2024 AANHPI Heritage Month Recognitions
The theme for AANHPI Heritage Month 2024 is "Advancing Leaders Through Innovation". We're honored to share the following recognitions with our community.
Silicon Valley’s Influential Asian American Pacific Islander Leaders for 2024
San Jose Spotlight - Click HERE to read the article [Link]
Otto Lee spent his childhood in Hong Kong. His family immigrated to California when he was 15 due to political unrest. Lee’s father, who had been an attorney, became a restaurant owner in America. Lee, who had experience waiting tables and dish washing, became an attorney himself and opened a law firm.
Before Lee became a politician, he served 28 years in the Navy, including several tours in the Middle East. He learned to not give up and keep charging forward. He later served on the Sunnyvale Planning Commission, where he helped orchestrate smart growth and a revitalization of its downtown. He was one of the Sunnyvale City Council’s first Asian American members, serving from 2003 to 2011. Lee served as vice mayor from 2005 to 2006 and as mayor from 2006 to 2007. He created a Mayoral Green Ribbon Committee to promote environmental awareness.
In November 2020, Lee was elected to the District 3 seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, following a campaign focused on affordable housing, homelessness and public and behavioral health. As supervisor, Lee works to address the growing fentanyl problem in the county, especially after he lost a 29-year-old cousin to an overdose. In January 2022, Lee and Supervisor Susan Ellenberg declared a mental health crisis due to mental illness and substance use disorders and charged the county with creating a plan to address treatment needs.
“Service has been at the core of my values and life’s path and I wanted to help my neighbors, so I volunteered to serve on the Sunnyvale Planning Commission,” Lee told San José Spotlight. “Norm Mineta has always been an inspiration, but it was during my time as commissioner that I got to meet and learn from him, along with Paul Fong, Michael Chang and Mike Honda. Their mentorship and guidance have inspired my service to the community.”
May 29, 2024
2023 AANHPI Heritage Month Recognitions
2021 AAPI Heritage Month Recognitions
Additional AANHPI Recognitions
The D3 Team recognizes Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month to celebrate the contributions of the AANHPI community along with recognitions for Black History Month, Women's History Month, PRIDE Month, Muslim Americans, and more where we have celebrated AANHPI individuals. Click on the their images to read more about these additional community celebrations.
