Our Role Models

Produced, directed, shot and edited by Tony Lam

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OUR ROLE MODELS honors outstanding Asians and Asian Americans, who have made an important difference in their communities and beyond. This vignette series, sponsored by McDonalds and Toyota, airs on LA18 KSCI-TV, the largest Asian language television station in Southern California.

Ahn Trio

Ahn Trio
Classical Musicians


Alan Woo

Alan Woo
Director of Planning, Community Action Partnership of Orange County


Angela Killoren

Angela Killoren
Network of Korean American Leaders (NetKAL)


Anh Doan

Anh Doan
Poet


Anne Kim

Anne Kim
Editor-in-Chief, Audrey Magazine


Anne Shih

Anne Shih
Vice Chair, Board of Governors, The Bowers Museum


Bichlien Nguyen

Bichlien Nguyen
Breast Oncologist, BreastLink Medical Center


BongHwan Kim

BongHwan Kim
General Manager, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment


C.Y. Lee

C.Y. Lee
New York Times Bestselling Author, Flower Drum Song


Carl Choi

Carl Choi
Entertainment Promoter, Founder & CEO, Plan C Group


Catherine Park

Catherine Park
CFO & COO, Giant Robot


Chang Lee

Chang Lee
Chairman, Korean American Federation of Los Angeles


Charles Carter Lee

Charles Carter Lee
Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court; Chef de Mission, 2008 Olympic Games


Charles Song

Charles Song
Legal Services Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST)


Charlie Nguyen

Charlie Nguyen
Director, The Rebel


Cher Calvin

Cher Calvin
News Anchor, KTLA


Christopher Duong Bui

Christopher Duong Bui
Specialist, Gastroenterology and Hepatology


Christopher Tang

Christopher Tang
UCLA Medical Student, Kaiser Permanente Scholarship Recipient


Chun-Yen Chen

Chun-Yen Chen
Executive Director, Asian Pacific Women's Center


Clara Chiu

Clara Chiu
Director of Development and Outreach, Organization of Chinese Americans


Clayton Chau

Clayton Chau
Psychiatrist, Orange County Health Care Agency


Colleen Seto

Colleen Seto
Development Manager, Chinatown Service Center (CSC)


Cooke Sunoo

Cooke Sunoo
Director, Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program


Corky Lee

Corky Lee
Photojournalist


Courtney Lee

Courtney Lee
2009 Rose Queen, Tournament of Roses


Dan Kim

Dan Kim
CEO, Red Mango


Dang Family

Dang Family
Restauranteurs: Brodard Chateau, Bamboo Bistro, and Brodard Nem Nuong


Dat Phan

Dat Phan
Stand-Up Comedian; Original Winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing


David Henry Hwang

David Henry Hwang
Tony Award-winning Playwright


Debra Suh

Debra Suh
Executive Director, Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF)


Diana Shui-lu Wong

Diana Shui-lu Wong
Artist


Dominic Ng

Dominic Ng
Chairman, President & CEO, East West Bank


Don Luong

Don Luong
Program Director, Project MotiVATe


Dustin Nguyen

Dustin Nguyen
Leading Asian American Actor


Ed Wong

Ed Wong
Chairman and Co-Founder, Asian American Sports Club


Emile Mack

Emile Mack
Deputy Chief, Los Angeles Fire Department


Erin Pak

Erin Pak
CEO, Korean Health Education Information & Research (KHEIR)


Esther Im

Esther Im, Evangelist

Hyepin Im, President & CEO, Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD)


Eun Sook Lee

Eun Sook Lee
Executive Director, National Korean American Service & Education Consortium


Grace Yoo

Grace Yoo
Executive Director, Korean American Coalition


Ham Tran

Ham Tran
Writer and Director


Hazel Young

Hazel Young
AIDS Activist


Helen Kim

Helen Kim
President, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association


Helie Lee

Helie Lee
National Bestselling Author


Hiep Nguyen

Hiep Nguyen
Artist, "Circle Painting" Creator


Hong Khanh Nguyen

Hong Khanh Nguyen
Conductor, Vietnamese-American Philharmonic Orchestra


Huynh Duong

Huynh Duong
Professor, UCLA, Research Scientist, Cedars-Sinai


Jack Toan

Jack Toan
Martial Arts Instructor /Contributions Manager, Wells Fargo Foundation


James Lew

James Lew
Martial Artist, Stuntman, Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer, Film Director


Jane Yin

Jane Yin
Public Relations Specialist, JSY Public Relations


Janet Nguyen

Janet Nguyen
Councilwoman, City of Garden Grove


Janet Yang

Janet Yang
Movie Producer, The Joy Luck Club, Dark Matter


Jason Scott Park

Jason Scott Park
President, Asian Professional Exchange (APEX)


Jason Tran

Jason Tran
Research Analyst, Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team


Jeannie Trinh Luong

Jeannie Trinh Luong
Chairperson, Community Services Commission, City of Irvine


Jerry Wang

Jerry Wang
Executive Vice President, Charles Dunn & Co.


Jim Liaw

Jim Liaw
President & Co-Founder, Formula Drift


Jimmy Lee

Jimmy Lee
Vice President, IW Group, Inc.


Jin Au-yeung

Jin Au-yeung
Hip Hop Artist


Joann Lee

Joann Lee
Directing Attorney, Asian Pacific Islander Unit, Legal Aid Foundation of L.A.


