Ms. Becky Lee received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Women's Studies from the University of Michigan and then continued on to receive her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Interested in the prevention of domestic violence, Ms. Lee has been working on issues concerning domestic violence survivors over the last eight years as an advocate, a policy associate and an attorney. She is also passionate about creating awareness of the specific needs of battered immigrant women, such as language access and cultural competency. Additionally, she has worked as a kickboxing instructor for over 6 years and has focused on helping battered women regain their confidence and self-esteem through her classes.   

When she was given the opportunity to try out for Survivor during the summer of 2006, Ms. Lee decided to go for it because she wanted to break media stereotypes of Asian Americans and also bring more awareness to the prevalence of domestic violence. Now that the show is over, she continues to dedicate much of her time to these causes.  With much of the money she made on the show, Ms. Lee first created the non-profit organization, Becky’s Fund, to raise money to help battered women leave their abusers and become more financially secure.  After seeing a bigger need for programs such as education and advocacy for battered women, the mission has evolved into 4 components: 1) creating awareness: helping people understand the elements of domestic awareness such as how prevalent it is, why battered women can’t always leave easily, and what can be done to fight against domestic violence, 2) encouraging advocacy: getting people to care about ending domestic violence, 3) supporting activism: taking an active role in helping battered women find safety through counseling, legal representation, etc, and 4) fundraising: providing financial assistance to organizations that support victims of domestic violence through the awarding of grants through a competitive process to small organizations that have proven potential for great impact and stability, particularly in marginalized or immigrant communities.   She is currently working on a domestic violence college tour which to launch in the fall and incorporate interviews about domestic violence with local celebrities, students, survivors, and leaders of the community in her presentation to the schools. 

In her free time, Ms. Lee is extremely active in the Korean community.  While she volunteers for the Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project, she is also a member of the Korean Americans Against Family Abuse Committee and Board Member and Secretary of the DC Chapter of the Korean American Coalition. Since she believes strongly in giving back to the community and helping the younger generation excel, Becky has also taken part of her earnings and set up several scholarships through her high school, University of Pittsburgh Law School, local church, and a civic organization, The Korean Association of the Greater Pittsburgh.

 

 

Sam Yoon was elected to the Boston City Council in November 2005, making history as the first Asian American ever to run for elected office in Boston. Between time spent bringing landlords and tenants together and fighting for additional funding for youth violence prevention programs, Sam has proven that he is dedicated to making Boston a safer, stronger, more affordable place to live.

Since being in office Sam has worked to make it easier for police to track illegal guns. To obtain for more funding for public safety Sam has recently written legislation that would secure an additional $35 million coined as “Nickel of Public Safety”! Working with his colleagues, every year Sam has fought to put more money in the budget to invest in the future of our youth through programs aimed at preventing youth violence.

As Chair of the Housing Committee Sam has worked hard to bridge the communication gap between landlords and tenants. In fact, recently Sam brought these two groups together to work towards improving relationships and ultimately making Boston a place where people can continue to live and raise a family. Collaborating with his colleagues at the State and Local level Sam has also fought to create more affordable housing in the City of Boston.

An integral member of the community, Sam is a founding member and core steering committee member of The New Majority, a coalition of African Americans, Latinos, and Asians who have joined together to advance a common agenda for communities of color in Boston. He is a board member of Viet-Aid, which serves the Vietnamese community in Dorchester; a member of the Fields Corner Main Street Association; and he is an elder at the Bethany Presbyterian Church.

After graduating with a B.A. from Princeton University Sam went on to teach in two of New Jersey’s most troubled public school systems. Sam moved to Boston to pursue graduate work at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where he focused on community economic development and affordable housing eventually writing his thesis on the Dudley Square retail district. Sam began his professional career as a Project Manager for Community Builders, the nation's largest non-profit developer of affordable housing. From here Sam worked for numerous community-based non-profits in the Boston area including Boston Aging Concerns, an organization focused on housing for families where grandparents are the primary care givers; and Abt Associates, a leading public policy research firm. Most recently, Sam served as Development Director for Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) working to create affordable housing in Boston's Chinatown.Through these organizations Sam has managed development projects ranging from eight bedrooms to 251 units, from $1 million to $88 million in size. He has worked on projects in Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, the Cape, as well as Dorchester, Roxbury, and Chinatown. Sam, his wife Tina, and their two children make their home in the Fields Corner neighborhood of Dorchester. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Sam came to this country with his parents when he was ten months old. At ten years old, he became a naturalized U. S. citizen.

Rajini Srikanth is a faculty member in the English department and Asian American Studies program at UMass Boston. Her research and teaching focus on U. S. literature as well as American Studies in an international context. She is interested in issues of race, ethnicity, power, and citizenship. Her book "The World Next Door: South Asian American Literature and the Idea of America" (2004) won the Cultural Studies Book Award from the Association for Asian American Studies. Among her recent publications is an article on the relationship between African American and Asian American Muslims. Professor Srikanth is the current President of the Association for Asian American Studies, which is the national organization of the field of API research and teaching.