Inductees
For 2007, Loida Nicholas Lewis and Apolo Ohno are the distinguished Asian Americans who will be inducted to the Asian Hall of Fame.
Current Inductees
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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. |
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Apolo Anton
Ohno Olympic 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.
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Other outstanding Asian Americans have been inducted to the Asian Hall of Fame.
Previous Inductees
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Gary Locke Former Governor, Washington State |
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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. He was elected governor
1996, the first Chinese American governor in United
States history. In 2003, Locke become the first Asian
American to deliver a response to a U.S. president’s
State of the Union address. After serving two terms as
governor, he announced his retirement from political
life. In 2005, he joined the Seattle law office of Davis
Wright Tremaine, where he specializes in trade and
governmental relations. He lives in Seattle with Mona
Lee Locke and their three children.
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George Tsutakawa (1910-1997) Painter and sculptor |
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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 sculture, Tsutakawa
became well known for his more than 75 major bronze
fountain sculptures set in public spaces in the U.S.,
Japan, and Canada. |
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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. |
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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). |
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Yuji Okumoto Actor |
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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."
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