1.27.2023 CCACC Executive Director Chih-Hsiang Li Will Make a Transition to Rita Sun Lewi on Feb 1
As the world welcomes New Year 2023, the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center, Inc. (hereafter “CCACC” or “the Center”) is embarking on a new journey. Mr. Chih-Hsiang Li, who has been volunteering as CCACC Executive Director for ten years, announced that he will make a transition on February 1, 2023 to another longtime volunteer, Ms. Rita Sun Lewi, current Director of CCACC Home Care and Art Gallery and former CCACC Executive Director (2007-2009).
The two Executive Directors are recognized as visionary senior volunteer leaders both within CCACC and in the community. Their decades’ dedicated community services earned themselves the highest honor of the 2021 President's Volunteer Service Award–the President's Lifetime Achievement Award, together with two other CCACC senior volunteer leaders–Mr. Ned Li, Cofounder and Senior Advisor, and Dr. Immanuel Tung, Logistics Support Manager and former Executive Director.
As one of the five cofounders of CCACC, Mr. Chih-Hsiang Li has been volunteering at the Center for 40 years. Prior to December 2012, he served as Board Member, Deputy Executive Director/Board Vice-Chair, Board Secretary, and Board Treasurer of the Center; in 2000, he took the lead in raising funds so that CCACC would be able to purchase the first executive office; since December 2012, Mr. Li has been serving as CCACC Executive Director full-time. His successful entrepreneurial experience and outstanding leadership allowed him to make every effort to lead CCACC to expand the scope of services, upgrade the professional level of services, and develop the financial self-sufficiency of operational divisions, while practicing CCACC core value: "Care with love and compassion, serve with sincerity and integrity, and thrive on joy and harmony.” In the past ten years, CCACC revenue has increased fivefold, with its service scope expanding to cover multi-ethnic groups and multiple fields. From two-year-old children to centenarians, more than 100,000 beneficiaries are served each year; five out of the seven operational divisions serve multi-ethnic community members instead of Chinese ones alone. The service areas include health care, elderly health care and in-home care, children and adult education and training, sports and entertainment, art exhibition and appreciation, and so on. The past decade also witnessed the office area of CCACC tripled, and the prime real estate recently purchased creates exciting new possibilities for what CCACC can offer the community. CCACC’s loyalty and dedication to the community have withstood the test during the past three years of COVID -19 pandemic. It has been recognized as the mainstay of the community. Good deeds such as vaccinating community residents against coronavirus, providing COVID/healthcare hotlines in Chinese and English, and donating surgical masks to frontline organizations have been widely praised.
Despite the outstanding achievements, Mr. Li maintains a low profile and modesty. He has always enthusiastically supported the growth of the next generation. In 2013, CCACC launched an internship program to bring in younger generations to participate in business development for CCACC. Initially more than 20 graduate students were recruited to develop business plans for Afterschool and Home Care operations, which were later established at CCACC as two permanent operational divisions. Over the past nine years CCACC has hired more than 20 interns, 16 of whom successfully obtained H1B visas. Currently there are seven of them on the staff while the rest have moved on to find other fulfilling careers. This internship program is one important way in which the Center provides opportunities and services for young professionals.
Looking back on these years, Mr. Li sincerely thanks his colleagues for their strong support and community partners for their trust and love. At the same time, he is very grateful to his accomplished and lovely wife, Chou-Chi Li, Ph.D. in Immunology from Johns Hopkins University and Scientist of the National Institutes of Health. Mr. Li said gratefully, "I would like to give full credit to my wife for her unwavering support for my involvement at CCACC over the last 40 years, especially in the last ten years during which I have worked full-time. She not only supported my desire to dedicate my time to running CCACC, but her invaluable advice has guided me on many important decisions, especially on health-related topics. Without her unwavering support, I could not have accomplished nearly as much for CCACC. I am eternally grateful for her understanding and compassion.” Like her husband, Dr. Li is a senior CCACC volunteer, serving as medical interpreter for the elderly in CCACC Adult Day Healthcare Center when they see a doctor, and providing event support for CCACC for decades. The couple have a son, a daughter, and two granddaughters.
In 2022, Mr. Li's alma mater, Tunghai University in Taiwan, awarded him the Outstanding Alumni Award. Mr. Li holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Tunghai University. After coming to the United States in the 1970s, he studied at Washington University in St. Louis and Carnegie Mellon University, and obtained a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Washington University. After teaching at Syracuse University and University of Maryland, College Park for two years each, he entered the business world and became a brilliant entrepreneur. In 2007, he retired from the Executive Vice President & COO position at Applied Engineering Products Company (AEPCO, Inc.) after over 20 years’ employment. Previously, he served as the Chairman and CEO of 3e Technologies International, Inc. and CEO of Decision Resource Group, Inc. His entrepreneur background, coupled with his consistent enthusiasm and generosity in community service and his outstanding leadership, has played a great role in promoting the robust growth of CCACC.
