A Commitment Grounded in Community

My belief in paying it forward has guided my community involvement. It began through my children’s schools and the Friends of the Livingston Public Library before I joined the Board of Education. My work with the Livingston Chinese Association grew from a longstanding commitment to supporting the Chinese community and strengthening its connections with the wider town. Board service later helped me see more clearly the many organizations, committees, and channels serving Livingston. That understanding led to further involvement with the Livingston Arts Council, League of Women Voters, Livingston Advisory Committee for Disabilities, Livingston Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, and, most recently, the Livingston Historical Society. Across these roles, I have tried to contribute where helpful, improve communication, and serve as a bridge among different parts of our community.

My involvement with AAPI Livingston has included three years of helping organize the annual AAPI Livingston Picnic, a townwide celebration that brings communities together through culture, conversation, and shared experiences. As a member of AAPI New Jersey, I have also participated in leadership training, Advocacy Day in Trenton, and civic-engagement programs. Being named a 2025 Essex County AAPI Month Honoree was an unexpected and meaningful recognition of this work.

Twenty years after graduating from the NEW Leadership® New Jersey program of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics, I returned with friends for additional leadership training and renewed relationships that had begun many years earlier. I was later invited back to receive the 2026 Hazel Frank Gluck Award and speak to this year’s NEW Leadership graduates. I shared with the students that 20 years ago, I was there to find my voice; 20 years later, I returned to help others find theirs. It was a wonderful surprise, a great honor, and an experience received with deep gratitude.

At the United Chinese Americans National Convention in Las Vegas in June 2026, I received the National Outstanding Community Service Award as one of three recipients from New Jersey. The recognition placed work rooted in Livingston within a wider community of civic leaders and volunteers. What mattered most was what it affirmed: sustained local involvement, stronger connections across communities, and greater civic participation can have an impact beyond one town. I see the award as a responsibility to keep paying it forward—continuing the work locally, sharing what I have learned, and helping others find their own pathways into service.