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Local Heroes

Meet the Local Heroes 2025 Nominees and Honorees

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Local Heroes

Local Hero: Darious Harris

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Local Heroes

Local Hero: Jackie Broxton






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Two people sit in chairs in front of library bookshelves, a dark-haired man with glasses wearing a brown henley shirt and light jeans on the left and a woman with glasses and shoulder-length dark hair wearing a blue shirt with a white floral pattern on the right, her hands placed on her knees.
Local Heroes: Amy J. Wong and Andrew Fung Yip, Celebrating Diverse BIPOC Stories in the San Gabriel Valley
Matilija Lending Library co-founders Amy J. Wong and Andrew Fung Yip are 2023 Local Heroes Nominees for celebrating the diversity of the El Monte and San Gabriel Valley community by uplifting BIPOC stories.
light brown-skinned woman with hair curled at the ends wears a magenta and navy blouse and small pearl pendant and smiles
Local Hero: Maria Jimenez-Torres, Leading Through the Arts
Maria Jimenez-Torres is the education and executive director of Plaza de la Raza and its School of Performing and Visual Arts.
Asian American woman with short, salt and pepper hair, wearing a blouse and sweater in shades of light green, smiles and leans against a wall.
Local Hero: Honoree Marjorie Lee, Archiving AAPI Heroism
Marjorie Lee is the library coordinator, information specialist and archivist at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. She is also a 2022 Local Heroes Honoree.
Light brown-skinned woman with light brown hair and wearing a blue dress smiles
Local Hero: Helen Iris Torres, Inspiring Latina Leaders
Helen Iris Torres is the CEO of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality.
Asian American woman in a rust colored blouse, red lipstick and wire-rimmed glasses smiles slightly at the camera
Local Hero: Ellen Ahn, Providing Hope in Orange County
Ellen Ahn is the executive director of Korean Community Services (KCS), which has provided free healthcare services to low-income and uninsured people in Orange County since the 1990s.
Broad-shouldered Asian American man with short hair smiles at the camera. He is wearing a military uniform and there is an American flag behind him.
Local Hero: Victor Shen, Promoting Diversity in the Army
Victor Shen works to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the Army profession and educates his community's students about opportunities, scholarships and programs.
A Black woman wearing gold jewelry looks calmly away from the camera
Local Hero: Honoree Cynthia "Big Mama" Mendenhall, Local Angel
Cynthia "Big Mama" Mendenhall is the founder of Watts Chosen Angels. She is also a 2022 Local Heroes Honoree.
Young man at a park in a dark suit smiles at the camera
Local Hero: Christian Esteban, Advocate for Students
Christian Esteban is the executive director of JOYA Scholars, which serves students in Fullerton and provides mentoring, tutoring, college application preparation services and more.
A woman in West African dress (including a long, white garment and matching headscarf) sits among West African drums adorned with colorful rope.
Local Hero: Rene Fisher Mims, Healing Through Drums
Rene Fisher-Mims established S.H.I.N.E. MUWASI to spread knowledge of West African drum culture to women in her community.
An Asian woman with shoulder-length hair that flips up at the ends is turned slightly towards the camera against a beige backdrop, wearing a loose-fitting peach-colored top with a scoop neckline and a multi-colored floral pattern
Local Hero: Florence Lin, Reaching Asian Communities With Vital Resources
Florence Lin is a 2023 Local Heroes nominee for her work in community outreach and education at Asian Youth Center in Los Angeles, which includes providing bilingual resources to those who speak Mandarin and corresponding with Chinese media outlets.
Updates Local Heroes Title Card
Meet the Local Heroes 2023 Nominees and Honorees
Meet the Local Heroes 2023 nominees, as well as this year's honorees — Brandon Tsay and Meymuna Hussein-Cattan.
Chancee Martorell of the Thai Community Development Center
Local Hero: Honoree Chancee Martorell, Advocate for the Thai Community
Chancee Martorell is the executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, which she founded in 1994, to improve the lives of Thai immigrants.
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