MassLive recently asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community throughout the state, working to make a difference in politics, education, business, the arts, or another area of interest.
Profiles of these leaders will be published through AAPI Heritage Month in May. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership, and commitment to inspiring change.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu faces reporters during a news conference, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
Michelle Wu
Age: 39
Community: Boston
Her story: The first woman, and first person of color, to serve as the mayor of Massachusetts’ largest city, Michelle Wu, a Democrat, was first elected in 2021, defeating nonpartisan candidate Annissa Essaibi George.
The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Wu graduated from Harvard University in 2007, and earned a J.D. from Harvard University Law School in 2012. She was an aide to former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, and worked as a statewide constituency director on now-U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, D-Mass., campaign.
She won election to the Boston City Council in 2014, with Warren’s backing, serving as its president from 2016 to 2018.
As the daughter of immigrants, Wu said “government always felt very distant and scary and cold … Growing up in an immigrant family, we always felt very invisible.”
That started to change, she said, when she began working for Menino, who was Boston’s longest-tenured mayor, serving from 1993 to his death in 2014.
“I had the chance to intern as a student for Mayor Menino. And seeing someone on this side of the government structure, really so deeply invested in real people, and understanding the day-to-day lives of all of his constituents. That was incredibly affirming … affirming and inspiring.”
Wu said she found another mentor in Warren, under whom she’d studied while at Harvard.
“I’d met her before either one of us ran for office, and then seeing her campaign, getting to work on it and be involved in watching her keep her same values. Her … courage and sense of doing right in the world that she had had long before running for office was a really important … reminder that you can be a real person and maintain that, even in this field.”
In her words: “We need you! … Particularly now it’s not an easy time to try to sort through all of the many challenges and stresses that communities are experiencing. But there’s also no more important and consequential moment. And we need perspectives that are connected to all walks of life and all communities making decisions. And having representation matters. But also having people who bring a dedication to speaking up for what they believe is right, is really important in this moment.”
We’re always open to hearing about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.
