The May O. Lee Community Leadership Award recognizes one individual each year and provides the awardee’s chosen community organization an unrestricted grant of $1,000.

A co-founder of APIs Rise Fund and founder of Asian Resources, Inc., among multiple achievements, May O. Lee exemplifies community-driven leadership in the AANHPI community, across communities of color and throughout the Sacramento region. For four decades, she has led and forcefully advocated for equity, justice, representation, and resources—most often from the trenches while continuing to directly serve community members.

Each year, APIs Rise Fund awards one individual who exemplifies May’s spirit and commitment to community leadership, and additionally provides the awardee’s chosen community organization an unrestricted grant of $1,000.

Criteria:

  1. Awardee must demonstrate leadership for three or more years advancing empowerment, civic engagement, leadership, philanthropy, arts and culture, and/or activism for progressive social change in the AANHPI community of the greater Sacramento region. 

  2. Awardee must reside or work primarily in the greater Sacramento region.

  3. The chosen organization or group must primarily serve AANHPI community/communities in the greater Sacramento region; for-profit entities are ineligible.

  4. The funds must be provided to a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

  5. Elected officials and current members of APIs Rise leadership/working group team do not qualify.

2023 Inaugural May O. Lee Community Leadership Award

Tho Vinh Banh

 

Image: Tho Vinh banh dances with may lee

April 29, 2024

APIs RISE Fund is pleased to announce Tho Vinh Banh as the recipient of the inaugural May O. Lee Community Leadership Award.  Nomination submitted by community member Judy Robinson captures the spirit of who Tho Vinh is:

Tho Vinh is the advocates’ advocate.

Tho Vinh lives her life from a place of love, joy, equity and justice - particularly for the AAPI and Disability communities across California. She learned from the best, May O. Lee, and continues to advocate, inform, educate, and lobby for those in need and those being treated unjustly.

She is collaborative, energetic, brilliant and a leader among leaders. She brings voice and perspective to issues many in our region and state aren't aware of or don't want to address. Tho Vinh is a problem solver and works hard making our communities and quality of life better.

She understands Sacramento's multicultural communities because she is always engaging with them, talking to people and organizations, and listening. She builds trust and is trusted....by the countless many.

Tho Vinh is the trusted voice of reason and persuasion, she gathers signatures for petitions and gets people to write letters and speak at public hearings on key, important issues.

Tho Vinh helps people see their potential and encourages them to know themselves, and live that fully. She has dedicated most of her life to advocacy and justice. She understands the hardships, bias, racism, and hate that our residents, immigrants and refugees face, as well as people with disabilities and she fights that fight day after day.

She doesn't just advocate for these individuals and others, she's worked to change legislation to improve lives and address so many disparities, she represented all Californians with Disabilities by being appointed to the State level California 2020 Census Committee, she was also on the Sacramento County Committee, and outreached to countless people about how important their voices and their voting is.

Tho Vinh and others who know her would all agree that Tho Vinh is a force to be reckoned with - not too different than what folks would say about May Lee. Tho Vinh is a lover of food, people and plants and loves to live life.

Tho Vinh dedicates this award to One Mind Group One Mind Group (한마음회, Han Ma Eum Hwe, in Korean) which means helping each other as if we have one mind to support their children with disabilities. They cover the greater Sacramento area. the purpose of the support group is to support Korean American individuals with disabilities and their families. It was founded in 1998 at the Sacramento State University in Sacramento by Dr. EunMi Cho.