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1. What is the experience of being the chairwoman of an organization like the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA)? What was your favorite part of your work as chairwoman and your proudest achievement?
Getting to the onset of being the leader of a big organization is overwhelming. Coming from the most quintessential immigrant story that you can think of, it was the first time I would be leading a huge organization. Obviously I’ve been president of smaller groups, but this was kind
of overwhelming.
The fact that I was entering a leadership role where increasing homeownership within the AAPI community is a big goal was something to look forward to. It was nerve-wracking, but I was really looking forward to what I was going to be able to do and achieve within my time as president.
It was a great and very interesting time for me; it was good timing. My family was very supportive and important to me getting into this leadership role.
My proudest achievement was the successful “No Other” Campaign that we had, but a significant part of my work is visiting all of our chapters and really looking at the grassroots level because that is where I thrive. I’m able to connect with these professionals and make sure the chapters are sustainable and doing the necessary things to contribute to AREAAs collective success. Going into “No Other,” we really became unified and made a concerted effort to focus on the campaign.
I’m a people person. I like talking to and connecting with all the chapter leaders and members, making sure that we’re moving towards the same goals and working to increase the homeownership of our community. The members are really the biggest thing for me; without membership there is no AREAA. Reaching out to them, chapter leaders and members, is the fun part for me.
This connects to my meetings with top executives from the lending institutions we work with; I know who they are, and they know who I am. I’m more of an execution type of person than the talking type.
2. Congratulations on your success with the “No Other” Campaign, which helped ensure the U.S. Census Bureau obtains separate data on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in their quarterly homeownership reports. What are your main takeaways from this achievement?
The takeaway is the fact that if we do something with a focused initiative we can do anything, even if it seems impossible. We thought this campaign would extend to next year’s leadership, but with the concerted effort that we made, from the local level, the different chapter events, meetings with representatives from Congress, senators and different agencies, it was truly a united front. The highlight of the entire experience was delivering a speech at the National Press Club about achieving a category of our own.
The banking institutions were important because they knew they needed the distinction of having the AAPI group. We talked to other groups, but really it was our goal more than anybody else’s. We hired a political lobbyist who knew a lot of the people we contacted and worked with. We were the driving force collectively, all the way around. We outlined what we needed to do; it was 99 percent AREAA.
3. You traveled the country and world as part of this campaign, what was the struggle in balancing your family and professional life during this time? What was the hardest part, and what advice can you give to women experiencing something similar?
Travelling was the biggest challenge, I wasn’t used to travelling every week. Almost every week I traveled one or two days, sometimes flying to California for meetings and flying back home two or three hours later. Previously I only traveled two to four times a month for my business. Last year during my term as president, I went to four Asian countries alone, a 20-hour flight both ways. Travelling was the biggest thing I had to get through.
In terms of family, it was good timing for me. My kids are grown and are very supportive of me. I missed a few family events here and there, but I was able to go to their graduations. My husband was also very supportive. I wouldn’t be able to be as successful as I am if I didn’t have the support of my family.
The business did suffer. Last year, I probably went down to 30 percent of my normal business, but obviously I gained what I lost in a different aspect. I don’t look at that as a professional decline, because I can come back and do it again. If I lose some business now, I can gain it back.
To other people I would say to make sure they have a team in place that can operate the business when they are not there. I have a team that supported me during my time as president, so I was still able to do quite a few things with my business.
With women who have younger families, it can be tough because the children aren’t with their mother. People with grown kids have the advantage of time; if you’re going into these type of leadership roles, you need to have your two feet there. One foot will not get you anywhere. I don’t do things half-heartedly. If I do it, I’m there in spirit, body and mind.
4. What was it like meeting and working with professionals and organizations outside the real estate industry during the “No Other” Campaign? Did you encounter support or difficulties from other professionals while working toward this goal?
The data was there on an annual timeline, but we were fighting for the quarterly homeownership reports. The Census Bureau played an important part; the director met with us when we set up appointments. We had a lot of conference calls with other organizations and all of our chapter leaders. We went to various government entities to ensure our campaign was being promoted, and a lot of our chapters held events. There wasn’t really a lot of pushback from other organizations and professionals. We met with Glenda Gabriel, who was open and said she wanted to be part of it. When we were at the National Press Club, she was there with us supporting the campaign.
There was a little resistance here and there, but overall people recognized the importance of what we were fighting for, that we need to be represented and heard. We had a concerted, unified voice.
5. We know the outcome you achieved. What do you think are the benefits to the kind of inter-industry work and collaboration you were able to create?
I think now people recognize what AREAA is and what we’re all about, they see that you can have a powerful voice and that it can be done. The collaboration is stronger than ever and we put AREAA on the map, it was great.
With homeownership, AREAA is now the go-to organization. Some of the other organizations are reaching out to us regarding homeownership. As I said, we were on the map already, but we were like a dot. Now we are a big ball.