One News, The View, National Geographic Explorer, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Now on HBO Max is her six-part documentary series called Take Out highlighting Asian-American take out restaurants and the stories of the families behind them.

Judy Chu was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in July 2009. She represents the 27th Congressional District, which includes Pasadena and the West San Gabriel Valley of Southern California. She is the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress.

Julia Chang Bloch is the first Chinese American US Ambassador, a diplomat, businessperson, and founder and president of the US-China Education Trust. She was appointed ambassador to Nepal by President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, a part of her extensive career in international affairs. She is a co-founder of the Organization of Chinese American Women (OCAW) and founder and current president of the US-China Education Trust.

Russell Jeung is an Asian American sociologist at San Francisco State University. After receiving his Bachelors and Masters from Stanford University, he went on to work in China and with the Mayor’s Office in San Francisco before obtaining his Ph.D in Sociology from University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his social activism on racism towards Asiam Americans and is the co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a project that tracks Covid-19 related discrimination in order to develop community resources and policy interventions to fight racism.

Los Angeles based documentary filmmaker, Nox Yang, uses storytelling to connect audiences with communities, raise awareness and promote cross culture understanding in her films. With a focus on gender, race, and cross-cultural identity, her past subjects have included Chinese international students, formerly incarcerated women of color, sex trafficking survivors, and many more.