Siath
Hen, Mental Health Counselor, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (San Jose). For 25 years, Mr. Siath has served as a mental health counselor at Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), the largest community-based organization focused on the health and well-being of Asian Americans in Santa Clara County. He works closely with the Cambodian community by counseling immigrants and refugees who suffer from mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. Some of his clients survived torture in their home countries. He personally suffered greatly during the Khmer Rouge regime when his wife and four of his children were killed, but he persevered through his adversity to dedicate his career to helping others.
Betty Kinoshita, San Jose
Buddhist Church Betsuin, Sangha Crafters (San Jose). In 2003, Kinoshita
began quilting blankets for Project Linus of San Jose and saw that
there was a great need for the homeless on the streets and in shelters
to receive something from caring individuals. As a board member of
the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, she formed the Sangha Crafters
Group, an intergenerational group of volunteers who crochet, knit
and quilt blankets, hats, sweaters and other items for local agencies.
To each item, Kinoshita attaches a personally designed label which
reads "made with tender loving care, Sangha Crafters." She started
with less than 20 volunteers and now, with more than 50, her group
has generated and donated more than 1,600 items.
Norm Ishimoto, President, Kiyomura-Ishimoto Associates (San Francisco), works within the political environment to support small businesses and has achieved the distinction of being sought after by a foreign government (Vietnam) to assist in developing a micro-lending program for its citizens. Ishimoto served as vice president of the first chartered Small Business Commission in San Francisco, during which time he encouraged small business contracting within the city and worked for better policies for small business owners. He was recently appointed to the University of California, Berkeley's committee on small business contracting and has also advised Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on small business and Asian political issues.
Rolland C. Lowe, M.D., Physician (Orinda), is a retired community doctor who has cared for more than 20,000 patients during his 43 years of medical practice. He served San Francisco's Chinatown residents through his private practice and the Chinese Community Health Care Association, which he helped establish in 1982 to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare to the Chinese community. As the first Asian American president of the California Medical Association, Dr, Lowe created a voting section for ethnic physicians in the CMA's House of Delegates and, as president of the CMA Foundation, he founded the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations. His commitment to Chinatown also prompted him to start a youth center in Chinatown to address gang violence and help create affordable housing for the elderly. Dr. Lowe recently celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, Kathy.
Eva Lai-Kit Jones, board member for Self-Help for the Elderly and the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California (Menlo Park), is a driving force in representing and advancing the interests of elderly Bay Area residents from Asia. Since 1990, Jones has played a key role at Self-Help for the Elderly, a non-profit agency that provides comprehensive services to more than 30,000 seniors throughout the Bay area. In addition to her role as board member, she is an active volunteer, teaching Hawaiian dance in the senior centers. As a board member of the Alzheimer's Association, she has been a leader in making the Alzheimer's Association a more multi-cultural organization, taking the insights gained at Self-Help for the Elderly and advancing the Alzheimer's Association's cultural competence in meeting the needs of the Asian community. For the past five years, she has led the Alzheimer's Association's Asian Community Fund event, which raises targeted funds for an Asian Outreach Program.
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