Tuyet Le

Tuyet Le is the executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago (Advancing Justice | Chicago), formerly the Asian American Institute. Established in 1992, Advancing Justice | Chicago is a pan-Asian, not-for-profit organization that builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Other affiliates of Asian Americans Advancing Justice are based in Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

In leading the organization since 1999, Ms. Le has focused on improving cooperation among diverse Asian American communities, on raising their visibility, and highlighting their concerns to policy makers and the public at large. Advancing Justice | Chicago’s programs have included civic engagement, community organizing, leadership development and legal advocacy, advocating for immigrant rights, affirmative action, voting rights, redistricting, and advocacy against hate crimes. Advancing Justice | Chicago has been recognized for its work by numerous government agencies, as well as local and national organizations.

Ms. Le currently serves on the board of Access Living, the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, and the Leadership Fellows Association for Leadership Greater Chicago. She formerly served on the boards the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. She was a 2013 Rockwood Leadership Institute LIO Fellow, and a 2004 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. She has served as a panelist and keynote speaker on a wide range of issues including immigration, refugee resettlement, disability rights, human relations and political empowerment.

Ms. Le is a polio survivor, who started advocated for the rights of students with disabilities in college. She came to the United States as a refugee at the age of three from Vietnam, and previously worked at the Vietnamese Association of Illinois for over two years, and last served as its Acting Executive Director.