After 27 years, Lily retired from her position as Administrator of Family and Children’s Services at age 57. As she spent more time with various boards and organizations, she looked to the next generation of young leaders; it was time for them to take on this work. She mentored and supported them, aiming to continue increasing Chinese American representation in American politics. 

In 1982, Lily recruited friend and supporter Mike Eng, a lawyer from Los Angeles who was interested in community affairs, as a board member of C-PAC. Through his role, he met and developed many relationships with those in the Southern California Chinese American community. The same year, Judy Chu, Mike’s wife and a grad student of Asian American Studies in UCLA, planned and presented at the Organization of Chinese American Women’s (OCAW) National Conference. 

When a position on the Garvey School Board opened, Lily encouraged Mike to run. She saw a distinct lack of Chinese American members on the board in a district with a significant number of Chinese American students in the district. Lily suggested Mike and Judy move to Monterey Park to be eligible for the position. Mike was ecstatic—his wife even more so. Lily found Judy engaging, charismatic, and passionate. A switch was made, so Judy, not Mike, would be running for the school board.

She gave Judy her first endorsement letter and first official fundraiser, drawing upon the same networks of political support that originally rallied around Lily. She set about introducing Judy to important people—active member of the Garvey District School Board Hilda Solis, president of the Monterey Park Democratic Club Ruth Wilner, and Lily’s campaign media coordinator David Chen. Her support buoyed Judy as she won the school board election in 1985 and three terms on Monterey Park City Council. Judy later went on to become the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress in 2009.

“I wanted to make sure no one walked the windy and lonely road I did,” Lily said. “I had no mentors – none! But I mentored so many young people.”

Mike was also motivated in politics. He has been a Monterey Park City Council member, Assembly member, and is currently appointed to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. 

Lily also mentored Rep. Ted Lieu. She first met Ted when giving a speech about Asian American political participation to the Asian American Lawyers Association, an event organized by Ted. Lily remembers him asking many questions about her career. She was impressed by his service in the U.S Air Force. 

She introduced Ted to the local officials in the South Bay and the Democrat Party leadership, such as Sen. Art Torres. Ted expressed interest in running for office, so Lily helped him get started, guiding him through the process. He was elected to Torrance City Council in 2002 and is now in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ted has demonstrated his leadership abilities and commitment to serving the API community. 

Add photo of Lily and Ted Lieu in front of vase

The day before the official release of the 2014 Congressional election results, Ted paid a personal visit to Lily at her home to thank her for her supporting him and his political career for years. 

Lily has also supported Xavier Beccera. In 1992, after announcing his retirement, Congressman Ed Roybal introduced Lily to Xavier, who was running to take Ed’s seat. They became good friends, and Lily has backed his political career ever since. Xavier would occasionally call Lily to ask questions about U.S.-China relations. President Biden appointed Xavier to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2021.   

Add photo and audio recordings of Xavier’s comment about Lily and Xavier as the keynote speaker at Lily’s retirement party 

Add de Leon

On September 26, 2015, Lily was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th Annual Asian and Pacific Islander American Leadership Conference. Several months later in 2016, the International Leadership Foundation presented Lily with President Obama’s Volunteer Service Award.

In 2018, President Trump offered Lily a spot to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs. She declined in order to prioritize her work with the community. Instead, she offered to work with whoever they chose to appoint, considering that their interest in AAPI would be mutual. Moreover, she responded to the White House saying that her philosophical differences would prevent her from doing justice for President Trump’s agenda.