Rising Stars: Monika Lee, a star on the move

Monika Lee’s story showcases many of the possible avenues for creating meaningful change in Sacramento. In her five years in the community, Lee has moved up the ranks in three different organizations and worked with a variety of issue areas, letting her passion for equity guide her along the way.

Identity is a complicated subject for Lee, who grew up in San Diego after being adopted from China at eight months old. It was in that upbringing in a predominantly white suburb where she learned the challenges of growing up in between cultures.

“I am from San Diego, and I am Chinese-American. I always knew I was Asian. I always knew I looked different. I had a different story than many of my friends growing up, being adopted,” Lee says. “I think about how, in many ways, I’m not accepted here in the United States, being Asian-American. And then there’s ways that when I go back to China, I also won’t be accepted because I’m clearly American.”

This struggle with identity throughout her upbringing, coupled with her studies of marginalization and history at Scripps College, sparked Lee’s interest in public service and social equity. That interest was further piqued when she learned of her Japanese grandfather’s experience in internment camps. Lee’s grandfather was open with her about his experiences, which she says illuminated society’s inequities and systemic failures at an early age.

“I always knew I was Asian. I always knew I looked different. I had a different story than many of my friends growing up, being adopted.”

“My grandpa, [who is] Japanese, was in internment camps when he was very young. I think that set me on a path very early on to be very aware of injustice happening around me and then to want to change it for the better,” she says. “I really attribute a lot of my drive and my passion for equity and justice to my upbringing, to my grandpa, and to my own identity.”

Her first job was with Paschal Roth Public Affairs, which Lee credits for taking a chance on her as someone with no experience in communications. She quickly proved that their choice to hire her was the right one, and she quickly moved up the ladder.

“I moved to Sacramento for that job and they taught me the tools of the trade,” she says. “I got immersed very quickly. I credit them with the person I am today because that set me on the trajectory to love communications.”

She says she was a sponge in the beginning of her career, eager to create news clips, learn about the pertinent issues in labor, proofread press releases, and take calls.

Jessica Hsiang Ng, Director of State and Local Public Affairs at CLEAR and one of Lee’s mentors, lauds Lee’s skills for absorbing information and advancing quickly in her career, stating “she’s always had sharp political instincts, and during our formal mentorship period, I saw her continue growing in her leadership skills, ability to prioritize and overall strategy chops.”

After two years of working with Pascal Roth, Lee decided she wanted to focus specifically on one issue area. She moved to the California Pan Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), where she says she became a “nerd” due to her deep interest in fact sheets and reports about disparities in healthcare.

“That was a wonderful opportunity to do exactly what I was hoping to do, which is focus on racial justice and equality, and mental health. I got to use the tools I learned and bring it to a nonprofit,” she says.

During this time, Lee also grew more active on social media, producing op-eds on different issue areas and highlighting the stories of people impacted by those issues. She says her most impactful experience with CPEHN was planning and executing a two day mental health conference, with speakers representing a wide array of perspectives. The webinar covered what healing from the COVID-19 pandemic looks like in different communities, aiming to create culturally competent solutions to this issue.

Outside of her work in communications, Lee plays in a recreational soccer league twice a week, and she finds joy in baking. To congratulate herself for her work at CPEHN, Lee treated herself to a Kitchen Aid stand maker, with which she makes copious amounts of cookies. Last year, she even did a friends-and-family cookie delivery with her best friend, Danielle Damper, with five types of cookies packaged and delivered to their loved ones.

Lee’s relationship with Damper is nothing short of serendipitous. Both from San Diego, the two met in Sacramento and immediately hit it off with their extroverted personalities and careers in communications. Their favorite things to do together are wandering around Target, hosting themed parties, and, of course, baking. Those lucky enough to be in their circle might just receive a cookie from the next friends-and-family cookie delivery.

Lee ponders how her life might be different if she had never met Damper.

“It would be really sad and a lot less fun.”

She worked her way up to becoming Associate Communications Director of CPEHN before leaving after two and a half years to take on her current role with the Western Center on Law & Poverty.

The Western Center is focused on housing, health, public benefits, and access to justice, which is a “a new dynamic for me to learn and try to talk about litigation in a non-litigation way to people,” according to Lee.

Lee’s proudest accomplishment with the Western Center is ongoing; the organization recently sued the USDA, as SNAP food recipients would have lost access to their benefits in the case of a government shutdown unless the USDA passed a continuing resolution.

Despite all of these accomplishments, Lee says she still battles with imposter syndrome, which has intensified with age.

“Internally, I know all of my mistakes and my flaws and all the stumbles I’ve made, but not everybody sees that,” says Lee. “It gets to be overwhelming in my brain, trying to make sure I’m doing the narrative change work that we always need to do.”

She has also struggled with the usual ideological transition from youthful idealism to reluctant realism.

“When I was in college, I was like ‘burn it down and give everybody money; screw capitalism.’ And then I got into the working world, where I learned that it is really hard to overthrow capitalism. I’ve learned a lot of patience and that meaningful, impactful change takes time,” she says.

Despite all of these accomplishments, Lee says she still battles with imposter syndrome, which has intensified with age.

Lee has picked up two pieces of advice along her career journey that she has carries along with her and invokes during periods of self-doubt.

The first: “What are you waiting for?” These words of wisdom were provided by Robert Abelon, Senior Manager of Government Relations at Adobe, when Lee was hesitant to run for policy director of the Sacramento County Young Democrats as a new member. (She proceeded to be policy director of the organization for a year).

The second: “I don’t get involved with organizations I don’t see myself running for leadership within.” Sadalia King, the Associate Director of Government Relations for Catalyst California gave Lee this advice, and she has utilized it to consider which jobs and organizations will have the most meaningful impact on her life.

Lee isn’t sure about what her future holds, but one thing she knows for certain is that she will not run for office.

“You won’t see me doing that anytime soon,” she says. “The scrutiny that people in elected office deal with is not for me. Would I love to be a Chief of Staff and help the elected prepare talking points and political strategy? Yes.”

Ironically enough, Lee accepted a position as Chief of Staff for Sacramento City Councilmember Karina Talamantes shortly after this interview took place. She will begin this role on November 6, transitioning away from her work in communications.

Regardless of where Lee’s career takes her, her drive and passion for equity have already impacted communities she works with and individuals in her circle, such as Jessica Hsaing Ng.

“When I first started in this industry nearly 20 years ago, I felt like I was one of only a few young AAPI women working in and around the Capitol,” said Ng. “Seeing someone as talented as Monika come up through the ranks so quickly and lifting others up along the way gives me great hope and confidence in the future!”