AARCS Honors Betty He’s Contributions and Welcomes Chali Lee as the New Program Associate!

Published on August 1, 2024.

We are saying a heartfelt thank you and farewell to Betty He, who has been an invaluable asset as the AARCS Research Associate. Betty’s dedication, passion, and contributions in supporting the official launching of AARCS will leave a lasting mark on the Center and the AARCS community. 

This Fall, Betty will pursue a PhD in English at Princeton studying post-1965 Asian American speculative fiction and how A.I. participates in a long history of racializing labor. Reflecting on her time with us at AARCS, Betty shares, “I had an amazing experience working with everyone at AARCS and seeing this community come together. I built websites for AARCS and the Asian American Art Initiative. In the process, I particularly enjoyed getting to know the Asian American-related archives at Stanford and displaying collection highlights on the AARCS website. I also helped administer AARCS’s first round of seed grants and put on events for AARCS, during which I met so many wonderful scholars working on Asian American-related issues at Stanford.”

Betty expressed her gratitude for working with Gordon, Jeanne, and Steve over the past year, highlighting their remarkable support and mentorship through weekly meetings. Furthermore, she looks forward to seeing the AARCS community grow and the scholarship our community produces. Betty will be dearly missed, but we wish her the best in her future endeavors in graduate school and beyond.

We are thrilled to announce our new Program Associate for AARCS: Chali Lee (he/him/any). Chali is a queer Hmong scholar and researcher with a strong background in community organizing. Chali graduated from Stanford University in 2024 with a B.A.H. in Political Science, a minor in Asian American Studies, and honors in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. As a student, he worked with the Asian American Activities Center (A3C), the Asian American Studies (AAS) program, and the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE).

Chali’s interdisciplinary honors thesis comprises a paper and a film focused on queer Hmong identity formation. His work draws from and contributes to the fields of Asian American Studies, Queer of Color Critique, Critical Refugee Studies, and Critical Hmong Studies. Chali’s research pioneers the concept of, “Queer Hmong Epistemology,” and argues that the queer Hmong identity preserves and reimagines various aspects of Hmong culture from spiritual shamanism to daily life. 

Chali joined AARCS because of his passion for research and community. He hopes to be part of and contribute to a vibrant community of innovative researchers who are passionate about uplifting Asian American issues and communities. We invite you to join us in welcoming Chali as our new Program Associate for AARCS.