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Gordon N. Chan Leadership Honoree Jeffery Lee, DDS

Dr. Jeffery Lee is a 4th generation Chinese American. He is the youngest of 5 children born and raised in Oakland, California.

Jeffery has been in private dental practice treating adults and children since 1975 in San Jose, California.

Since 1991, Jeffery has been a member of the Committee of 100, a national organization of Chinese Americans whose mission is to build and improve relations between the United States and Greater China. He is also a Founding Board Member and former Director of Self Help for the Elderly (SHE), San Mateo. SHE services over 25,000 seniors in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties and has an annual operating budget of over $22 million.

Jeffery is a Founding Executive Board Member, former Director and former Trustee of the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project. Jeffery is a former Director for Eastfield Ming Quong, a nonprofit focusing on assistance to youth in need. He is also a former member of the Santa Clara County General Plan Advisory Board, appointed by Congressman Michael Honda.

Jeffery is a member of AACI's Board of Directors. He also sits on the Board of Trustees of Harker School, a private K-12 college preparatory school in San Jose and on the National Board for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.

Jeffery was honored with the 2005 President’s Award from the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project for his community service on the local and national levels.

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Community Star Awardee Lourie Campos, MPA, Health Care Advocate

In March, 2008, Lourie Campos joined Stanford Hospital & Clinics as Manager of Government Relations. She is responsible for monitoring legislation on a local, state, and federal level, working closely with management and clinical leadership teams to identify priorities and develop strategies and activities that will establish and maintain supportive relationships with key public officials. Previously, Lourie worked at Community Health Partnership for nearly 12 years as Director of Policy, and most recently as Acting Executive Director, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the Partnership’s local, state, and national advocacy strategies.

Nationally, Lourie is a recognized leader in access to health care issues. She has presented at several conferences including the National Association of Community Health Centers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, the President’s Cancer Panel, the National Cancer Survivorship Research Conference, the California Primary Care Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum. Lourie has also been interviewed by ABC, NPR, and CNN on health care issues affecting minority and low-income communities and has lectured at San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, and Stanford University, School of Medicine.

In 1999, Lourie worked with the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project and the REACH Coalition at the University of California San Francisco to reinstate the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program in California. In 2004, Lourie created the Community Clinic Patient Advocacy Program to bring the voice and experience of the patient to policymakers.

As a young cancer survivor, Lourie helps to facilitate Healthy Young Attitude (HYA), a support group for young adult cancer survivors, and is a member of the Asian American & Pacific Islander National Cancer Survivors Network. In 2004, Lourie accepted a 4 year federal appointment to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Director’s Consumer Liaison Group (DCLG). In 2005, she joined the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society Silicon Valley Region.

Lourie received a BS in Political Science from Santa Clara University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.

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Community Star Awardee Erica Yew, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge

Governor Gray Davis appointed Erica Yew to the Santa Clara County Superior Court on October 2, 2001. Erica is the first Asian American female to serve on this bench. Currently, she is in the Juvenile Dependency division of the Court and presides over the newly established Family Wellness Court, a $6.3 million project to serve children under the age of three whose families are dealing with addiction issues.

In addition to the law, community service is important to Erica. She has received numerous awards for her dedication including the 1990 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year from the Santa Clara County Bar Association, and the 1995 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the Human Relations Commission Award of Special Merit for her service to the community. In 2002 Erica received the Distinguished Recognition Award from the Asian Law Alliance, in 2003 the “Giving Voice to Women” award from AACI, and in 2005, the Justice Byrl R. Salsman Award for her long-term contributions to the legal profession. In 2005, Erica was named Woman of the Year for District 24 by California Assembly member Rebecca Cohn. Erica received the Juliette Gordon Low award from the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County in 2006 and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Santa Clara Domestic Violence Council for her work in the area of family violence in 2007.

Currently, Erica serves on the California Judicial Council Kleps Award Committee and on the Judicial Council Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants. She is also President of the California Asian American Judges Association and Past President of the NAPABA Judicial Council, which is the national association of Asian American judicial officers. She is a Board Member of Greater San Jose After School All Stars and chairs the Good Samaritan Hospital Board. Erica also serves on the Advisory Board for Latinas Contra Cancer and on the Santa Clara County Law Library Board of Trustees, and she established Santa Clara County’s first county-wide collaborative workshop serving victims of domestic violence. She is also an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow, Class XV.

As an attorney, Erica served as a District Three Representative on the California State Bar Board of Governors. Erica is Past President of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of the Silicon Valley and served on the boards of the Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley, Asian Law Alliance, Legal Aid Society, Santa Clara County Bar Association, and Child Advocates of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. She also served on the Santa Clara County Advisory Commission for the Children’s Shelter.

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Community Star Awardee Congressman Mike Honda, Community Champion

Congressman Mike Honda has represented the 15th Congressional District of California in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2001. Mike was born in California, but he spent his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. His family returned to California in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in San Jose.

In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in El Salvador, returning with a passion for teaching and fluent in Spanish.

Mike earned bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and Spanish and a master's degree in education from San Jose State University. In his decades-long career as an educator, Mike was a science teacher, served as a principal at two public schools, and conducted educational research at Stanford University.

In 1971, Mike was appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta to San Jose's Planning Commission. In 1981, he won his first election, gaining a seat on the San José Unified School Board. In 1990, Mike was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and he served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2000.

In 2000, Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and serves on the Appropriations Committee, with postings on that body's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Commerce, Justice, Science; and Legislative Branch Subcommittees.

Mike is serving his second term as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, coordinating with his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to champion the causes of under-represented communities by promoting social justice, racial tolerance, and civil rights.

In February 2005, Mike was elected as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and in January 2007, he was named House Democratic Senior Whip by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC).

Mike is widowed and has two grown children. His wife, Jeanne, was a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San Jose before her passing in 2004. His son, Mark, is an aerospace engineer, and Michelle, his daughter, is a public health educator with two young boys, Trey and Brody.