Member of the Year

“In a year marked by pandemonium, first-time board member Hieu has been the glue holding our Los Angeles chapter true to our mission - serving our diverse members from students to entry-level professionals to veterans - working tirelessly, innovatively to engage them to each other and the greater community.”

“Hieu Gray has been an incredible game changer since joining our AAJA-Los Angeles board in January as Vice President of Community Engagement. With her energy, creative vision, design skills and expertise with social media, she has amplified AAJA's message and shared our organization's wonderful vision and activities with more people than ever before.”

When Asian community leaders and social services agencies contacted AAJA-LA to support the #WashTheHate campaign, sparked by the startling rise in hate incidents against Asians and Asian Americans due to COVID-19, Hieu responded by making a video montage of chapter members scrubbing their hands, sharing their thoughts on the urgency of solidarity.” A clip of the campaign appeared on Good Morning America in its segment about Anti-Asian hate fueled by the pandemic.

She revitalized the branding and design of AAJA-LA’s social media profiles and online presence with bold and eye-catching layouts.

She secured Chinese American actor and advocate Tzi Ma for AAJA-LA’s Town Hall on anti-Asian hate with panelists including George Takei, anchor Dion Lim, state Assemblymember David Chiu, and noted academic Russell Jeung that drew over 300 Zoom attendees. She wrote, produced and edited a promotional video featuring actor and activist George Takei for AAJA-LA’s Town Hall.

She joined Zoom rehearsals, live-tweeted some events, even hired a student illustrator to create a comic-like poster of each panel to spotlight key messages from each panelist - a cool way to draw attention from the younger generation and get more mileage out of our events.

Hieu also has been our ambassador with other community groups, deepening ties and spearheading collective activities. She worked with CAPE (Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) to bring a screening of the Oscar Best Picture Winner, "Parasite," to a sold-out crowd. Her introductory remarks about AAJA and the Los Angeles chapter helped spread word about our work. All the while, she infused our Twitter and Instagram each week with lively interaction and social tidbits. She made herself available to answer questions from members and potential members, while helping with membership outreach and retention.

Hieu was also the first board member to see the news about the arrest of AAJA member Josie Huang by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies and quickly emailed us with a proposed statement in support of Josie. We coordinated with National as Hieu got the statement out on all of our social media platforms.

Though much of society has been in quarantine, our chapter is lucky and grateful to be hosting steady programming events. For our AAJA-LA Reporting Relief Fund, catering to folks who lost their jobs or have been laid-off in unprecedented times, Hieu's branded marketing caught the eye of community groups and diverse media to ensure we received a wide pool of applicants. Most recently, she represented the chapter when it was honored by the L.A.-based Chinese American Museum at its visual History Makers Awards gala. She wrote the script and filmed her acceptance.

Hieu demonstrated leadership at AAJA-LA while raising a teenage niece and flying between California and Georgia regularly to supervise her father's cancer treatments. She's a sparkling embodiment of the creativity, energy and devotion needed to propel chapters to the next sustainable level.

Hieu, who is incredibly humble and soft-spoken, has given AAJA and our Los Angeles chapter an even larger presence and louder voice in the community with her brilliant vision and tireless work. As AAJA-LA’s top evangelist, she has helped elevate our profile and spread greater awareness about our collective AAJA mission.