Leadership Spotlight💡Building a Legacy of Connection: A Journey of Service and Visibility

For Lily Lee, leadership is about creating a seat at the table for those who have long been silent. Her journey as a community builder began with a strategic vision: to weave the Chinese community into the diverse fabric of the broader AAPI family. In 2024, inspired by the passage of SB 5000—the historic bill designating January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month—Lily founded Helping Hands of Chinese Communities (HHCC). 

Lily was fortunate to begin this work from within the Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC), learning alongside diverse community leaders in a true AAPI hub. By establishing HHCC within this multicultural environment, she ensured that the Chinese community would grow as an integrated part of a regional coalition. Since becoming a 2025 CLI Fellow, this mission has accelerated into a multi-generational movement of over 50 volunteers, ranging from 7th-grade youth to seniors over 80. 

Under Lily’s coordination, and with APCC as the host, HHCC has achieved historic milestones for visibility. This past January, they organized a landmark Chinese Spring Festival for 750 attendees—the first of its scale in Tacoma in over 140 years. Lily’s leadership has also empowered the community to step into civic spaces for the first time. In February 2025, she led the first organized delegation to represent Pierce County’s Chinese community at ANHPI Legislative Day in Olympia. This was followed in October 2025 by the first visible, united Chinese community presence at the Candidate Forum hosted at APCC. 

 “The CLI mentorship has been a lifeline,” Lily shares. “Working with the CLI leadership team helped me realize that to build a sustainable future, we must show up as a unified team.” Looking ahead, Lily is focused on expanding this model of high-trust community building across the Puget Sound area, ensuring that the Chinese community is a visible, safe, and connected force for the common good.