John Chiang

John Chiang
California State Controller (Highest-ranking Asian American politician in CA)


John Song

John Song
Pastor, New Wine / Dean, Korean Language Program, Korean Cultural Center


John Suh

John Suh
CEO, LegalZoom.com


John Tran

John Tran
Mayor, City of Rosemead


Johng Ho Song

Johng Ho Song
Executive Director, Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC)


Joo Duk Lam

Joo Duk Lam
Self-taught Classical Chinese Poet


Joseph Tran

Joseph Tran
Magician


Judy Man-Ling Lam

Judy Man-Ling Lam
Partner, Alschuler Grossman Stein and Kahan LLP


Julian Do

Julian Do
Co-director, New America Media


Jung Im Lee

Jung Im Lee
Director, Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy


Justin Lin

Justin Lin
Director: Better Luck Tomorrow, TFTF: Tokyo Drift, and Finishing the Game


K. Luan Tran

K. Luan Tran
Business Trial Lawyer, Lee & Tran


Karen Chau

Karen Chau
Creator, Ni Hao, Kai-lan!


Ken Nguyen

Ken Nguyen
Founder & Chairman, Little Saigon Foundation


Kevin Youk

Kevin Youk
Tenor


Khai & Thanh My Pham

Khai & Thanh My Pham
Founders, Reaching Out Foundation


Kim-Yen Huynh

Kim-Yen Huynh
Commissioner, Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs Commission


Linda Liau

Linda Liau
Neurosurgeon (Awake Brain Surgery), UCLA Medical Center


Linda Trinh Vo

Linda Trinh Vo
Professor and Chair, Asian American Studies, University of California at Irvine


Long Nguyen

Long Nguyen
Artist and Actor


Marc Yu

Marc Yu
Concert Pianist (Child Prodigy)


Mary Anne Foo

Mary Anne Foo
Executive Director, Orange County Asian & Pacific Islander Community Alliance


Michael Kwan

Michael Kwan
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Walnut/Diamond Bar Station


Michelle Park Steel

Michelle Park Steel
Board Member, California State Board of Equalization


Miki Lim

Miki Lim
Head Librarian, Pio Pico Koreatown Public Library


Monica Macer

Monica Macer
Television Writer, Knight Rider, Lost, Prison Break


Nancy Kwan

Nancy Kwan
Actress, The World of Suzie Wong, Flower Drum Song


Nho Trong Nguyen

Nho Trong Nguyen
Superior Court Judge, Superior Court of Orange County


Nhung Truong

Nhung Truong
District Representative, Office of Congressman Adam Schiff


Nic Cha Kim

Nic Cha Kim
Founder, Gallery Row


Nick Ut

Nick Ut
Pulitzer Prize-winning Photographer, Associated Press


Paul Kim (PK)

Paul Kim (PK)
Comedian / Host, Asian Nights, The Laugh Factory


Peter Nguyen

Peter Nguyen
Chair, Southeast Asian Archive


Phil Yu

Phil Yu
Creator & Editor, AngryAsianMan.com


Quang Than

Quang Than
Mountaineer


Sally Huang-Nissen

Sally Huang-Nissen
Diversity Consultant & Leadership Coach


Sam Chen

Sam Chen
Animation Filmmaker


Sammy Lee

Sammy Lee
U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist (First Asian American)


Stephane Gauger

Stephane Gauger
Director and Writer, Owl and the Sparrow


Suellen Cheng

Suellen Cheng
Curator, Chinese American Museum


Sukhee Kang

Sukhee Kang
Mayor, City of Irvine


Susan Ahn Cuddy

Susan Ahn Cuddy
First Asian American woman to join the U.S. Navy


Suzie Dong-Matsuda

Suzie Dong-Matsuda
Psychotherapist & Mental Health Professional


Tam & Linh Nguyen

Tam & Linh Nguyen
Brother-Sister Owners, Advance Beauty College


Ted & Anh Nguyen

Ted & Anh Nguyen
Husband-Wife Team, Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M)


Ted Lieu

Ted Lieu
California Assemblyman & Chair, Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus


Teddy Zee

Teddy Zee
Producer, Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch, Saving Face, Asian Excellence Awards


Thomas Shu

Thomas Shu
Tea Specialist / Vice-President, ABC Teahouse


Tim Dang

Tim Dang
Artistic Director, East West Players


Toby Dawson

Toby Dawson
Olympic Bronze Medalist, Freestyle Skiing


Tram Le

Tram Le
Asian Pacific Islander Arts Coordinator, The Ford Amphitheater


Tsuann Kuo

Tsuann Kuo
Specialist in Senior Services


Tyrus Wong

Tyrus Wong
Lead Inspirational Artist, Walt Disney's Bambi (1942), Kitemaker


Victor Law

Victor Law
Pharmacist and Political Activist


Viet Le

Viet Le
Board Member & Artist, Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association


Vu Pham

Vu Pham
Director, Vietnamese American Heritage Project


Yong Soo Lee

Yong Soo Lee
Comfort Woman Victim in World War II


Young Oak Kim

Young Oak Kim
Colonel, U.S. Armed Forces & Founder, Go For Broke Nat'l Education Center


Ysa Le

Ysa Le
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF)


Yul Kwon

Yul Kwon
First Asian American Winner, CBS reality show "Survivor"