This week’s guest for our BLF takeover of the BLP for the month of May 2024 is Michelle Li! Michelle Li is an award-winning, veteran journalist who co-launched the Very Asian Foundation in January 2022 alongside friend and fellow journalist Gia Vang.

Her response to a racist voicemail became a global movement of unity and caught the attention of The Ellen Show. Ellen’s monetary gift of $15,000 helped start the seed money to create a non profit focused on shining a light on Asian life through advocacy and celebration. Not only did the Very Asian Foundation raise tens of thousands of dollars for AANHPI nonprofits in its first 100 days, but it also launched a national awareness youth literature campaign called The May Book Project, and started the Very Asian Creators microgrant program for people who needed startup funds to pivot in their careers.

A Korean adoptee, Michelle spent many years supporting adoptees through heritage camps and volunteer tours to Korea. She also launched a program to support Missouri children in foster care. This work led to a congressional award in 2010. Michelle’s reporting has been honored with a national Peabody Award, four national Murrows, and multiple regional Emmys– often for covering topics related to race or gender inequities. Her work on the Asian American experience in St. Louis during the pandemic was also named a duPont finalist in 2023. Michelle has appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and The Washington Post. She released a children’s book with Gloo Books called A Very Asian Guide to Korean Food.

Michelle currently resides in St. Louis with her family. She is @michellelitv on most platforms.

Connect with Michelle:

Social Media Handles: @michellelitv on most platforms, FB: facebook.com/mlitv

URLs: veryasianfoundation.org

Very Asian goes viral 2022:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q_FteWUGejFix8iB7HurfShlwrU4Cwvr?usp=sharing

About Michelle Li’s adoption:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fONUO3yIA9c

The Very Asian Foundation on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@theveryasianfoundation

Show notes and more episodes at Brucelee.com/Podcast

This week’s guest on our BLF Foundation takeover of the Bruce Lee Podcast for the month of May 2024 is award-winning Korean-American actor and filmmaker, Jon Lee Brody. As an actor Jon has appeared in films like “Star Trek Into Darkness” “Fast and Furious 7” and James Wan’s “Malignant”. His work as a director/writer/producer covers multiple genres and multiple job titles. In 2019, he directed the DC Universe show 'DC Universe All Star Games' making him the first ever Korean-American to direct a tv show for DC Comics. Jon also has a horror podcast with Amazon/Wondery/Morbid Network called “That Was Pretty Scary” which he co-hosts with Freddie Prinze Jr. Jon is also a mental health advocate with a big passion for outreach and erasing the stigma surrounding mental health discussions. When he's not working he enjoys playing xbox and watching movies and tv shows. As of the posting of this podcast, Jon’s beloved and adored Corgi, Shelby, passed away, which was a heart wrenching experience for Jon. He loved that pup and mentioned her on the podcast as we spoke so our hearts go out to Jon and the soul of Shelby as they heal through that transition together.

This conversation with Jon has been a long time coming. We have run in many of the same circles but never had the opportunity to chat and this was an epic convo! Jon was so vulnerable, direct, honest and funny and I look forward to spending more time together with him when we both speak on panels organized by Kulture City called Kulturally Asian where we will discuss breaking down the stigmas around mental health within the Asian community and wherever else the convos take us. Please check out our show notes to find out how to connect with Jon more. I hope you will enjoy our connection as much as I did – in fact, I know you will! So plug in with me and check out my flow with Jon Lee Brody!

Connect with Jon:

Social Media Handles: @jonleebrody

URLs: www.imdb.com/name/nm2657185

Show notes and more episodes at Brucelee.com/Podcast

This week’s guest on the special edition Bruce Lee Foundation takeover of the Bruce Lee Podcast for the Month of May is Dr. Julian Maha! Dr. Julian Maha is an accomplished neurodiverse emergency room physician, and the Director of the Emergency Medical Services in South Alabama. He is the founder of KultureCity, one of the fastest growing nonprofits for invisible disabilities/sensory needs in the United States. He is known for his innovative ideas, and ability to connect with the community. Under his leadership, he has successfully developed and executed many important programs in the special needs education and medical arenas. He is a passionate and highly sought after speaker, with the uncanny ability to inspire and empower those surrounding him.

KultureCity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating sensory accessibility and inclusion for those with invisible disabilities. Our mission is to rethink accessibility to create acceptance and inclusion for all individuals. We work on various initiatives and partner with venues to establish sensory-inclusive spaces, among other projects aimed at supporting the sensory needs of individuals with invisible disabilities

Social Media Handles:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianmaha/ https://twitter.com/drjulianmaha

URLs: www.kulturecity.org

Show notes and more episodes at Brucelee.com/Podcast