NVB: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Lisette Le: I am a first generation immigrant, advocate and mother with over 11 years of nonprofit leadership experience. I was born in Phan Rang, Vietnam and came to the US in 1990 as part of the HO III program. My family settled in Akron, Ohio before moving to Phoenix, Arizona when I was in high school. I came to Boston to study at Tufts University graduating with a Bachelor degree in American Studies in 2006. Over the past ten years, I have built my skills working outside of the Vietnamese community. I am driven by the resiliency of our community and commitment in youth leadership. I live in Dorchester with my son, Finnian Tien, and husband, Alex. In my spare time, I love to learn take my son to parks and test out recipes for our family cookbook.
NVB: You identify as Vietnamese American. How do you balance between both cultures?
Lisette Le: Being Vietnamese American is a core part of my identity and the experiences that have shaped who I am. It has been an evolving process for me to find that balance. I grew up in Akron, Ohio where there were few Vietnamese (or Asian American) families. Like many Asian American youth, I struggled with my identity throughout my youth as an immigrant, a person of color and often, was one of a handful of kids who looked like me. I didn’t like to speak Vietnamese and gravitated to more American culture including music, food and pop culture; I wanted to fit in with classmates who were not familiar (or comfortable) with “foreigners”. As I got older, I realized that my identity is multifaceted and that should be celebrated.
NVB: You also identify as a young, immigrant woman–you are a mother, an advocate, a community organizer. How have your different experiences and identities shaped who you are and the work you do in the community?
Lisette Le: Growing up as an immigrant in a city where there weren’t a lot of AAPI or Vietnamese folks, I really had to figure out who I was, and honestly, it took a while. However, that process has helped me develop an understanding and empathy that allows me to relate to a wide variety of people. I’ve seen the impacts of racism and patriarchy because they’ve affected my family and me. By extension, it’s affected my community. As a result, everything I do is to uplift women of color and young people in particular because we’re often not at decision making tables. The reason I do this work is because I believe in the community’s resilience and I believe in fighting for equality.
NVB: You were once a board member for VietAID. How has the organization and community changed since then?
Lisette Le: At the time, I had just moved to Dorchester and my work was city-wide focused and I wanted to reconnect with my roots in the Vietnamese community. Since then, I’ve seen the organization go through several changes. Now, we are in a place where there are many program staff members who have been with the organization over the years, as well as new additions; it puts us in a strong position to learn from history and to incorporate fresh ideas. The community itself has changed physically–there’s an evolving landscape here in Boston. We are seeing community members leaving Dorchester because of rising housing costs and are beginning to see the impact of that on a social, educational and economic level. Younger leaders here who have stepped up, such as NOVA (Networking Organization for Vietnamese Americans), DOT-I (Dorchester Organizing Training Initiative), etc. There are also businesses that are led by younger community members. What’s really inspiring about that is that as Vietnamese Americans, we are working to help make the community thrive through the lens of being bicultural. We are in a position to honor the traditions of our elders, while still being able to navigate the American system.
NVB: As the new Executive Director of VietAID, what are you most excited for?
Lisette Le: I’m excited to work with stakeholders of VietAID and the broader community, and to think about where this community is going to go over the next 5-10 years. VietAID is positioned really well to be an anchor for this community and I’m excited about how we can improve programming and services to best help the Vietnamese American diaspora.
NVB: You’ve been doing community work for a long time now. Where do you find inspiration and motivation?
Lisette Le: I’m constantly finding inspiration in the people around me, especially those who stand up for their rights or work to discover new aspects of their identities. When I was at CPA, we worked on bilingual voter ballots for the CA and VA communities. I didn’t need these ballots, so this was a campaign that was personal for me, but I was surrounded by monolingual elderly who needed this. And they relentlessly advocated for this for 10 years. They fought for their rights to vote independently and I find that incredibly motivating.
NVB: Next year is VietAID’s 25th anniversary–tell us what some of the organization’s best accomplishments have been in that time.
Lisette Le: Au Co Preschool is an incredible model. As the first and only bilingual, bicultural preschool in Massachusetts, it’s helped pave the way for educational systems to be mindful of that balance. Our curriculum focuses on the child as a whole and our aim is for them to come to school everyday feeling loved and confident. Most of these children come from low income families and having this supportive space this early in their lives places them on a path where they can not only dream about their future, but be set up to achieve them. As an organization that is committed to the Vietnamese American community and the neighborhood that we’re in, we are proud that our housing development is contributing to this community because it is affordable for the long term. It provides housing for families who otherwise would have to move out of the city, or otherwise live in unhealthy situations.
NVB: What do you envision for this community in the next 5 years, 10 years?
Lisette Le: The Vietnamese community is certainly a recognized group in Boston. However, when major decisions get made, our community is often not at the table.
I hope that in that time, the political power of the Vietnamese community grows so that we will have a voice on issues that matter to us, such as quality education, healthcare, and economic development for small businesses. While voting is important, strong political power in this community needs to go beyond that. It’s also about being engaged in conversations about your child’s education. It’s about giving students a voice in their curriculum and policies that affect them. It could also be simply being engaged in local community events or causes.
I am privileged to be in a leadership position at VietAID and know that in order for our community to thrive, we will will need more and diverse voices. My vision is that we empower and build the skills of younger Vietnamese Americans and new immigrants to be able to represent and lead the community. This could include elected officials, educators, advocates or community leaders.
Note: NVB, Nguoi Viet Boston, is a popular Vietnamese website in the New England Vietnamese community: http://nguoivietboston.com