Asian Hall of Fame logohonoring the achievements of
asian pacific americans

SATURDAY   NOVEMBER 19, 2011
 6:00PM   ASIAN RESOURCE CENTER   SEATTLE, WA

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Inductees

This years inductees join other distinguished individuals from the Asian Pacific Islander community whose actions reflected the values of the Foundation of improving the nation's Civic, Cultural and Educational quality of life while contributing to the American Experience

 
Loida Nicolas Lewis Loida Nicholas Lewis
 Business Executive & Attorney
Loida Nicolas Lewis is chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc., a multinational food company. An attorney by profession, Mrs. Lewis assumed the leadership of the company in February 1994, a year after the death of her late husband, Reginald F. Lewis, TLC Beatrice's first chairman and CEO. Working Woman magazine has hailed her as one of the top businesswomen in the country. Mrs. Lewis was the first Asian woman to pass the New York State bar exam without having studied law in the U.S. After winning her discrimination complaint on the basis of race, sex and national origin against the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1979, she served as General Attorney with the INS until 1990. Mrs. Lewis has written three books on U.S. immigration law and established a monthly magazine for the Filipino-American community. She is also one of the founders of the Asian-American Legal Defense & Education Fund. Mrs. Lewis is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law and comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Born in the Philippines, she currently resides in New York City.

Gary Locke photo Gary Locke
Former Governor, State of Washington,
Former US Secretary of Commerce,
US Ambassador to China
Gary Locke served as governor of the state of Washington from 1997 to 2005. A graduate of Yale University and Boston University Law School, he rose through the political ranks to become King County’s first Asian American Executive in 1994. Two years later, Gary was elected Governor of the State of Washington, becoming the first Chinese American governor in United States history and the first Asian American governor in the continental US. Because of this achievement, in 2003, Gary was given the honor become the first Asian American to deliver the Democratic Response to a US President’s State of the Union address. After serving two terms as governor, Gary left politics and joined the Seattle law offices of Davis Wright Tremaine, where he specialized in trade and governmental relations. Later in 2009, Gary was appointed as the 36th US Secretary of Commerce by President Barack Obama - Making Gary the highest ranking Asian American in the US Government service. Gary had made history one more time in 2011 by being appointed as the US Amabassador to China - the first American born of Chinese descent to be appointed to the post. Ambassador Locke makes his home in Seattle with his wife Mona and their three children.


Rick Noji
Track and Field Athlete
Rick Noji is among the best track and field athletes to ever compete at the University of Washington. A high jump specialist, Noji was a six-time All-American, won a Pac-10 title and finished third in the NCAA championships. He was successful on the international level, competing in three World Championships (1991, 1993 and 1995) and three U.S. Olympic Trials (1984, 1992 and 1996).

Apolo Ohno photo Apolo Anton Ohno
Olympic Speed-Skating Champion
Apolo Anton Ohno is the premier American short-track speed skater and the holder of five Olympic medals. He won one gold medal (for the 1500m) and one silver medal (for the 1000m) at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games. In the 2006  Torino Olympics, Apolo won one gold (for the 500m) and two bronze medals (1000m and 5000m relay). A Seattle native, Ohno didn't start his short track career until 1995,  but it took him less than two years to become the best short-track speed skater in the United States. At 14, Ohno claimed his first overall title at the U.S. Championships and became the youngest American at age 17 to win a World Cup event.  In 2001, he won his first World Cup overall title, winning the 500m, 1000m and 1500m en route to winning the overall crown. He won the World Cup overall champion titles again in 2003 and 2005.


Yuji Okumoto photo Yuji Okumoto
 Actor

Yuji Okumoto is a Japanese American actor, born on April 20, 1959 in Los Angeles, California. His film roles include: Shu Kai Kim in the 1989 film "True Believer" alongside James Woods and Robert Downey, Jr.; Chozen, the Okinawan gang leader, in "The Karate Kid, Part II". Recently, he played a role in Lane Nishikawa's film about the Japanese American Internment during World War II, "Only The Brave." Mr. Okumoto has also been involved with several theater companies, including the celebrated East West Players, where he appeared in the plays "Pacific Overtures" and "The Teahouse of the August Moon."

George Tsutakawa photo George Tsutakawa
(1910-1997)
 Painter and sculptor
George Tsutakawa’s professional art career spanned 60 years. After receiving his MFA in 1937, he was recruited to a faculty position at the University of Washington, first teaching design courses in the School of Architecture, later teaching in the School of Art. A popular professor, Tsutakawa was associated with the University of Washington for more than 30 years and was designated Professor Emeritus following his retirement. His early oil paintings displayed abstract expressionist themes. He then explored his cultural roots and used sumi paint to depict natural scenes and sea life. After experimenting in wood and metal sculpture, Tsutakawa became well known for his more than 75 major bronze fountain sculptures set in public spaces in the U.S., Japan, and Canada.


Z.Z. Wei photo Z. Z. Wei
Painter

Z.Z. Wei has painted powerful images of rural America, especially the unique landscapes along the back roads of the Pacific Northwest countryside. He was born Zhao Bai Wei in Beijing, China in 1957 and graduated from the Central Institute of Art and Design in Beijing in 1984. Five years later, he was invited to participate in the Pacific Rim Cultural Connection Project by the Washington State Centennial Commission and became a resident artist at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, Washington. Z.Z. Wei's work has been exhibited at the Charles and Emma Frey Museum in Seattle; the Autumn Salon in Paris; the "New Form" Chicago International Exhibition; "First Exhibition of Modern Art", Beijing, China; and the Los Angeles International Art Fair.