Talking about the new Executive Director, Ms. Rita Sun Lewi, Mr. Li, who has worked with her for many years, praised Ms. Lewi as the "unwavering conscience of CCACC" and an embodiment of CCACC's core value of "serving with sincerity and integrity." He believed that under the leadership of Ms. Lewi, CCACC will create more success stories, especially in the quality of services. After retiring, Mr. Li will continue to serve the Center and the community as a volunteer, and fully support the new Executive Director, Ms. Lewi, to ensure a smooth handover and sustainable development of the Center. Looking forward to the future of CCACC, Director Li said: "In the near future, I would like to see the following: (1) Expansion of CCACC Health including moving to a newer and bigger space well equipped with the necessary medical equipment. Opening of a retail pharmacy is also a part of the expansion. We are grateful the majority of the funding was already secured through Congressman David Trone’s office. (2) Completion of the acquisition of land adjacent to Quince Orchard Swim and Tennis Club (QOSTC), a.k.a. CCACC Sports, to reach the potential of the site. (3) Reorganize the kitchen to make it more efficient and supportive to other services of CCACC.
Ms. Lewi has been a volunteer at CCACC since 2000. Before 2012, she was an employee at the U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. Between her busy full-time job and family, Ms. Lewi managed to use her spare time successfully volunteering for years to curate special exhibitions entitled Paving the Way: Chinese American Stories during the annual CCACC biweekly Lunar New Year Celebration at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, MD. Ms. Lewi also created, on behalf of CCACC, an Asian American Experience Resource Kit as a reference curriculum for the high school social studies at Montgomery County Public Schools. Additionally, she founded a weekend Chinese language school at CCACC for American families who adopted orphans from China. The school name is Chinese Language Arts Programs and Services (CLAPS). From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Lewi volunteered as CCACC Executive Director, when she, along with two CCACC cofounders, Mr. Ned Li and Mr. Chih-Hsiang Li, established CCACC Adult Day Healthcare Center, the first ever nonprofit adult day healthcare center founded by Chinese Americans in the state of Maryland.
Upon retiring from the position of Visual Arts Registration Specialist at the U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress, Ms. Lewi started volunteering full-time at CCACC as the Director of the Education Division and Founding Director of both CCACC Home Care and CCACC Art Gallery. Towards the communities outside of CCACC, Ms. Lewi has also contributed much. For example, since 2018, she has served as Senior Advisor and Curator for several museum exhibitions at the newly established Chinese American Museum DC (CAMDC) in Washington, DC, while helping CCACC establish a long-term partnership with the Museum to jointly promote Chinese culture.
Just like Mr. Li, Ms. Lewi has received wide recognitions for her invaluable longtime contributions to the community. In addition to the 2021 President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, she was awarded the "Maryland's 100 Sheroes" in 2020 for her outstanding performance during the COVID-19 pandemic to take the lead to help keep our community safe.
Talking about her appointment as the new Executive Director of CCACC, Ms. Lewi said humbly that it is a great honor to have the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director again, and she is aware how important the mission is. In view of the steady and rapid growth of the Center in the past ten years, Ms. Lewi looks forward to working together with colleagues to continue to strengthen internal operations, cultivate young talents to develop their own strengths, and jointly improve the work of CCACC in all aspects. Externally, Ms. Lewi looks forward to cooperating sincerely with community supporters and partners to continue expanding CCACC's service targets to more diverse communities in the Greater Washington DC area. She said: "CCACC belongs to the community. I believe that those who sponsor and support CCACC will have expectations for CCACC. Although the Center experiences ups and downs, it can always maintain a consistent attitude and operate stably. As long as we continue to work as a team to serve our community, CCACC will keep flourishing and enriching our community in the years ahead.”
Like Executive Director Li, Ms. Lewi’s year-round dedication to the community is inseparable from the very strong support of her family, especially her husband. Mr. Leng Lewi is a retired telecommunications engineer. People who know Ms. Lewi will notice that the quiet and quick-moving gentleman next to her always gives her effective assistance whenever needed. Mr. Lewi is also an awe-inspiring senior CCACC volunteer. In the years to come, he will continue to serve as a volunteer at the Center and fully support his wife's work. The couple have a daughter and a son. Ms. Lewi graduated from Corcoran College of Arts and Design in Washington, DC with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Oil Painting. She exhibited in the Greater Washington DC area and Taiwan. Since 1978, Ms. Lewi has lived in Montgomery County, Maryland.
As the Year of the Rabbit just began, the two CCACC Executive Directors sincerely wish every member of CCACC safe and healthy, hoping all their wishes come true! May the New Year bring everyone happiness, peace, joy and prosperity.
By May Zhou, CCACC
Executive Director Chih-Hsiang Li (back row, right), Executive Director Rita Sun Lewi (front row), and Senior Advisor Ned Li receive the 2021 President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor of the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
E.D. Chih-Hsiang Li is doing an annual report at the CCACC 40th Anniversary Celebration on November 6, 2022.
E.D. Chih-Hsiang Li and his wife Dr. Chou-Chi Li are giving out red envelopes to children at the CCACC 2022 Lunar New Year Celebration at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, MD.
E.D. Chih-Hsiang Li receives the Neal Potter Path of Achievement 2018 Award from the Montgomery County Volunteer Center.
Ms. Rita Lewi gifts to Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink a silk scarf on January 9, 2023, on which there is a mountain view oil painting she painted and signed.
Ms. Rita Lewi (front row) joins students of the Chinese Language Arts Programs and Services (CLAPS) for the Lunar New Year Celebration on February 5, 2005.
Ms. Rita Lewi (2 nd row, first from left) attends the 7 th anniversary of CCACC Adult Day Healthcare Center
on September 23, 2015.
