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.

2024 May O. Lee Community Leadership Award

Cha Vang

April 24, 2025

CHA VANG LIBERATOR OF THE OPPRESSED

Cha Vang was born in the refugee camps of Thailand and raised in South Sacramento. She loves her Sacramento Community and works tirelessly for and with them. As the Founder and first Executive Director of Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP), California she worked on issues ranging from education to food justice and most importantly uplifting those who have been oppressed. This is Cha’s purpose and passion in life.

She is generous, compassionate, an advocate’s advocate, and a community organizer working relentlessly to improve outcomes for AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) children and families. She works to ensure AANHPI communities get the resources they deserve and need to thrive.

She has also done expansive outreach and community engagement with the Hmong community, AANHPI, youth and others to show people their “voice” and the power and influence they have, how to use their power, and the rights they have to be at decision making tables.

Currently, she is the Deputy Director of AAPIs For Civic Empowerment Education Fund & AAPIs For Civic Empowerment. A statewide organization which advances policies, campaigns and issues that support working-class AAPIs through voter mobilization and base building. Cha recognizes the importance of engaging our youth – she holds listening sessions to hear about the challenges youth are facing, involves them in local elections, and worked with them to create a comic book celebrating AAPI’s working class and communities across California and their fight for positive change. The powerful stories contained in A Force For Change, a comic book by AAPI FORCE-EF, illustrate how working-class AAPI communities have and continue to fight for environmental, housing, labor, and economic justice.

Together, we are A FORCE FOR CHANGE!

Cha was appointed by Attorney General Rob Bonta to the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board and has made great contributions in sharing the stories of families and the tragedy profiling, oppression, cyber bullying, and the need for mental health support faced by so many AANHPI families. Additionally, Cha serves as a board member of the Sacramento Metropolitan Lions Club and a member of the California State Fair’s Cultural Advisory Council.

Cha’s voice is heard from one end of California to the other and beyond. And Cha’s life purpose extends beyond what one would call her “day job”. Cha is an advocate and a fighter 24/7! Cha is humble, funny, loyal, caring, brave, mindful, introspective, rooted in family and culture and is relentless. She enjoys traveling, good food, friends, dressing in beautiful Hmong clothes and celebrating, lots of things to celebrate…and some down time to rest and recharge.

Cha is a fighter. She fights the good fight and teaches others to do the same. Any fight that I have to take on I would want Cha at my side.

2023 Inaugural May O. Lee Community Leadership Award

Tho Vinh Banh

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.