about elizabeth

 Dear Monterey Park Resident,

My husband Phil and I have been proud residents of Monterey Park for over 15 years. Our 15-year-old daughter Liliana and our 14-year-old son Alexander both grew up in this community. I have been a dedicated volunteer in our city for over a decade and have served on four city commissions since 2013: Design Review Board, Parks & Recreation, Community Participation, and Business Improvement District.  

With 22 years of experience across business, law, engineering, and civic engagement, I am well-prepared to fulfill the duties of a council member.  My priorities include:

• Strengthening  public safety;
• Tackling  homelessness;
• Fostering  economic growth within our city;
• Supporting  our youth and seniors; and
• Holding  LAX accountable for the increasing air traffic noise over our city.

My 20+ years of volunteerism and leadership across various non-profit organizations, such as the Monterey Park Women's Club, Monterey Park Lion's Club, Monterey Park Democratic Club, Asian Youth Center, and Asian Minds Matter, demonstrate my heart for our community and my passion for giving back.

My parents immigrated to California from Taiwan and I was born in California.  I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and had a very rough childhood, being raised by a single mother.  We moved frequently between Rosemead, Chino, Chino Hills, Ontario, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, and Walnut.  I attended five different elementary schools and two different middle schools.  My mom had never worked a job in her life when my father died, and she raised my brother and me with the assistance of food stamps, welfare and government aid.  I was also very introverted and shy as a child, and it was tough for me to make friends, being the new student in school every couple of years.

My mom build her teaching career and fostered a strong passion for education in me.  I graduated from High School when I was 16, with several AP units and community college credits under my belt. I entered UC Berkeley's College of Engineering and earned my B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) in less than 2.5 years at age 19.  My younger brother, who was born at Garfield Medical Hospital in Monterey Park, also attended and graduated from UC Berkeley with an engineering degree.  During my 6 year engineering career, I worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab on the Mars Exploration Rover as well as at Raytheon designing radars for the B2 Bomber.  Wanting more education, I decided to attend law school in the evenings after I got off work and after 3.5 years of night school while working a full-time job at Raytheon, I was able to obtain both my JD and MBA degrees from the University of La Verne at the age of 24.

When I was 22, I finally learned why my father was not in our lives growing up. He had died by suicide when I was three years old, and my brother was one.   Our culture's "saving face" mentality meant that no one in my family openly spoke about the topic, not even to me nor my brother.  It was extremely difficult for me to tell my peers the truth about my father when I learned about what happened. After completing many personal development workshops, I was finally able to practice the saying that "vulnerability is a strength" and share the truth about my father's death with people in my circle.  

Resilience is a theme that comes up repeatedly in my life. I have had many bumps along my journey. However, I believe that challenges are blessings in disguise, and they are gifts from God to make us stronger in preparation for bigger things for us in the future.  Not only did I experience a rough childhood with no father support growing up, but I also ended up going through many other life struggles, including a contentious divorce with my ex-husband, managing and keeping a business afloat during the pandemic, as well as navigating a temporary state bar suspension.  Each one was an extremely stressful time for me. However, looking back, I now see the hidden blessings from each challenge.  

If I hadn't gone through my divorce, I wouldn't have gained the family law experience and knowledge that has helped hundreds of families through this process. I started my legal career specializing in intellectual property since my background is in electrical engineering.  After going through a four-year divorce, which cost my ex and I total of close to half a million dollars in attorney fees, we ended up settling the case and becoming the best of friends. I learned through the process that, if possible, one needs to treat their ex with even more respect, patience, and love than when they were together, especially if they are co-parenting children.  If I hadn't undergone the struggles of being an entrepreneur during the pandemic, my company and business experience wouldn't be as strong, and we wouldn't have as many processes in place, including EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System).  Also, my husband wouldn't have left corporate America two years ago to be now working by my side, handling all the non-legal aspects of our business (i.e. HR, operations, hiring, etc.).  

Last but not least, my state bar case was one where a new U.S. Counsel Rule had been implemented by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in August 3, 2019, which required trademark applicants overseas to file trademarks through a U.S. Attorney.  In September of 2019, a month after the U.S. Counsel Rule was implemented, a trademark specialist company in China by the name of Sellergrowth approached me to help their clients obtain trademarks.  According to their website, they were very experienced in filing trademarks for their clients and had been doing so on their own prior to the implementation of the U.S. Counsel Rule.  There was no negative information online in regards to Sellergrowth's reputation in 2019 so  I agreed to collaborate with them.   Our agreement was for them to file a hundred trademarks per month for $1,500 ($150 per trademark) but within the year (2020), they had ended up submitting  approximately 7,000 trademarks under my name, without my approval.  Money-wise, it ended up coming out to ~$2 per trademark application.  When I discovered this violation, I cooperated fully with the USPTO and corrected each and every one of the trademarks that Sellergrowth had submitted.  Since I took and passed two bar exams, I have two legal licenses: one with the USPTO and one with the California Bar.  Due to the USPTO appreciating my candor and cooperation, the result was a temporary 30-day suspension of my USPTO license, which California reciprocated.  Both the USPTO and the California Bar found that there was no moral turpitude issues in this case.  After the temporary 30-day suspension, which took place in the month of May 2023, both my licenses have been fully reactivated and active.  As a result of this experience, I learned the intricacies of the U.S. Counsel Rule and I have been able to help further not just my trademark clients obtain stronger trademarks but also warn other trademark lawyers about how to file trademarks properly.  

With each of my life lessons and challenges I've overcome, one of the biggest lessons I've learned is that it's not how many times we fall down in life but how many times we get back up.  To date, I have published a total of 6 books to share my life lessons learned with the public.    In 2017, I published my first best-selling book, “The Big Secret” alongside Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. In 2018, I published my second book, “Stress-Free Divorce” to assist parties going through this very difficult time of their lives.  My most recent books include: “The Authorities: Powerful Wisdom from Leaders in the Field,” “Women in the Modern Business World,” “Asian Women Who Bossup,” and “Social Marriage.” 

I am someone who uses life lessons to learn, improve, and grow. I am stepping into courage, taking risks, and using my experience and knowledge to give back to the community so we can have a SAFER and STRONGER Monterey Park!!!

With endorsements from the Monterey Park police officer and firefighters associations, I will work to improve public safety, fight crime, and tackle our homelessness challenge through increased education and rehabilitation services. I will help improve traffic and transportation in our city, support the current local businesses, and bring in new economic development. As a mother of two and the incoming Vice President of the Asian Youth Center, I am extremely passionate about supporting and preparing our future generation.  I am also a big supporter of our senior population, as I have a retired parent and a 99-year-old grandmother at home.

Thank you for reading my entire biography, and if I haven't met you yet, I hope to meet you in person while I'm knocking on doors between now and the November 5th election!

Together, let's build a safer and stronger community!